NCAA Tournament March Madness

#269 Portland

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Projection: need to automatically qualify

Portland's journey to the Big Dance is clear-cut—they need to clinch their conference tournament for an automatic bid because their regular-season performance, lacking standout wins and marred by defensive woes, doesn't cut it for an at-large bid. Despite the boost from topping Loy Marymount and a convincing win against San Francisco in their conference tournament, the lackluster overall record, and struggles against top-tier opponents like Nevada, St. Mary's, and Gonzaga indicate they're a tier below NCAA tournament at-large caliber. The regular-season record reflects inconsistency, and while Portland has proved capable of competing with middle-of-the-road teams, their performances against these higher-ranked teams underscore the improvements needed, particularly on defense, to be considered contenders. Ultimately, it's win the conference championship or bust for the Pilots.

Date Opponent Ranking Outcome
11/6Long Beach St157W78-73
11/12UC Riverside210W76-65
11/15Tennessee St282L75-65
11/18@Nevada24L108-83
11/28@Portland St249L75-74
12/1Wyoming161W81-70
12/3Air Force288L80-58
12/7@N Dakota St279L78-67
12/9@North Dakota250W83-72
12/16(N)Grand Canyon45L91-63
12/21@Hawaii168L69-56
12/22(N)Massachusetts94L100-78
12/24(N)Temple200L55-54
1/6Pacific355W78-64
1/11@St Mary's CA39L95-52
1/13@San Francisco89L96-69
1/20@Santa Clara107L101-86
1/23San Diego251L85-81
1/25@Loy Marymount242L92-65
1/27San Francisco89L76-64
2/1@Pacific355W65-60
2/3Pepperdine241W93-89
2/7@Gonzaga14L96-64
2/10St Mary's CA39L76-51
2/15@San Diego251L71-66
2/17@Pepperdine241L91-70
2/22Gonzaga14L86-65
2/29Santa Clara107W80-75
3/2Loy Marymount242W70-60
3/8(N)Loy Marymount242W78-70
3/10(N)San Francisco89L72-51