2024 Pilot Non-Conference Games

It seems amazing that CBU could now be 0 and 5.  They have so much talent and are obviously well coached.  They turned our press into easy lay-ups a number of times, and so many points in the paint.  Through nearly the whole game, I expected them to close the gap and make it a real contest.  Instead, it went the other way and our lead just kept getting bigger - which is just a testament to how well we played.  We looked like a team that knows how to play as a team.  And the only other thing I'd say is the unusual number of traveling calls on both sides - way more than the rest of the season combined.

All four Nugget Tournament teams had Thanksgiving dinner together tonight in preparation for back-to-back-to back games at the University of Nevada.

Friday the Pilots (5-0) play Southern Utah (1-5) at 3pm, on Saturday they take on Central Michigan (0-4) at 3pm, and on Sunday they play the host Wolfpack (3-3) at 1pm.

Dyani will sit out the action this weekend in an attempt to heal in time for WCC play.

(Editorial: My gosh, our student-athletes from New Zealand, Australia, and Sweden have certainly learned the American tradition of eating heaping plate fulls of turkey and all that goes with it on Thanksgiving Day!)

It stated getting a little uncomfortable late as SUU made free throw after free throw and made some nice mid-range jumpers to draw within 8, but then UP was helped by a couple of timely makeup calls toward the end and Alexa hit a three-pointer at the final buzzer.

Even with all the injuries the bench is still deep enough to play three games without a break, but the Pilots had to work way too hard against a very well coached team this afternoon.

In the earlier game, UP’s next opponent, Central Michigan upset host Nevada, 60-57, for its first win of the season.

Be aware that the Central Michigan website has Saturdayʻs Game against UP starting ai 3:00 PM.

The UP wrapup to Fridayʻs game shows the CM Game at 4:00 PM.

I have no idea which is right.

The game is scheduled for 3 pm, but because it is the second game  of a doubleheader after Nevada and Southern Utah play, it will likely be closer to 3:20 to 3:30 before  the teams are warmed up and the game can begin.

In the game against the SU Thunderbirds, Coach Meek was notably irked at some of the play after the first quarter. Apparently, the Pilots were not blocking out on the boards sufficiently.

Perhaps, but what you did not see on camera was his “irk” with the refs that continued onto the court at times during timeouts.  

His pointing out of the uneven calls finally began to payoff late in the 4th quarter when there were some makeup calls being made by the refs.

No doubt Coach Meek was less than thrilled with some of the questionable calls-and there were some questionable calls. But he clearly had issues with some of the Pilot's play.

Nevada takes down SUU 72-54 in the first game, Pilots should tip at approximately 3:10…

Central Michigan is fast, athletic, and physical!

DoubleDipper wrote:Central Michigan is fast, athletic, and physical!

Fortunately, they also have 9 turnovers in the first 5 minutes

Holding a lead while shooting 1 for 12 from three is a comment on our first half defense. Let's make some threes in the second half ladies.

[quote="up7587"Looked like you had plenty of choices for seats.[/quote]Haha, most of the fans left after first game and the Pilots fans outnumbered the Chippewa fans at least 6:1.

Yesterday we sat courtside with parents of UP players, but today it was even more fun because we sat coutside next to a very vocal Central Michigan mom with whom we shared a lot banter, just as she did with refs.

(I am generally polite with the refs because although many are not very good, I know they have a tough job, but today during a timeout when I approached a ref from my seat 3 feet away to point out the scoreboard was incorrect, she said, “I can’t look at you or talk to you.”  Never had that happen before. ‍�  Fortunately, another ref listened to me, went to the scorer’s table and corrected the scoreboard resulting in a 4-point swing in UP’s favor.)

DoubleDipper wrote:
(I am generally polite with the refs because although many are not very good, I know they have a tough job, but today during a timeout when I approached a ref from my seat 3 feet away to point out the scoreboard was incorrect, she said, “I can’t look at you or talk to you.”  Never had that happen before. ‍�  Fortunately, another ref listened to me, went to the scorer’s table and corrected the scoreboard resulting in a 4-point swing in UP’s favor.)

That explains why the on screen scoreboard and the live stats were different!

Oddly, it coencided with my losing the video screen for a minute. I thought something magical happened.

I’m not sure they got it totally right. The live stats had a 9 point difference at the end of the game while the video showed a 10 point spread.

SUU loses to Central Michigan, 70-61.
Nugget Classic:
SUU 0-3
CMU 2-1

Pilots prevail against Nevada 78-62. Alexis Mark, Maisie Burnham and Emme Shearer named all tournament with Emme Shearer, who scored 26 named MVP..Great job ladies. A sweep in Nevada.

The first NET rankings of the year are out:

98 Portland
120 San Francisco
143 Washington St.
151 LMU
164 Oregon St.
171 Pepperdine
181 Gonzaga
185 Saint Mary's
189 Santa Clara
232 Pacific
306 San Diego

https://www.ncaa.com/rankings/basketball-women/d1/ncaa-womens-basketball-net-rankings#:~:text=Women%27s%20Basketball%20%20%20%20Rank%20%20,%20%2028-3%20%2040%20more%20rows

The accolades continue for the uber athletic and talented Emme Shearer, who posted up nearly every guard or forward defending her this past weekend, and with success.
https://portlandpilots.com/news/2024/12/2/womens-basketball-shearer-named-wcc-player-of-the-week.aspx

Rob's Jacket wrote:

DoubleDipper wrote:The first NET rankings of the year are out:

98 Portland
120 San Francisco
143 Washington St.
151 LMU
164 Oregon St.
171 Pepperdine
181 Gonzaga
185 Saint Mary's
189 Santa Clara
232 Pacific
306 San Diego

https://www.ncaa.com/rankings/basketball-women/d1/ncaa-womens-basketball-net-rankings#:~:text=Women%27s%20Basketball%20%20%20%20Rank%20%20,%20%2028-3%20%2040%20more%20rows

Obviously NET rankings don't mean much of anything at this point in the season, but the fact that the Pilots have--at any point in the season--the best NET ranking in a league that includes Gonzaga, Oregon State, and Washington State, is something that just makes me happy.

Every once in a while, I try to take a step back and remember just how far this program has come in such a short time.  In the six years before Coach Meek took over on The Bluff, UP went 48-133 (22-86 WCC), with zero winning seasons and a top conference finish of sixth place.  In the five plus years since, UP is 107-57 (53-31 WCC), with winning seasons every year and three conference tourney titles. This is one hell of a time to be a Pilots fan. Let's make sure this year's team gets the support and recognition they deserve.

To show you how suspect the NET rankings are this time of year, consider that second in the conference USF is 2-4 and their wins are UCSB and PSU.

<EDIT>  well, they are now 4-5 with wins over Virginia and Norfolk State, and Virginia hasnt beaten anybody of note. I’m not sure their schedule compares well so far to, for instance, Gonzaga.

And The NET ranking appears to be based on the 2-4 record.

Well, looking further, that NET ranking is wrong on a number of points for many teams.

Games played to Dec 2, home-neutral-away, etc for several teams including USF and UP. I expect a revision.