| 04 March 2011
2011 West Coast Conference Tournament
The WCC Tournament kicks off tonight with two first round matchups featuring Portland vs. Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine vs. San Diego. Since the Pilots finished the conference season 7-7, the team was seeded in the bottom half of the division at #5.
Because of how the tournament is structured, the Pilots will have to win four games within four days in order to earn a berth in the 2011 NCAA Final Four Tournament. Alternatively, the top two teams in the bracket (Saint Mary’s, Gonzaga) will only have to win two games within two days for the same opportunity.
This system goes as follows: The #1 and #2 seeds have byes through the first two rounds and have an automatic entrance into the semifinals. The #3 and #4 seeds have a bye though the first round and have an automatic entrance into the quarterfinals. Teams ranked #5-#8 play right from the start.
This system is put in place to reward the teams that performed well during the season, while putting the bottom teams at a significant disadvantage. And while winning four games in a row isn’t impossible, the history is certainly not on Portland’s side, as no team in the 5th-8th position has ever won the tournament before.
However, no 5th seed in the tournament has ever finished the regular season with as many as 20 wins, either, so there’s always a first for everything.
The Pilots road to the WCC championship game starts tonight against Loyola Marymount at 6pm. Portland beat Loyola Marymount on two separate occasions during the year, although the two games looked drastically different from each other. The first featured a gripping 79-78 double-overtime win, while the second was a 71-48 blowout.
And while the Pilots will be the favorite to win tonight, there’s a chance they’ll have to do so without freshman point guard Tim Douglas, who is listed as a game time decision due to a foot injury. Eric Waterford is expected to start in his place if Douglas is unable to play.
If Portand wins tonight and moves on to the second round of the tournament, the team will face Santa Clara. If the Pilots win that game, they’ll move on to the third round and will face Saint Mary’s. From there, if the Pilots win again and make it to the championship game, they’re likely to face off Monday against either Gonzaga or San Francisco, who are the two favorites from the other side of the bracket.
Portland split its pair of games against both Santa Clara and Saint Mary’s during the conference season, so wins against each are certainly not out of the question.
Full Tournament Schedule (Click to view in full size): 
WCC All-Honors
The WCC All-Honors were also announced this week and three Portland players received recognition. Both Luke Sikma and Nemanja Mitrovic were named to the All-West Coast Conference first team and Jared Stohl earned honorable mention.
For Mitrovic, it was his first time receiving honors. The junior sharpshooter got an opportunity to start this year and responded by averaging 13.3 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. He also shot 41% from behind the 3-point line during league play and finished the season averaging 47.1% overall from beyond the arc. (5th best nationally).
Sikma had previously earned honorable mention, but it was his first time being named to first team. He earned this recognition by leading the WCC in rebounds with 10.6 per game and double-doubles with 14 overall. He also finished the season as the Pilots all-time leading rebounder.
It was Stohl’s third straight season earning honorable mention. He’ll graduate from Portland as the school’s career leader in 3-pointers made and second in the WCC all-time for career made 3’s, finishing with 328.
photo: portlandpilots.com
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