• Viking Coach Tyler Geving will be on Northwest Sports Tonight, KPAM 860 AM on Wednesday evening at 7:15 p.m.

Complete notes and stats in pdf

PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (11-12, 5-6) vs. IDAHO STATE BENGALS (8-15, 6-5)
Thursday, February 9, 7:05 p.m. PT @ Holt Arena (8,000), Pocatello, ID
Television: None
Radio: Freedom 970 AM, www.freedom970.com • Play-by-play: Tom Hewitt • Pregame Show: 6:30 p.m. PT
Live Video Stream: www.b2tv.com • Live Stats: www.GoViks.com
All-Time Series: PSU leads 26-15 • PSU in Pocatello: 8-10
Big Sky Series: PSU leads 22-11 • PSU in Pocatello: 8-7

Portland State continues its drive for the Big Sky Conference post-season with a game at Idaho State this Thursday night. It will be the only game of the week for the Vikings who play the suddenly-hot Bengals. PSU and ISU meet it a game at Holt Arena that tips at 7:05 p.m. PT. It airs on Freedom 970 AM and www.freedom970.com. A live video stream is available at www.b2tv.com.
    
The Vikings snapped a three-game losing streak last Saturday, winning 76-65 at Northern Arizona. PSU  has won three of its last four games on the road and now stands 11-12 overall. The Vikings are 5-6 in the Big Sky and tied for fifth place. With five games remaining, Weber State and Montana look solid in the 1-2 spots with only one loss each. But, the Vikings would like to climb to fourth or third and secure a quarterfinal round home game in the Big Sky Conference Tournament (Mar. 3). A win over third-place Idaho State (6-5) on Thursday could play a big role in that climb. The top six teams make the tournament.
    
Meanwhile Idaho State, suffering at 4-14 just two weeks ago, won four straight and did its own climb in the Big Sky standings. Under interim Head Coach Deane Martin, the Bengals are a surprise third-place team after being a near unanimous last-place pick in Big Sky preseason polling. The Bengals lost at Montana 76-40 on Monday night.
    
PSU does have an 80-68 win over ISU on Jan. 16 at the Stott Center, but the Bengals have not lost since then, including a 64-62 defeat of first-place Weber State.
    
After Idaho State, the Vikings play three of their final five Big Sky games at home: Sacramento State (Feb. 15, 3-8), at Sacramento State (Feb. 23, 3-8), Eastern Washington (Feb. 25, 5-6) and Northern Colorado (Feb. 28, 4-7).
    
PSU also has two non-conference games remaining this year; a Feb. 18 BracketBuster game at Idaho and a Mar. 10 game at Seattle.

STORYLINES
• The series: Portland State leads the all-time series, 26-15, and the Big Sky Conference series, 22-11... PSU's 8-7 record in Big Sky games in Pocatello marks the Vikings' only winning road record in Big Sky play... the teams have split the season series each of the last three years... PSU had won seven in a row prior to that... the Vikings have won both Big Sky Conference Tournament meetings between the schools - both of which were semifinal games.
• Jan. 16: After an indifferent first half, the Vikings shoot 63% after intermission to pull away for an 80-68 win at the Stott Center... Charles Odum scored a career-high 29 points (10-18, 3-5, 6-7)... Chehales Tapscott added 15 points, six rebounds, five steals and four blocked shots... Kenny McGowen (20) and Chase Garbau (18) led the Bengals in scoring.
• The Bengals: Idaho State has won two Big Sky Confererence Championships and two Big Sky Tournament titles... the Bengals have made 11 appearances in the NCAA Tournament all-time... last year, Idaho State was 9-20 overall, 4-12 and tied for eighth in the Big Sky Conference... two starters and five letterwinners return from that squad...  although their offensive production has increased in recent weeks, the Bengals rank last in rebounding margin in the Big Sky Conference... Chase Grabau averages 13.5 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.5 assists while shooting .536 from the field... Kenny McGowan averages 13.0 points and has made 43 three-point field goals... Abner Moreira is the top rebounder at 7.1 per contest.
• Interim Head Coach Deane Martin took over in December following the resignation of previous coach Joe O'Brien. Martin had been one of O'Brien's assistants. Martin is currently 6-7.

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 38-47 all-time at Portland State.
    • 18-27 all-time against Big Sky Conference opponents, 20-20 all-time in non-conference games.
    • Geving is 24-12 at home. He is 14-35 on the road, including 4-2 in neutral site games.
    • Geving is 3-2 all-time against Idaho 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 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.

FAST BREAKS

WINNING LINES  
• THE BROOM: Portland State has been swept by Weber State, Montana and Montana State this season. However, the Vikings have swept Northern Arizona. The other four Big Sky Conference series' will be determined in the next three weeks.
• The Vikings are 6-3 at home this year, 2-3 in Big Sky games... over the last six seasons, PSU is 61-17 at home, including 31-14 in Big Sky Conference games.
• The Vikings are 5-9 on the road this season, including two neutral site wins... the Vikings are 3-3 in Big Sky road games - their most Big Sky road wins since 2008-09.
• PSU has gone 117-41 in 158 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 148-56 at home over the past 16 seasons.
• PSU is 41-33 in Big Sky games since the start of the 2007-08 season, 46-34 including tournament games.

BETTER THAN EVEN: Portland State is one game over .500 all-time against current members of the Big Sky Conference (149-148). Here are the all-time records: PSU has winning records vs. Idaho State (26-15), Northern Arizona (21-17), Northern Colorado (12-3), Sacramento State (22-10) and Eastern Washington (19-18). PSU has losing all-time records against Montana (20-28), Montana State (18-28) and Weber State (11-29)... And near even: PSU is 126-129 all-time in Big Sky Conference games against current Big Sky schools.

BIG SKY BEST: The Viking team leads the Big Sky Conference in field goal shooting (.483), and ranks second in scoring (76.5) and free throw percentage (.741)... SR F Chehales Tapscott leads the Big Sky Conference in rebounding (9.0) and double-doubles (8), is second in blocked shots (1.2) and steals (1.9)... SR C Nate Lozeau is tied for the Big Sky Conference lead with a .571 field goal shooting percentage... SR G Charles Odum ranks second in scoring (18.6) behind the nation's leader Damian Lillard (25.5). He is third in free throw percentage (.847)... in Big Sky Conference only games, Tapscott leads in blocked shots (1.5), and ranks second in rebounds (9.2) and steals (2.3)... Odum averages 20.7 points to rank second.

LIGHTS OUT: The Vikings have shot over .500 eight times this season and are 6-2 in those games... PSU has shot over .600 three times this year and are 3-0 in those games... PSU shot .673 (33-49) in a win over CSU Bakersfield (12/15). That was 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.

SHOOTING IS EVERYTHING FOR THIS TEAM: The Vikings are 11-1 when shooting a higher percentage than their opponents, 0-11 when opponents outshot them.

2 VS. 3: Portland State is the league's best overall shooting (.483) and two-point shooting team (.544), while shooting just .335 from three-point range... the only other Big Sky teams shooting .500 from two-point range are Weber State (.505) and Sacramento State (.502).

NATIONAL RANKINGS: In NCAA statistics released on Monday, Portland State maintained some high rankings among the 338 Division I schools:
• 31st in scoring (76.5)
• 19th in field goal percentage (.483)
• 36th in free throw percentage (.741)
• SR G Charles Odum ranks 28th in scoring (18.6)
• SR G Charles Odum ranks 46th in field goal percentage (.537)
• SR G Charles Odum ranks 58th in free throw percentage (.847)
• SR F Chehales Tapscott ranks 47th in rebounding (9.0)
• SR F Chehales Tapscott ranks 64th in steals (1.9)

SCORING IN BUNCHES: SR G Charles Odum has scored 20 or more points 10 times this season - with nine of those coming on the road.
• Odum has scored 20+ in seven of the last 11 games, including a career-high 29 against Idaho State (1/16).
• In Odum's 20-point games, he is 76-128 from the field (.598), averaging 24.0 points and the Vikings are 6-4.
• Odum is averaging 20.7 points in league games.

GAME-WINNERS: Portland State has had two game-winning shots coming inside the final five seconds of games this season. On Nov. 15, SR F Chehales Tapscott hit a short jumper in the lane against Seattle with 4.6 seconds to play, giving the Vikings a 66-65 win... on Jan. 21, SR G Charles Odum made a 12-footer in the lane with two seconds left in overtime to beat Eastern Washington, 78-76.

CHUCK WAGON: SR G Charles Odum has been the Vikings' offensive leader this season, averaging a team-high 18.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists. He is shooting a stellar .537 from the field and .847 at the line. Odum is shooting 116-182 on two-point attempts, a remarkable .637 percentage. Season highlights:
• Odum is averaging 20.7 points and shooting .587/.457/.814 in Big Sky Conference games.
• Odum has scored in double figures in 21 games this season. He has 10 20-point games.
• Odum ranks second in the Big Sky Conference in scoring, third in free throw percentage and fifth in field goal percentage.
• He was at his best at the Wyoming Jim Thorpe Classic, earning All-Tournament honors. Odum scored a 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 was named Big Sky Conference Player of the Week after scoring 22 points (7-9 FGs, 4-6 3-pt, 4-5 FT) with five assists and four rebounds in a road win at Northern Colorado (1/12)... he followed that with a second Big Sky POTW honor after wins over Idaho State (1/16) and Eastern Washington (1/21). Odum averaged  24.5 points, shot .517 from the floor, had a career-high against ISU (29) and hit the game-winner with two seconds left in overtime at EWU.
• Odum had a career-high 29 points in the win over Idaho State (1/16).

TOP 10 GUY: SR F Chehales Tapscott ranks first in rebounding (9.0), seventh in field goal percentage (.535), seventh in scoring (13.8), second in blocked shots (1.3) and steals (1.9) in the Big Sky. Alas, he is only 13th in free throw percentage (.724).

TAP-INS: SR F Chehales Tapscott is a double-double waiting to happen. He is averaging 13.8 points and 9.0 rebounds this season with a Big Sky best eight double-doubles... Tapscott also leads the Vikings in steals, rebounds and blocked shots... Highlights this year:
• Tapscott tied a career-high with four blocks and set a career high with five steals against Idaho State (1/16). • Tapscott grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds against Montana (1/29) - the most by a Viking in five seasons.
• Tapscott is shooting .535 from the field and .724 at the line.
• Tapscott has eight double-doubles this year to lead the Big Sky, and 14 in 47 career games at Portland State. He has been the team's leading rebounder in 35 of 47 career games.
• 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 scored a season-high 26 points (10-15 FG, 1-2 3-pt, 5-6 FT), with eight rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block against Weber State (1/7).

WINSTON IS SMOKIN' OUTSIDE: FR G Gary Winston hit 4-5 from three-point range at Weber State, totaling a career-high 14 points with two assists in 23 minutes... for the season, he leads the team and ranks fourth in the Big Sky Conference with a .456 three-point shooting mark (26-57)... Winston averages 7.2 points in 22 minutes per game off the bench.

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 .467 from the field, .425 from three-point range, averages 9.3 points and has a team-high 34 three-pointers made... Harthun ranks 10th in the Big Sky Conference in three-point percentage.

EMERGING: JR G Lateef McMullan's game is getting better as the season progresses. He scored a career-high 20 points and along with six assists in the win at Northern Colorado (1/12)... McMullan handed out a season-high seven assists against Montana State (1/26)... averaging 7.0 points and 2.3 assists after eight games, McMullan has scored in double figures in nine of the last 15 contests to improve to 9.7 points and 2.7 assists per game.

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 .571 from the field and is tied for first in the Big Sky Conference. He is averaging 8.6 points and 5.3 rebounds, up dramatically from 4.7 points and 2.4 rebounds last year.
• Lozeau has posted 10 double-figure scoring games and 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 8.1 points and 4.8 rebounds through 16 games. He shoots .541 from the field.

“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 (.571), FR F Kidus Ephrem (.538), JR F Renado Parker (.541), SR F Chehales Tapscott (.535), and FR C Brandon Cataldo (.500).