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Portland State hosts Idaho State on Thursday night at the Peter W. Stott Center in the Vikings' opening game of Big Sky Conference play. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:35 p.m. as PSU begins its 17th season as a member of the league.
The Vikings placed third in the Big Sky in 2011-12 with a 10-6 record, and reached the semifinals of the Big Sky Conference Tournament. This year, the Vikings have been picked to place fifth in the expanded 11-team Big Sky in preseason polling of league coaches and media.
This year's Big Sky schedule is a 20-game slate and includes a few thousand more air miles with the addition of North Dakota and Southern Utah to the conference. Last year's Big Sky champion, Montana, has been picked as the preseason favorite once again.
PSU went 2-5 in non-conference play, facing the 20th-toughest schedule in the nation according to the RPI report. Idaho State comes into the game at 1-7 on the year and ranks last in the nation in scoring at 49.6 points per game.
The Vikings swept the season series with Idaho State last year and hold a 23-11 advantage in Big Sky games over the Bengals. PSU is 13-4 at home against ISU in Big Sky play. The Vikings have won four of five and 12 of the last 15 overall in the series.
Big Sky Conference play is the route to the NCAA Tournament for the entire league. The winner of the Big Sky Tournament in March receives an automatic bid to March Madness.
“Our record is 0-0 now,” said Viking point guard Lateef McMullan. “We throw (the non-conference games) all away. This is where it really counts.”
McMullan, a 5-11 senior, has played well of late, scoring 16 points with four assists against Oregon State last Wednesday. He had 14 points and eight assists against George Fox on Saturday.
Senior forward Renado Parker leads the Vikings in scoring at 11.9 per game. Senior guard Michael Harthun averages 11.0 points per game. Junior forward Aaron Moore shoots .524 from the field and averages a team-leading 5.7 rebounds per game.
On Saturday night, Portland State hosts Weber State in a Big Sky game, also a 7:35 p.m. tip. WSU, the former school of current Blazer Damian Lillard, is currently 4-3. The Big Sky Conference will be dark during the week of Christmas with a return to the league schedule on Jan. 3.
PSU AND THE BIG SKY CONFERENCE: Portland State begins its 17th season as a Big Sky Conference member. The Vikings are 132-130 all-time in Big Sky games, including 8-8 in Big Sky Tournament games. The Vikings won Big Sky regular season titles in 2005 and 2008, and Big Sky tournament titles in 2008 and 2009.
Head Coach Tyler Geving is in his fourth season at the helm of the Viking program after four seasons as an assistant coach. He has led the Vikings to two Big Sky Tournament semifinals. Last year, PSU was 17-15 overall.
