complete notes and stats in pdf

PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (10-9, 4-5) vs. MONTANA STATE BOBCATS (4-16, 1-7)
Saturday, January 31, 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 needs to bounce back from a disappointing performance when the Vikings take on Montana State this Saturday at the Stott Center.
     
The Vikings lost 73-54 to second-place University of Montana on Thursday night. That leaves PSU at 10-9 on the season, 4-5 in the Big Sky Conference and tied for sixth place with Weber State. More concerning is that Portland State took its third conference loss at home (2-3). The Vikings have four conference home games remaining and five on the road (where they are 2-2).
     
A win on Saturday night is vitally important for PSU as it goes on the road for three games over the next two weeks. Standing in the way is Montana State (4-16, 1-7), a team that has struggled this year under new Head Coach Brian Fish. The Bobcats have lost two games in a row and 11 of their last 12. MSU has yet to pick up a road win this season (0-11).
     
Montana State has won the last four meetings in the series with Portland State, but all four have been close with none decided by more than six points.
     
Saturday's game tips off at 7:05 p.m. at the Peter W. Stott Center. A live video stream is available at www.WatchBigSky.com. Links to live video, audio and statistics can be found at GoViks.com by clicking on the Game Day box.
     
Due to the Big Sky Conference's new unbalanced schedule (12 teams, 18 conference games), this will be the only time the Vikings play Montana State this season.
 
THE BIG SKY CONFERENCE
Sacramento State (14-6, 8-1) won again on Thursday night for its fifth straight and has a half-game lead over Montana (11-8, 7-1), winners of six in a row. Eastern Washington (15-5, 6-1) had Thursday night off. Northern Colorado (10-9, 5-3) and Northern Arizona (9-11, 4-3) follow those three one-loss teams.
     
Portland State (10-9, 4-5) is now tied for sixth place with Weber State (9-11, 4-5). Idaho is in eighth place (8-10, 3-4).
     
The top eight teams in the 12-team Big Sky Conference will advance to the Big Sky Tournament, Mar. 12-14, at the home of the regular season champion.
 
COMING UP
Beginning next week Portland State is on the road for two weeks playing three tough opponents. PSU is at first-place Sacramento State on Feb. 7. Then, the Vikings play a first-ever Big Sky Conference game in Moscow, ID, facing Idaho on Feb. 12. The road swing raps up with a Valentine's Day game at Eastern Washington.
 
GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE VS. MONTANA STATE
• ALL-TIME SERIES: Montana State leads the all-time series 31-19. Portland State leads 13-10 in Portland.
• BIG SKY CONFERENCE SERIES: The Bobcats lead the Big Sky series 24-16. PSU leads 12-8 in Portland. In Big Sky Tournament games, the Vikings hold a 4-0 advantage over the Bobcats.
• STREAK: Montana State has won four straight in the series, with all four games decided by six points or less. The Bobcats have won nine of the last 10 regular season games, but the Vikings have won both Big Sky Tournament games during that span.
• LAST SEASON: Jan. 9, 2014 at MSU: Montana State 79, Portland State 76: It was one of the most tightly contested games of the season with 14 ties, 14 lead changes and no double-digit leads. The Bobcats shot .563 from the field and out-rebounded the Vikings 29-21. PSU shot .545 in the game, but shot only 10 free throws, compared to 25 for MSU. Antonio Biglow led four Bobcats in double figures, scoring 15 points. DaShaun Wiggins scored 20 points and Marcus Hall had 19 for the Vikings. Feb. 8, 2014 at MSU: Montana State 69, Portland State 64: Montana State came back from an eight-point deficit in the second half as it outshot PSU, .471 to .383. Bobcat post Paul Egwuonwu came off the bench for 21 points and 10 rebounds. Kyle Richardson had a double-double for the Vikings with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Gary Winston scored 14.
• COACHES: Vikings Coach Tyler Geving (79-94, 6th season) is 3-9 all-time against Montana State. Bobcats Coach Brian Fish (4-16, 1st season) is in his first season at Montana State.
 
SCOUTING THE MONTANA STATE BOBCATS
• Montana State, an original member of the Big Sky Conference, was 14-17 last season, 9-11 and ninth in the Big Sky Conference. Two starters and eight letterwinners return from that team.
• The Bobcats have won four Big Sky regular season championships, two tournament championships and made three appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
• MSU is 4-16 this season, 4-5 at home, 0-11 on the road. The Bobcats are 1-7 in Big Sky games, 1-3 at home and 0-4 on the road.
• Montana State has lost two games in a row and 11 of the last 12.
• The Bobcats have struggled to score this season, ranking last in the Big Sky Conference in points (61.5), scoring margin (-8.3) and field goal percentage (.390). They also are last in turnovers (14.2) and turnover margin (-2.6).
• Three Montana State players average in double figures scoring. Senior guard Michael Dison leads the team with 13.6 points per game and 45-107 three-point field goals made (.421). Junior guard Marcus Colbert averages 11.2 points and 5.4 assists per game. Sophomore guard Stephan Holm scores 10.2 points per game off the bench.
• Senior forward Eric Norman leads the team with 6.2 rebounds and 33 blocked shots.
 
SUSTAINABLE AND RECYCLABLE VIKING QUICK NOTES
WINNING LINES
• Portland State is 10-9 this season, 6-3 at home, 4-6 on the road.
• The Vikings are 4-5 in the Big Sky Conference, 2-3 at home, 2-2 on the road.
• 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 147-55 in 202 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 178-70 at home over the past 19 seasons.
• Portland State is 54-26 at home in six seasons under Tyler Geving.
• Since the start of the 2006-07 season, PSU is 91-29 at home, including 52-25 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 153-160 all-time in all Big Sky Conference games, including the Big Sky Tournament (9-9).
• PSU is 102-50 in home games, 47-105 in road games and 4-5 in neutral site games.
• PSU is 67-63 in Big Sky games since the start of the 2007-08 season, 74-66 including tournament games.
 
HOT SHOTS
• JR C Collin Spickerman has two or more blocked shots in the last four games. Spickerman has 37 blocks on the season, which ranks sixth all-time in a season at Portland State. Spickerman ranks second in the Big Sky in blocks (1.9) for the season, and first in Big Sky games... in the last seven games, Spickerman is 17-24 from the field (.708).
• SR G Gary Winston is averaging 14.7 points and 4.6 assists per game in conference play, after averaging 9.6  points and 3.2 assists in non-conference games.
• SR G DaShaun Wiggins has scored in double figures in 17 of 19 games this season.
 
NOT SO HOT
• SO G Bryce White will miss the remainder of the season due to low back problems.
• Portland State has allowed opponents to shoot .390 from three-point range, ranking 335th in the nation (of 355).
• Portland State's -3.4 rebounding margin ranks 11th in the Big Sky Conference.
 
NATIONAL STATISTICAL RANKINGS: Where Portland State stands in the NCAA statistical rankings through games of Jan. 29 (top 30 rankings):
• PSU ranks 23rd in the nation in fewest turnovers per game (10.8).
• PSU ranks 28th in the nation in free throw percentage (.740).
 
SHOOTING IMPROVES, SCORING IMPROVES - AND VICE VERSA: After an abysmal stretch of nine games in which PSU shot only .387 percentage from the field, the Vikings had improved over a span of six games, shooting .489. Thursday night's .370 performance from the field was a big step back as the Vikings scored 54 points - their fewest in a Big Sky game this season... the Vikings had scored an average of 80.3 per game during the previous six contests... the Vikings have averaged less than 69 points per game in the other 14 outings... for the season, PSU shoots .434 from the field, .371 from three-point range, .740 at the free throw line and averages 72.2 points per game.
 
A HALFTIME LEAD SEEMS TO BE THE KEY: Portland State is 10-0 when leading at halftime, 0-9 when trailing at halftime.
 
OTHER STRONG INDICATORS: Strong indicators of winning and losing through 19 games:
• The Vikings are 6-0 when they out-rebound opponents.
• The Vikings are 6-2 when shooting a higher percentage than opponents.
• Portland State is 7-3 in games decided by eight points or less.
 
ANOTHER LINEUP SNAFU: Head Coach Tyler Geving has used eight different starting lineups this season. The constant change was the result of numerous nagging injuries to different players and certainly affected team continuity. Now, the Vikings have learned that SO G Bryce White is likely out for the remainder of the season with low back problems. SO G Zach Gengler has started the last three games in his place.
• The most common starting unit has been SR G Gary Winston, SR G DaShaun Wiggins, SO G Bryce White, SO F Braxton Tucker and SR F Tiegbe Bamba. That group has eight starts and a 5-3 record.
• 10 different players have started games this season, none have started every game and only three players have competed in every game.