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PORTLAND STATE AT PORTLAND
Wednesday, November 21, 2012, 7 p.m. • Chiles Center (4,852), Portland, OR

PORTLAND STATE: 1-1 • Big Sky: 0-0 • Home: 1-0 • Road: 0-1
PORTLAND: 1-2 • WCC: 0-0 • Home: 1-0 • Road: 1-1

Television: None
Radio: Freedom 970 AM, www.freedom970.com • Play-by-play: Tom Hewitt • Pregame Show: 6:30 p.m.
Live Stats and Video Stream: http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/up.portal#

All-Time Series: Portland leads 32-17, Portland leads 8-7 since 1996-1997, when PSU reinstated program
Most recent meeting (Dec. 18, 2010 at Stott Center: UP 78-67 

THE OPENING TIP
The city rivalry is renewed this Wednesday as the Portland State Vikings and Portland Pilots play in men's basketball for the first time after a one-year hiatus. The 1-1 Vikings travel to the Chiles Center to take on the 1-2 Pilots in a non-conference game that offers city bragging rights.

The last time the programs met - in December of 2010, Portland beat Portland State, 78-67, at the Stott Center. Meanwhile, PSU took the last game at the Chiles Center, an 86-82 upset of the then-25th-ranked Pilots, in December of 2009.

Wednesday night's game airs on Freedom 970 AM and www.freedom970.com. Tom Hewitt has the pre-game show at 6:30 p.m.

The game is the second of four straight on the road for the Vikings. PSU lost on Nov. 12 at Oregon, 80-69. The Vikings have a Sunday afternoon date at Oklahoma State, then a Dec. 1 game at Loyola Marymount before returning home. PSU rounds out its preseason schedule with home games against Oregon State (Dec. 12) and George Fox (Dec. 15).

THE SERIES: The series between Portland and Portland State takes on three distinct eras. The Pilots lead the all-time series, 32-17. The Pilots had a 16-1 advantage between 1946-65. The teams did not meet again until 1971, and PSU held a 9-8 advantage from 1971 to 1981 when the Viking program was discontinued. In 1996-97 PSU basketball was reinstated and since that time it has been a close series, with the Pilots leading, 8-7. The Vikings have been 2-5 at the Chiles Center during that span... prior to the Portland win in 2010, the Vikings had won four straight between 2006-09... during this past off-season the schools signed a four-year contract to play at alternating home sites.

VIKINGS vs. THE WCC: Portland State is 33-63 all-time against current members of the West Coast Conference. However, the Vikings are 8-3 against WCC teams since the start of the 2006-07 season... in addition to Portland, the Vikings will meet Loyola Marymount of the WCC on Dec. 1. PSU is 3-1 all-time against the Lions.

THE COACHES: Portland State Head Coach Tyler Geving has a 45-51 record in his fourth season. Geving has a 21-23 record against non-conference opponents. He is 1-1 against Portland and 4-2 against WCC teams... Portland Head Coach Eric Reveno is now in his seventh season at Portland. He has an 86-107 career record, including 1-4 against Portland State.

THE PILOTS: Portland comes off a 7-24 season in 2011-12. The Pilots were 3-13 and placed eighth in the West Coast Conference. Three starters and 11 letterwinners return from that team... UP is 1-2 this season, having split a pair of games against Big Sky teams. The Pilots beat Idaho State, 51-48 on Nov. 15, then lost at Montana State, 83-64, on Sunday... Ryan Nicholas leads Portland with 15.7 points and 8.7 rebounds per game... Kevin Bailey is averaging 11.3 points and 3.0 assists per game... Portland has struggled on offense averaging just 55.7 points and commiting 18.7 turnovers per game.

FAST BREAKS
WINNING LINES 
• Portland State is 1-1 this season. The Vikings are 1-0 at home, 0-1 on the road.
• PSU has won five straight home games dating to last season.
• The Vikings have lost their last three road games dating to last season.
Stott Stuff
• Over the last six seasons, PSU is 66-17 at home, including 35-14 in Big Sky Conference games.
• PSU has gone 122-41 in 163 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 153-56 at home over the past 17 seasons. 
Big Sky Battles
• Portland State is 132-130 all-time in all Big Sky Conference games, including the tournament (8-8).
• PSU is 88-39 in home games, 41-87 in road games and 4-4 in neutral site games.
• PSU is 47-33 in Big Sky games since the start of the 2007-08 season, 53-35 including tournament games.
In 2011-12
• Portland State was 17-15 - its best season since 2008-09 (23-10). 
• The Vikings were 10-6 in the Big Sky Conference, placing third, also its best finish since 2008-09 (2nd)
• PSU was 10-3 at home, 5-11 on the road and 2-1 in neutral site games.
And The Trivial
• Portland State is 23-22 all-time in overtime.
• Coach Tyler Geving is 1-2 all-time in overtime, including a 78-76 win last Dec. 21 at Eastern Washington.
• Portland State is 17-37 in games televised in the Portland area since joining the Big Sky Conference in 1996-97. That includes a 9-6 home record and 8-31 road record.
• PSU is 0-1 on TV this year, losing at Oregon (80-69).

THE COACH: Head Coach Tyler Geving begins his fourth season in 2012-13. The Vikings have improved each year he has been at the helm from 13-19 to 14-16 to 17-15. Most significant, the Vikings were 10-6 in the Big Sky Conference in 2011-12, placing third. PSU has twice reached the semifinals in the Big Sky Tournament under Geving (2010 and 2012)... in 2011-12, Geving set personal marks for most wins (17), most Big Sky wins (10), best Big Sky finish (3rd) and best home winning percentage (.769)... Geving spent four seasons as an assistant at PSU before being named Head Coach... the fourth-year Head Coach is assisted by Andy McClouskey (3rd year, Oregon State, 1982), Eric Harper (8th year, Central Washington, 1995) and Anthony Owens (4th year, Great Falls, 2006). Former Viking player Mickey Polis is the Director of Operations (4th year, Portland State, 2009).

NO SURPRISE HERE: Portland State is shooting .505 from the field, .391 from distance and .804 at the line after two games. PSU ranks third in field goal percentage and first in free throw percentage in the Big Sky Conference. That comes as no surprise as the Viking program has traditionally been prolific on offense.  PSU, which is averaging 73.0 points, led the Big Sky in scoring each season from 2007-08 to 2010-11. Last year, the Vikings were second in scoring at 76.0 points per game, and led the Big Sky in field goal percentage (.483). The Vikings ranked 13th in the nation in field goal percentage and 26th in scoring last season.

GREAT START FOR DRE: SO G Dre Winston Jr. has gotten his Portland State career off to a great start. Winston Jr. transferred to Portland State from Washington State where he played as a freshman in 2010-11, then sat out last season as a redshirt at PSU... through two games, Winston Jr. is the Vikings' leading scorer at 15.5 points per game, while shooting .786 from the field, .667 from three-point range and .714 at the line.

MOORE, MOORE, MOORE: Another new Viking off to a good start is JR F Aaron Moore. The 6-8 JC transfer has a silky smooth jump shot that has led to 11.0 points per game and a .643 shooting mark. Moore also averages a team-best 5.0 rebounds in 24 minutes per game. 

PARKER'S PART: Though he has been touted as one of the Vikings' top returning players, if not the top player, SR F Renado Parker has only now made his first career starts in the opening two games. Parker is second on the team in scoring at 11.5 points and second in rebounding at 4.0 per game. He also has a team-high five steals.

LOCAL ANGLE: For just the third time in history, Portland State will play the other three in-state Division I schools in the same season. The Vikings played at Oregon on Nov. 12, losing 80-69. PSU is at Portland on Nov. 21, then hosts Oregon State on Dec. 12. The other two seasons in which that triple occured were 1996-97 and 2002-03. PSU is 2-10 against Oregon since reinstating basketball in 1996-97, 7-8 against Portland and 0-5 against Oregon State.

BALANCED ATTACK: Portland State does not have a freshman on the roster in 2012-13. But, the Vikings do have a balanced roster with five sophomores, five juniors and five seniors... every player on the Viking roster is 20 or older... there are only six schools in the nation that do not have a freshman on the roster - true or redshirt. They are: Portland State, Ohio, Southern Illinois Edwardsville, Savannah State, Alabama-Birmingham, and Valparaiso.

VIKINGS SIGN BENTON DURING EARLY NLI PERIOD: Portland State basketball signed Kyle Benton, a senior forward at St. Anthony High School in Long Beach, CA, to a national letter of intent on Nov. 16. 

Benton, a 6-6, 220-pounder, will join the Viking program as a freshman in 2013-14. He is just beginning his senior year at St. Anthony. In 2011-12, Benton played at Gahr High School in Cerritos, CA where he averaged 12.0 points and 9.8 rebounds. He shot 42% from the field, 36% from three-point range and 71% at the line for an 18-11 team.

“The thing we like about Kyle the most is physically he is ready to go,” said Geving. “He has a good frame on him and is physically mature, which you often don't get with high school kids.

“Kyle is an all-around good player. He can step out and shoot the three-pointer and post up as well. He has a versatile inside-outside game. On defense, he moves his feet well and is a good rebounder.”

Benton will join a Viking team that will be losing five seniors at the conclusion of this season, three of whom are forwards. 

BRACKETBUSTER BREAKDOWN: Portland State will play a BracketBuster return game on Dec. 1 when it travels to Loyola Marymount. PSU will host a 2013 ESPN BracketBuster game on Feb. 23 at the Stott Center.

Portland State's game at the University of Idaho last year marked PSU's sixth appearance in a BracketBuster game. On one occasion the game was televised - a 93-81 win over Boise State on Feb. 21, 2009. PSU is 2-4 all-time in BracketBuster matchups, including an 84-75 win over Loyola Marymount last year at the Stott Center.

PSU'S BRACKETBUSTER HISTORY: Portland State is 2-4 in ESPN BracketBuster games. The home team has won every time. PSU is 2-2 in the return games. Idaho will return a game to PSU some time over the next two seasons.

Feb. 19, 2005: at Middle Tennessee State 83, Portland State 62
Feb. 17, 2007: at Cal Poly 92, Portland State 87
Feb. 23, 2008: at Cal State Fullerton 85, Portland State 69
Feb. 21, 2009: at Portland State 93, Boise State 81 (televised on ESPNU)
Feb. 19, 2011: at Portland State 84, Loyola Marymount 75
Feb. 18, 2012: at Idaho 77, Portland State 68

CONFERENCE CALL
Portland State's all-time records vs. non-conference opponents and their conferences, as well as results this season. Due to significant conference movement, records are against teams currently in that conference and not necessarily while members of that conference (PSU wins listed first):

PSU vs. The Big 12 (0-4)
vs. Oklahoma State (0-0)

PSU vs. The Pac-12 (4-47)
vs. Oregon (2-10, L, 80-69)
vs. Oregon State (0-12)

PSU vs. The WCC (33-63)
vs. Portland (17-32)
vs. Loyola Marymount (3-1)

PSU vs. non-Division I
vs. Pacific (19-10, W, 77-58)
vs. George Fox (4-0)