complete stats and notes in pdf

PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS vs. UC RIVERSIDE HIGHLANDERS
Saturday, December 6, 2014, 5 p.m. • SRC Arena (2,750), Riverside, CA
 
PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS
2014-15 Record: 4-2
Head Coach: Tyler Geving (73-87/6th year)
 
UC RIVERSIDE HIGHLANDERS
2014-15 Record: 4-3
Head Coach: Dennis Cutts (14-24/2nd year)
 
Live Video Stream: www.BigWest.org/tv
Live Audio Stream: www.GoViks.com • Play-by-play: Tom Hewitt • Pregame Show: 4:45 p.m.
Live Stats: www.sidearmstats.com/ucr/mbball/
 
THE OPENING TIP
Portland State will try to reverse its fortunes when it completes a stretch of four straight road games this Saturday at UC Riverside. The Vikings opened its traveling road show with a win at Cal State Northridge (11/26), but have lost decisively in successive games at Oregon and Portland this week.
     
Now 4-2, Portland State will attempt to stop a two-game losing streak, while the 4-3 Highlanders will try to extend a two-game winning streak. PSU is 2-2 on the road this season.
     
PSU and UCR, meeting for the first time in two years, will tip-it off at 5 p.m. at SRC Arena in Riverside. Live video, audio and stats links can be found at GoViks.com.
           
Portland State's problems in the past two games are fairly simple: poor shooting. PSU shot a Big Sky Conference-era all-time low of .258 in a Sunday loss at Oregon. On Wednesday, the Vikings shot a nearly identical .259 in the first half at Portland, falling behind 41-24. PSU improved to .400 for the game overall, but the damage was done, and the Vikings never caught up.
     
Meanwhile, UC Riverside has been headed in the other direction, winning its last two games against Abilene Christian and Cal State Bakersfield. The Highlanders have a 3-1 home record.
     
Portland State finally returns home on Dec. 13 to face Bakersfield. It will be the first home contest in nearly three weeks. The preseason schedule rounds out with a Dec. 18 game at San Francisco, then a Dec. 22 home game against Walla Walla. Big Sky Conference play begins on Jan. 1 with a home game against Southern Utah.
 
THE SERIES: PORTLAND STATE VS. UC RIVERSIDE
• ALL-TIME SERIES: Portland State leads the all-time series, 3-1, with two wins in the last four seasons. The only time the Vikings played at Riverside was a December 16, 1972 contest won by UCR, 67-66.
• LAST MEETING, Feb. 23, 2013, Peter W. Stott Center, Portland State 66, UC Riverside 58: The Vikings put on a 16-0 second-half run, turning an eight-point deficit into an eight-point lead. PSU held the Highlanders scoreless for seven minutes. Michael Harthun scored 15 points to pace the Vikings. Aaron Moore added 13 points and nine rebounds, and Gary Winston had 10 points. Chris Patton led UCR with 22 points.
• COACHES:  Vikings Coach Tyler Geving (73-87, 6th season) is 2-0 all-time against UC Riverside. UCR second-year Head Coach Dennis Cutts (14-24) has never faced PSU.
• VIKINGS vs. THE BIG WEST CONFERENCE: Portland State is 25-32 all-time against current members of the Big West Conference. That includes a 63-55 win at Cal State Northridge on Nov. 26... Head Coach Tyler Geving has compiled a 6-1 all-time record against Big West schools over the last five seasons.
 
THE UC RIVERSIDE HIGHLANDERS
The UC Riverside Highlanders are members of the Big West Conference. They were 10-21 last season, 5-11 and eighth place in the Big West. Head Coach Dennis Cutts, is in his second season, and returns four starters and seven letterwinners.
• UC Riverside has started the season 4-3, including a 3-1 record at home.
• The Highlanders average 69.3 points, and allow only 62.7. They also outrebound opponents by an average of 4.4 per game.
• Junior forward Taylor Johns leads the Highlanders with 14.9 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.6 blocked shots per game while shooting .513 from the field.
• Junior guard Jaylen Bland averages 14.3 points and has 20-44 three-point field goals this season (.455).
• Senior guard Nick Gruninger averages 8.3 points, and has team-highs of 21 assists and nine steals. He shoots .541 from the field and a perfect 14-14 at the free throw line this season.
 
SUSTAINABLE AND RECYCLABLE VIKING QUICK NOTES
WINNING LINES
• Portland State is 4-2 this season, 2-0 at home, 2-2 on the road.
• The Vikings have won four straight home games dating to last season.
• PSU has lost two straight games on the road after winning its first two.
• The Vikings have a four-game winning streak this season, matching the best streak of last season accomplished on three occasions.
• 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).
 
HOT SHOTS
• SR G DaShaun Wiggins has scored in double figures all six games this season. He posted a career-high 32 points (12-18 FG, 3-4 3-pt, 5-10) in the Vikings overtime win against Southern Illinois Edwardsville  (11/24). It was the first 30-point game by a Viking in 68 games.
• FR G Iziahiah Sweeney hit 5-5 field goals for 10 points in the second half against Portland.
• SR F Tiegbe Bamba likes playing road games. He has 59 points (14.8) and 21 rebounds (5.3) in four road games. He has made 22-37 field goals (.594).
• SR G DaShaun Wiggins leads the Big Sky Conference in three-point percentage (11-17, .579).
• PSU has 51 steals (8.5) and a +6.2 turnover margin to lead the Big Sky Conference in both categories.
 
NOT SO HOT
• Portland State shot .258 from the field (17-66) against Oregon. That marked the worst single-game field goal percentage by a Viking team since the program was reinstated and joined the Big Sky Conference in 1996-97.
• PSU is shooting 63-180 (.350) in the last three games.
• After starting the season 16-20 (.800) from the field and 10-12 (.833) three-pointers in the first three games, SR G Tim Douglas has made only 5-29 (.172) and 2-13 three-pointers (.154) in his last three games.
• SR G Gary Winston sat out the game at Portland with an injured hip flexor.
 
NATIONAL STATISTICAL RANKINGS: Where Portland State stands in the NCAA statistical rankings through games of Dec. 3:
• 10th in the nation in turnover margin (+8.2).
• 18th in the nation in fewest turnovers per game (10.5).
 
POLLING NUMBERS: Portland State earned votes in the Dec. 1 Mid-Major Top-25 poll. The Vikings received 29 polling points, effectively ranking 32nd in the nation among mid-major teams.
 
VALUE THE BASKETBALL: After six games, Portland State has forced opponents into 100 turnovers while committing only 63. The defining result is the advantage PSU has in points off turnovers, getting 123 while giving up only 75.
 
FAST HANDS: The 100 forced turnovers (16.7 per game) are in large part due to Portland State having 51  steals - an average of 8.5 per game - which leads the Big Sky Conference. SR F Tiegbe Bamba and SR G DaShaun Wiggins lead the team with 10 each... PSU's turnover margin (+6.2) also leads the Big Sky.
 
LATE-GAME HEROICS: With an overtime win against Southern Illionis Edwardsville on Nov. 24, 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.
 
SHOOTING STAR: SR G Tim Douglas started the season red-hot from outside. He has struggled in recent games, but still shoots .480 from three-point range with a team-leading 12 three-pointers... Douglas is also shooting .818 at the line.
• Douglas scored a season-high 17 points (5-7 FG, 3-3 3-pt 4-4 FT) in a win over SIUE (11/24). He added four steals and three assists.
 
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. Wiggins again leads the team in scoring at 15.3 per game.
• Shooting a Big Sky Conference leading .579 (11-19) from three-point range.
• Wiggins posted a career-high 32 points (12-18 FG, 3-4 3-pt, 5-10 FT) in a 90-87 overtime win against SIUE (11/24).
• Wiggins has scored in double figures in all six games this season.
 
X-FACTOR: When SO F Braxton Tucker was signed in the off-season, it was expected he may play a backup role in his first year as a Viking. But Tucker went out and earned a starting job in preseason practice and has fluorished in his role. He averages 10.8 points and leads the team in rebounding (7.0).
• Tucker leads the team in free throw percentage (.923).
• Ranks second in the Big Sky in rebounding (7.0) and second in free throw percentage (.923).
 
HE'S THE BAMBA: Portland State had to wait a year for SR F Tiegbe Bamba to recover from a junior college achilles injury, but the native of Sarcelles, France has been worth the wait. Starting five of six games, Bamba is averaging 11.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and shooting a very efficient .533 from the field and .800 at the line.
• Bamba was named Big Sky Conference Player of the Week following a 19-point, six-rebound, four-steal, two-assist performance in a win at USC on Nov. 15. Bamba made 8-11 FGs and 3-3 3-pt FGs in the game.
• Leads the Vikings with 10 steals.
• Has led the team in scoring three times this season.
 
HE FILLS THE STAT SHEET: SO G Bryce White is another addition making a big impact on the team this season. White ranks second on the team in scoring (12.3), rebounding (5.2) and assists (14). He also has eight steals and two blocked shots this season.
• White has scored in double figures five times this season.
 
DOES THIS MEAN LIFTOFF?: FR G Iziahiah Sweeney is known for his great leaping ability and winning a dunk competition last year. Now he wants to be known as a contributor on the Vikings basketball team. Sweeney was 5-5 for 10 points (including two dunks) in 14 minutes of the second half against Portland on Wednesday. That helped carved a 27-point deficit down to nine points before the Vikings lost. Is Sweeney's performance a harbinger of things to come?
 
BACK AT 'YA: JR F Collin Spickerman had a slow start to the season due to an ankle injury in preseason camp. However, he is seeing his minutes and impact grow. Spickerman blocked three shots at Portland on Wednesday and has eight blocks in the last three games. Though he is averaging only 16.7 minutes per game, Spickerman already has 10 blocks on the season to rank fourth in the Big Sky Conference (1.7).
 
5x10: Head Coach Tyler Geving knew he had a number of players who could score going into this season. That has proven itself as five are currently averaging in double figures and a sixth is close. They are: DaShaun Wiggins (15.3), Braxton Tucker (10.8), Bryce White (12.3), Tim Douglas (12.0) and Tiegbe Bamba (11.3). All five rank in the top 25 in scoring in the Big Sky Conference... Gary Winston, who averaged 11.3 last season, is currently averaging 8.0 points, but also leads the Vikings in assists (3.4).
 
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.
 
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 5-49 all-time against Pac-12 schools (5-37 since joining the Big Sky in 1996-97) after a Nov. 30 loss at Oregon. Coach Tyler Geving is 1-9 against the Pac-12.
 
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.