complete notes and stats in pdf

PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS vs. SOUTHERN UTAH THUNDERBIRDS
Saturday, January 25, 2014, 7:05 p.m. • Peter W. Stott Center (1,500), Portland, OR
 
PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS
Record/Big Sky: 7-8, 2-4
Head Coach: Tyler Geving (59-78/5th year)
 
SOUTHERN UTAH THUNDERBIRDS
Record/Big Sky: 1-14, 0-6
Head Coach: Nick Robinson (12-34/2nd year)
 
Live Video Stream: www.WatchBigSky.com
Live Audio Stream: www.GoViks.com • Play-by-play: Tom Hewitt • Pregame Show: 6:45 p.m.
Live Stats: vikslive.statb.us, viksmobile.com
 
THE OPENING TIP
The Portland State Vikings start a crucial stretch of their 2013-14 campaign this Saturday night when they host the Southern Utah Thunderbirds. The game with the T-Birds is the first of four straight at home for the Vikings and will carry them to the mid-point of the Big Sky Conference schedule. PSU needs to take advantage of the home stretch for Big Sky tournament positioning as six of their final 10 league games will be on the road. PSU is currently tied for seventh in the Big Sky standings. Seven of 11 teams in the Big Sky qualify for the post-season tournament.
     
The Vikings (7-8, 2-4) and Thunderbirds (1-14, 0-6) will meet in a 7:05 p.m. contest at the Peter W. Stott Center. Live video, audio and stats for Saturday's game can be found on-line at GoViks.com, starting at 6:45 p.m. Just click on the appropriate link in the Game Day box.
     
PSU comes off a 77-56 loss at Northern Arizona last Saturday. However, the Vikings split their road trip and stand at 2-4 in Big Sky play. That has them in a four-way tie for seventh place.
     
In their most recent game, the Thunderbirds put a scare into Weber State. But the Wildcats came from behind to win, 65-59. That was the 14th straight loss for Southern Utah.
 
MAKE HAY WHILE THE SUN SHINES: That's what farmers do and that's what the Vikings need to do while they spend the next two weeks in the sunny confines of their home arena.
     
The Vikings are 6-3 at home this season and hope to build on that mark over the next four games. Following Southern Utah, PSU hosts Eastern Washington (7-10, 2-4) on Monday, first place Northern Colorado (11-4, 5-1) on Jan. 30, and finally North Dakota (6-10, 3-3) on Feb. 1.
     
Strong offense has been the key to PSU's home success. The Vikings average 78.7 points, shoot .485 from the field, .422 from three-point range and turn it 11 times per game at home.
 
THE SERIES: PORTLAND STATE VS. SOUTHERN UTAH
• ALL-TIME SERIES: Portland State leads 2-1. The Vikings lead 2-0 in Portland.
• BIG SKY SERIES: The series is tied 1-1. The Vikings lead 1-0 in Portland.
• LAST SEASON: Each team won on its home court... Southern Utah took a 76-63 victory in Cedar City while shooting 51% from the field. It was the first-ever Big Sky game between the schools and first meeting in 43 years... the Vikings won 90-69 in Portland as six Viking players scored in double figures. PSU shot 52% from the field, and made 31-35 free throws in the game, including 24-24 in the second half. The Viks held SUU to 33% shooting.
• Viking Coach Tyler Geving is 1-1 all-time against Southern Utah. Southern Utah's Nick Robinson is also 1-1 against PSU.
 
SOUTHERN UTAH THUNDERBIRDS: Southern Utah is located in Cedar City, UT. The Thunderbirds are in their second season as members of the Big Sky Conference. A former member of the Summit League, Southern Utah has made one NCAA Division I Tournament appearance in its history... Southern Utah was 11-20 last season, 8-12 and tied for sixth in the Big Sky Conference... two starters and six letterwinners return from that team... Southern Utah will be tested to match Portland State's offensive production. The Thunderbirds, losers of 14 in a row, have been the poorest offensive team in the Big Sky Conference this season. The T-Birds average only 53.9 points while shooting .360 from the field, .309 from three-point range and have a -2.9 turnover margin - all last in the Big Sky. SUU is 0-10 on the road this season... freshman guard Trey Kennedy leads the team with 10.6 points per game... sophomore forward AJ Hess averages 8.5 points... Southern Utah is also last in the Big Sky in points allowed (75.9) and rebounding margin (-11.1).
 
SUSTAINABLE AND RECYCLABLE QUICK NOTES
WINNING LINES
• Portland State is 7-8 this season, 6-3 at home, 1-5 on the road.
• The Vikings are 2-4 in the Big Sky Conference, 1-1 at home and 1-3 on the road.
• Portland State is 42-21 at home in five seasons under Tyler Geving.
• The Vikings ended a 20-game road losing streak that dated to the 2011-12 season with last Thursday's win at Sacramento State.
Stott Stuff
• PSU has gone 135-50 in 185 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 166-65 at home over the past 18 seasons.
• Since the start of the 2006-07 season, PSU is 79-24 at home, including 44-20 in Big Sky Conference regular season and tournament games.
• Portland State has lost only six non-conference home games since the start of the 2006-07 season (35-6). PSU is 21-6 against Division I schools, and 14-0 against lower division schools over that span.
Big Sky Battles
• Portland State is 139-149 all-time in all Big Sky Conference games, including the tournament (8-8).
• PSU is 94-45 in home games, 42-100 in road games and 3-4 in neutral site games.
• PSU is 54-52 in Big Sky games since the start of the 2007-08 season, 60-54 including tournament games.
 
HOT SHOTS:
• SR F Kyle Richardson posted career-highs of 12 points and 10 rebounds in the win at Sacramento State. Richardson hit 6-9 FGs, had two assists, two blocked shots and a steal.
• JR C Brandon Cataldo had a career-high 10 points with four rebounds in the loss at Northern Arizona. Cataldo is 26-42 from the field this season to lead the Vikings in shooting (.619).
• JR G Gary Winston leads the Big Sky Conference in three-point percentage (18-35, .514). In his last five games, he is 21-44 from the field, 12-23 from three-point range, and has averaged 12.8 points.
• Portland State leads the Big Sky Conference in assists per game (13.6) and assist-to-turnover ratio (13.6/11.7).
 
NOT SO HOT:
• Following a shooting string of 21-32 over five games (.656), JR G Andre Winston Jr. was only 4-14 on the road trip.
• After a 12-17 performance and 10-13 from three-point range in two home games, SR G Marcus Hall went 3-11/1-8 in last week's two road games.
• Portland State Coach Tyler Geving has suspended SR F Aaron Moore for conduct detrimental to the team.
 
HOME/ROAD DIFFERENTIAL:
• Portland State is 6-3 at home this season, 1-5 on the road.
• PSU has shot .404 from the field, .307 from distance and .650 at the line on the road this year, averaging 12.2 turnovers.
• At home, PSU shoots .485/.422/.733 and averages 11.6 turnovers.
• The Vikings average 61.7 points on the road and 78.7 at home.
 
TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT: When your coach tells you every possession is important, you better believe it. Prior to Northern Arizona blowing open last Saturday's game in the second half, Portland State had played three-and-a-half games with neither the Vikings nor their opponent holding a double-digit lead... Montana State's largest lead was nine points in the Jan. 9 game. PSU's largest lead was four... Montana's largest lead was nine while PSU's largest lead was eight on Jan. 11... against Sacramento State, PSU's biggest lead was six and the Hornets' biggest lead was eight... prior to halftime, both PSU and Northern Arizona each had their largest lead at only six points.
 
KEEP SHOOTING GARY: JR G Gary Winston led the Big Sky Conference in three-point percentage last season (.470), so it is no surprise he is leading the league again this year (.514). Moreover, he hit clutch threes in each of the last two Viking wins. Winston made the game-winner with 2.6 seconds remaining in the third overtime of an 81-78 win against Montana (1/11). Then, with the Vikings clinging to a 61-58 lead against Sacramento State (1/16) in overtime and less than a minute to play, Winston rose up and buried a trey to make it 64-58 with 42 seconds to go. That shot essentially sealed the win for the Vikings.
• Winston is the Portland State career leader in three-point percentage (.456).
• Winston scored a career-high 21 points with five assists and hit a game-winning three-point field goal in triple-overtime against Montana (1/11).
• In his last five games, Winston has averaged 12.8 points and 3.2 assists, hitting 12-23 three-pointers.
 
WHEN YOU'RE HOT, YOU'RE HOT: ...and when you're not, you're not. SR G Marcus Hall was red-hot two weeks ago, making 12-17 field goals (.706), 10-13 three-point field goals (.769) and 6-6 free throws while scoring 40 points in two games against the Montana schools. He posted a career-high 19 against Montana State, then two nights later hit another career-high in the win over Montana. Hall had 21 points in that game with seven rebounds and three assists... unfortunately, Hall went only 3-11 from the field and 1-8 from three-point range on last week's road trip. He scored only nine points in the two games... still Hall has improved his season averages from 5.3 points and 1.0 assists through the first eight games to 8.0 points and 1.8 assists through 15 games.
• Hall shoots .424 from three-point range this season to rank seventh in the Big Sky.
• Hall has a team-high 25 three-pointers for the season.
 
BIG GAME FOR BIG RICH: SR F Kyle Richardson had his best game as a Viking in the win over Sacramento State. Richardson posted career-highs of 12 points and 10 rebounds and hit 6-9 shots from the field. He added two assists, two blocks and a steal in 35 minutes. Richardson added seven points and five rebounds in the game at Northern Arizona... Richardson saw limited action in three seasons at Long Beach State. After graduating and transferring to Portland State for his final season this year, Big Rich has stepped up his role and his game. Richardson, along with JR G Tim Douglas, are the only Vikings to start every game. In 25 minutes per night, Richardson averages 5.9 points and 4.7 rebounds - both career highs.
• In his last five games, Richardson has averaged 8.0 points and 6.0 rebounds, shooting .586 from the field, 6-7 at the line with five blocked shots and five steals.
• Richardson has led the Vikings in rebounding four times this season.
 
THE LEADER: JR G Tim Douglas is making a big impact for the Vikings this season. He is averaging team-highs of 14.5 points, 3.7 assists and 1.2 steals.
• Douglas has led the Vikings in scoring in five games and assists in nine games.
• He has scored in double figures in 13 of 15 games with a season-high 27 against Portland (12/7).
• Douglas was named Big Sky Conference Player of the Week on Dec. 10.
• Douglas ranks ninth in scoring and fourth in assists in the Big Sky Conference.
 
WINSTON HITTING THE MARK: JR G Andre Winston Jr. continues to be very efficient on offense this season, averaging 9.4 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists. He shoots .532 from the field and a team-leading .789 at the line. He also has an excellent 29/21 assist-to-turnover ratio. Those are nice improvements over his numbers last year of 7.0, .391 and .705.
 
THE BIG CAT IS ON THE PROWL: JR C Brandon Cataldo has been a "project" player for the Vikings the past two seasons. This season he has begun to assert himself. Cataldo is averaging modest numbers of 4.9 points and 3.8 rebounds per game in 12.9 minutes per night. Those work out to 15.2 points and 11.8 rebounds per 40 minutes... in the last three games, Cataldo has scored 20 points (8-12 FG) with 12 rebounds in a combined 51 minutes.
• Cataldo leads the team with a .619 field goal percentage. He shoots .575 from the field for his career.
 
NO TIME LIKE OVERTIME: Portland State played back-to-back overtime games for the first time in its history on Jan. 11 and 16 (records of games between 1947-54 do not include overtime designations). What is really great about this historical quirk is the Vikings won both contests. PSU beat Montana, 81-78, in triple overtime on Jan. 11. It marked the first multiple overtime game for the Vikings in four years and ninth in school history. PSU once played (and won) a four-overtime game against Northern Arizona (92-91 in 2008-09). The contest was a particularly thrilling win for the green and black as JR G Gary Winston hit a game-winning three-pointer with 2.6 seconds left in the third overtime against the defending Big Sky Champions. Winston and SR G Marcus Hall each scored career-highs of 21 points... the Vikings beat Sacramento State, 68-64 in overtime on Jan. 16 in Sacramento. Winston again hit a key three-pointer in overtime. But the really exciting part about that win was it ended a 20-game road losing streak for the Vikings.
 
FOUR GUARDS AND A GOALIE: By necessity, Portland State Head Coach Tyler Geving has had to play small this season, more so than ever now with the suspension of SR F Aaron Moore. The strength of the Viking team is in its guards and Portland State is now playing more of them than ever - a little reminiscent of the Don Nelson/RUN-TMC era of the Golden State Warriors in the late 1980s and early 1990s (Google 'em). Expect the Vikings to start four guards and one big man every game. From there, PSU hopes to spread its opponents out on the floor, attack on the drive and kick out for three pointers when open. The "four guards and a goalie" approach expects to score a lot of points. The challenge for the Vikings will be defending and rebounding against bigger opponents.