Portland looks to capitalize on Senior Night

March 6, 2013; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Portland Pilots forward

(32) during player introductions against the Loyola Marymount Lions before the game of the WCC Basketball Championships at Orleans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Portland Pilots (14-11, 6-7) vs. Pepperdine Waves (14-12, 7-7)

Date: Saturday, February 15, 2014

Location: Chiles Center, Portland, OR

Time: 1:00 PM PST

TV: TWC SN, ROOT, CSN CA

Video: theW.tv

LiveStats: http://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statmonitr.php?gid=port

Last Season: Pepperdine won both meetings.  They beat the Pilots 54-47 in Malibu and 72-68 in Portland in overtime.

PROJECTED STARTERS 

Portland

Alec Wintering, 7.8 PPG, 4.6 APG

Bryce Pressley, 8.5 PPG, 3.3 APG

Bobby Sharp, 8.0 PPG or Kevin Bailey, 16.5 PPG

Ryan Nicholas, 12.6 PPG, 9.2 RPG

Thomas van der Mars, 12.6 PPG, 6.8 RPG

Pepperdine

Jeremy Major, 10.1 PPG, 4.4 APG

Amadi Udenyi, 6.1 PPG, 2.8 APG

Malcolm Brooks, 9.8 PPG

Jett Raines, 4.2 PPG

Brendan Lane, 14.0 PPG, 7.6 RPG

LIVESTREAM (Subject to blackout) *brought to you by thew.tv: 

KEYS TO THE GAME

Portland

Guards must step up, with or without Bailey:  It is currently unknown as to whether or not Kevin Bailey will suit up and play for the Pilots in Saturday’s home regular season finale.  But guards such as Sharp, Pressley, Wintering, and seniors Korey Thieleke and Tanner Riley have the ability to step up and make a difference with the strengths they bring to the court.  Whether its shooting from Pressley or intangibles from Thieleke, someone in the backcourt needs to step up.

Pepperdine

Get Skouen and Raines going: These two players fall under the same category because they both are playing drastically reduced minutes from last season.  Whether it be injury or the arrival of talented newcomers (Brooks, Major, Udenyi, Lane), these two have not lived up to their preseason potential.  But since they are now towards the bottom of the scouting report, they have the ability to shine underneath the radar and lead the Waves to a big road win.

KEY MATCHUP

Stacy Davis vs. Ryan Nicholas: Two highly skilled physical power forwards who will be going at it on both ends of the floor.  For Ryan Nicholas, this will be an emotional night as he will play his last ever game at the Chiles Center (unless the Pilots end up playing a CIT or CBI home game in the postseason), and he will need to control his emotions and match Davis, who just played a really good game against Gonzaga on Thursday.

PREDICTION

I am going to give two scores based on whether or not Kevin Bailey plays for Portland.  If he plays, Portland 82, Pepperdine 75.  If he doesn’t play, Pepperdine 73, Portland 71.