complete notes and stats in pdf
NORTHERN ARIZONA LUMBERJACKS (5-9, 1-1) vs. PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (6-8, 0-2)
Thursday, January 5, 7:05 p.m. @ Peter W. Stott Center (1,500), Portland, OR
Television: None
Radio: Freedom 970 AM, www.freedom970.com (tape delayed at 8:30) • Play-by-play: Tom Hewitt • Pregame Show: 8:30 p.m.
Live Video Stream: www.b2tv.com • Live Stats: www.GoViks.com
All-Time Series: PSU leads 19-17 • PSU in Portland: 13-4
Big Sky Series: PSU leads 17-16 • PSU in Portland: 12-4
Portland State looks forward to the friendly confines of the Peter W. Stott Center this week after a rough go on the road in recent weeks. The Vikings will host a pair of Big Sky Conference games at Stott, hosting Northern Arizona on Thursday, then league-leading Weber State on Saturday. Both games tip off at 7:05 p.m. They are available on Freedom 970 AM and www.freedom970.com. Live video streaming is available at www.b2tv.com. The NAU game will air on a tape delayed basis at 8:30 p.m., but be live with audio on Big Sky TV.
The Vikings are 6-8 on the season and 0-2 in the Big Sky. So far this year there has been a very distinct division on the level of Viking success and it is purely linked to home and road. PSU is 4-0 at home, but 0-8 on the road with two neutral site wins as well. More recently, the Vikings have lost four straight and six of seven, with all of the losses on the road.
Still, there is a lot for the Vikings to look forward to in January. PSU is undefeated at home this year and has won five straight at home dating to last season. Eight of the Vikings final 14 Big Sky games will be at home, including five of seven during the month of January.
Although the Vikings have lost their first two Big Sky games, they are still only a game out of a tie for third place. That is because over the first week of the season, only two teams came out undefeated (2-0). Five others are 1-1, and the Vikings and Sacramento State stand at 0-2.
Despite an early-season coaching change, Northern Arizona has since won three of five games. The Lumberjacks are 5-9 overall, 1-1 in the Big Sky Conference. NAU is 1-5 on the road with three additional neutral site losses.
Weber State features the nation's leading scorer in point guard Damian Lillard (25.2 ppg). So far, he has led the Wildcats to a 10-3 record, 2-0 in the Big Sky. WSU is 1-3 on the road with one neutral site win.
The Wildcats are the league's top team this season and have been picked to win the league in both preseason Big Sky coaches and media polls. However, the Vikings have beaten them the last two years they have come to Portland.
STORYLINES
• The series: Portland State leads the all-time series, 19-17, and the Big Sky series, 17-16... NAU leads 2-1 in Big Sky Tournament meetings.... PSU holds a 12-4 advantage in Big Sky games in Portland, but has lost the last two... Northern Arizona has won four straight overall.
• Last year: Northern Arizona swept the series, winning 71-59 at Portland State and 79-52 at NAU... point guard Stallon Saldivar did not score a point in 42 minutes against the Vikings in last year's two games, but he had 16 assists... Charles Odum had 16 points and nine assists in the loss in Portland... the Vikings shot 38% in each of the games last year.
• The Lumberjacks: Northern Arizona has won four Big Sky regular season titles and two Big Sky Tournament titles during its history... the Lumberjacks have made two appearances in the NCAA Tournament... NAU was 19-13 last season, 9-7 and fourth in the Big Sky Conference... three starters and seven letterwinners return from that team... James Douglas leads the Lumberjacks in scoring at 13.4 points per game. He has made 29-66 three-point field goals (.439)... Stallon Saldivar averages 5.3 assists per game... Northern Arizona ranks last in the Big Sky Conference in scoring (63.1) and field goal shooting (.412), but first in assists (14.8).
• Interim Head Coach Dave Brown took over in December after previous coach Mike Adras abruptly resigned. Since taking over, Brown has led the Lumberjacks to a 3-2 record.
NATION'S LEADING SCORER COMES TO TOWN THIS WEEK
Once upon a time, Portland State had the nation's leading scorer in Freeman Williams (1976-77, 39.6 ppg; 1977-78, 35.9 ppg). Currently, Weber State has the top scorer at the Division I level in guard Damian Lillard (25.2 ppg). Lillard was the Big Sky Conference Freshman of the Year in 2008-09 and first team All-Big Sky Conference. In 2009-10, Lillard was the Big Sky Player of the Year. After missing most of last year with a knee injury, Lillard is back. He also ranks eighth in the nation in three-pointers made (43), 19th in free throw percentage (.902) and 27th in three-point percentage (.453). The result of all those impressive numbers? As of Tuesday morning, nine NBA scouts had requested credentials to see Lillard play Saturday in the Stott Center.
WEBER STATE WILDCATS (10-3, 2-0) vs. PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (6-8, 0-2)
Saturday, January 7, 7:05 p.m. @ Peter W. Stott Center (1,500), Portland, OR
Television: None
Radio: Freedom 970 AM, www.freedom970.com • Play-by-play: Tom Hewitt • Pregame Show: 6:30 p.m.
Live Video Stream: www.b2tv.com • Live Stats: www.GoViks.com
All-Time Series: WSU leads 27-11 • PSU in Portland: 10-8
Big Sky Series: WSU leads 23-11 • PSU in Portland: 10-6
STORYLINES
• The series: Weber State has won nine of the last 12 meetings and seven straight in Ogden... the Wildcats lead the Big Sky series, 23-11, and the all-time series, 27-11... the Wildcats hold the best record against Portland State of any Big Sky school... WSU is 4-0 all-time against the Vikings in Big Sky Tournament games.
• Last year: The teams split last year's meetings with each winning on their own home court... the Vikings won 71-69 in Portland and lost 80-58 in Ogden... Charles Odum scored 16 points and the Vikings had only seven turnovers in the win in Portland... Kyle Bullinger scored 22 and Scott Bamforth had 19 in the Wildcats win... WSU shot 53% while the Vikings shot only 32% in Ogden.
• The Wildcats: Weber State has won 20 Big Sky Conference regular season titles, the most of any school in the 49-year history of the league. The Wildcats have won eight Big Sky Tournament Championships and made 14 appearances in the NCAA Tournament... last year, WSU was 18-14 overall, 11-5 and third in the Big Sky Conference... three starters and eight letterwinners return from that team... Damian Lillard averages 25.2 points per game to lead the nation in scoring. His .902 free throw percentage and 3.3 three-pointers per game also lead the Big Sky. He also gets a team-best 3.4 assists per game... Scott Bamforth averages 14.9 points and has made 36 three-pointers... leading rebounder Kyle Bullinger (9.0) has been out since the sixth game of the season with injury... WSU leads the Big Sky in scoring (79.8), scoring margin (+11.0), free throw percentage (.806) and three-point field goals made (9.6)... the Wildcats are second in the nation in free throw percentage, fifth in three-pointers made and ninth in fewest turnovers (10.7).
• Head Coach Randy Rahe is in his sixth year at Weber State and has a 105-64 record.... he is 9-3 all-time against the Vikings.
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 33-43 all-time at Portland State.
• 13-23 all-time against Big Sky Conference opponents, 20-20 all-time in non-conference games.
• Geving is 22-9 at home. He is 11-34 on the road, including 4-2 in neutral site games.
• Geving is 0-4 all-time against Northern Arizona, and 2-2 against Weber 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: Portland State has four televised games this year in the Portland area. They are: Nov. 11 against Denver 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 2-8 on the road this season, which includes two neutral site wins... the Vikings have lost five straight road games... Portland State has lost nine straight Big Sky Conference 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.
EVEN-STEVEN: With a pair of losses to Big Sky opponents last week, Portland State is now exactly 144-144 all-time against current members of the Big Sky in ALL games. Here are the all-time records: PSU has winning records vs. Idaho State (25-15), Northern Arizona (19-17), Northern Colorado (11-3) and Sacramento State (22-10). The Vikings are .500 against Eastern Washington all-time (18-18). PSU has losing all-time records against Montana (20-28), Montana State (18-26) and Weber State (11-27).
BIG SKY BEST: The Viking team leads the Big Sky Conference in rebounding margin (+5.4), and ranks second in scoring (76.1) and field goal percentage (.470)...SR F Chehales Tapscott leads the Big Sky Conference in rebounding (9.1)... SR G Charles Odum ranks second in scoring (17.6)... SR C Nate Lozeau ranks second in field goal percentage (.588).
NATIONAL RANKINGS: In NCAA statistics released on Monday, Portland State maintained some high rankings among the 338 Division I schools:
• 27th in free throw percentage (.742)
• SR G Charles Odum ranks 23rd in free throw percentage, .888
• SR F Chehales Tapscott ranks 45th in rebounding, 9.1
• SR F Cheheles Tapscott ranks 27th in double-doubles, 6
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 24 more free throws than its opponents have attempted (PSU 242-326, .742; Opponents 168-218, .771).
PERILOUS PERIMETER: Portland State is the second-best shooting team in the Big Sky (.470) but has been struggling mightily from three-point range this season, hitting 63-230 (.271). PSU was 9-31 on its road trip last week (.290)... currently, PSU is 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).
IF/THEN...: Portland State is easily the best two-point shooting team in the Big Sky at .547 (317-579) from two-point range. The only other Big Sky team shooting better than .500 from two-point range is Sacramento State (.506). Northern Colorado shoots .486 from two-point distance. Weber State is .481 from two-point distance.
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 87.8 points per game over the last seven (217-415 opp FG, .523), losing six... PSU's defensive troubles have been particularly clear in the second halves of the last seven games with the Vikings giving up 54, 45, 47, 59, 56, 32, 45 for an average of 48.3 points allowed in the second half alone... the level of competition has been admittedly much tougher in those games including a pair of Pac-12 opponents and the Big West favorite (Cal State Fullerton), 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 17.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists. He is shooting a stellar .522 from the field and .888 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 10-47 (.213) so far this year. That means he is shooting 73-112 on two-point attempts, a remarkable .652 percentage. Season highlights:
• Odum has scored in double figures in 12 games this season. He has five 20-point games, all on the road.
• Odum ranks third in the Big Sky Conference in free throw shooting, second in scoring and sixth in field goal percentage.
• 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).
• Odum tied his career-high with 27 points in the Big Sky opener at Montana (8-13 FG, 2-4 3-pt FG, 9-9 FT).
“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 (.592), SR C Nate Lozeau (.588), FR F Kidus Ephrem (.538), SR F Chehales Tapscott (.504) and FR C Brandon Cataldo (.533)... the result is PSU shoots .470 from the field as a team... PSU's three main big men, Tapscott, Lozeau and Parker combine to average 34.0 points, 20.3 rebounds and have 21 blocked shots. They shoot a combined 150-272 (.551) from the field.
TAP-INS: SR F Chehales Tapscott is a double-double waiting to happen. He is averaging 13.5 points and 9.1 rebounds this season with a Big Sky best six double-doubles... Tapscott also leads the Vikings with 13 blocked shots and 21 steals... he handed out a career-high six assists at Cal State Fullerton. Highlights this year:
• Tapscott is shooting .504 from the field and .730 at the line.
• Tapscott has six double-doubles this year to lead the Big Sky, and 12 in 38 career games at Portland State.
• Tapscott ranks first in rebounding, eight in field goal percentage and scoring, sixth in blocked shots and fourth in steals 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 .588 from the field to rank second in the Big Sky Conference. He is averaging 10.4 points and 6.3 rebounds (20th and 8th, 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).
SIXTH MAN: JR F Renado Parker has been making the impact hoped for when he became eligible for the Vikings at the end of fall term. Though only 6-5, Parker is a powerful post player who has performed well as the Vikings' sixth man. Parker averages 10.1 points and 4.9 rebounds in his first seven games. He shoots .592 from the field and .722 at the line.
