complete notes and stats in pdf
Hear Viking Coach Tyler Geving on Wheels At Work, Fox Sports Radio 620 AM, on Wednesday at 3 p.m.
NORTH DAKOTA AT PORTLAND STATE
Thursday, February 28, 2013, 7:35 p.m. • Peter W. Stott Center (1,500), Portland, OR
PORTLAND STATE: 8-16 • Big Sky: 5-11 • Home: 8-4 • Road: 0-12
NORTH DAKOTA: 12-15 • Big Sky: 9-8 • Home: 8-5 • Road: 4-10
Television: None
Radio: Freedom 970 AM, www.freedom970.com • Play-by-play: Tom Hewitt • Pregame Show: 7 p.m.
Live Video: www.BigSkyTV.org • Live Stats: http://vikslive.statb.us
All-Time Series: UND leads 3-0 • PSU in Portland: 0-1
Big Sky Series: UND leads 1-0 • PSU in Portland: 0-0
Jan. 19 in Grand Forks: North Dakota 85, Portland State 76
THE OPENING TIP
Portland State begins its four-game run at a Big Sky Conference Tournament berth this week with its final two home games of the season. The Vikings are currently 5-11 in the Big Sky Conference and on the outside looking in at the seven-team tourney which begins on Mar. 14. However, PSU is only two games behind a three-way tie for fifth place, and has gained momentum with a three-game winning streak.
The Vikings host third-place North Dakota (9-8) on Thursday night, then eighth-place Northern Colorado (7-10) on Saturday. Both games tip off at 7:35 p.m. at the Peter W. Stott Center. The games air on Freedom 970 AM and www.freedom970.com. A live video stream is available at www.BigSkyTV.org.
PSU is now 8-16 overall this season following wins over Southern Utah (90-69), Eastern Washington (89-80) and a non-conference victory against UC Riverside (66-58). The Vikings have a season-best three-game winning streak and are 8-4 at home.
Senior guard Michael Harthun was named the Big Sky Conference Player of the Week after last week's two victories (see below).
North Dakota comes to Portland State for the first time as a Big Sky Conference opponent. UND beat the Vikings, 85-76, in Grand Forks earlier this season and stand at 12-15 overall. North Dakota has only a 4-10 road record, but 4-4 in Big Sky games.
Saturday's opponent, Northern Colorado, plays at Eastern Washington on Thursday. The Bears are a game-and-a-half ahead of the Vikings in the league standings.
For a complete look at the season's final two weeks, see THE BIG SKY TOURNAMENT PICTURE below.
JAN 19 at UND 85, psu 76: Portland State shot 50% from the field, 75% at the line, and made 9-16 three-pointers, but lost in Grand Forks... Troy Huff and Aaron Anderson each scored 25 points for North Dakota, who shot even better than the Vikings at 52% from the field and 21-21 at the line... Michael Harthun tied his season-high with 19 points (6-8 FG, 4-4 3-pt FG, 3-3 FT), while Aaron Moore added 18 points and seven rebounds... Renado Parker missed the game with an ankle injury.
NORTH DAKOTA: North Dakota is a first-year program in the Big Sky Conference, and was formerly a member of the Great West Conference... UND moved up to the Division I level in 2007... the Vikings have never hosted UND in the Stott Center... at 18.7 points per game, forward Troy Huff would be the Big Sky Conference leader in scoring, but has not played in enough games to qualify (19). His 19.3 average in league games ranks third and he grabs a team-leading 7.4 rebounds per game... point guard Jamal Webb leads the Big Sky Conference in steals (2.3 spg) and ranks sixth in assists (3.6)... Aaron Anderson is second on the team in scoring (13.9 ppg), while lead the team with 47 three-pointers. Anderson shoots 42% from three-point range and 85% at the free throw line.
THE COACHES: Portland State Head Coach Tyler Geving has a 52-66 record in his fourth season. Geving has a 29-39 Big Sky Conference record, and is 0-1 against North Dakota... North Dakota Head Coach Brian Jones is in his seventh season. He has a 98-112 record, 9-8 Big Sky Conference record, and is 1-0 against the Vikings.
THE BIG SKY TOURNAMENT PICTURE
With two weeks to play in the Big Sky Conference regular season, Portland State remains in the tournament chase. At 5-11 in league play, the Vikings are two games behind a three-way tie for fifth place among Sacramento State, Montana State and Northern Arizona. There are four games remaining in the Big Sky schedule. PSU hosts third-place North Dakota (9-8) and eighth-place Northern Colorado (7-10), then travels to second-place Weber State (14-2) and 11th-place Idaho State (4-12).
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
3. North Dakota, 9-8
4. Southern Utah, 8-8
t5. Sacramento State, 7-9
t5. Montana State, 7-9
t5. Northern Arizona, 7-9
8. Northern Colorado, 7-10
9. Eastern Washington 6-10
10. Portland State, 5-11
11. Idaho State, 4-12
Remaining Big Sky Conference Schedule
Thursday, Feb. 28
*Northern Colorado at Eastern Washington 6:05
*Weber State at Sacramento State 7:05
*Idaho State at Northern Arizona 6:35
*Montana State at Southern Utah 7:05
*North Dakota at Portland State 7:35
Saturday, March 2
*North Dakota at Eastern Washington 2:05
*Weber State at Northern Arizona 2:05
*Idaho State at Sacramento State 7:05
*Northern Colorado at Portland State 7:35
*Montana at Montana State 7:05
Monday, March 4
*Montana at Southern Utah 7:05
Thursday, March 7
*Portland State at Weber State 7:05
*Sacramento State at Montana 7:05
*Northern Arizona at Montana State
*Southern Utah at Northern Colorado 7:05
*Eastern Washington at Idaho State 7:05
Saturday, March 9
*Southern Utah at North Dakota 2:05
*Sacramento State at Montana State 2:35
*Eastern Washington at Weber State 7:05
*Northern Arizona at Montana 7:05
*Portland State at Idaho State 7:05
HARTHUN NAMED BIG SKY PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Portland State senior guard Michael Harthun was named Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week on Monday after leading the Vikings to a pair of victories, including a crucial conference win.
Harthun, a 6-foot-3, 185-pound senior guard from Medford, Ore., averaged 16.5 points, 2.5 assists and two rebounds per game as the Vikings beat Eastern Washington, and topped UC Riverside in a non-conference game. Harthun shot 9-13 (.692) from the field, 5-6 (.833) from 3-point range, and made all 10 of his free throws.
Harthun opened last week with 18 points, five assists and three rebounds in an 89-80 win over Eastern Washington. The win kept the Vikings within striking distance of one of the seven postseason bids to the Big Sky Conference Tournament. Harthun was 5-of-6 from the floor, 2-of-2 from 3-point range, and 6-of-6 from the free-throw line.
On Saturday, in a 66-58 win over UC Riverside of the Big West Conference, Harthun scored 15 points with a rebound, a block and a steal. He was 4-of-7 from the field, 3-of-4 from 3-point range, and 4-of-4 from the free-throw line.
Over PSU's current three-game winning streak Harthun has averaged 17.3 points, 3.0 assists, 3.0 rebounds and shot 16-24 from the field (.667), 6-7 from three-point range (.867) and 14-14 at the line.
Harthun shoots .476 from the field and .449 from three-point range while averaging 11.0 points per game this season. Harthun has made 16 straight free throws overall and leads the team with an .868 mark.
FAST BREAKS
WINNING LINES
• Portland State is 8-16 this season. The Vikings are 8-4 at home, 0-12 on the road.
• PSU has won 12 of 16 at home dating to last season, including the last three in a row.
• The Vikings have lost their last 14 road games dating to last season.
Stott Stuff
• Since the start of the 2006-07 season, PSU is 73-21 at home, including 43-17 in Big Sky Conference regular season and tournament games.
• PSU has gone 129-45 in 174 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 160-60 at home over the past 18 seasons.
• Portland State has lost only four non-conference home games since the start of the 2006-07 season (30-4). PSU is 18-4 against Division I schools, and 12-0 against lower division schools over that span.
Big Sky Battles
• Portland State is 137-141 all-time in all Big Sky Conference games, including the tournament (8-8).
• PSU is 93-42 in home games, 41-95 in road games and 3-4 in neutral site games.
• PSU is 52-44 in Big Sky games since the start of the 2007-08 season, 58-46 including tournament games.
HOT SHOTS:
• In the last three Viking wins, SR G Michael Harthun has averaged 17.3 points, 3.0 assists, 3.0 rebounds and shot 16-24 from the field (.667), 6-7 from three-point range (.867) and 14-14 at the line. Harthun has made 16 straight free throws overall and leads the team this season with an .868 mark.
• SO G Gary Winston has scored in double figures in four straight, averaging 12.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.5 steals, and shot 16-31 (.516)/8-13 (.615)/8-8 (1.000).
• SR F Renado Parker has averaged 15.5 points and 7.3 rebounds over the last six games.
• 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. Harvey matched his career-high with five rebounds against UC Riverside.
• Portland State is 65-77 at the line in the last three games (.844). For the season, PSU shoots .760 at the line, which ranks 11th in the nation.
• JR F Aaron Moore has scored in double figures in 10 straight games, and 15 of the last 16. He has six double-doubles over that span.
• SR PG Lateef McMullan leads the Big Sky in assist-to-turnover ratio in all games (91/36, 2.6 to 1) and conference games (70-23, 3.1 to 1). For the season, McMullan ranks 23rd in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio.
• SO G Gary Winston is 23-43 from three-point range (.535) and SR G Michael Harthun is 22-40 from three-point range (.550) over the last 13 games.
• The Vikings shoot .508 from the field, .439 from three-point range, and .778 at the line in the Stott Center, averaging 75.9 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.
• SO C Brandon Cataldo missed the game with UC Riverside due to a concussion. He is expected to return to play this week.
BETTER FIRST HALVES... THREE WINS: Poor first-half play has been a big part of Portland State's problems this season. However, in the last three games - all 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... however, in its' three-game winning streak, PSU outscored opponents by an average of 8.3 points in the first half... a good start has been vital for the Vikings, as they are 7-1 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 stemmed from defense, allowing opponents to shoot a high percentage. But, PSU held Southern Utah to 36% first-half shooting, Eastern Washington to 36% shooting in the first half and UC Riverside to 37% shooting in the first half. PSU now allows .481 shooting by opponents and .366 three-point shooting overall, down from .490+ and .380+ a few weeks ago. The Vikings no longer rank last in the league in either category (10th/8th)... PSU's opponents have shot only 10-52 (.192) from three-point range during the last three games.
