Complete notes and stats in pdf

The Portland State Vikings will try to earn a split on their annual state of Montana trip when they face the Grizzlies this Saturday in Missoula. The Vikings lost at Montana State on Thursday, 74-65. PSU's game with Montana tips off at 6 p.m. It airs on Freedom 970 AM and www.970.am and can be seen via live stream at www.b2tv.com.
   
Portland State dropped to 9-7 following its loss to MSU. The Vikings are 2-2 in the Big Sky Conference and tied for fourth with Weber State.
   
It is still early, but the Big Sky is quickly becoming a league of “haves” and “have-nots.” The top three teams already have breathing room with Northern Colorado at 5-0, Montana and Montana State at 4-1. Meanwhile Eastern Washington, Idaho State and Northern Arizona sit far back at 1-3, while Sacramento State is in last place at 0-5. PSU and WSU sit in the middle at 2-2.
   
Although the Vikings play three of four at home beginning next week, a win in Missoula would be vital to staying in the league title chase. PSU is 1-5 on the road this year, 3-5 including neutral site games.
   
Montana picked up an easy win over Eastern Washington on Thursday, 66-47. The Grizzlies have won seven of their last eight games and have the best overall record in the Big Sky at 12-5. The Griz are 8-1 at home this year and have proven to be the best defensive team in the league as they lead the league in every major defensive category.

GETTING A WIN IN THE BIG SKY STATE ISN'T EASY
Winning a Big Sky basketball game in the state of Montana has been tough to say the least for the Vikings. PSU is 3-11 at Montana, 3-13 at Montana State all-time in the Big Sky state in Big Sky games. The Vikings have accomplished a sweep of the two schools just one time in 15 seasons. PSU's last win at Montana was 2007-08 (108-56).

Portland State is 9-35 all-time in games at Montana State (4-18) and Montana (5-17).

PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (9-7, 2-2) vs. MONTANA GRIZZLIES (12-5, 4-1)
Saturday, January 15, 2011, 6 p.m. PT @ Dahlberg Arena (7,500), Missoula, MT
Television: None
Radio: Freedom 970 AM, www.970.am • Play-by-play: Tom Hewitt • Pregame Show: 5:30 p.m. PT
Live Video Stream: www.b2tv.com • Live Stats: www.GoViks.com
All-Time Series: UM leads 25-20 • PSU in Missoula: 5-17
Big Sky Series: UM leads 17-11 • PSU in Missoula: 3-11

STORYLINES
• The series: Montana leads the all-time series, 25-20, and the Big Sky series, 17-11... the two teams have never met in a Big Sky Tournament game... PSU is 5-17 all-time Missoula, 3-11 in Big Sky Conference games... the Grizzlies swept last year's season series and have won the last three meetings... PSU's last win in Missoula came on Mar. 1, 2008 (108-56) and marked the Vikings largest point total in a Big Sky game and largest margin of victory ever against a Division I opponent.
• Last year: Montana swept the season series with the Vikings... the Grizzlies shot .582 from the field and commited only three turnovers in a 90-58 win on Jan. 9 in Missoula. Anthony Johnson had 20 points for the winners and Brian Qvale scored 19. Phil Nelson scored 16 points for Portland State... Johnson scored 22 in an 81-76 win over the Vikings on Feb. 12 in Portland. Jamie Jones had 26 points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots in the game for PSU.
• The Grizzlies: Montana was 22-10 last season, going 10-6 and taking the fourth seed in the Big Sky Conference. The Grizzlies went on to beat Northern Arizona, Northern Colorado and Weber State to win the Big Sky Conference Tournament and advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2005... two starters and five letterwinners return from that team... Head Coach Wayne Tinkle is in his fifth year at Montana and has an 82-58 record. He is 4-4 all-time against the Vikings.
• This year: Montana is 12-5 this season, 4-1 in the Big Sky Conference... the Vikings and Grizzlies have four common opponents: Cal State Fullerton, Nevada, Portland and Northern Colorado. PSU is 1-3 against those teams. UM is 2-3 (having beaten Fullerton twice)... Will Cherry leads the team with 16.1 points and 4.1 assists per game. He also averages a league-best 3.2 steals per game... 7-footer Brian Qvale averages 13.4 points, 8.1 rebounds and a league-best 3.2 blocked shots per game while shooting .588 from the field... Montana leads the league in scoring defense (59.5), scoring margin (+8.8), field goal percentage defense (.393), blocked shots (4.9), steals (7.5)... Montana has allowed only one opponent to score more than 67 points in the last 15 games.

GAME TIME CHANGE FOR JAN. 22 vs. NORTHERN ARIZONA
Portland State's Jan. 22 men's basketball game with Northern Arizona will tip off at an earlier time than originally scheduled. The game, which is the Altitude TV/Big Sky Conference Game of the Week, will tip off at 5:05 p.m. from the Stott Center.
   
This 5:05 start is a change from Portland State's normal 7:05 start time, and also a change from the originally listed 6:05 start time.
   
The game will air on Altitude TV, which is available on most satellite systems. It will not be available locally on Comcast Sports Net as normal as there is a conflict with the Portland Trail Blazers game with the Indiana Pacers that night.

MELVIN JONES WILL BE FEATURED IN “AMERICAN STORY”
SR G Melvin Jones is the subject of what will be a nationally-recognized feature on NBC's Today Show. Reporter Bob Dotson, who produces a regular feature called “American Story” on The Today Show, was in town last weekend to follow Melvin, his family and their unique story. The feature will appear on the Today Show later this month on a date to be announced.
   
Jones has already been featured on the front page of the Seattle Times and in the Portland Tribune for his inspiring story. Jones has risen up from a high school student on a path to failure to an Academic All-Conference level student at Portland State while excelling in the sport of basketball. He has done so with the assistance of his adoptive mother, Jennifer Annable, former high school coach, Kasey Poirrer, and their family.

GOOD STARTS: Since moving into the starting lineup five games ago, JR G Charles Odum has been red-hot. Odum has scored 83 points (30-46 FG, 8-13 3-pt FG, 15-22 FT) with 18 rebounds, 16 assists and seven steals. Odum led the team in scoring the first two games, then had a career-high 21 points in the third game... PSU is 3-2 with Odum in the starting lineup where he averages 16.6 points.

NO GIVEAWAYS HERE: Moving Odum into the starting lineup has meant moving SR G Melvin Jones over to the point from his more comfortable shooting guard role. Jones has responded by playing 156 minutes and committing just four turnovers in the five games.

BIG SKY LEADERS: Portland State is tied for leadership in the Big Sky Conference in scoring (74.9), while leading in three-point field goal defense (.321)... in conference-only statistics, PSU leads in three-pointers made (8.3)... JR G Charles Odum leads the Big Sky in field goal percentage in league games (.694)... SO G Chris Harriel has the most consecutive double-figure scoring games (14) among all Big Sky players. Harriel also leads the league in three-pointers made (2.8 pg) and steals (2.0) in conference games... JR F Chehales Tapscott has the most double-doubles in the conference this season (5).

HOW ABOUT A HAND FOR THE DEFENSE: Portland State's up-tempo style means the Vikings will naturally give up more points than most teams. As a result they rank eighth in scoring defense (73.9) in the Big Sky.  However, the defense is much improved over last year when it gave up 79.2 points per game. Moreover, the Vikings held Eastern Washington (1/8) to just 58 points and a season-opponent low .308 field goal percentage. That marked the fourth time this year PSU has held an opponent in the 50s compared to just once last season. Not coincidently, the Vikings are 4-0 in those games.

RETURN OF THE THREE: A much-needed strong three-point shooting performance led Portland State to a 79-72 win at Idaho State on Jan. 2. The Vikings made a season-high 14-25 (.560) from distance in the win. In four Big Sky games, the Vikings are averaging 8.3 made per contest and .398 percentage. With the return of SR F Phil Nelson, the Vikings hope to replicate that stat the rest of the way... PSU's three-point shooting has been down from recent years when the Vikings were regularly among the top long-range shooting teams in the Big Sky Conference. The Vikings led the Big Sky in three pointers in 2007-08 and 2008-09. PSU had been averaging just 6.2 three-pointers made and .326 percentage in non-conference games.

HALF-NELSON: SR F Phil Nelson made his long-awaited return to the hardwood last Saturday night. Nelson had missed 26 straight games after breaking his left foot twice. Nelson broke his foot late last January, missing the final 12 games of the season. He had been averaging 12.9 points and had 48 three-point field goals through 20 games. Nelson reinjured the foot on Nov. 8 and missed the first 14 games of this year. PSU went 13-13 in the 26 games Nelson had missed since Jan. 30... Nelson began practicing last Thursday, and is admittedly rusty and not in game condition. He was limited to two-minute stretches against Eastern Washington.  Though he had just three points, one rebound and one steal in 16 minutes, his presence on the floor forced the Eagles to be accountable for him and took some pressure off his teammates. Nelson came back to hit 3-9 three-pointers at Montana State for nine points and four rebounds in 26 minutes... prior to coming off the bench against Eastern Washington, Nelson had started the previous 53 games off his Viking career. PSU is 31-22 in those games and 32-23 overall in games he plays.

A SIMPLE ANALYSIS: Portland State is 6-1 when outshooting opponents, 4-0 when outrebounding opponents... the Vikings are just 0-5 when failing to score at least 69 points, and 6-0 when scoring 79 points or more.