complete notes and stats in pdf

PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (8-7, 2-3) vs. IDAHO VANDALS (7-8, 2-2)
Saturday, January 17, 7:05 p.m. • Peter W. Stott Center (1,500), Portland, OR
 
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: www.vikslive.com, www.viksmobile.com
 
THE OPENING TIP
Portland State Head Coach Tyler Geving will look for his team to get off to a better start on Saturday night when the Vikings host the University of Idaho in a Big Sky Conference game. PSU (8-7, 2-3) has lost its last two home games after sluggish first halves harmed its chances of winning.
     
The Vikings fell victim to a slow start on Thursday as first-place Eastern Washington kept its foot to the gas pedal for 40 minutes. The Eagles jumped to a double-digit lead in the first half then held off a Viking charge in the second half to win, 92-85.
     
That puts PSU at 2-3 and eighth-place in the 12-team Big Sky Conference. Saturday's game with the Vandals will be the one-third mark of the 18-game league season. Idaho (7-8, 2-2) comes into the game tied for sixth place in the Big Sky Conference after losing at Sacramento State, 79-76, on Thursday.
     
A Portland State win over Idaho would move them ahead of the Vandals in the league standings.
     
Portland State faces the University of Idaho for the first time ever in a Big Sky Conference game. Both schools are long-time members of the conference, but their memberships had never overlapped until now.
     
Idaho was an original member in 1963, but left the conference in 1996. Portland State joined the Big Sky for the 1996-97 season. This past year, Idaho rejoined the league after competing most recently in the Western Athletic Conference.
     
Portland State had won its first five home games this season, but is now 5-2 at the Stott Center. Idaho sports a 1-6 road record.
     
Saturday night's game tips off at 7:05 p.m. The game is available via live video stream at www.WatchBigSky.com. Links to live video, audio and statistics can be found at GoViks.com by clicking on the Game Day box.
 
COMING UP
Portland State will travel next week, playing at Weber State (8-8, 3-2) on Thursday and Idaho State (4-13, 1-4) on Saturday. It will be the only time PSU meets those schools this season in the new unbalanced Big Sky Conference schedule.
     
The Vikings have had the least amount of success at Weber State of any school in the Big Sky Conference (1-19). In contrast, PSU has done well in Big Sky games at Idaho State (9-9) over the years. Thursday's game in Ogden and Saturday's game in Pocatello are both 6 p.m. PT starts. Links to live video, audio and statistics can be found at GoViks.com by clicking on the Game Day box.
 
GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE VS. IDAHO
• ALL-TIME SERIES: The all-time series is tied 10-10. PSU is 7-3 at home against Idaho.
• BIG SKY CONFERENCE SERIES: This will be the first-ever meeting between Portland State and Idaho in a Big Sky Conference game. The teams have met four times in non-conference games over the past nine years, splitting those contests, 2-2.
• STREAK: Idaho has won two in a row in the series, including a 76-75 win at PSU last season.
• LAST SEASON: Dec. 14, 2013 at PSU: Idaho 76, Portland State 75: Idaho guards Glen Dean and Connor Hill combined to make 10-16 three-pointers against the Vikings, and totaled 47 points overall. PSU led by two at halftime, but the lead changed nine times in the second half. Trailing by one, the Vikings had the ball but were unable to get off a shot in the closing seconds. DaShaun Wiggins came off the bench to score 22 points and grab eight rebounds for the Vikings.
• COACHES: Vikings Coach Tyler Geving (77-92, 6th season) is 0-2 all-time against Idaho. Vandals Coach Don Verlin (104-104/7th season) is 2-0 all-time against the Vikings. 
 
IDAHO VANDALS
• Idaho was 16-18 last season, 7-9 and tied for fifth in the Western Athletic Conference. The Vandals reached the WAC Tournament Championship game.  Three starters and seven letterwinners return from that team.
• The Vandals were previously members of the Big Sky Conference (1963-96) and have rejoined in 2014-15. Idaho won four Big Sky regular season and tournament titles, and made five appearances in the NCAA Tournament in their previous stint in the Big Sky.
• Idaho ranks second in the Big Sky Conference in scoring at 78.0 points per game. The Vandals are also second in three-point shooting at .411.
• Idaho leads the Big Sky in rebounding margin at +4.9.
• Senior guard Connor Hill leads Idaho and ranks seventh in the Big Sky, scoring 15.9 points per game. In conference games, he averages 20.3 points. Hill has made 52 three-point field goals.
• Sophomore guard Sekou Wiggs (13.9) and senior guard Mike Scott (13.8) also score in double figures. Scott is the team leader in assists with 5.3 per game.
• Senior forward Bira Seck is the team leader in rebounding at 8.1 per game, ranking third in the Big Sky.
 
SUSTAINABLE AND RECYCLABLE VIKING QUICK NOTES
WINNING LINES
• Portland State is 8-7 this season, 5-2 at home, 3-5 on the road.
• The Vikings are 2-3 in the Big Sky Conference, 1-2 at home, 1-1 on the road.
• PSU has lost two straight games at home and three of its last four overall.
• The Vikings opened the season with a four-game winning streak, matching the best streak of last season accomplished on three occasions.
Stott Stuff
• PSU has gone 146-57 in 200 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 177-69 at home over the past 19 seasons.
• Portland State is 53-25 at home in six seasons under Tyler Geving.
• Since the start of the 2006-07 season, PSU is 90-28 at home, including 51-24 in Big Sky Conference regular season and tournament games.
• Portland State has lost only six non-conference home games in the last nine seasons (39-6). PSU is 23-6 against Division I schools, and 16-0 against lower division schools over that span.
Big Sky Battles
• Portland State is 151-158 all-time in all Big Sky Conference games, including the Big Sky Tournament (9-9).
• PSU is 101-49 in home games, 46-104 in road games and 4-5 in neutral site games.
• PSU is 65-61 in Big Sky games since the start of the 2007-08 season, 72-64 including tournament games.
 
HOT SHOTS
• SR G Gary Winston scored a season-high 25 points (9-16 FG, 5-9 3-pt, 2-2 FT) with five assists against Eastern Washington. Winston tied his career-high for three-pointers made. Winston is averaging 17.8 points per game in conference play, after averaging 9.6 in non-conference games.
• SR G Tim Douglas had season-highs of 20 points (9-12 FG, 2-3 3-pt) and seven assists against Eastern Washington. He also had three steals and three rebounds.
• SR F Teigbe Bamba has 23 rebounds in the last two games (11.5).
• JR C Collin Spickerman has blocked 24 shots in the last 12 games. With 26 on the season, he now ranks second in the Big Sky Conference.
• The Vikings committed only seven turnovers against Eastern Washington.
 
NOT SO HOT
• The Vikings have allowed their last four opponents to shoot .504 from the field, losing three of four. In all three losses the opponents shot over .500.
• PSU missed its first eight shots and made only 10-30 in the first half against Eastern Washington. That created a 42-29 halftime deficit the Vikings were unable to overcome.
• SR G DaShaun Wiggins, PSU's leading scorer, had an off night against Eastern Washington, shooting only 1-7 from the field and scoring five points. He was averaging 15.6 points going into the game.
 
A SIGN OF GOOD THINGS TO COME?: Portland State has shot .497 from the field and .482 from three-point range in the last three games. That is a vast improvement over previous weeks... the Vikings' shooting marks over the previous nine games were: .407, .258, .400, .438, .417, .200, .576, .373, .393. That averaged out to a .387 percentage from the field and .311 from three-point range... for the season, PSU shoots .428 from the field, .383 from three-point range and .733 at the free throw line.
 
STRONG INDICATORS: A few numbers through 15 games are strong indicators of winning and losing:
• PSU is 8-0 when leading at halftime, 0-7 when trailing.
• The Vikings are 5-0 when they out-rebound opponents.
• The Vikings are 5-1 when shooting a higher percentage than opponents.
• Portland State is 6-2 in games decided by eight points or less.
 
5x10: Portland State has five players averaging double figures this season. No other team in the Big Sky Conference has more than three players averaging double figures. The Vikings' 10-point scorers are: SR G DaShaun Wiggins (15.0), SR G Gary Winston (12.5), SO F Braxton Tucker (11.6), SR F Tiegbe Bamba (10.3) and SO G Bryce White (10.2).
 
GARY IS GETTING HOT: SR G Gary Winston started the season slow offensively, but has turned it on over the last nine games, scoring in double figures seven times and raising his scoring average to 12.5. Winston also leads the Vikings with 3.6 assists and 33.0 minutes per game.
• In Big Sky Conference play, Winston averages 17.8 points and 4.4 assists as compared to 9.6 points and 3.2 assists in non-conference games.
• Winston scored 18 points with five rebounds and four assists in a win over Southern Utah (1/1).
• He had a season-high 19 points and career-high eight assists at Northern Colorado (1/8).
• Posted a season-high 25 points (9-16 FG, 5-9 3-pt, 2-2 FT) with five assists and four rebounds against Eastern Washington (1/15).
• Winston has led the team in scoring four times and assists nine times this season.
 
WINSTON WILL HIT 100, AND SOON 1,000: SR G Gary Winston is a fourth-year player in the Viking program and is a rare player to approach the 100 career games mark. Winston will play in his 100th game against Idaho... with 906 career points, Winston needs to average only 7.2 points over the next 15 conference games to reach 1,000. He would be only the 18th Viking in history to reach that mark... here is where Gary stands on some of PSU's all-time lists.
Games Played: 99 (top 10 begins at 103 games)
Career Points: 906 (17 players have 1,000 career points and Winston is on pace to reach that total)
Assists: 245, 10th
Steals: 63
3-pt FGs: 146, 5th
3-pt FGAs: 342, 9th
3-pt FG%: .427, 5th
 
THE RETURN OF TIM: SR G Tim Douglas has had a streaky season to say the least. He was averaging 15.7 points after three games and leading the Big Sky Conference in three-point shooting. But his touch disappeared and soon Douglas was struggling to score and lost his starting point guard job. In fact, he had scored more than five points only once in the previous nine games before lighting it up against Eastern Washington. Douglas had season-highs of 20 points (9-12 FG, 2-3 3-pt) and seven assists against the Eagles.