University of Portland NCAA News

The University of Portland men's basketball team, which won two out of three against high-powered competition at a tournament last weekend in Anaheim, Calif., has moved into the top 25.

Eastern Connecticut remained unbeaten with its third straight overtime victory, defeating Connecticut College 75-74 on Sunday in New London.

As the highest ranked team in the field, West Virginia was expected to reach the finals of the 76 Classic.

Duke beating Connecticut and Mike Krzyzewski defending the world's attack on his team's so-called lack of athleticism was wonderful, as was Florida's upset of Michigan State.

Preview: Many must have suspected the winner of the Gophers-Butler game would face UCLA in the semifinals of the 76 Classic, but the Bruins got blown away by Portland 74-47 in Thursday's final game in Anaheim.

GAME NOTES: The University of Portland Pilots will try to remain perfect on the season when they take on the UCLA Bruins in the 76 Classic at the Anaheim Convention Center.

UCLA's basketball team heads into today's 76 Classic at Anaheim Convention Center, one of the nation's toughest preseason tournaments, on the heels of a sluggish start with young players.

They are big girls who didn't back down on the court from big brothers who are now Division I college basketball players.

At this rate, the Pac-10 may only have one team dancing come March. It began with Oregon State losing a pair in Lubbock to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Texas Tech two weeks ago.

Nik Raivio scored 24 points to lead a big second-half turnaround as Portland registered an 88-81 victory over Oregon on Saturday.

Does the Duck mascot's hip-hop act put UO's deal with Disney in peril? "I Love My Ducks" was produced and written by the student trio of Brian McAndrew, Jamie Slade and Michael Bishop.

Robin Smeulders scored 24 points on 9-of-12 shooting to lead Portland to a 98-81 victory over Seattle in its home opener Tuesday night.

Seniors Benny Valentine and Brandon Moore combined for 34 points, but the Eastern Washington University men's basketball team couldn't overcome 21 percent shooting in the first half and fell to Portland Saturday at Reese Court in Cheney, Wash.

Nik Raivio scored 16 points and Luke Sikma added 13 points and 14 rebounds, helping Portland hold off Eastern Washington 64-58 on Saturday in the season opener for both teams.

Kirk Earlywine admits his team will "jump right into the fire" as the 2009-10 season officially gets underway this week with a trio of games in the span of four nights.

Heading into the 2009-10 season, Portland senior forward Robin Smeulders and the other Pilots have high expectations.

ISU's Eldridge is a lethal one-on-one scorer Over the next few months I'll be taking a look at the best that college basketball has to offer heading into this upcoming season.

PORTLAND, Ore. Lopsided though it was, the Linfield Wildcats got a taste of live game competition in an exhibition game Saturday night against the Portland Pilots.

Big guard Nik Raivio is one of five seniors boosting the Portland Pilots' hopes for a high finish in the West Coast Conference and an improvement on last season's 19-13 record.

Preseason coaches balloting for West Coast Conference : 1. Gonzaga a ' 48 2. Portland a ' 44 3. Saint Mary's a ' 34 4. San Francisco a ' 26 6. San Diego a ' 21 7. Pepperdine a ' 13 8. Loyola Marymount a ' 12 All-Conference picks: Keion Bell, Pepperdine; Matt Bouldin and Steven Gray, Gonzaga; T.J. Campbell and Nik Raivio, Portland; Jared DuBois, ...