Portland (+3.5) vs Santa Clara - 8:20pm Pacific - Game #755-756

Just before the end of Portland's six game losing streak during the heart of conference play sophomore forward Marcus Lewis was dismissed from the team.  Lewis was third on the team in scoring and their best inside scorer.  After his departure Portland made a concerted effort to push the tempo of games and get more looks at the basket.  After averaging just 58ppg in previous 5 games, they averaged 79.4ppg in their last 5 games.  At the same time their defense improved and they went 3-2 in the span with only losses coming vs Gonzaga and vs USF by 2 in OT.  Their season finale may have been their best overall performance of the season, a convincing 90-72 win over San Diego.  Portland is led by a trio of senior perimeter players which is always a good thing to have in the postseason.  Point guard Pooh Jeter was named to the WCC first team and backcourt mate Darren Cooper was named WCC honorable mention.  The departure of Lewis also opened up playing time for promising freshman forwards Alex Tiefenthaler and Jamie Jones.  Neither played much at all in the first half of the season but have become impact players in recent weeks.  Jones has averaged 8 rebounds per game in last four despite limited minutes and Tiefenthaler is coming off a career high 15 point, 9 rebound performance vs USD.  They have given the team a big lift.

 

Santa Clara won both regular season meetings but Portland was slumping and did not play well in either game.  The Broncos have had trouble scoring points all season and while they did show some improvement down the stretch, most of their success this year has been at home.  They are 3-10 away from the Leavey Center.  Santa Clara features only one senior, lacks depth, and will have a tough time matching the determination of a upperclassmen laden Pilot team in this spot.  Take the points.

 

RAS Official Play:  Portland +3.5  1 UNIT