NEW ORLEANS – The University of New Orleans has learned its opponent for the first round of The Basketball Classic, presented by ERACISM.
New Orleans (18-13, 10-4 Southland) will face the University of Portland Pilots (18-14, 7-7 WCC) on Saturday night at the Chiles Center in Portland, Oregon with tipoff set for 9:00 CST. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+, and can be heard locally on NASH 106.1 FM.
ABOUT THE PILOTS
The Pilots are coming off a 91-67 loss to the Santa Clara Broncs in the quarterfinals of the WCC Conference tournament. Their 18-14 record this season was their first season over .500 since 2014-15, and the most wins since 2010-2011. They shoot 80% from the free throw line as a team – the third best mark in the NCAA. All-WCC sophomore guard Tyler Robertson averaged 14.9 points per game, 6.3 rebounds per game, and 4.4 assists per game.
UNO vs. THE PILOTS / STATE OF OREGON / WCC
Wednesday night's match up will be the first between the two programs. Against teams from the Beaver State New Orleans holds a 3-5 record, with 1-3 mark in Oregon. UNO hasn't been to Oregon since a 1995 loss to Oregon State, and hasn't won there since a win over Lewis & Clark in 1995.
Against current members of the WCC the Privateers are 5-6 all-time with a 1-3 mark on the road. The last meeting against a member of the WCC was last year's season opener at BYU, a 86-61 loss in Provo.
HEAD COACH MARK SLESSINGER
"We are excited to head out West and play in the Basketball Classic presented by ERACISM against the University of Portland. They have a very good team in the ruggest West Coast Conference. This is a great opportunity for our student-athletes to not only play in the postseason but get a great life experience traveling to a part of the country that very few of them have visited. We look forward to representing the faculty, staff, students, alumni and the World's Greatest City this week. Let's Geaux!"
SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans are encouraged to follow
@UNOPrivateers on Twitter,
@PrivateersMBB on Instagram, like
/PrivateersMBB on Facebook and subscribe to the
PrivateerAthletics YouTube channel.
