Portland (9-11, 1-4) vs. Loyola Marymount (7-12, 1-4)
Albert Gersten Pavilion, Los Angeles; Thursday, 10 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Portland looks to extend Loyola Marymount's conference losing streak to five games. Loyola Marymount's last WCC win came against the San Diego Toreros 64-58 on Jan. 2. Portland fell 77-67 at home to San Diego in its last outing.
STEPPING UP: The dynamic Eli Scott is averaging 16 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.6 assists to lead the way for the Lions. Ivan Alipiev has paired with Scott and is producing 10.3 points per game. The Pilots are led by Isaiah White, who is averaging 12.3 points.
FACILITATING THE OFFENSE: Scott has been directly responsible for 46 percent of all Loyola Marymount field goals over the last three games. Scott has 19 field goals and 12 assists in those games.
WINLESS WHEN: Portland is 0-5 when scoring fewer than 64 points and 9-6 when scoring at least 64.
PERFECT WHEN: The Lions are 5-0 when holding opponents to 41.3 percent or worse from the field, and 2-12 when opponents shoot better than that. The Pilots are 5-0 when at least four of their players score in double-figures and 4-11 on the year otherwise.
STIFLING DEFENSE: Loyola Marymount has forced opponents into committing turnovers on 21.2 percent of all possessions, the second-highest rate among all WCC teams. That figure has dropped to 20.6 percent during the team's four-game losing skid, however.
