It’s easy for college basketball fans to forget about the Pacific Northwest as a hotbed. But one program in that part of the country that shouldn’t be overlooked is the Portland Pilots. While a lack of history makes it easy to find cheap Portland basketball tickets, the future is bright for the Pilots. They have steadily worked their way up the college basketball pecking order and have found a home in the West Coast Conference, one of the top mid-major leagues in the country. With the exposure from the conference and the program committed to winning, last-minute Portland basketball tickets are more in demand now than ever.

Just Taking Off

Portland basketball has been around since the 1920s, with the program finding its first sustained success in the 1950s. At that time, the Pilots competed at the NAIA level and qualified for the NAIA Tournament eight times between 1949 and 1958. This included a run to the semifinals in 1952, but a one-point loss to Murray State kept Portland from playing for a championship. That success helped take the Pilots to the Division I level, where they quickly qualified for the NCAA Tournament, reaching the Big Dance for the first time in 1959.

Flying Again

After Portland’s success in the 50s, the program endured plenty of down seasons. However, the Pilots wouldn’t stay grounded forever, taking flight again in the 90s. With a return to the NCAA Tournament in 1996, Portland was back on the way up. The early part of the 2000s brought a few more postseason appearances, albeit in the CIT. However, the Pilots have made progress in the 21st century and have the tools to become a serious contender in the West Coast Conference for many years to come.