The eight-seed Portland Pilots will take on the fifth-seed BYU Cougars in the second round of the West Coast Conference Tournament on Friday at Orleans Arena. Tip-off from Las Vegas is at 6:00 p.m. PT.
Portland (14-18 SU, 14-16 ATS) defeated San Diego in the first round of the tournament. The Pilots are 1-4 straight-up in their last five games.
BYU (17-14 SU, 16-13 ATS) had a first-round bye. The Cougars defeated San Francisco 87-61 in their regular season finale and were 1-4 straight-up in their last five games.
BYU defeated Portland 71-58 at home on December 31. The Cougars and Pilots were tied at halftime, but BYU pulled away in the second half, outscoring Portland 45-32. The Cougars shot 49 percent and held the Pilots to 37.5 percent from the field, including 6-for-21 shooting from three-point range. They also boasted a +11 rebounding margin.
BYU is 26-2 all-time versus Portland.
On Thursday, Portland beat San Diego 92-74 in the first round of the WCC Tournament. The teams were tied at halftime, but the Pilots dominated the second half, outscoring the Toreros 57-39. Portland shot 51 percent and hit 19 of 36 three-point attempts (52.8%). It assisted on 19 of 26 made field goals and won the rebounding battle 34-31. Junior guard Tyler Robertson led the Pilots with 23 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists.
Junior forward Moses Wood led Portland in scoring this season, averaging 15.5 points on 44.8 percent shooting and 6.3 rebounds. Other players to watch when the Pilots take the court are Robertson (14.9 PPG, 5.4 RPG, and 5.2 APG), junior forward Kristian Sjolund (11.5 PPG and 4.6 RPG), and junior guard Mike Meadows (11.3 PPG).
First round W ? pic.twitter.com/DMqT6iK5O3
— Portland Pilots Men's Basketball (@PortlandMBB) March 3, 2023
The Pilots scored 77.5 points per game (47th) and shot 45.5 percent (126th), including 37.1 percent from three (46th) this season. They converted 74.2 percent of their free throws (82nd) and averaged 30.5 rebounds (263rd) with a -1.4 rebounding margin. Portland ranked 82nd in schedule-adjusted offensive efficiency and 50th in effective field goal percentage (53.4%).
The Pilots gave up 78.6 points per game on defense (353rd), and their opponents shot 45.6 percent from the floor (299th) with a 38.4 three-point shooting percentage (357th). They ranked 271st in adjusted defensive efficiency and 128th in assist-per-turnover ratio.
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