complete notes and stats in pdf

PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS vs. CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE MATADORS
Wednesday, November 26, 2014, 8 p.m. • The Matadome (1,250), Northridge, CA
 
PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS
2014-15 Record: 3-0
Head Coach: Tyler Geving (72-85/6th year)
 
CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE MATADORS
2014-15 Record: 2-3
Head Coach: Reggie Theus (19-21/2nd year/career, 60-44/4th year)
 
Live Video Stream: www.BigWest.org/tv
Live Audio Stream: www.GoViks.com • Play-by-play: Tom Hewitt • Pregame Show: 7:45 p.m.
Live Stats: www.gomatadors.com
 
THE OPENING TIP
Portland State takes a perfect record to Cal State Northridge on Wednesday night as the Vikings embark on a four-game road swing over the next two weeks. PSU is 3-0 after a Monday night overtime win against Southern Illinois Edwardsville, 90-87. The Matadors go into Wednesday's game at 2-3 on the season.
     
In addition to CSN, the Vikings play at Oregon (Sunday), Portland (Dec. 3) and UC Riverside (Dec. 6) over the next two weeks. PSU's next home game does not come until a Dec. 13 contest with Cal State Bakersfield.
     
Wednesday's game is an 8 p.m. start at the Matadome. A live video stream is available at www.BigWest.org/tv. Live audio can be found at www.GoViks.com. Live stats are at www.gomatadors.com.
     
The Vikings and the Matadors were one-time conference opponents in the Big Sky. Cal State Northridge has since moved on to the Big West. CSN leads the all-time series 9-4 though the teams have not met since the 2006-07 season.
     
Cal State Northridge has started the season 2-3, including 1-0 at home. Two of the losses came on the road at nationally-ranked San Diego State and Arizona. The Matadors have beaten Montana State at home. Last weekend they beat Samford (79-72) and lost in double overtime to Arkansas-Little Rock (94-88).
     
PSU is the only undefeated team in the Big Sky Conference through two weeks of play. The Vikings had a raucous overtime home win against SIUE on Monday behind a career-high 32 points from DaShaun Wiggins. The senior guard made a go-ahead driving three-point play with 1:21 remaining in the extra session that led the Vikings to victory.
     
Portland State is now 3-0 for the first time since the start of the 2008-09 season.
 
THE SERIES: PORTLAND STATE VS. CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE
• ALL-TIME SERIES: Cal State Northridge leads the all-time series 9-4 and is 5-1 against the Vikings in the Matadome... the Vikings were 3-7 all-time against the Matadors in Big Sky Conference games, including 1-4 in the Matadome... CSN has won the last two meetings and five of the last six.
• LAST MEETING, Nov. 10, 2006, Eugene, OR: Cal State Northridge beat Portland State, 90-65, in the first game of the 2006-07 season at the Oregon Basketball Travelers Classic.
• COACHES:  Viking Coach Tyler Geving has never faced Cal State Northridge. Matadors Coach Reggie Theus has never faced the Vikings.
• VIKINGS vs. THE BIG WEST: Portland State is 24-32 all-time against teams that are current members of the Big West Conference. The Vikings also face UC Riverside (Dec. 6) of the Big West this season... Viking Coach Tyler Geving is 5-1 against members of the Big West Conference (1-0 vs. Cal Poly; 1-0 vs. UC Davis; 2-0 vs. UC Riverside; 1-1 vs. Cal State Fullerton).
 
THE CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE MATADORS
Cal State Northridge is led by second-year Head Coach Reggie Theus, a former NBA player and coach, as well as one-time head coach at New Mexico State. Last season, Theus led the Matadors to a 17-18 record, 7-9 in the Big West. He is 19-21 overall at CSN... the Matadors return three starters and six letterwinners from last season, including a pair of forwards who averaged more than 17 points per game (6-6 Stephen Maxwell, 6-7 Stephan Hicks)... this season, Maxwell leads the team with 19.2 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. He shoots .565 from the field and .867 at the free throw line... Hicks is second on the team at 18.0 points per game and 4.4 rebounds. He is shooting .525 from the field and .800 at the line... point guard Landon Drew leads the Matadors with 5.0 assists and 1.8 steals per game.... overall CSN shoots .470 from the field, but is not a three-point shooting team, hitting only 13-49 (.265) through five games. The Matadors average 73.0 points per game, but give up 79.2 per game.
 
SUSTAINABLE AND RECYCLABLE VIKING QUICK NOTES
WINNING LINES
• Portland State is 3-0 this season, 2-0 at home, 1-0 on the road.
• The Vikings have won four straight home games dating to last season.
• Portland State was 17-15, 12-5 at home, 4-9 on the road, 1-1 in neutral site games in 2013-14.
• The Vikings went 11-9 in the Big Sky Conference, 7-3 at home and 4-6 on the road.
• With 17 wins, PSU more than doubled the previous year's win total (8-20).
Stott Stuff
• PSU has gone 143-52 in 195 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 174-67 at home over the past 19 seasons.
• Portland State is 50-23 at home in six seasons under Tyler Geving.
• Since the start of the 2006-07 season, PSU is 87-26 at home, including 50-22 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 (37-6). PSU is 22-6 against Division I schools, and 15-0 against lower division schools over that span.
And The Trivial
• Portland State is 27-24 all-time in overtime. Coach Tyler Geving is 5-4 all-time in overtime, including 1-0 this season. PSU was 3-1 in overtime last season.
• PSU is 2-15 against nationally-ranked opponents since joining the Big Sky Conference in 1996-97.
• Head Coach Tyler Geving is 1-2 all-time against ranked opponents.
• Portland State is 18-41 in games televised in the Portland area since joining the Big Sky Conference in 1996-97. That includes a 9-7 home record and 9-34 road record.
 
HOT SHOTS
• SR G Tim Douglas has missed only four shots in the first three games. He is 16-20 from the field (.800), 10-12 on three-pointers (.833) and 4-4 at the free throw line. Douglas is 6-6 on three-pointers over the last two games.
• SR G DaShaun Wiggins posted a career-high 32 points (12-18 FG, 3-4 3-pt, 5-10) in the Vikings overtime win against Southern Illinois Edwardsville. It was the first 30-point game by a Viking in 68 games.
• SO F Braxton Tucker had the Vikings first double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds against Willamette. He had 13 points and nine rebounds against SIUE.
• PSU has 31 steals and a +9.0 turnover margin.
• The Vikings are shooting .500 from three-point range this season (23-46).
 
NOT SO HOT
• SR G Gary Winston is shooting .240 from the field (6-25). He came into the season a career .430 shooter and .435 from three-point range.
 
POLLING NUMBERS: Following its victory over USC on Nov. 15, Portland State earned votes in the Mid-Major Top-25 poll. The Vikings received 26 polling points, effectively ranking 35th in the nation among mid-major teams.
 
SHOOTING STAR: Prior to the start of this season, Head Coach Tyler Geving lauded his senior point guard Tim Douglas for how hard he worked on his outside shooting during the off-season. That work has paid off. Douglas shot .382 from the field and .331 from three-point range last season. Through three games this season, Douglas is 16-20 from the field (.800) and 10-12 from three-point range (.833). Douglas was a perfect 6-6 from the field and 3-3 from three-point range against Willamette... he has now made six straight three-pointers over the last two games... Douglas leads the Big Sky in both field goal and three-point field goal percentage and ranks among the leaders in the nation.
 
LATE-GAME HEROICS: With an overtime win against Southern Illionis Edwardsville on Monday night, the Vikings continue a trend that began last year with late-game heroics. The Vikings never led in the last four minutes of regulation against SIUE, but got a tieing basket from SO F Braxton Tucker with 8.8 seconds left to play. In overtime, DaShaun Wiggins gave the Vikings their first lead with 1:21 to play on a driving three-point play... with the overtime win PSU is now 4-1 in overtime games since the start of the 2013-14 season... last year, Portland State proved to be a team that performed well under pressure, going 10-6 in close games (seven points or less) and 3-1 in overtime... the Vikings came back to win seven games when trailing at halftime - the most by any team in the Big Sky Conference.
 
SIXTH-MAN SENSATION: SR G DaShaun Wiggins was Portland State's leading scorer last season despite not being a starter. He averaged 12.9 points per game in 22.9 minutes per night. That effort earned him Big Sky Conference co-6th Man of the Year honors... in 2014-15, Wiggins is looking better than ever. After his career performance against SIUE on Monday (32 points), Wiggins leads the team in scoring again at 18.0, along with 3.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.0 steals. He shoots .528 from the field and .571 from three-point range.
 
NEW PLAYERS, BIG IMPACT: Head Coach Tyler Geving inserted three new starters into his lineup for the opener at USC, and the results couldn't have been much better. SR F Tiegbe Bamba, SO G Bryce White and SO F Braxton Tucker were playing their first game as Vikings and they combined for 49 points (16-32 FG, 4-7 3-pt, 13-17 FT), 14 rebounds, four assists and six steals with only two turnovers. Each played 34 minutes... through three games, that trio has combined to average 39.0 points, 17.6 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 3.0 steals.
 
VALUE THE BASKETBALL: After three games, Portland State has forced opponents into almost twice as many turnvoers (60) than they have committed (33). The defining result is the advantage PSU has in points off turnovers, getting 79 while giving up only 35.
 
FAST HANDS: The 60 forced turnovers (20.0 per game) are in large part due to Portland State having 31  steals - 10 against USC, 14 against Willamette and seven against SIUE. SR F Tiegbe Bamba leads the team with eight steals and SR G DaShaun Wiggins has six.
 
BEATING THE PAC-12: It doesn't happen often for the Vikings or members of the Big Sky Conference, but it happened on Nov. 15 when Portland State beat USC for the first time in its history, 76-68. The Vikings are 1-1 all-time against the Trojans... PSU is 5-48 all-time against Pac-12 schools (5-36 since joining the Big Sky in 1996-97), and Coach Tyler Geving can now claim his first win (1-8) over the Pac-12... Portland State also has two wins over Oregon and two over Arizona State in its history... the Vikings have never beaten two Pac-12 opponents in the same season. They will get a chance to do so when they play at Oregon on Nov. 30. The Ducks lead that series, 10-2, with both Viking wins coming in Eugene at old McArthur Court.
 
THE TYLER GEVING BASKETBALL SHOW: The Tyler Geving Basketball Show is available on Blog Talk Radio. The show takes place each Wednesday night, 10:30-11:00 pm, PDT. The link to listen changes each week, but the weekly link can be found at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/tylergevingshow. Geving, a 10-year veteran of the Viking basketball program, is in his sixth season as head coach. He will talk Viking basketball, Big Sky basketball and review and preview games. Greg Crawford hosts the show.
 
PORTLAND STATE SIGNS TORRIAN EPPS FOR NEXT YEAR
      Portland State Basketball Coach Tyler Geving has announced the signing of Torrian Epps to a National Letter of Intent for the 2015-16 academic year. Epps, a 6-4 guard, is the first signee for next year's Viking class.
      "Torrian is an athletic wing who is very good at getting to the basket and running the floor in transition," said Geving. "He has a knack for scoring. (Assistant Coach) Jase Coburn has known Torrian since his high school days, and that was helpful in the recruiting process. We look forward to Torrian adding to our team next season."
      Epps currently plays at Central Arizona College where he is averaging 19.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists and shooting 51% from the field in his sophomore season. He scored 21 points in a recent win over 12th-ranked New Mexico JC.
      As a freshman, he played at Howard College in Texas, averaging 8.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and shooting 52% from the field.
      Epps is from Holbrook, AZ where he played for Holbrook High School, leading the team to a 34-4 record as a senior. Holbrook finished in the final four of the Arizona Division 3 State Tournament. Epps averaged 18.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, shot 58% from the field and 44% from three-point range.
      Epps will join a Viking team that will graduated five seniors this year, three of whom are key guards Gary Winston, Tim Douglas and DaShaun Wiggins.
 
2014-15 SEASON HIGHLIGHT REEL
• In his first game as a Viking, SR F Tiegbe Bamba led the team to a rare win over a Pac-12 school as the Vikings beat USC 76-68 (11/15). Bamba scored 19 points (8-11 FG, 3-3 3-pt), had six rebounds, four steals and two assists in the game, leading five players in double figures. It was the first win over a Pac-12 opponent since the 2006-07 season and just the fifth all-time (5-48).
• SR F Tiegbe Bamba was named Big Sky Conference co-Player of the Week (11/18) after his performance in the win over USC. Bamba had 19 points, six rebounds and four steals in a 76-68 win.
• SO G Bryce White posted 19 points, six rebounds and five assists as the Vikings routed Willamette, 84-63 (11/18). PSU shot .544 from the field, .571 from three-point range and forced 23 turnovers for the second straight game. SR G Tim Douglas scored 15 points and did not miss a shot (6-6 FG, 3-3 3-pt FG).
• SR G DaShaun Wiggins scored a career-high 32 points (12-18 FG, 3-4 3-pt, 5-10 FT) in leading the Vikings to a 90-87 overtime win against Southern Illinois Edwardsville (11/24). Wiggins made a driving three-point play to give the Vikings the lead for good with 1:21 to play in OT. His 30-point effort was the first by a Viking in 68 games.