complete notes and stats in pdf
 
PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS vs. MONTANA STATE BOBCATS
Thursday, January 9, 2014, 7:05 p.m. • Peter W. Stott Center (1,500), Portland, OR
 
PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS
Record/Big Sky: 5-6, 0-2
Head Coach: Tyler Geving (57-76/5th year)
 
MONTANA STATE BOBCATS
Record/Big Sky: 7-6, 2-0
Head Coach: Brad Huse (90-113/7th 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 open their Big Sky Conference home schedule this week, hosting Montana State and Montana, respectively, at the Stott Center. The Vikings (5-6, 0-2) will try to stop a two-game losing streak on Thursday when the Bobcats come to town. MSU (7-6, 2-0) has gotten off to a good start in league play and is tied for first.
        
Now in its 18th season as a Big Sky Conference member, PSU is 11-6 in Big Sky home openers.
        
Thursday's game tips off at 7:05 p.m. Saturday's contest with Montana (6-5, 1-1) also starts at 7:05. Audio for both games 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. A live video stream is available for all Big Sky Conference games at WatchBigSky.com and live stats can be found at www.vikslive.statb.us.
        
Dave The Horn Guy will perform at halftime of both of this week's home games.
        
Portland State started league play on the road, losing at Weber State and Idaho State last week. After starting the season 4-1, PSU has dropped five of its last six games. However, the Vikings have built a 5-2 home record. Meanwhile, Montana State is 2-5 in games away from home this season. The Bobcats have won five of their last six games overall.
        
The Vikings and Bobcats have just one common opponent this season - the University of Portland. PSU lost to the Pilots, 92-76, while MSU beat UP at the Chiles Center, 72-69.
 
A CHANCE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE SCHEDULE: Beginning this week Portland State comes upon perhaps the most favorable part of its' Big Sky Conference schedule. Starting with Montana State and Montana, the Vikings play six of eight games at home running through February 1. After next week's Sacramento State/Northern Arizona road trip, PSU comes home for four straight games to round out the month (Southern Utah, Eastern Washington, Northern Colorado, North Dakota). After that stretch, PSU plays six of 10 on the road to close out the regular season.
 
THE SERIES: PORTLAND STATE VS. MONTANA STATE
• ALL-TIME SERIES: Montana State leads 29-19. PSU leads 13-9 in Portland.
• BIG SKY SERIES: Montana State leads 22-16, PSU leads 12-7 in Portland.
• BIG SKY TOURNAMENT PLAY: Portland State leads 4-0 all-time in Big Sky Tournament games.
• LAST SEASON: Montana State swept the season series in a pair of close games, 62-59 in Bozeman and 70-64 in Portland. MSU forward Flavien Davis scored 38 points in two games.
• Montana State has won four of the last five meetings.
 
MONTANA STATE BOBCATS: Montana State, located Bozeman, MT, is an original member of the Big Sky Conference, joining when the league formed in 1963. MSU has won four Big Sky Conference regular season titles and two Big Sky Tournament Championships. The Bobcats have made three NCAA Tournament appearances... Montana State was 13-17 last season, 10-10 and tied for fourth in the Big Sky Conference... three starters and nine letterwinners return from that team... the Bobcats have a very balanced squad with 10 different players making starts so far this year and none starting every game... senior forward Flavien Davis leads the team with 10.8 points per game... Marcus Colbert, a sophomore guard, averages 9.2 points and 3.3 assists... senior center Paul Egwuonwu averages 8.6 points and a team-high 7.9 rebounds per game... freshman guard Stephan Holm leads the Big Sky Conference in three-point shooting at .500 (20-40).
 
SUSTAINABLE AND RECYCLABLE QUICK NOTES
WINNING LINES
• Portland State is 5-6 this season, 5-2 at home, 0-4 on the road.
• PSU has won 17 of 25 at home dating to the 2011-12 season.
• The Vikings have lost their last 20 road games dating to the 2011-12 season.
Stott Stuff
• PSU has gone 134-49 in 183 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 165-64 at home over the past 18 seasons.
• Since the start of the 2006-07 season, PSU is 78-23 at home, including 43-19 in Big Sky Conference regular season and tournament games.
• Portland State has lost only five 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 137-147 all-time in all Big Sky Conference games, including the tournament (8-8).
• PSU is 93-44 in home games, 41-99 in road games and 3-4 in neutral site games.
• PSU is 52-50 in Big Sky games since the start of the 2007-08 season, 58-52 including tournament games.
 
HOT SHOTS:
• JR G Andre Winston Jr. is shooting 16-26 over the last four games (.615) and shoots. 561 for the season.
• JR G Tim Douglas has scored in double figures in 10 of 11 games this season. He leads the team in scoring (15.1), three-pointers (19), assists (4.0) and steals (17).
• JR C Brandon Cataldo is shooting .630 from the field to lead the team.
• FR G Zach Gengler posted a season-high 11 points (4-6 FG, 1-1 3-pt, 2-3 FT) in 14 minutes off the bench against Idaho State.
• Portland State leads the Big Sky Conference in assists per game (14.0).
 
NOT SO HOT:
• Portland State was 0-14 on the road in 2012-13, is 0-4 this year, and has lost 20 straight road games overall.
• PSU shoots only .388 from the field and .625 at the line while playing on the road this season.
• The Vikings allow their opponents to shoot .399 from three-point range, worst in the Big Sky Conference.
 
A RECORD THAT WILL LIVE IN INFAMY: Portland State lost its 14th straight Big Sky Conference road game last Saturday at Weber State. The breaks the previous school mark of 13 straight road losses to Big Sky opponents (1/27/00-2/24/01)... the school record for consecutive road losses is 21 and the Vikings (0-4 on the road this year) have lost 20 straight overall on the road dating back to the 2011-12 season... next week PSU plays at Sacramento State (1/16) and Northern Arizona (1/18).
THE DIFFERENCE ON THE ROAD THIS YEAR
• PSU has shot .388 from the field, .625 at the line and averaged 13.3 turnovers in those three losses.
• At home, PSU shoots .479/.717 and averages only 10.4 turnovers.
• The Vikings average 61.5 points on the road and 78.7 at home.
 
THE LEADER: New point guard Tim Douglas is making a big impact for the Vikings this season. He is averaging team-highs of 15.1 points, 4.0 assists and 1.6 steals. Douglas also leads in three-pointers with 19.
• Douglas has led the Vikings in scoring in four games and assists in eight games.
• He has scored in double figures in 10 of 11 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 seventh in scoring and fourth in assists in the Big Sky Conference.
 
OUR COUSIN VINNIE: If you remember the "Microwave", former Detroit Piston sixth-man Vinnie Johnson, then know that Portland State appears to have their own version in JR G DaShaun Wiggins. Wiggins has come off the bench in eight of 11 games this season and is second on the team in scoring (13.3), three-pointers (15) and steals (11) in just 22.4 minutes per night. He is also the easy leader in free throw attempts, making 47-64 already this season.
• Wiggins' had a 21-point, seven-rebound, three-assist, two-steal performance in a win over UC Davis (11/24).
• He set new career-highs with 22 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals against Idaho (12/14).
• Wiggins has led the team in scoring five times and rebounding twice.
• Wiggins ranks 14th in the Big Sky Conference in scoring.
 
WINSTON HITTING THE MARK: JR G Andre Winston Jr. continues to be very efficient on offense this season, averaging 10.2 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists. He shoots .561 from the field and a team-leading .829 at the line. He also has an excellent 23/12 assist-to-turnover ratio. Those are nice improvements from his numbers last year of 7.0, .391 and .705.
• Winston has made 16-26 shots over the last four games (.615).
• He ranks eighth in the Big Sky Conference in field goal shooting (.561).
 
ANOTHER WINSTON HITTING THE MARK: JR G Gary Winston has struggled to get back to form following off-season hernia surgery and hip problems. He looked good at Weber State though, scoring a season-high 13 points, making 5-9 from the field and 3-5 from three-point range. Winston is 9-17 from distance (.529) this season in eight games. That is no surprise as he led the Big Sky in three-point percentage last year (.470)... Winston is 83-184 from three-point range in his career for a school-record .451 mark.
 
RICHARDSON REVIEW: SR F Kyle 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 23 minutes per night, Richardson averages 5.3 points and 4.2 rebounds - both career highs. He had nine points, six rebounds and two blocked shots at Weber State.
 
THE BIG CAT IS ON THE PROWL: JR C Brandon Cataldo has been a "project" player for the Vikings the past two seasons. Now he appears ready to assert himself. Cataldo is averaging modest numbers of 4.6 points and 4.0 rebounds per game in just 12.0 minutes per night. Those work out to 15.3 points and 13.3 rebounds per 40 minutes... Cataldo also leads the team with a .630 field goal percentage. He shoots .572 from the field for his career... Cataldo played only six minutes at Idaho State due to back problems, then sat out the Weber State game.
 
LET'S GET SMALL: Portland State Head Coach Tyler Geving has a wealth of talent at the guard position. As a result, he has frequently had three and four guards on the floor at a time. It has worked out well as he has had great production from JR Gs Tim Douglas, Andre Winston Jr., DaShaun Wiggins, Gary Winston and FR G Zach Gengler. A guard-heavy lineup has mandated that SR G Marcus Hall has had to play the "4" spot frequently. Hall is a strong defender and has handled that role well. In addition, all of the Viking guards have proven to be good rebounders.