Pilots @ Ohio U., Saturday 11/10/2012, 11:00am

The Pilots will be walking into an emotional Ohio U. Convocation Center on Saturday, as the Bobcats are having a pre-game ceremony to unveil their Sweet 16 banner. According to the Ohio U. site as of yesterday there are 1,300 tickets remaining in the ~13,000 seat arena. This will be a tough challenge for the young Pilots for sure, but a great opportunity.

There does not appear to be any television for the game, but streaming video, Gametracker and Bill Johnson's radio broadcast will be available... I will update this thread with all those links as they become available.

I am anxious to get this season rolling... GO PILOTS!

Thanks for the information PilotNut. I am sure a lot of folks are interested in the video stream as it is an away game. So if you can find a link to that it would be appreciated.

For you Portland fans who want to watch the game OHIO streams all home games live on its website, ohiobobcats.com Just go to the audio/video tab then click on live events. Good luck Saturday!!

We hope some of you are coming to Athens for the game this weekend, and a chance to see our wonderful facility (Convocation Center) and town!

oubobcat9092 wrote:We hope some of you are coming to Athens for the game this weekend, and a chance to see our wonderful facility (Convocation Center) and town!

Um, what we know of OHIO U, we like.....

Bobcat4life, I looked at the link and as of right now it just has a "listen" tab shown. Is it standard to have the "watch" link available closer to game time? I ask because there are sporting events later in the month ie volleyball vs Notre Dame that already have a "watch" link set up.

I hope the Pilots give you guys a good game, your team is obviously the more seasoned group while the Pilots are still young and working into their own identity. Either way lets hope it is a good contest and that every athlete walks away healthy and un-injured.

Welcome, Ohio fans. Is there an Ohio message board that you can recommend for us to get a flavor of what is going on there?

http://bobcatattack.com

We have a big football game tomorrow, our last home game of the season, but we are very excited for basketball after last season.
We had 4,000+ for our scrimmage last Saturday, and are really hoping to sellout our 13,000 person arena. We usually can get some nice crowds (10,000+) every year, and usually average 6,000, but we really haven't had a true sellout in awhile.

The watch link will probably not show up until very close to tip, but it will be there eventually. Quality is usually pretty good.

Seems like this Ohio team should have gotten more respect in the preseason polls. They return everyone (minus head coach) from last year's team that went 29-8 and beat Michigan en route to the Sweet 16...and Michigan's ranked #5 to start the year.

Ohio got 9 votes in the AP Top 25 and were completely ignored in the coach poll.

This is one tough cookie to start out with.

USA TODAY Sports college basketball reporter Eric Prisbell considers Ohio University and forward Ivo Baltic to be a dark horse pick for the NCAA men's basketball Final Four this season.

In the past three years, three non-BCS conference teams – Butler (2010, 2011), VCU (2011) – occupied the 12 Final Four slots. Don't be surprised if it happens again. Among players, most of the same faces are back from the Ohio U team that gave North Carolina all it can handle in the Sweet 16. Guard D.J. Cooper could be more selective with shots, but Ohio has the personnel to make another run. And if it does reach the Final Four, expect a world-class celebration on a college campus that majors in partying.

I'm guessing that's at least a size 16...

Without sabotaging the board, a lot of Ohio Bobcats are hoping that we go beyond our Sweet 16 run of last year.... We also hope our campus (that has a recent National Chamionship in Partying per the Princeton Review) gets out of control.

Ohio U defeated UP 72-54 last year, by allowing the Pilots only 19 second half points on 30% shooting. Ohio U has a number of fine players lead by senior guard D.J. Cooper, and some are even predicting them to be a Final Four team….so they have lofty expectations.

I think the Pilots loss at home last year to the Bobcats was the beginning of the end of any optimism and confidence on the part of many Pilots’ fans and even some of the players…..Win or lose, I think we’ll maintain our optimism this year.

In last year’s game the Pilots had 16 turnovers, but the big number was the Bobcats 10 steals, five by Cooper. This year the Pilots backcourt will have a different look with Carr running the show; he only played two minutes last year, and he and Rodgers combined for zero points. The Pilots were outrebounded 40-31, but the change this year is Barker is now available to spell vdM, or even play alongside him.

Last year our leading scorers were K. Bailey, Nicholas, and Riley…I don’t think that will change this year, but I’d sure like to see a KB breakout soon!

The Pilots do not have a record of winning on the road, but this is a new year. The keys will be turnovers, rebounding and defense…..

Pomeroy prediction:

Ohio U over UP 77-64 with the Pilots having only a 13% chance of an upset in Athens.

With so much experience and so many outstanding players available for Oho U, plus a full capacity raucous home court advantage, this one is a no-brainer for the “experts.”

Do you need access to the paid section of the site to get the individual game projections?

Ohio fans are predicting a 20+ point win. Based on nothing but paper projections it's hard to argue...good thing that nerds projecting W/L have never decided the outcome of a game, I suppose!

Scouting the Ohio Bobcats (from the UP Athletic Department):

The Bobcats return all five starters and 11 letterwinners from the 2011-12 team that finished 29-8 and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 for the first time in school history. The Bobcats finished the season ranked in the Top 25, and are currently receiving votes in the AP poll.

• Jim Christian is in his first season as the Bobcats’ head coach, coming to Ohio from Texas Christian University. Christian has the highest winning percentage in Mid-American Conference history after compiling a record of 138-58 at Kent State from 2002-08.

• The Bobcats were picked to finish first in the Mid-American Conference’s East Division, while senior G Walter Offutt and senior G D.J. Cooper were pre-season All-MAC team selections. Cooper (14.7) and Offutt (12.4) led the team in scoring last season.

• The Bobcats finished third in the six-team MAC East division last year with an 11-5 record and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament after winning the conference tournament.

• The Bobcats’ 29 wins in 2011-12 surpassed the team’s previous single-season mark of 25 set in 1993-94.

The game is still promised to be available on live streaming video, but the “Watch” icon will apparently appear just before tipoff. http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/ohio.portal#

DeanMurdoch wrote:Do you need access to the paid section of the site to get the individual game projections?

Ohio fans are predicting a 20+ point win. Based on nothing but paper projections it's hard to argue...good thing that nerds projecting W/L have never decided the outcome of a game, I suppose!

Yes, I believe you do.

Pomeroy has always been very, very conservative with his score predictions....I think it has a lot to do with the wrath that would come down on him from the Las Vegas punters if he were to predict a wider spread.

He's very good at predicting winners and losers, but one can often add 8-12 points to his predicted winning margin.

11/8/2012 10:08:00 AM
Pilots Open Regular Season at Ohio on Saturday

Portland will face a difficult road test as the Bobcats will unveil their 2012 Sweet 16 banner before an anticipated sellout crowd

Live Video I Live Audio I Live Stats

PORTLAND PILOTS vs. OHIO BOBCATS
Date: Saturday, Nov. 10, 2012
Location: Athens, Ohio
Tip-off: 11:00 a.m. (Pacific)
Facility: Convocation Center (13,080)
Radio: True Talk 800 AM (KPDQ)
Live Video: OhioBobcats.com
Live Audio: PilotsVideo.com

POR vs. OU
Overall Series: 1-2
Here: 1-2
There: 0-0
Neutral: 0-0
Last: @OU 72, POR 54 (Dec. 10, 2011)

THIS WEEK
• The Pilots open the 2012-13 regular season on Saturday in Athens, Ohio, where they will face Ohio University, which advanced to the 2012 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.
• Portland will face Ohio for the second time in as many years – the Pilots dropped a 72-54 decision to the Bobcats in the Chiles Center on December 10, 2011. The Pilots have 1-2 overall record against Ohio, dating back to 1967.
• Tip-off is scheduled for 11 a.m. (Pacific) and radio coverage will begin at 10:30 a.m. on TrueTalk 800 AM and simulcast live on PortlandPilots.com. A free live video feed will be available at OhioBobcats.com.

LAST TIME OUT
• Portland won both of its exhibition games at the Chiles Center, defeating Concordia (Ore.) 87-69 on Oct. 27 and then knocking off defending NAIA national champions Concordia-Irvine 79-66 on Nov. 3.
• Junior F Ryan Nicholas had 16 points and 10 rebounds in the win over Concordia (Ore.).
• Junior G Tanner Riley had 27 points to lead the Pilots over Concordia-Irvine, leading four Pilots in double figures.

ABOUT THE PILOTS
• Head coach Eric Reveno returns for his seventh year on The Bluff. Assistant coaches Eric Jackson and Mike Wolf also return for their seventh year, while Colin Pfaff returns for his first year as an assistant coach after two years as Director of Basketball Operations. Marshall Cho (Director of Basketball Operations) and Kevin Bruinsma (Director of Basketball Technology) are new to the staff this year.
• Portland is coming off a 7-24 season after winning 60 games from 2008-2011, a stretch that included back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time in school history.
• Portland returns four starters and 10 lettermen from last year’s team that finished eighth in the WCC with a 3-13 league record.
• Junior F Ryan Nicholas led the team in scoring (11.5) and rebounding (7.6) last season. Sophomore G Kevin Bailey was second on the team in scoring (9.5) and started the team’s final 23 games. Senior G Derrick Rodgers is the team’s lone senior.
• Sophomore F Dorian Cason has been suspended indefinitely for a violation of team rules.
• Four newcomers join the team: G Oskars Reinfelds, G Bryce Pressley, F Jake Ehlers, and G David Ahern.
• The Pilots were picked to finish eighth in the nine-team West Coast Conference in the pre-season coaches poll.
• The Pilots were invited to the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) for three consecutive seasons from 2008-2011.

ABOUT OHIO
• The Bobcats return all five starters and 11 letterwinners from the 2011-12 team that finished 29-8 and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 for the first time in school history. The Bobcats finished the season ranked in the Top 25, and are currently receiving votes in the AP poll.
• Jim Christian is in his first season as the Bobcats’ head coach, coming to Ohio from Texas Christian University. Christian has the highest winning percentage in Mid-American Conference history after compiling a record of 138-58 at Kent State from 2002-08.
• The Bobcats were picked to finish first in the Mid-American Conference’s East Division, while senior G Walter Offutt and senior G D.J. Cooper were pre-season All-MAC team selections. Cooper (14.7) and Offutt (12.4) led the team in scoring last season.
• The Bobcats finished third in the six-team MAC East division last year with an 11-5 record and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament after winning the conference tournament.
• The Bobcats’ 29 wins in 2011-12 surpassed the team’s previous single-season mark of 25 set in 1993-94.

So this little nugget is buried in the ABOUT THE PILOTS section.

• Sophomore F Dorian Cason has been suspended indefinitely for a violation of team rules.

Anyone know more. I hadn't heard of this yet.

I was having a good day until I read that...

While I am glad Rev is the kind of coach to both lay down and enforce team rules, Dorian's development was a big determinant whether we were going to make any noise. Ugh.

Doesn't that just mean he is suspended for this game? Not for the whole season.

RipCityPilot wrote:Doesn't that just mean he is suspended for this game? Not for the whole season.

Indefinitely means we just don't know.

The "Watch" link is now up on the Ohio website! Looking forward to seeing the Pilots in action tomorrow!

RipCityPilot wrote:Doesn't that just mean he is suspended for this game? Not for the whole season.

Probably day to day.

According to the announcer "Everybody in Oregon wears Nike". LOL