Portland @ USF Game Preview
By Mary Harvill
Jan 18, 2014; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Diego Toreros forward/center Jito Kok (33) loses control of the ball against San Francisco Dons forward Kruize Pinkins (15) and guard Matt Glover (5) during the first half at War Memorial Gymnasium. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports
USF Dons (9-14; 3-8 Conf) vs. University of Portland Pilots (12-10; 3-7 Conf)
Date and Time: Thursday, February 5, 2015 at 6:00 PST
Location: War Memorial Gymnasium, San Francisco, CA
TV: CSN Sports Net Bay Area
Audio: http://new.livestream.com/thewtv/USFmbbaudioonly
Radio Sports 910 http://v6.player.abacast.net/2150
Meet the Teams
USF handily beat UP in Portland at their house last time around. Will UP be geared to return the favor to USF on their home court?
The Dons are playing closer to their opponents as evidenced in their games last week against BYU and San Diego. Currently they are 9th out of 10 teams in the WCC. The last game between USF and UP game is when Devin Watson caught his stride as USF’s point guard. Since then, Watson’s play and on floor leadership at the point has continued to get stronger. Matt Glover has been helpful in the rebounding department, Mark Tollefsen, Kruize Pinkins and Tim Derksen have maintained their solid consistency.
The Dons should win against Portland again but Portland will not go down without a fight. The Dons will answer the challenge. Get hot or go home.
USF Players to Watch
Aside from the usual suspects, Matt Christianson has been adding a lot of mass under the basket and Uche Ofoegbu has made an appearance or two which is good in case he is needed during the conference tournament and looking ahead to next year.
Portland
Kevin Bailey is back and brings with him 13.2 points per game which is slightly below his average last season at 16.5 points per game. Though Portland got a serious beat down playing Gonzaga in Spokane last Thursday, the team has played quite well against everyone else in the WCC and currently is 7th in the league standings. Portland has their own rebounding show in Senior Voldy Gerun combined with the intelligence and experience of Thomas van der Mars in the middle. Bryce Pressley adds a lot of balance to the mix and Bobby Sharp is still killing it with his 3 point shot. Look for Portland to come out of the gate blazing with a take no prisoner’s style led by their dominant point guard Alec Wintering.
UP Players to Watch
Aside from the players on the floor, the best entertainment to watch is on Portland’s sideline with the combination of Eric Reveno’s height, the petite Herb Brown and one of the top 100 sexiest college basketball coaches, Colin Pfaff. Assistant Coaches Jackson and Wolf quietly do their fair share of heavy lifting behind the scenes to assure the team’s success. The athletes in this program have a 100% college graduation rate which is the most impressive statistic of all.