Pilots @ Montana St. Sunday @ Noon PST

Growing pains are part of the process, and Brad Huse knows that about the early portion of Montana State's 2012-13 season. But he also knows there's plenty to be excited about.

The youthful, exciting Bobcats take center stage in Worthington Arena on Sunday, hosting the University of Portland at 1 pm.

"We did a lot of good things," Huse said of MSU's 87-72 loss at Seattle last weekend, a game in which the Bobcats forced 25 turnovers and held a veteran Redhawk squad to below 50% shooting in each half.

The MSU offense was sporadic, turning the ball over 28 times and shooting just 26% in the first half. "I thought we were better on both ends of the floor in the second half," Huse said. "The guys looked more comfortable."

Four of Montana State's five starters at Seattle made their Bobcat debuts in that game, and Huse knows things will only improve. "As the guys get more comfortable with each other and what we're doing, we'll take great strides forward."

Sunday's game marks the final Bobcat home game until after Thanksgiving. MSU visits Air Force (Nov. 21) and Oregon State (Nov. 25) before hosting Pepperdine on Nov. 29.

MISCELLANY...
* Four of MSU's five starters at Seattle made their Division I debut that night
* Bobcat junior Paul Egwuonwu registered a double-double at Seattle, scoring 13 points with 10 rebounds
* MSU was 11-1 when leading at halftime in 2011-12, 1-14 when trailing, 0-2 when tied

SERIES NOTES...
* Portland leads the series 10-7, with the last meeting a 59-53 Pilot victory in Portland during Brad Huse's first season (2006-07)
* In the last meeting between the schools, Carlos Taylor's 19 points marked a breakout game, although UP won 59-53 in Portland in 2006-07
* MSU won the last meeting in Bozeman, 70-68 on Dec. 19, 2005

ON THE OFFENSE...
* The Bobcats shot 52% in the exhibition win over South Dakota Mines, including 58% in the second half, but only 36% in the opener at Seattle, including 26% in the first half
* Montana State turned the ball over 28 times at Seattle, more than in any game in 2011-12

ON THE DEFENSE...
* Montana State forced 25 turnovers in the opener, holding Seattle below 50% shooting in each half
* Antonio Biglow picked up three steals at Seattle

PLAYER NOTES...
Paul Egwuonwu registered a double-double in the opener at Seattle, scoring 13 points with 10 boards
Blake Brumwell snagged a career high five rebounds at Seattle, which was the most he's ever recorded against a Division I opponent
Antonio Biglow's Bobcat debut featured a 15-point, three-steal performance while shooting 7-for-17 from the floor, one of the team's best percentages in the season opener

DoubleDipper wrote:KenPom predicts the #220 Pilots will beat the#313 Bobcats 70-66 with a 63% probability.

Pilots Travel to Montana State with Win Streak in Mind

Portland Pilots (1-1) at Montana State Bobcats (0-1)
Date: Sunday, Nov. 18, 2012
Tip-off: 12:00 p.m. (PT)
Location: Bozeman, Mont.
Arena: Worthington Arena
Live Video: BigSkyTV.org
Radio: 800 AM


Overall Series: 12-10
At UP:8-2
At MSU: 3-4
At Neutral/Unknown: 1-4
Last: POR 59, MSU 53 (at Portland - Nov. 17, 2006)

GAME COVERAGE
• A free live video stream of Sunday’s game will be available courtesy of BigSkyTV.org.
• All Portland basketball games will be broadcast live on True Talk 800 AM, with a 30-minute pregame show and Bill Johnson calling the play-by-play. The audio simulcast will also be available on PortlandPilots.com.



LAST TIME OUT
• Portland defeated Idaho State by a 51-48 margin in the team’s 2012-13 home opener on Thursday.
• Junior F Ryan Nicholas led all scorers with 22 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
• Sophomore G Kevin Bailey was Portland’s other double digit scorer with 12 points.
• The Pilots gained a 31-22 rebounding advantage and 12-3 margin in second chance points.
• The Pilots also held a 24-12 margin in points in the paint, while limiting the Bengals to 40 percent shooting from the field.

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 three 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. Ahern is expected to redshirt.
• 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.
• All 11 UP graduates in the last three years and have gone on to play pro ball.
• Portland announced the signing of PG Alec Wintering (Concord, N.C./United Faith Christian Academy) to a NLI on November 14.


ABOUT MONTANA STATE
• The Bobcats (0-1) opened the regular season with an 87-72 loss at Seattle on Sunday.
• Paul Egwuonwu led MSU with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
• The Bobcats forced 25 turnovers and collected 13 steals, but committed 28 turnovers in the game.
• MSU won its exhibition opener over South Dakota Tech, 93-71.
• Brad Huse begins his seventh year as the head coach with an 80-101 career record at Montana State.
• The Bobcats, who finished 12-16 overall last year, are picked eighth by the coaches and seventh by the media in the Big Sky Conference Preseason Polls.


NICHOLAS LOOKS TO LEAD
• Junior F Ryan Nicholas will undoubtedly look to lead the Pilots as the team’s top returning scorer and rebounder.
• He has gotten off to a fast start with a double-double at Ohio (16 pts, 11 rebs) and a 22-point effort versus Idaho State.
• After sitting behind All-WCC forward Luke Sikma and four-year starting center Kramer Knutson as a freshman, Nicholas had a breakout sophomore year (11.5 ppg, 7.6 rpg).
• He finished the year strong with a 19-point, 14-rebound effort in the regular season finale at BYU, followed by a 24-point, 11-rebound performance in the WCC Tournament opening round win over Santa Clara.

YOUTH MOVEMENT
• Portland will once again have one of the youngest rosters in the nation.
• The Pilots have just one senior and three juniors.
• Freshmen Oskars Reinfelds, Bryce Pressley and Jake Ehlers have all seen action this season already.


SOPHOMORE SURGE?
• UP’s sophomore class proved to be the most productive freshman class in Coach Reveno’s six years on The Bluff.
• The group accounted for at least 40 percent of nearly all key statistical categories this season for the Pilots.
• By the end of last season David Carr, Kevin Bailey and Thomas van der Mars were starting.
• Among the nine WCC programs, the Pilots led the league in freshman rebounding and were second to only San Diego in minutes played and scoring.


TOUGH SCHEDULE...AGAIN
• For the second straight year, the Pilots will play one of the most challenging schedules in the nation.
• Ken Pomeroy listed Portland’s non-conference strength of schedule No. 8 nationally last year.
• The 2012-13 schedule features 15 regular season games against teams that reached postseason play last year, including 10 contests against NCAA Tournament squads.
• Road games at Kentucky (NCAA Champions), Ohio (Sweet 16) and New Mexico (Third Round) are on the docket.
• Portland will also host No. 18 UNLV (NCAA First Round) on Dec. 4 and play No. 22 Gonzaga (Third Round), BYU (Second Round) and Saint Mary’s (Second Round) twice each during league play.
• ESPN gave Portland a rank of 10-out-of-10 on non-conference schedule strength, highest in the WCC.


CHILES CENTER RENOVATIONS
• The men’s basketball team benefited from some facility upgrades to the Chiles Center over the summer
• The locker room was renovated as part of a $2.5 million investment.
• A new state-of-the-art ‘Pilot Teaching Board’ was installed in the locker room, as well as modern lockers and a more spacious wet area.
• The men’s basketball coaching staff moved into new offices as part of the build-out, while the Chiles Center training and weight rooms were also upgraded.


WCC PRESEASON POLL
• The Pilots were picked to finish eighth in the WCC Preseason Coaches Poll.
• Gonzaga was the pick to win the league, while BYU and Saint Mary’s were second and third and received one first place vote apiece.
• No Pilots were named to the preseason all-conference team.


FRESH FACES
• Four freshmen are new to the roster this year...
• Jake Ehlers (Corvallis, Ore./Corvallis HS) is a two-time state champion and state player of the year at the Oregon 5A classification.
• Oskars Reinfelds (Riga, Latvia/Canarias Basketball Academy) was a teammate of fellow Pilot Thomas van der Mars at the CBA and is a member of the Latvian Youth National Team.
• Bryce Pressley (Sacramento, Calif./Jesuit HS) is the son of former NBA player and Villanova NCAA Champion, Harold Pressley.
• David Ahern (Novato, Calif./Marin Catholic HS) is a walk-on that is expected to redshirt this season.


BARKER’S BACK
• Sophomore Riley Barker played in seven games last year before a knee injury sidelined him for the season.
• He was granted a medical redshirt and enters the 2012-13 campaign healthy.
• Barker is expected to log big minutes for the Pilots after starting the first five games a season ago.


STAFF STABILITY
• Eric Reveno was named the 2009 WCC and District 9 Coach of the Year after leading UP to a 10-win improvement during the 2008-09 season.
• Now in his seventh year on The Bluff, Reveno credits the stability of his coaching staff as key to the program’s turnaround.
• Assistants Eric Jackson and Michael Wolf joined Reveno when he was hired and have remained on the Portland bench ever since.
• Colin Pfaff moved from his Director of Basketball Operations position to an assistant coaching spot this season, his third wit the Pilots.
• Reveno is the third longest tenured WCC coach behind Gonzaga’s Mark Few (14) and Saint Mary’s Randy Bennett (12).


HOME SWEET HOME
• Portland has rattled off a 42-15 home record since the start of the 2008-09 season.
• The Pilots had a 19-game home winning streak snapped by Gonzaga in February of 2011.
• Signature home wins have come against Washington, Oregon, Nevada and Saint Mary’s three times.
• Portland finished the 2010-11 regular season with a 13-2 record at the Chiles Center for the second straight season.


PILOTS SIGN POINT GUARD ALEC WINTERING
• Portland signed point guard Alec Wintering (Concord, N.C./United Faith Christian Academy) to a National Letter of Intent on Nov. 14.
• Wintering is beginning his senior season at United Faith and is coached by former NBA point guard, Muggsy Bogues.
• The 5-foot, 9-inch Wintering has a great mentor in Bogues, who stands 5-feet, 3-inches tall and followed a standout collegiate career at Wake Forest University with a 14-year NBA career.
• Bogues isn’t the only notable point guard with ties to Wintering. Former Pilot great T.J. Campbell attended Sunnyslope HS in Arizona, where Wintering began his prep career.
• After moving to North Carolina, Wintering attended Cannon School and as a sophomore averaged 24 points, 3.2 assists and 2.4 steals per game. He scored 30 or more points in five of the team’s final seven games that year.
• He began his junior year at Cannon and averaged 18.4 points, 3.3 assists, 2.6 steals and 2.4 rebounds before transferring to United Faith Christian Academy in December of 2011.
• Wintering opened the 2012-13 season with 34 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals in an 82-72 victory over Durham Mount Zion on Nov. 13.
• He is rated the No. 3 point guard in the state of North Carolina, according to BasketballElite.com and played AAU basketball for the Upward Stars and the Charlotte Royals.

DeanMurdoch wrote:Geographically speaking, this game is actually the closest the Pilots will play to me...and it's still ~600 miles away.

DeanMurdoch wrote:In an alcohol-fueled decision last night, I caved and paid the $20 for the Pomeroy site for the year.

PilotNut wrote:I think the bus ride is from BZN to the hotel...

DeanMurdoch wrote:Okay, am I dumb or something...I can't find the broadcast.

I get here - Schedule - but there's no broadcast link.

up7587 wrote:Looking at the box score, a couple stats stand out:
zero points for Tanner Riley
seven TOs for Derrick Rodgers