LMU hosts Portland tonight

The Lions are 5-3 in conference play, with losses to only the top-three teams in the WCC. The team hopes to keep it that way tonight, when they host the 2-6 Portland Pilots. Last year, the Pilots won both regular season match-ups against the Lions before LMU shocked Portland in Vegas, eliminating them from the WCC Tournament. The Pilots enter Gersten having lost five straight games.

Portland is led by sophomore forward Ryan Nicholas, who is leading the team with 11.3 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. The Pilots are coming off of a 12-point loss to Gonzaga, a game that was much closer than the score shows.

The Lions need a win to keep a firm hold on the fourth spot in the WCC standings, with San Francisco only 1.5 games behind. While the LMU/Portland game (7 p.m. start) is important for the Lions and their fans, it is clearly not the cream of the crop when it comes to WCC match-ups tonight, as undefeated Saint Mary's is traveling to BYU in what should be a great showdown. That game tips off at 6 p.m. on ESPNU. The LMU game can be seen live on Fox Sports West.