complete notes and stats in pdf

Portland State begins its 16th season as a Big Sky Conference member after Christmas, playing at Montana and Montana State. The Vikings travel to Missoula on Wednesday to face the Grizzlies, then Bozeman on Friday to battle the Bobcats. Both games tip off at 6:05 p.m. PT.  They can be heard on Freedom 970 AM and www.freedom970.com. Live video streaming is available for free at www.b2tv.com for all Big Sky Conference games.
    
PSU completed its preseason schedule at 6-6. The Vikings were 4-0 at home, 0-6 on the road and 2-0 at neutral sites. After a 5-2 start, Portland State has lost two in a row and four of five. All four losses were road games.
    
Montana will begin Big Sky Conference play with a 7-5 record and two-game winning streak. The Grizzlies are 5-2 at home. Montana was a consensus number two pick in Big Sky preseason polls.
    
Montana State has lost three games in a row and stands at 5-6 overall. The Bobcats are 3-2 at home. MSU is a consensus number seven pick in Big Sky preseason polls.
    
Portland State has two more non-conference games later this season: at an ESPN Bracketbuster opponent to be named (Feb. 18) and at Seattle (Mar. 10). The Vikings open Big Sky Conference play at home against Northern Arizona on Jan. 5.

GETTING A WIN IN THE TREASURE 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 3-12 at Montana, 3-13 at Montana State all-time in the Treasure State in Big Sky games. The Vikings have accomplished a sweep of the two schools just one time in 15 seasons... Portland State is 9-36 all-time in games at Montana State (4-18) and Montana (5-18).

PORTLAND STATE IN THE BIG SKY CONFERENCE
Portland State begin its 16th season as a member of the Big Sky Conference. PSU won the 2004-05 and 2007-08 Big Sky Conference regular season titles and won the 2008 and 2009 Big Sky Conference Tournament titles, advancing to the NCAA Tournament. The Vikings have had six winning records in conference play and earned nine Big Sky Tournament berths in 12 seasons eligible. The Vikings are 7-7 all-time in the tourney.
    
The Vikings have been picked to place fifth in both the Big Sky Conference media poll and coaches poll this season.

PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (6-6) vs. MONTANA GRIZZLIES (7-5)
Wednesday, December 28, 2011, 6:05 p.m. @ Dahlberg Arena (7,500), Missoula, MT
Television: None
Radio: Freedom 970 AM, www.freedom970.com • Play-by-play: Tom Hewitt • Pregame Show: 6 p.m.
Live Video Stream: www.b2tv.com • Live Stats: www.GoViks.com
All-Time Series: UM leads 27-20 • PSU in Missoula: 5-18
Big Sky Series: UM leads 19-11 • PSU in Missoula: 3-12

STORYLINES
• The series: Portland State and Montana will meet for the 31st time in a Big Sky Conference game and 48th time in history. Montana leads the all-time series 27-20 and Big Sky series, 19-11... the Grizzlies have won five straight in the series... Montana holds a 12-3 advantage in Big Sky games in Missoula.
• Last year: Montana swept the season series, winning 77-70 in Missoula and 85-84 in Portland... Will Cherry had 43 points and 17 assists in the two wins for the Grizzlies... for the Vikings, Charles Odum scored 41 points with nine rebounds and nine assists in the two games... Chehales Tapscott scored a career-high 28 points on 12-16 shooting in the Vikings' loss in Portland.
• The Grizzlies: Montana was 21-11 last season, 12-4 in the Big Sky Conference. The Grizzlies placed second in the league and advanced to the post-season College Basketball Invitational... throughout history, Montana has won five Big Sky Conference season titles, and seven Big Sky Tournament titles... Montana has played in the NCAA Tournament eight times... four starters and eight letterwinners return from last year's team... first team All-Big Sky selection Will Cherry is leading the Grizzlies in scoring at 14.0 points per game, assists (3.5) and steals (2.2)... Kareem Jamar averages 13.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists, while shooting .444 from three-point range... 7-footer Derek Selvig is the team's top rebounder (7.2)... Montana leads the Big Sky in scoring defense (63.8) and field goal percentage defense (.420).
• Head Coach Wayne Tinkle is in his sixth year at Montana and has a 98-69 record. Tinkle is 5-3 all-time against Portland State.

PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (6-6) vs. MONTANA STATE BOBCATS (5-6)
Friday, December 30, 2011, 6:05 p.m. @ Worthington Arena (7,250), Bozeman, MT
Television: None
Radio: Freedom 970 AM, www.freedom970.com • Play-by-play: Tom Hewitt • Pregame Show: 6 p.m.
Live Video Stream: www.b2tv.com • Live Stats: www.GoViks.com
All-Time Series: MSU leads 25-18 • PSU in Bozeman: 4-18
Big Sky Series: MSU leads 19-15 • PSU in Bozeman: 3-13

STORYLINES
• The series: Montana State leads the all-time (25-18) and Big Sky (19-15) series with Portland State... MSU leads 13-3 in Big Sky games in Bozeman... Portland State has won all three meetings between the schools in Big Sky Tournament play... in 2009, PSU beat Montana State, 79-77, in the Big Sky Tournament championship played in Ogden, UT... in 2010, PSU won a quarterfinal round game at Bozeman, 68-65.
• Last year: The teams split the season series with each winning on its home court... MSU won in Bozeman on Jan. 13, 74-65, despite making only 6-22 free throws... the Vikings won in Portland on Feb. 26, 69-64.... Charles Odum scored 31 points in the two games against the Bobcats, hitting 11-18 FGs, 4-7 3-pt FGs, and 4-4 FTs.
• The Bobcats: Montana State was 13-18 overall in 2010-11. The Bobcats were 7-9 in Big Sky play, tying for fifth... MSU has won four Big Sky season championships and two Big Sky Tournament championships during its history. The Bobcats have made three NCAA Tournament appearances... one starter and five letterwinners return from last season... Xavier Blount is the Bobcats' leading scorer at 11.6 points per game... Tre Johnson averages 9.9 points and a team-best 6.4 rebounds per game... Mohammed Fall leads the Big Sky in blocked shots (1.6)... as a team, Montana State leads the Big Sky in blocked shots (4.1) and steals (8.2).
• Head Coach Brad Huse is in his sixth year at Montana State and has a 73-89 record... in 14 seasons overall, Huse has a 257-149 record... Huse is 5-8 all-time against Portland State.

VIKING HEAD COACH TYLER GEVING
Tyler Geving is in his third season as Head Coach and seventh season overall with the Portland State program. He was 13-19 in 2009-10 and led PSU to the Big Sky Tournament semifinals. In 2010-11, his Vikings were 14-16 overall.
    
Geving is a 1996 graduate of Central Washington and has been in collegiate coaching for 17 years.
    
The third-year Head Coach is assisted by Andy McClouskey (2nd year, Oregon State, 1982), Eric Harper (7th year, Central Washington, 1995) and Anthony Owens (3rd year, Great Falls, 2006). Former Viking player Mickey Polis is the Director of Operations (3rd year, Portland State, 2009).
    
Geving's record breakdown:
    • Geving is 33-41 all-time at Portland State.
    • 13-21 all-time against Big Sky Conference opponents, 20-20 all-time in non-conference games.
    • Geving is 22-9 at home. He is 11-32 on the road, including 4-2 in neutral site games.
    • Geving is 0-4 all-time against Montana. He is 2-3 all-time against Montana State.

GAME WEEK ACTIVITIES
VIKINGS ON THE RADIO: All Portland State basketball games can be heard on Freedom 970 AM and www.freedom970.com. The Viking Pregame Show begins one-half hour prior to kickoff each week. Tom Hewitt does the play-by-play.
VIKINGS ON TELEVISION: Currently, Portland State has four games that are scheduled to be televised in the Portland area. They are: Nov. 11 against Denver (tape delay at 10:30) on Root Sports; Dec. 12 at Oregon on CSN; Dec. 18 at Oregon State on Root Sports; and Jan. 29 vs. Montana on Altitude/CSN. Other televised games are TBA.
VIKINGS ON THE INTERNET: Live streaming video of all Portland State home and Big Sky Conference games can be seen free at www.b2tv.com... Live stats for Portland State home games are at www.GoViks.com.
TICKETS: Tickets for all home games are available for $15 (reserved) and $10 (general admission). Youth prices are $10 and $7. Groups of 15 or more get special admission prices. To purchase tickets by phone, call 1.888.VIK.TIKS or 503.725.3307. Tickets are on sale at the PSU Ticket Office, located in Smith Memorial Student Union. Tickets are also available at the Stott Center beginning 90 minutes prior to tipoff.

FAST BREAKS
WINNING LINES  
• The Vikings are 4-0 at home this year and have won five straight home games overall... PSU was 10-5 at home in 2010-11, 4-4 in Big Sky home games... over the last five seasons, PSU is 59-14 at home, including 29-11 in Big Sky Conference games.
• The Vikings are 2-6 on the road this season, which includes two neutral site wins... the Vikings have lost four straight road games... the Vikings were 4-11 on the road in 2010-11, including 2-0 in neutral site games... PSU was 1-7 in Big Sky road games.
• PSU has gone 115-38 in 153 games at the Stott Center since the 1996-97 season. Including home games at Memorial Coliseum (12-6) and the Rose Garden (19-9), the Vikings are 146-53 at home over the past 16 seasons.
• PSU is 37-27 in Big Sky games since the start of the 2007-08 season, 42-28 including tournament games.

BIG SKY BEST: The Viking team leads the Big Sky Conference in field goal percentage (.478) and rebounding margin (+5.8)... JR F Chehales Tapscott leads the Big Sky Conference in rebounding (8.8)... SR G Charles Odum ranks third in scoring (16.7) and second in free throw percentage (.891)... SR C Nate Lozeau leads the league in field goal percentage (.640).

FREE IS A GOOD PRICE: For the second year in a row, Portland State is doing a great job of getting to the free throw line. So far, PSU has made 38 more free throws than its opponents have attempted (PSU 210-285, .737; Opponents 137-179, .765).

LIGHTS OUT: Portland State's .673 (33-49) shooting performance against CSU Bakersfield (12/15) was easily its best of the season. It was also the best shooting by a Viking team in 66 games. The last time PSU shot better was a 33-48 (.688) performance against Eastern Washington on Dec. 5, 2009... the Vikings have shot over 50% four times this season, including .531 at Cal State Fullerton (34-64).

PERILOUS PERIMETER: Portland State had been struggling mightily from three-point range through the first nine games, hitting 37-157, .236, but over the last three contests, they have come around... PSU is 17-42  (.405) in its last three games... this came after the Vikings made a season-worst 1-14 (.071) from three-point range in a six-point loss at Utah Valley, then were just 5-19 at Oregon (.263)... currently, PSU is shooting .271 from distance and making 4.5 per game. That is way down from a team that has averaged between seven and nine per game over the last four years, while shooting between .352 and .393 each year (and leading the Big Sky in scoring each year).

GUARD GAME: Are the Viking guards emerging?.... PSU's four guards (SR Charles Odum, JRs Lateef McMullan and Michael Harthun, FR Gary Winston) had their best combined effort of the season against CSUB. The foursome hit 21-30 field goals (.700), 4-8 three-pointers (.500) and 14-22 free throws (.636) for 60 points, an average of 15.0 per man. In addition, they had 14 rebounds, 16 assists and three steals... Winston missed the last two games with a quad injury. In those games, Odum, McMullan and Harthun combined for 81 points (13.5 per man), 15 rebounds and 12 assists, hitting 30-61 FGs, 9-22 3-pt FGs, 12-16 FTs.

DEFENSIVE DIVISION: Through the first seven games of the season, the Vikings were allowing just 61.0 points to rank first in the Big Sky. The most any opponent had scored was 69 points. Aiding the effort was a +10.0 rebounding margin - which led the Big Sky as well... however, the Vikings have given up 90.3 points per game over the last five (161-310 opp FG, .519), losing four. The level of competition has been admittedly much tougher in those games including a pair of Pac-12 opponents and the Big West favorite (CSF), but the Vikings will have to put the clamps back on to get back in the win column.

CHUCK WAGON: SR G Charles Odum has been the Vikings' offensive leader this season, averaging a team-high 16.7 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.5 steals. He is shooting a stellar .493 from the field and .891 at the line. Odum's shooting would be even better if he could find the range from three-point distance. After hitting .395 from three-point range in 2010-11, Odum is just 7-42 (.167) so far this year. That means he is shooting 61-96 on two-point attempts, a remarkable .635 percentage. Season highlights:
• Odum has scored in double figures in 10 games this season and has three 20-point games.
• Odum ranks third in scoring and free throw percentage, and fifth in steals in the Big Sky.
• He was at his best at the Wyoming Jim Thorpe Classic, earning All-Tournament honors. Odum scored a career-high 27 points in a win over Louisiana Tech, then followed it with 25 points in a win over Maryland-Eastern Shore. He shot 16-28 from the field (.571) in those two games and 18-20 at the line (.900).

“BIGS” BASKETS: Every member of Portland State's “big guys” is currently shooting .500 or better, all the way down the roster: JR F Renado Parker (.645), SR C Nate Lozeau (.640), FR F Kidus Ephrem (.538), SR F Chehales Tapscott (.520) and FR C Brandon Cataldo (.533)... the result is PSU shoots a Big Sky-best .478 from the field as a team.
 
TAP-INS: SR F Chehales Tapscott is a double-double waiting to happen. He is averaging 13.9 points and 8.8 rebounds this season with a Big Sky best five double-doubles... Tapscott also leads the Vikings with 11 blocked shots and 18 steals... he handed out a career-high six assists at Cal State Fullerton. Highlights this year:
• Tapscott is shooting .520 from the field and .747 at the line.
• Tapscott has five double-doubles this year to lead the Big Sky, and 11 in 36 career games at Portland State.
• Tapscott ranks first in rebounding, fourth in field goal percentage, and sixth in scoring and blocked shots in the Big Sky.
• Tapscott was named to the Wyoming Jim Thorpe Classic All-Tournament team (11.7 ppg, 8.3 rpg, five assists, four blocks, four steals).
• The 6-5 forward scored six of the final eight points in a win over Seattle (11/15), bringing PSU back from a seven-point deficit with 1:39 to play. He hit the game-winning shot with 4.6 seconds to play.

NATE'S NOTES: SR C Nate Lozeau scored a career-high 19 points at Denver. He followed that with 13 points and a career-high 11 rebounds in the win over Seattle... Lozeau then had another career high with 12 rebounds against Linfield. Highlights this year:
• Lozeau is shooting .640 from the field (55-86) to lead the Big Sky Conference. He is averaging 11.2 points and 6.6 rebounds (15th and 5th, respectively, in the Big Sky). Those numbers are up dramatically from 4.7 points and 2.4 rebounds last year.
• Lozeau has posted three double-doubles (four career).

COMING ON: JR G Lateef McMullan started slow but has come on of late, averaging 14.0 points and 3.0 assists while shooting .453 from the field over his last six games. He had been averaging 5.7 points and 2.0 assists  while shooting .200 from the field in the six games prior to that.

FULL HOUSE: The Vikings finally have their full complement of players available for the 2011-12 season. JR F Martin Whitmore has now played in three games after being out with an elbow injury suffered in a preseason exhibition game... JR F Renado Parker became eligible when fall term ended due to his transfer status (arriving for winter term last year). The 6-5 post has averaged 9.4 points and 4.4 rebounds while shooting a team-best .645 from the field... the Vikings had gotten NCAA clearance for FR G Gary Winston in game three. He averages 7.0 points and shoots 46% from three-point range to lead the Vikings... Parker, Winston and Whitmore will likely be the first three off the bench for the Vikings this season.

WAITING THEIR TURN: Portland State has five freshmen on its roster for the first time since the mid-90s. With the exception of G Gary Winston, the other four have seen limited minutes. C Brandon Cataldo, F Kidus Ephrem and G Jerron Smith have all shown promise when given the opportunity, but are presently the victims of something Portland State hasn't had a lot of in recent years: depth. The Viking depth will give the freshmen a chance to develop as they become the key players in years to come. That's a good thing for PSU in the short term and the long run.... talented JR F Renado Parker has taken a lot of minutes away from the other Viking big men (including JR F Michael Harvey) since he became eligible. JR F Martin Whitmore, a good perimeter shooter has returned and should also get his share of playing time... however, in a long basketball season, all the freshmen will see chances down the line to contribute again.