complete notes and stats in pdf
UC RIVERSIDE AT PORTLAND STATE
Saturday, February 23, 2013, 1:05 p.m. • Peter W. Stott Center (1,500), Portland, OR
PORTLAND STATE: 7-16 • Big Sky: 5-11 • Home: 7-4 • Road: 0-12
UC RIVERSIDE: 6-20 • Big West: 3-11 • Home: 5-7 • Road: 1-13
Television: None
Radio: Freedom 970 AM, www.freedom970.com • Play-by-play: Tom Hewitt • Pregame Show: 12:30 p.m.
Live Video: www.BigSkyTV.org • Live Stats: http://vikslive.statb.us
All-Time Series: PSU leads 20-19 • PSU in Portland: 1-0
Most recent meeting: Nov. 21, 2010 - PSU 69-58 at SMU Invitational
THE OPENING TIP
Portland State hosts UC Riverside this Saturday in a late-season, non-conference game as part of the ESPN BracketBuster series. The game tips off at 1:05 p.m. at the Stott Center and airs on Freedom 970 AM and www.freedom970.com. A live video stream is available at www.BigSkyTV.org.
The Vikings take a two-game winning streak into the game. PSU (7-16) comes off its best two offensive performances of the year with a 90-69 win over Southern Utah, followed by Monday's 89-80 win over Eastern Washington.
The Highlanders (6-20) ended a seven-game losing streak with a 54-45 win over UC Santa Barbara on Wednesday night. UCR is 3-11 in Big West play. Averaging only 59.3 points per game this year, the Highlanders will have to go some to keep up with PSU's current offensive pace.
Portland State is 7-4 in the Stott Center this season. UC Riverside has a 1-13 road record.
The only common opponent between PSU and UCR is Northern Colorado, whom the Highlanders defeated 69-63 on Dec. 1 in Riverside. PSU lost at UNC, 67-50, on Jan. 17.
THE HIGHLANDERS: UC Riverside is a member of the Big West Conference. The Highlanders are 6-20 this season, 3-11 in the Big West... UCR ended a seven-game winning streak with a 54-45 win over UC Santa Barbara on Wednesday... junior forward Chris Patton leads the team with 12.7 points per game and shoots 55% from the field... junior guard Chris Harriel, a former Portland State Viking, averages 10.7 points and has a team-high 37 three-point field goals (Harriel averaged 12.6 points and 5.1 rebounds in 2010-11 for the Vikings before transferring to UCR)... freshman forward Josh Fox averages 9.6 points and a team-leading 6.6 rebounds... the Highlanders are a strong rebounding team, beating opponents on the glass by an average of 3.9 per night. However, they shoot only .418 from the field, .291 from three-point range and .594 at the line while commiting nearly 16 turnovers per game. The result has been a scoring average of just 59.3 per night... the UCR roster features eight freshmen.
VIKINGS vs. THE BIG WEST: Portland State is 22-32 all-time against current members of the Big West Conference. The Vikings are 2-1 all-time against the Highlanders... the most recent meeting between the schools was a 69-58 win by the Vikings on Nov. 21, 2010 at the SMU Invitational. Ironically, current UCR guard Chris Harriel scored 18 points with four rebounds, four assists and two steals for the Vikings against the Highlanders. Harriel played at PSU from 2009-11 before transferring to UC Riverside... the other two meetings between the schools came during the 1970s.
THE COACHES: Portland State Head Coach Tyler Geving has a 51-66 record in his fourth season, 22-27 against non-conference opponents. Geving is 3-1 all-time against Big West schools, including 1-0 against UC Riverside... UC Riverside Head Coach Jim Wooldridge is 70-107 in his sixth season with the Highlanders. In 25 years as a collegiate head coach, Wooldridge is 382-344. He has an 0-1 record against Portland State.NON-CONFERENCE HOME DOMINANCE: Portland State has lost only four non-conference home games since the start of the 2006-07 season (29-4). PSU is 17-4 against Division I schools, and 12-0 against lower division schools over that span. Head Coach Tyler Geving has a 15-3 non-conference home record, 8-3 against Division I schools.
BRACKETBUSTER BREAKDOWN: This will be Portland State's seventh appearance in the series and third time hosting. ESPN recently announced this will be the final season it sponsors the BracketBuster series.
On one occasion PSU's BracketBuster game was televised - a 93-81 win over Boise State on Feb. 21, 2009. PSU is 2-4 all-time in BracketBuster matchups, with the home team winning every time. Following a 66-56 loss at Loyola Marymount on Dec. 1, PSU is 2-3 in the return games. Idaho will return a game to PSU in 2013-14. The Vikings will return a game to UC Riverside some time in the next two seasons.
ESPN BRACKETBUSTER GAMES
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
THE BIG SKY TOURNAMENT PICTURE
With Monday's win, Portland State remains in the Big Sky Tournament chase. At 5-11 in league play, the Vikings are two games behind a four-way tie for fifth place among Sacramento State, Montana State, Northern Arizona and Northern Colorado. There are four games remaining in the Big Sky schedule.
The top seven teams get into the Big Sky Tournament, Mar. 14-16, at the site of the regular season champion. The regular season champion will receive a first-round bye. In the quarterfinals, the number two seed will play number seven; number three will play number six; and four will meet five.
Big Sky Conference Standings
1. Montana, 15-1
2. Weber State, 14-2
t3. Southern Utah, 8-8
t3. North Dakota, 8-8
t5. Sacramento State, 7-9
t5. Montana State, 7-9
t5. Northern Arizona, 7-9
t5. Northern Colorado, 7-9
9. Eastern Washington 6-10
10. Portland State, 5-11
11. Idaho State, 4-12
PSU's remaining Big Sky Conference Schedule
Thursday, Feb. 28: *North Dakota at Portland State 7:35
Saturday, March 2: *Northern Colorado at Portland State 7:35
Thursday, March 7: *Portland State at Weber State 7:05
Saturday, March 9: *Portland State at Idaho State 7:05
HOT SHOTS:
• SR F Renado Parker has averaged 16.8 points and 8.2 rebounds over the last five games.
• In the last two Viking wins, SR G Michael Harthun has averaged 18.5 points, 4.5 assists, 4.0 rebounds and shot 12-17 from the field (.706), 3-3 from three-point range and 10-10 at the line. Harthun has made 12 straight free throws overall and leads the team this season with an .857 mark.
• SR F Michael Harvey scored a career-high 13 points (2-4 FG, 9-10 FT) with four rebounds and two steals in 16 minutes against Southern Utah.
• Portland State is 47-54 at the line in the last two games (.870). For the season, PSU shoots .759 at the line, which ranks 11th in the nation.
• JR F Aaron Moore has scored in double figures in nine straight games, and 14 of the last 15. He has six double-doubles over that span.
• SR PG Lateef McMullan leads the Big Sky in assist-to-turnover ratio in all games (86/35, 2.5 to 1) and conference games (65/22, 3.0 to 1). For the season, McMullan ranks 36th in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio.
• SO G Gary Winston is 21-40 from three-point range (.525) and SR G Michael Harthun is 19-36 from three-point range (.528) over the last 12 games.
• The Vikings shoot .515 from the field, .449 from three-point range, and .777 at the line in the Stott Center, averaging 76.8 points.
NOT SO HOT:
• As a team, the Vikings shoot .409 on the road, .323 from three-point range, and average 62.8 points.
• Portland State is 0-12 on the road this season.
• SR F Martin Whitmore (elbow) and JR C Lamont Prosser (knee) have each played only two minutes in the last four games due to injury.
ALL ABOUT THE SHOOTING: The Vikings have been a good-shooting home team, and a bad-shooting road team this season. The difference in home and road shooting statistics for the Vikings mirrors Portland State's home (7-4) and road (0-12) records. The Vikings shoot .515 from the field and .449 from three-point range at home. On the road, they shoot just .409 from the field and .323 from three-point range. The free throw shooting numbers have been more consistent at .777 at home and .740 on the road... the scoring averages reflect those shooting numbers: 76.8 at home, and 62.8 on the road... not surprisingly, PSU has shot .565, .492, .532, .561, .500, .519 and .531 in its seven wins this season.
BETTER FIRST HALVES... TWO WINS: Poor first-half play has been a big part of Portland State's problems this season. However, in the last two games - both wins - the Vikings have gotten it going in the first half... prior to those games, the Vikings had routinely fallen behind by large margins, then spent the rest of the game battling back. PSU had been outscored by an average of six points in the first halves of games this year, then outscored opponents by an average of two points in the second halves of games... against Southern Utah, PSU outscored the Thunderbirds by six in the first half, and that led to a breakaway second-half victory. PSU was up 43-31 against Eastern Washington at halftime. The Eagles got back into, taking a brief lead, but the Vikings responded for a win down the stretch... a good start seems vital for the Vikings, as they are 6-1 when leading at halftime, 1-0 when tied at halftime, and 0-15 when trailing at halftime.
THE DEFENSE SHOULD NOT REST: Portland State's troubles in the first half have stemmed from defense. Prior to PSU coming home, Northern Arizona shot 63% in the first half and Sacramento State shot 53%. But, PSU played sturdy defense against the Big Sky's third-place team, Southern Utah, holding the Thunderbirds to 36% first-half shooting and 33% overall shooting. Eastern Washington also shot 36% in the first half and 44% for the game. This season, PSU allows .482 shooting (10th in the Big Sky) by opponents and .374 three-point shooting (11th).
MOORE, MOORE, MOORE: JR F Aaron Moore has likely been the Vikings' MVP this season, leading the team in scoring (12.9), rebounding (7.0), blocked shots (21) and shooting .540 from the field and .750 at the line... Moore has posted six double-doubles this year and has a streak of nine straight double-figure scoring games... currently, Moore is 12th in scoring, fourth in rebounding, sixth field goal percentage, 15th in free throw percentage and 13th in blocked shots in the Big Sky Conference... Moore is one of only two Vikings in PSU's Big Sky history to post three straight double-doubles (Seamus Boxley)... he has led the team in scoring eight times and rebounding 13 times.
GOOD HANDLE: JR PG Lateef McMullan has done a remarkable job of ball handling this season, highlighted by his career-high nine assists with no turnovers against Sacramento State (1/10). For the season, his ratio is 86/35 (2.5 ast/to) to lead the Big Sky. He is fifth overall in the Big Sky in assists... for the year, the 5-11 ball-handler averages 10.3 points and 3.7 assists and has a team-high 35 three-point field goals.
PARKER'S PART: SR F Renado Parker is back to form after struggling with a bad ankle throughout the month of January... he has averaged 16.8 points and 8.2 rebounds while shooting .540 over the last five games... he is second on the team in scoring (12.0) and rebounding (5.5)... Parker had missed one game, playing three minutes in another and coming off the bench in a third... he has scored in double figures 15 times and led the team in scoring seven times this season... Parker has two double-doubles and two 20-point games.
THUN-ING UP: SR G Michael Harthun has averaged 18.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists in the Vikings last two wins. He has shot 12-17 from the field, 3-3 from three-point range and 10-10 at the line... Harthun had a career-high five assists in the win over Eastern Washington... he has made 19-36 three-pointers (.528) in his last 12 games... Harthun is averaging 10.8 points per game, up from 8.6 last year. Harthun is shooting .473 from the field, .432 from distance, and a team-best .857 at the line... he ranks 14th in field goal percentage and ninth in three-point percentage in the Big Sky Conference... Harthun currently maintains the fifth-best career three-point shooting percentage in school history at 80-186 (.428).
NICE COMEBACK: SO G Gary Winston has made a nice comeback from a nightmare shooting game at Montana State on Jan. 3. Winston was 0-9 in that game, 0-8 from three-point distance. In the 11 games since, he is 21-40 from three-point range (.520)... his .432 career three-point shooting ranks fourth in PSU history... he shoots .451 from three-point range this season to lead the team and rank fourth in the Big Sky... Winston averages 8.0 points per game, but since moving into the starting lineup 12 games ago, he is averaging 10.0 points per game.
6TH MAN MOMENTS: SR F Michael Harvey led an impressive bench performance in the win over Southern Utah (2/14). Harvey scored a career-high 13 points (2-4 FG, 9-10 FT) with four rebounds and two steals. SO C Brandon Cataldo (five points) and SO G Dre Winston (three points, five rebounds, five assists) also played well... against Sacramento State (1/10), SR F Martin Whitmore scored a career-high 11 points (3-3 3-pt FG). Whitmore scored 10 points with a career-high nine rebounds against Montana (1/31), then followed it with eight points and four rebounds against Montana State (2/2)... JR C Lamont Prosser responded when SR F Renado Parker was injured at Northern Colorado (1/17) with six points and eight rebounds.. Harvey had a perfect shooting game against Montana (3-3 FG, 1-1 FT), scoring seven points... Cataldo had seven points, four rebounds and a blocked shot in a career-high 23 minutes at North Dakota (1/19), starting in place of SR F Renado Parker.
