PORTLAND STATE: 8-17 • Big Sky: 5-12 • Home: 8-5 • Road: 0-12
NORTHERN COLORADO: 10-17 • Big Sky: 8-10 • Home: 7-5 • Road: 3-12

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: PSU leads 13-4 • PSU in Portland: 7-1
Big Sky Series: PSU leads 9-4 • PSU in Portland: 5-1
Jan. 17 in Greeley: Northern Colorado 67, Portland State 50

THE OPENING TIP
The situation has become desperate for the Portland State Vikings as they find themselves needing a win this Saturday to remain alive for a Big Sky Conference post-season berth. The Vikings (8-17, 5-12) host Northern Colorado (10-17, 8-10) in a 7:35 p.m. game at the Stott Center. 

The game airs on Freedom 970 AM and www.freedom970.com. A live video stream is available at www.BigSkyTV.org.

With a 74-66 loss to North Dakota on Thursday, the 10th-place Vikings are now two-and-a-half games behind the seventh-place Bears with three games to play. In fact, there are four teams with eight wins in the Big Sky (Montana State, Southern Utah and Northern Arizona are 8-9) between fourth and seventh place - all of whom remain within reach of the Vikings. PSU needs to win its final three games and take advantage of some tie-breakers to get into the tournament.

The top seven teams will qualify for the Big Sky Conference Tournament, Mar. 14-16.

Thursday's loss was a bitter pill as PSU had built a three-game winning streak and appeared to be rounding into form late in the season. Still, there is hope, and the Vikings are fortunate to play the team they most need to catch - seventh-place UNC.

If Portland State can knock off the Bears, they would head into next week's final two road games with a shot at eight conference wins. PSU plays at Weber State (2nd, 15-2) on Thursday, then wraps up the regular season at Idaho State on Saturday, Mar. 7, at Idaho State (11th, 4-13).

PSU takes an 8-5 home record into Saturday's Senior Night game. The Vikings will honor five seniors playing in their final home game prior to tip-off: point guard Lateef McMullan (Tulsa, OK), shooting guard Michael Harthun (Medford, OR), forwards Michael Harvey (Montgomery, AL) and Martin Whitmore (Los Angeles, CA) and post Renado Parker (Kent, WA).

Northern Colorado picked up a big overtime road win at Eastern Washington on Thursday night, 88-80. Otherwise, the Vikings window of opportunity would be a little wider. The Bears have won four of their last six games, with the two losses by a combined three points. UNC is 3-12 on the road this season.

JAN. 17 at UNC 67, PSU 50: Portland State fell behind 14-4, 28-6 and 39-12 in the first half and never recovered... the Vikings shot a season-low .339 from the field and scored their fewest points all year... Tate Unruh scored 19 points to lead the Bears, who shot .472 from the field and made 10-17 from three-point range... the Vikings missed Renado Parker who played only three minutes due to an ankle injury.

THE NORTHERN COLORADO BEARS: Northern Colorado won the Big Sky Conference title back in 2011, but missed the tournament in 2012. They are battling for a return to the post-season in the final week of play... junior guard Tate Unruh leads the Big Sky with 79 three-point field goals this season. Unruh averages 13.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and shoots .436 from the arc... junior forward Derrick Barden leads the team with 13.3 points per game and ranks second in the Big Sky with 9.1 rebounds. Barden shoots .543 from the field... point guard Tevin Svihovec averages 12.1 points and 3.3 assists... a good offensive team, the Bears shoot .462 from the field, .384 from distance, and average 7.0 threes per game.

THE COACHES: Portland State Head Coach Tyler Geving has a 52-67 record in his fourth season. Geving has a 29-40 Big Sky Conference record, and is 3-4 against Northern Colorado... Northern Colorado Head Coach BJ Hill is in his third year and has a 40-47 record. Hill is 3-2 against the Vikings.

THE BIG SKY TOURNAMENT PICTURE
With three games to play in the Big Sky Conference regular season, Portland State still has a narrow chance in the tournament chase. At 5-12 in league play, the Vikings are two-and-a-half games behind seventh-place Northern Colorado. PSU hosts seventh-place Northern Colorado (8-10), then travels to second-place Weber State (15-2) and 11th-place Idaho State (4-13).

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, 15-2
3. North Dakota, 10-8
t4. Southern Utah, 8-9
t4 Montana State, 8-9
t4. Northern Arizona, 8-9
7. Northern Colorado, 8-10
8. Sacramento State, 7-10
9. Eastern Washington 6-11
10. Portland State, 5-12
11. Idaho State, 4-13

Remaining Big Sky Conference Schedule

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

HOT SHOTS: 
• In the last four games, SR G Michael Harthun has averaged 16.3 points, 2.5 assists, 3.3 rebounds and shot 22-32 from the field (.688), 6-8 from three-point range (.750) and 15-17 at the line (.882).
• SO G Gary Winston is 9-14 from three-point range in the last five games (.643).
• Portland State is 80-99 at the line in the last four games (.808). For the season, PSU shoots .756 at the line, which ranks 13th in the nation.
• JR F Aaron Moore posted his seventh double-double of the season with 16 points and a career-high 15 rebounds against North Dakota. He has scored in double figures in 11 straight games, and 16 of the last 17. • SR PG Lateef McMullan leads the Big Sky in assist-to-turnover ratio in all games (93/37, 2.51 to 1) and conference games (72/24, 3.0 to 1). For the season, McMullan ranks 23rd in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio.
• SO G Gary Winston is 24-44 from three-point range (.545) and SR G Michael Harthun is 22-41 from three-point range (.537) over the last 14 games.
• The Vikings shoot .499 from the field, .436 from three-point range, and .769 at the line in the Stott Center, averaging 75.2 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.
• The Vikings shot .400 from the field in the loss to North Dakota - their worst home shooting mark of the season.

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 (8-5) and road (0-12) records. The Vikings shoot .499 from the field and .436 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 .769 at home and .740 on the road... the scoring averages reflect those shooting numbers: 75.2 at home, and 62.8 on the road.

FIRST-HALF TROUBLES: Poor first-half play has been a big part of Portland State's problems this season. PSU shot only .345 from the field against North Dakota, and fell behind 28-25 by halftime. The Vikings have been outscored by 4.4 points per game in the first half this year, then outscored opponents by nearly two points in the second halves of games... in the Vikings recent three-game winning streak they played well and took first-half leads in each game. 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 0-16 when trailing at halftime.