complete notes and stats in pdf

PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS vs. NORTHERN COLORADO BEARS
Saturday, March 1, 6:05 p.m. PT • Butler-Hancock Pavilion (2,977), Greeley, CO
 
PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS
Record/Big Sky: 13-13, 8-9
Head Coach: Tyler Geving (65-83/5th year)
 
NORTHERN COLORADO BEARS
Record/Big Sky: 16-10, 10-7
Head Coach: BJ Hill (59-58/4th year)
 
Live Video Stream: www.WatchBigSky.com
Live Audio Stream: www.GoViks.com • Play-by-play: Tom Hewitt • Pregame Show: 5:45 p.m.
Live Stats: http://livestats.prestosports.com/uncbears/
 
THE OPENING TIP
The seriousness of the situation grows as Portland State heads to Northern Colorado for a Big Sky Conference game on Saturday night. The Vikings, following a Thursday loss at North Dakota, stand in ninth place in the Big Sky Conference with three games to play. PSU needs to climb to seventh or better to reach the Big Sky Tournament.
     
The Vikings entered Thursday's play in a four-way tie for sixth place at 8-8. However, after losing 83-73 in Grand Forks - and seeing the other three 8-8 teams win - PSU dropped to ninth. The good news is the Vikings (8-9) are only one game back of what is now a four-way tie for fifth place (9-8).
     
Portland State figures to need at least two wins in their final three games to crack the top seven and earn a trip to the Big Sky Tournament. After Saturday's game at Northern Colorado, the Vikings come home to take on first-place Weber State (Mar. 6) and 10th-place Idaho State (Mar. 8).
     
In the midst of a stretch of four road games, PSU (13-13, 8-9) has gone 2-1 so far. Second-place Northern Colorado (16-10, 10-7) will be a big challenge in Greeley. But the Vikings acan lean on the knowledge of beating the Bears in Portland, 80-57 on Jan. 30. Saturday's game at Butler-Hancock Pavilion starts at 6:05 p.m. PT. Live video, audio and stats are available at GoViks.com by clicking on the Game Day box.
     
Northern Colorado comes off two straight losses. The Bears lost their first home game of the year on Thursday to Eastern Washington, 80-66. For the season, UNC is 13-1 at home. The Vikings take a 3-8 road record to Greeley.
 
THE BIG SKY CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
The top seven teams in the Big Sky Conference regular season standings will earn berths into the conference tournament, Mar. 13-15, at the home of the regular season champion. The host will have an opening round bye, while quarterfinal games will match 2 vs. 7, 3 vs. 6 and 4 vs. 5.  
     
Weber State is the only team to earn a berth in the tournament so far as the Wildcats currently stand in first at 13-4.
 
THE SERIES: PORTLAND STATE VS. NORTHERN COLORADO
• ALL-TIME SERIES: Portland State leads 14-5. PSU lead in Greeley, 6-3.
• BIG SKY SERIES: Portland State leads 10-5. PSU leads in Greeley, 4-3.
• STREAK: None
• LAST MEETING, JAN. 30 IN PORTLAND, PSU 80-57: The Vikings led wire-to-wire and by more than 20 points for the entire second half. PSU shot .547... the Vikings held the top offensive team in the Big Sky to 57 points and .393 shooting... Gary Winston had 19 points and six assists, Marcus Hall scored 17 and Kyle Richardson posted 16 points and eight rebounds... Derrick Barden led the Bears with 19 points and 11 rebounds.
• COACHES:  Viking Coach Tyler Geving is 4-5 all-time against Northern Colorado. The Bears' BJ Hill is 2-5 against Portland State.
 
NORTHERN COLORADO BEARS: The University of Northern Colorado, located in Greeley, CO, is in its eighth season as a member of the Big Sky Conference. Northern Colorado won the 2011 Big Sky Conference Championship, advancing to the NCAA Division I Tournament for the first time... the Bears have the second-best record in the Big Sky this season at 16-10, 10-7... Northern Colorado is one of the best offensive teams in the league, averaging 74.3 points. UNC leads the Big Sky in field goal percentage (.491) and three-point percentage (.392) as well as rebounding margin (+3.5)... forward Derrick Barden leads the Bears in scoring (13.6), rebounding (8.0) and steals (32) while shooting .573 from the field... senior guard Tate Unruh is one of the top three-point shooters in the Big Sky (58-145, .400) and averages 12.0 points... Tim Huskisson (11.5) and Tevin Svihovec (10.1) also average in double figures.
 
SUSTAINABLE AND RECYCLABLE QUICK NOTES
WINNING LINES
• Portland State is 13-13 this season, 10-5 at home, 3-8 on the road.
• The Vikings are 8-9 in the Big Sky Conference, 5-3 at home and 3-6 on the road.
• With 13 wins this season, PSU has bettered last year's win total (8-20) and conference win total (5).
• PSU is 7-6 in close games (seven points or less).
• The Vikings have come back to win five games this season when trailing at halftime.
• Portland State is 46-23 at home in five seasons under Tyler Geving.
Big Sky Battles
• Portland State is 145-154 all-time in all Big Sky Conference games, including the tournament (8-8).
• PSU is 98-47 in home games, 44-103 in road games and 3-4 in neutral site games.
• PSU is 60-57 in Big Sky games since the start of the 2007-08 season, 66-59 including tournament games.
 
HOT SHOTS:
• SR F Kyle Richardson has 41 points, 22 rebounds and nine blocked shots in the last two games, making 17-23 shots from the field (.739). At North Dakota he set new career-highs for rebounds (14) and blocked shots (5). Over the last 10 games, he has made 60-90 shots from the field (.667), averaging 14.8 points and 7.8 rebounds.
• JR G Andre Winston has averaged 16.2 points, 3.0 assists and shot 66% in the last four games.
• JR G Gary Winston leads the Big Sky Conference in three-point percentage (.494).
 
NOT SO HOT:
• PSU has allowed opponents to shoot .505 from the field over the last seven games.
• The Vikings have lost five of their last seven games.
• The Vikings had 16 turnovers in the loss at North Dakota - the most in seven games.
• SR G Marcus Hall was 0-6 from the field and fouled out at North Dakota.
 
HOME/ROAD DIFFERENTIAL:
• Portland State is 10-5 at home this season, 3-8 on the road.
• PSU has shot .434 from the field, .326 from distance and .696 at the line on the road this year.
• At home, PSU shoots .494/.403/.735.
• The Vikings average 68.7 points on the road and 76.3 at home.
 
A WINNING LINEUP: Despite Thursday's loss, the four-guard starting lineup of Tim Douglas, Andre Winston Jr., Gary Winston, and Marcus Hall and forward Kyle Richardson has gone 7-5.
 
MORE POINTS, MORE WINS: Portland State has scored in the 80s in each of its last two wins. This season, the Vikings have gone 6-0 when scoring over 80 points, 10-6 when scoring 70 or more.
 
SHOOT IT WELL, WIN A GAME... UNTIL NOW: For the first time all season, Portland State lost a game in which it outshot its opponent. The Vikings shot .517 from the field at North Dakota, while UND shot .484. Likely PSU's 16 turnovers (to 8 for North Dakota) and 9-16 (.563) free throw shooting had a big impact on the loss... for the season, the Vikings are 8-1 when they shoot a higher percentage than their opponents, 5-12 when they don't.
 
5x10... ALMOST: Portland State has had five players score in double figures in each of the last two games. That matches the trend in conference play as PSU (almost) has five averaging double figures in Big Sky games:  Gary Winston (12.8), DaShaun Wiggins (12.6), Kyle Richardson (11.2), Tim Douglas (10.9) and Andre Winston (9.8). Meanwhile, Marcus Hall averages 8.9 in conference games.