The Big Sky Conference's men's basketball “Game of the Week” on Altitude Sports & Entertainment tips off its second season this Sunday as defending Big Sky champion Portland State takes on Northern Arizona in a rematch of last year's league championship game. All Big Sky Games of the Week will air in the Portland area on Comcast Sports Net channel 37.

The contest from the Walkup Skydome in Flagstaff, Ariz., begins at 1 p.m. PT. It can be seen live on Altitude, as well as Comcast Sports Net. Altitude is also available on DirecTV channel 681 and Dish Network channel 410, as well as many cable packages in Montana, Idaho, Utah and Colorado. Jeff Friedman will handle play-by-play duties with former Weber State and Idaho head coach Joe Cravens providing color commentary.

Portland State has grabbed national headlines recently, following its upset of seventh-ranked Gonzaga on Dec. 23. The Vikings (10-4) were selected by ESPN's Dick Vitale as his “Team of the Week” in his weekly column on ESPN.com. The Vikings, who take on Sacramento State on Friday, are 1-0 in conference and ranked 10th in the Collegeinsider.com mid-major poll.

Northern Arizona dropped its first conference game of the season, 81-79 to Northern Colorado on Monday. Mike Adras' Lumberjacks are 3-9 entering Friday's home game against Eastern Washington.

Portland State is led by reigning Big Sky MVP Jeremiah Dominguez. The 5-foot-6 senior guard scored 25 points in the victory over Gonzaga. He is one of five Vikings averaging in double figures.

Northern Arizona guard Matt Johnson scored 25 points in the loss to Northern Colorado, and leads the team with an average of 11.9 points per game. NAU senior point guard Josh Wilson needs just nine assists to become the fifth player in league history to reach 600 assists in a career.

Portland State beat Northern Arizona 67-51 in the 2008 Big Sky Championship at the Rose Garden in Portland. The Vikings advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history. Portland State compiled a 26-7 record during the calendar year of 2008. Portland State has won 15 straight games over Big Sky opponents.

Altitude Sports & Entertainment will televise a Big Sky regular-season game each of the next nine weeks. Seven games will be televised Sunday beginning at 2 p.m. Mountain. Eastern Washington will take on Idaho State on Saturday, Feb. 14 at 4 p.m., and the Bengals will battle Montana on Saturday, Feb. 21 at 4:30 p.m.

Altitude will also televise the Big Sky Conference men's semifinals on Tuesday, March 10, as well as the Big Sky women's basketball championship on Saturday, March 14.

Altitude/Comcast Big Sky Game of the Week Schedule (All games 1 p.m. PT unless listed otherwise)

Sunday, Jan. 4,  Portland State at Northern Arizona
Sunday, Jan. 11, Weber State at Eastern Washington     
Sunday, Jan. 18, Portland State at Northern Colorado   
Sunday, Jan. 25, Northern Colorado at Montana             
Sunday, Feb. 1, Portland State at Montana State        
Sunday, Feb. 8, Sacramento State at Portland State   
Saturday, Feb. 14, Eastern Washington at Idaho State (4 p.m.)
Saturday, Feb. 21, Idaho State at Montana (4:30 p.m.)
Sunday, March 1, Montana State at Northern Colorado
Tuesday, March 10, Conference Semifinals, TBA

 

*Times listed are Local to Site for Sunday Game of the Week.