PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (7-9, 1-3) vs. NORTHERN COLORADO BEARS (5-9, 2-1)

Thursday, January 12, 6:05 p.m. PT @ Butler-Hancock Pavilion (2,734), Greeley, CO

Television: None

Radio: Freedom 970 AM, www.freedom970.com • Play-by-play: Tom Hewitt • Pregame Show: 6 p.m. PT

Live Video Stream: www.b2tv.com • Live Stats: www.GoViks.com

All-Time Series: PSU leads 11-3 • PSU in Greeley: 5-2 

Big Sky Series: PSU leads 7-3 • PSU in Greeley: 3-2

After losing its first home game of the season, Portland State will try to get a game back when it plays at Northern Colorado this Thursday. The 6:05 p.m. PT game is PSU's only contest this week. It airs on Freedom 970 AM and www.freedom970.com. Live video streaming is available at www.b2tv.com. 

PSU split its two home games last week, beating Northern Arizona, 82-62, then dropping a close one to league-leading Weber State, 88-81. That leaves the Vikings at 7-9 on the season, 1-3 in the Big Sky and tied for sixth.

Losing at home is never fun, but the greatest concern for the Vikings right now is to develop some road mojo. PSU is 2-8 away from home this season with the two wins being neutral site contests. Greeley may be the place to do it as Northern Colorado is only 2-5 at home. The Vikings are 3-2 in Big Sky games in Greeley, 5-2 overall, but have lost there the last two years.

Northern Colorado is 5-9 overall. Last year's Big Sky Conference champion lost a lot to graduation and it has shown thus far. UNC is 2-1 and in third place in the Big Sky though, with wins over Northern Arizona and Sacramento State, and a loss to Idaho State.

Portland State will return home for a game next Monday when it hosts Idaho State at the Stott Center. That league contest begins at 7:05 p.m.

STORYLINES

• The series: Portland State leads the all-time series, 11-3, and the Big Sky Conference series, 7-3, but Northern Colorado has been in charge recently... the Bears have won three straight games in the series, including the last two in Greeley.

• Last year: Northern Colorado swept the season series, winning 79-66 in Portland and 85-72 in Greeley... the Bears surprised the Vikings in a Big Sky-opening win in Portland, shooting 51% from the field and outrebounding the Vikings. Devon Beitzel scored 26 points for UNC, while Charles Odum (16) and Chehales Tapscott (15) led the Vikings... Tapscott missed the game in Greeley due to injury and it showed as the Vikings were outrebounded, 43-20. Five Bears scored in double figures in that one, with Beitzel scoring 15. UNC shot 52% from the field and the Vikings just 39%.

• The Bears: Northern Colorado is still a relatively new member of the Big Sky in just its sixth year. The Bears won their first Big Sky Championship in 2011 and made their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament... UNC was 21-11 overall last season, 13-3 in winning the Big Sky... just one starter and seven letterwinners return from that team... Paul Garnica is the team's top scorer at 12.3 points per game and shoots a remarkable .518 from three-point range to lead the Big Sky Conference... Tate Unruh averages 11.4 points and shoots .453 from long distance... Northern Colorado ranks third in the nation in three-point shooting at .449... the Bears lead the league in rebounding margin at +4.6 per game.

• Head Coach BJ Hill is in his second season at Northern Colorado after being an assistant coach for the Bears. Hill has a 26-20 record. He is 2-0 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 34-44 all-time at Portland State.

• 14-24 all-time against Big Sky Conference opponents, 20-20 all-time in non-conference games.

• Geving is 23-10 at home. He is 11-34 on the road, including 4-2 in neutral site games.

• Geving is 1-3 all-time against Northern Colorado.

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 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 5-1 at home this year and saw their six-game home winning streak come to an end... PSU was 10-5 at home in 2010-11, 4-4 in Big Sky home games... over the last six seasons, PSU is 60-15 at home, including 30-12 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 116-39 in 155 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 147-54 at home over the past 16 seasons. 

• PSU is 38-30 in Big Sky games since the start of the 2007-08 season, 43-31 including tournament games.

EVEN-STEVEN: Portland State is dead-even all-time at .500 against current members of the Big Sky Conference (145-145). Here are the all-time records: PSU has winning records vs. Idaho State (25-15), Northern Arizona (20-17), 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 (11-28)... PSU is 122-126 all-time in Big Sky Conference games against current Big Sky schools.

LIGHTS OUT: Portland State had another impressive shooting performance in the win over Northern Arizona. The Vikings made 31-50 from the floor for a .620 mark - their second game over 60% this season... they followed with a .509 shooting effort against Weber State... the Vikings have shot over 50% six times this season and are 4-2 in those games... PSU shot .673 (33-49) in a win over CSU Bakersfield (12/15) earlier this season. That 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.

BIG SKY BEST: The Viking team leads the Big Sky Conference in field goal shooting (.480) and ranks second in scoring (76.8), free throw percentage (.744) and rebounding margin (+4.4)... SR F Chehales Tapscott leads the Big Sky Conference in rebounding (9.0). He averages 9.8 rebounds in league games... SR G Charles Odum ranks second in scoring (17.3)... SR C Nate Lozeau ranks second in field goal percentage (.582).

NATIONAL RANKINGS: In NCAA statistics released on Monday, Portland State maintained some high rankings among the 338 Division I schools:

• 31st in field goal percentage (.480)

• 29th in free throw percentage (.744)

• 39th in scoring offense (76.8)

• SR G Charles Odum ranks 51st in free throw percentage, .862

• SR F Chehales Tapscott ranks 46th in rebounding, 9.0

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 17 more free throws than its opponents have attempted (PSU 276-371, .744; Opponents 199-259, .768).

PERILOUS PERIMETER: Portland State is the best shooting team in the Big Sky (.480) but has been struggling mightily from three-point range this season. The numbers have been edging north gradually, but PSU is still a Big Sky-worst .292 from three-point distance, making 4.8 per game. Those numbers are 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).

2 VS. 3: That's right, Portland State is the league's best overall shooting (.480) and two-point shooting team (.555), and its worst three-point shooting team (.292)... the only other Big Sky team shooting better than .500 from two-point range is Sacramento State (.503). Northern Colorado shoots .483 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 gave up 87.8 points per game over the next seven (217-415 opp FG, .523), losing six... PSU's defensive troubles were particularly clear in the second halves of those 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... last Thursday, the Vikings corrected those problems, holding Northern Arizona to .414 shooting, 62 total points and 34 in the second half. It was the fewest points allowed in eight games by the Vikings... on Saturday, the Vikings gave up 88 points - albeit to the Big Sky's best team... the Vikings now rank last in points allowed (74.4) in the Big Sky. 

GUARD GLORY: Portland State's three “bigs” have performed well and consistently this year. On Thursday night against Northern Arizona, it was the guards that stood out. The Vikings' three starting guards, SR Charles Odum, and JRs Lateef McMullan and Michael Harthun, combined for 42 points, 10 assists, six rebounds and five steals. That made 16-23 field goals (.696), 5-9 from three-point range (.556) and 5-5 at the line (1.000).

“BIGS” BASKETS: Every member of Portland State's “big guys” is currently shooting .500 or better, all the way down the roster: SR C Nate Lozeau (.582), JR F Renado Parker (.579), FR F Kidus Ephrem (.538), SR F Chehales Tapscott (.528) and FR C Brandon Cataldo (.500)... the result is PSU shoots .480 from the field as a team... PSU's three main big men, Tapscott, Lozeau and Parker combine to average 33.3 points, 19.6 rebounds and have 23 blocked shots. They shoot a combined 172-309 (.557) from the field.

CHUCK WAGON: SR G Charles Odum has been the Vikings' offensive leader this season, averaging a team-high 17.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists. He is shooting a stellar .520 from the field and .862 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 12-52 (.231) so far this year. That means he is shooting 80-125 on two-point attempts, a remarkable .640 percentage. Season highlights:

• Odum is averaging 19.3 points and shooting .615/.500/.800 in three Big Sky Conference games.

• Odum has scored in double figures in 14 games this season. He has five 20-point games, all on the road.

• Odum ranks second in the Big Sky Conference in scoring, fourth in free throw percentage 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).

TAP-INS: SR F Chehales Tapscott is a double-double waiting to happen. He is averaging 14.3 points and 9.0 rebounds this season with a Big Sky best six double-doubles... Tapscott also leads the Vikings in steals, rebounds and blocked shots... Highlights this year:

• Tapscott is shooting .528 from the field and .735 at the line.

• In Big Sky games, Tapscott's averages increase to 15.3 points, 9.8 rebounds and .550 field goal shooting.

• Tapscott has six double-doubles this year to lead the Big Sky, and 12 in 40 career games at Portland State.

• Tapscott ranks first in rebounding, fifth in field goal percentage, seventh in scoring, seventh 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.

• Tapscott played his best game of the year with a season-high 26 points (10-15 FG, 1-2 3-pt, 5-6 FT), eight rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block against Weber State (1/7).

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 9.1 points and 4.7 rebounds in his first nine games. He shoots .579 from the field and .727 at the line. 

THUN-ING UP: JR G Michael Harthun is getting more and more comfortable at shooting guard for the Vikings as the season goes along. “Toon” is now shooting .474 from the field, .418 from three-point range, averages 9.0 points and has a team-high 23 three-pointers made.

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 .582 from the field to rank second in the Big Sky Conference. He is averaging 9.9 points and 5.9 rebounds (20th and 9th, 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).

EPHREM OUT FOR THE SEASON: FR F Kidus Ephrem was lost for the season this week after suffering a meniscus tear in his right knee during practice. Ephrem will have surgery and recuperate for the next 6-8 weeks before he would be able to work out again. That effectively ends his season. Ephrem played in the first seven games of the season, averaging 10 minutes, 2.3 points and 2.6 rebounds. His playing time diminished with the eligibility of JR F Renado Parker and the return of JR F Martin Whitmore, however Ephrem is expected to develop into a solid Big Sky player for the Vikings over the next three years.