COMING UP ROSES: After experiencing some warmth in Oklahoma, the Seattle University men's basketball team flew back to the Pacific Northwest Sunday, heading straight for Portland in preparation of the next game on the 2009-10 schedule. Tuesday night, Seattle University and the University of Portland will meet for the 102nd time since 1946. Portland brings back almost its entire squad from the 2008-09 campaign and is one of the favorites to challenge Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference this season. Seattle University brings confidence into Tuesday's contest, having taken the Pilots to the limit in last season's game.
THE OKLAHOMA STATE GAME: Seattle University did not give up, putting together a 17-0 scoring run in the second half to come within ten points late in the second half, but Oklahoma State made its free throws down the stretch to finish with an 86-64 win Saturday afternoon at Gallagher-Iba Arena. Down 61-34 midway through the second half, SeattleU started the comeback with a jumper by Aaron Broussard and two made free throws each by Chris Gweth and Gavin Gilmore. Mike Boxley hit a three-pointer, and Charles Garcia scored five points within a minute to cut the Cowboy lead to 13 at 61-48. While Oklahoma State continued to miss shots, the Redhawks ran a successful play that resulted in a three-pointer from Taylor Olson. Gilmore answered two Cowboy baskets with a dunk and a layup to keep SeattleU within ten, but Oklahoma State went 11-for-14 from the free throw line over a two-minute span to pull away for the victory. Garcia led Seattle University with 18 points and nine rebounds. Broussard scored 12 points, Gilmore finished with seven points and seven rebounds, Boxley and Gweth also scored seven points each, and Cervante Burrell collected nine rebounds, five assists, and three steals.
SCOUTING PORTLAND: The Pilots come into the season after posting a 19-13 record in 2008-09, including a 9-5 record in West Coast Conference play, good enough to finish in third place. Portland was selected to play in the College Insider postseason tournament, losing to Pacific in the first round, 82-76, in Stockton, Calif. Portland welcomes back an experienced squad, with 12 returning letterwinners, including all five starters from last season. Senior Nik Raivio led the team in scoring and rebounding last season, averaging 16.0 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. Jared Stohl scored 11.2 points per game, while T.J. Campbell contributed 11.1 points and 4.7 assists per contest. Robin Smeulders added 10.6 points and 5.9 rebounds per game.
PORTLAND'S PREVIOUS GAME: The Pilots opened the 2009-10 season with a 64-58 victory over Eastern Washington Saturday afternoon in Cheney, Wash. Luke Sikma, son of former Seattle Supersonics star Jack Sikma, earned his fifth career double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds. Nik Raivio scored a team-high 16 points and pulled down nine rebounds, while T.J. Campbell scored 15 points thanks in large part to hitting 4-of-6 shots from behind the three-point line.
JEFF SAGARIN SAYS: The Sagarin ratings are one of the ways experts judge teams and potential matchups. As of Nov. 16, Portland is 172nd (71.79) , and SeattleU is 177th (71.53). Using this system, the Pilots would be favored to win by four points. Last season Seattle University finished 132nd in the Sagarin ratings after a 13-8 season against Division I opponents.
SERIES HISTORY: Seattle University has faced the University of Portland more than any other school, with Tuesday's game being the 102nd contest between the two Catholic universities. The first meeting took place during the 1946-47 season, a 59-55 victory for Seattle University. From 1947 to 1962, the two schools faced each other four times per season, twice in Seattle and twice in Portland. They still faced each other twice per season from the 1962-63 campaign through 1979-80, Seattle University's last year of its first Division I era. The 100th meeting took place during the 2005-06 season, with Division II Seattle University upsetting Portland at the Chiles Center, 88-85. Seattle U holds a 73-28 series lead over Portland.
LAST MEETING: Three days after Seattle University's return to KeyArena, the Redhawks headed down to Portland to face the Pilots at the Chiles Center. Despite 28 points from Austen Powers and 23 points by Chris Gweth, both career highs, SeattleU lost to Portland, 71-67. Jared Stohl hit two free throws and then pulled down a key offensive rebound to set up T.J. Campbell, who hit a three-pointer to give the Pilots a five-point lead with 2:27 remaining in the second half. SeattleU kept the pressure on with a basket by Shaun Burl and three-pointers by Powers and Gweth, but Portland hit 10-of-14 shots from the charity stripe in the final minute to hold off the Redhawks. Robin Smeulders led the way for the Pilots, hitting 8-of-9 shots from the field and 7-of-8 shots from the free throw line to finish with 22 points, plus he pulled down a game-high seven rebounds.
SEATTLEU AND THE WEST COAST CONFERENCE: The renewal of the rivalry between Seattle and Portland also brings to mind the fact that Seattle University was a member of the West Coast Conference, then known as the West Coast Athletic Conference (WCAC), from 1971 to 1980. Actually, Portland was not a conference foe for Seattle University until 1976 when the Pilots joined the conference. SeattleU's best season in the conference came in the 1973-74 season, when the team finished second in the conference with an 11-3 league record, behind only conference champion San Francisco. Clint Richardson is one of only four players to earn All-WCC honors four times, while Frank Oleynick was named All-WCC three times, including Player of the Year honors in the 1973-74 campaign.
VIEWING PARTY: Tuesday's game will be streamed live on Portland's website. The stream will be picked up at Kells Irish Restaurant and Pub (1916 Post Alley) for a viewing party to which all SeattleU basketball fans are invited. Kells will be hosting similar viewing parties for all SeattleU road games.
THE KEY TO FUTURE SUCCESS: The Seattle University men's basketball team returns to downtown Seattle this season, playing all regular season home games at KeyArena at Seattle Center. There are 13 games scheduled for KeyArena this season, beginning with a Nov. 19 contest against Fresno State and concluding with two-time defending Big Sky tournament champion Portland State on March 2. In between, the Redhawks welcome Weber State, UC Irvine, Oakland, Harvard, Utah Valley, Cal State Northridge, Idaho, Eastern Washington, Sacramento State, UC Davis, and Cal State Bakersfield to the former home of the Seattle Supersonics and the current home of the Seattle Storm of the WNBA. Back when it was known as the Seattle Center Coliseum, Seattle University used the downtown arena as its home court from 1964 to 1980. SeattleU closed out its stay at the Connolly Center in style last season, winning all nine regular season games in the North Court as well as the Janaury 1 game at KeyArena against Loyola Marymount, 49-39.
SPREADING THE WORD: Seattle University men's basketball games will be broadcast all season long on 710 ESPN Seattle, the sports station that also carries Seattle Mariners and Seattle Seahawks broadcasts as well as local shows featuring Brock Huard, Kevin Calabro, and John Clayton. Long-time Seattle sports talk radio personality Dave "The Groz" Grosby will handle the play-by-play duties with Gary Hill alongside.
NOTABLE CAREER NUMBERS: Last season, Chris Gweth moved into the top ten for most three-pointers made in a career, currently sitting in ninth place with 115 three-pointers, just three behind Sam Kirby in eighth place. Gweth is also fourth on the all-time list for three-point field-goal percentage, hitting 41.1 percent of his long distance shots over the past three seasons. Gweth is tenth on the school's all-time steals list with 114 career thefts. Mike Boxley is close to advancing into the top ten, coming into the 2009-10 season with 105 steals during his Redhawk career. With 223 more points this season, Gweth would become the 34th player in Seattle University men's basketball history to reach 1,000 points for a career.
A FAMILY AFFAIR: When looking for coaches to join his staff, Cameron Dollar did not have to look far to fill one of the assistant positions, just up the family tree. His father Donald Dollar joins the Seattle University men's basketball program after a long and distinguished career of coaching high school basketball in Georgia. He earned three state championships, 16 regional titles, 11 appearances in the state semifinals, and eight chances at the state title. Over 35 players who played for Donald Dollar have gone on to play at the Division I or Division II level, with four players having played or presently playing professional basketball. After moving into the college ranks and seeing success at his alma mater Morehouse College, Dollar has served as an assistant coach at the University of West Georgia for the past two seasons.