complete notes and stats in pdf

PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (7-5, 1-1) vs. NORTHERN COLORADO BEARS (6-7, 1-1)
Thursday, January 8, 7 p.m. MT/6 p.m. PT • Butler-Hancock Pavilion (2,992), Greeley, CO
 
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://www.sidearmstats.com/unco/mbball/
 
THE OPENING TIP
The Portland State Vikings embark on their first road trip of the Big Sky Conference schedule this week looking to make up for a home loss last Saturday. The Vikings (7-5, 1-1) play at Northern Colorado (6-7, 1-1) on Thursday night in a 6 p.m. PT game.
     
Conventional wisdom in the always-close Big Sky Conference (and probably any Division I conference) is to win all of your home games and half of your road games for a good season and a chance at a league title. That seldom happens for anyone but still makes for a tangible goal. Portland State opened Big Sky play at home last week, beating Southern Utah, but losing to Northern Arizona. So, the Vikings will shoot for at least one win, and hopefully two, on the upcoming road trip to make up for that loss.
     
Accomplishing that task won't be easy as the Vikings will be on their longest (distance-wise) trek of the Big Sky schedule. Thursday's game is in Greeley, CO. That is followed by a Saturday afternoon contest at North Dakota. On the bright side, the Vikings were able to split that trip last season with a win at Northern Colorado  (77-68).
     
It hasn't gone well on the road recently for the Vikings. Portland State began the season with a pair of big road wins at USC and Cal State Northridge. Since then, the Vikings have lost four in a row on the road for a 2-4 away mark. However, PSU swept the season series with the Bears last year, and the Vikings are 5-3 all-time in Greeley.    
     
Northern Colorado, which split its road trip last week in the state of Montana, is 5-1 at home this season.
     
Saturday's 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
The Vikings play at North Dakota on Saturday afternoon in a rare 2 p.m. CT/Noon PT tip-off. Last year the Vikings lost at UND, 83-73. The Vikings beat North Dakota at home 70-68. They lost to UND 79-63 in a Big Sky Tournament semifinal.
 
THE SERIES AND GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE VS. NORTHERN COLORADO
• ALL-TIME SERIES: Portland State leads the all-time series with Northern Colorado, 15-5, and the Big Sky Conference series, 11-5... the Vikings swept the season series last year, marking the fourth straight year there has been a sweep (2010-11, UNC; 2011-12, PSU; 2012-13, UNC; 2013-14, PSU).
• STREAK: PSU has won two in a row in the series.
• A NICE PLACE TO VISIT: Portland State is 7-3 all-time in Greeley, 5-3 in Big Sky games in Greeley. That is the best road record for the Vikings at any other Big Sky Conference opponent's home site.
• LAST SEASON: Jan. 30, 2014 at PSU: Portland State 80, Northern Colorado 57: The Vikings led wire-to-wire and by more than 20 the entire second half. PSU shot 55% from the field and 47% from three-point range while holding the Bears to 39%. Gary Winston scored 19 points and had six assists to lead the Vikings. Derrick Barden led UNC with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Mar. 1, 2014 at UNC: Portland State 77, Northern Colorado 68: PSU made 15-21 shots from the field in the second half (71%) to come from behind. UNC led by as many as 14 in the first half. Viks shoot 55% for the game and 79% at the line. Winston does it again, scoring a game-high 22 points with seven assists. Tim Douglas adds 16 and DaShaun Wiggins scores 14 for the Vikings. Tate Unruh posts 22 points and Barden has another double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds.
• LOOK OUT FOR GARY WINSTON: In last year's two games, Gary Winston totaled 41 points (14-26 FG, 5-11 3-pt, 8-9 FT), 13 assists, seven rebounds and committed only two turnovers.
• COACHES: Vikings Coach Tyler Geving (76-90, 6th season) is 5-5 all-time against Northern Colorado. Bears Coach BJ Hill (67-69, 5th season) is 4-4 all-time against the Vikings.
 
THE NORTHERN COLORADO BEARS
• Northern Colorado was 18-14 last season, 11-9 and tied for fifth with the Vikings in the Big Sky Conference.Two starters and nine letterwinners return from that team.
• A member of the Big Sky Conference since 2006-07, UNC is now in its ninth season in the league. The Bears won a Big Sky title in 2009-10, advancing to the NCAA Tournament.
• Northern Colorado is 6-7 this season, 1-1 in the Big Sky Conference. The Bears have a 5-1 home record.
• UNC is a good shooting team with a .474 field goal percentage and .377 three-point percentage, and have committed the fewest turnovers in the Big Sky Conference (10.2 per game). However, they rank last in field goal percentage defense (.473) and blocked shots (22).
• Senior guard Tevin Svihovic leads the Bears in scoring (11.7) and assists (30). Sophomore guard Cameron Michael averages 10.8 points per game.
• Senior forward Dominique Lee leads the team in rebounding (7.1), blocked shots (13), and shoots .625 from the field while averaging 9.8 points.
 
SUSTAINABLE AND RECYCLABLE VIKING QUICK NOTES
WINNING LINES
• Portland State is 7-5 this season, 5-1 at home, 2-4 on the road.
• PSU has lost four straight games on the road after winning its first two.
• The Vikings opened the season with a four-game winning streak, matching the best streak of last season accomplished on three occasions.
Big Sky Battles
• Portland State is 150-156 all-time in all Big Sky Conference games, including the Big Sky Tournament (9-9).
• PSU is 101-48 in home games, 45-103 in road games and 4-5 in neutral site games.
• PSU is 64-59 in Big Sky games since the start of the 2007-08 season, 71-62 including tournament games.
 
HOT SHOTS
• SR G Gary Winston scored 18 points in each of last week's two games. He has now scored in double figures in five of the last six games, raising his scoring average from 8.0 to 11.1.
• SO F Braxton Tucker had his second double-double of the season on Saturday against Northern Arizona with 12 points and 11 rebounds. He averaged 14.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and shot 11-19 (.579) from the field in last week's two games.
• JR C Collin Spickerman has blocked 20 shots in the last nine games. With 22 on the season, he now ranks second in the Big Sky Conference.
• Portland State had only six turnovers against Northern Arizona and ranks first in the Big Sky Conference in turnover margin (+3.9).
 
NOT SO HOT
• Portland State is last in the Big Sky Conference in rebounding margin (-5.9).
• The Vikings shot under 40% for the fifth time this season in the loss to Northern Arizona (.393).
• Leading scorer, SR G DaShaun Wiggins was just 4-21 from the field in last week's two games. SR G Tim Douglas was 1-9 from the field.
• JR C Dorian Cason (plantar fasciitis) missed his third straight game. He is expected to be out for at least another week.
 
NATIONAL STATISTICAL RANKINGS: Where Portland State stands in the NCAA statistical rankings through games of Jan. 4 (top 30 rankings):
• 22nd in the nation in fewest turnovers per game (10.8).
• 19th in turnover margin (+3.9).
• 28th in free throw percentage (.741).
 
HOME-ROAD DIFFERENTIAL: Portland State is 5-1 at home this season, 2-4 on the road.
• PSU averages 77.3 points at home, shooting .473 from the field, .396 from three-point range and .743 at the line.
• The Vikings average 61.8 points on the road, shooting .348/.313/739.
• PSU has out-rebounded opponents by 0.2 per game at home, but has been out-rebounded by 12.0 per game on the road.
• Opponents shoot .421 from the field and .682 at the line in the Stott Center. They shoot .496/.739 in their own arenas against the Vikings.
 
STRAIGHT SHOOTING: It is fair to say that Portland State has been shooting the ball... not well, the last several games. After a .500 shooting performance in a win over Southern Illinois Edwardsville on Nov. 24, PSU has had only one good shooting game - and that came in a win over NAIA Walla Walla. The shooting marks over the last nine games are: .407, .258, .400, .438, .417, .200, .576, .373, .393. That averages out to a .387 percentage from the field and .311 from three-point range. Not surprisingly, the Vikings are 4-5 in those nine games.
 
STRONG INDICATORS: A few numbers coming out of the first 12 games are strong indicators of winning and losing:
• PSU is 7-0 when leading at halftime, 0-5 when trailing.
• The Vikings are 4-0 when they out-rebound opponents.
• The Vikings are 4-0 when shooting a higher percentage than opponents.
 
IF YOU HAVEN'T GOT YOUR HEALTH: ... what have you got? Portland State came out relatively healthy for the first time in weeks as they opened Big Sky Conference play last week. SO F Braxton Tucker, SO G Bryce White and SR F Tiegbe Bamba all were available to play after missing recent games. Only JR C Dorian Cason (plantar fasciitis) was unable to go. The Vikings have lost 14 player games to injury so far this season. And, JR C Collin Spickerman saw limited minutes in the first few games as he was returning from a preseason ankle sprain.
 
THE EVER-CHANGING LINEUP: Head Coach Tyler Geving has gone with seven different starting lineups in 12 games this season. The constant change has been the result of numerous nagging injuries to different players and certainly affected team continuity.
• Last week, he started the unit of SR G Gary Winston, SR G DaShaun Wiggins, SO F Braxton Tucker, SR F Tiegbe Bamba and JR C Collin Spickerman for the second and third times this season. They are the expected starters again this week. PSU is 2-1 when that group starts.
• Nine different players have started games this season, none have started all 12 games and only four players have competed in all 12 games.
 
CHARITY WORK: Once again this season, Portland State is a team adept at drawing fouls and getting to the free throw line. The Vikings are 206-278 this year (.741), ranking 28th in the nation in percentage.
• PSU has also made more charity shots (206) than its opponents have attempted (201).
• The Vikings average 23.2 free throw attempts per game. Opponents average only 16.7.
 
5x10: Portland State has five players averaging double figures this season: SR G DaShaun Wiggins (15.3), SO F Braxton Tucker (10.9), SR F Tiegbe Bamba (10.9), SO G Bryce White (10.2), and SR G Gary Winston (11.1).
 
STARTING TO RALLY: SR G Gary Winston started the season slow offensively, but has turned it on over the last six games, scoring in double figures five times and raising his scoring average to 11.1. Winston also leads the Vikings with 3.2 assists and 32.8 minutes per game... last week, he averaged 18 points as the Vikings split a pair of home games.
• Winston scored a season-high 18 points with five rebounds and four assists in a win over Southern Utah (1/1).
 
WHERE GARY STANDS: 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 97th game at Northern Colorado. Here is where Gary stands on some of PSU's all-time lists.
Games Played: 96
Career Points: 853 (17 players have 1,000 career points and Winston is on pace to reach that total)
Assists: 229, 11th
Steals: 61
3-pt FGs: 137, 7th
3-pt FGAs: 324, 9th
3-pt FG%: .422, 5th
 
SIXTH-MAN SENSATION NO MORE: 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 has moved into the starting lineup over the last seven games and improved on that scoring average.
• Wiggins again leads the team in scoring at 15.3 per game, and ranks eighth in the Big Sky Conference.
• He shoots .444 (20-45) from three-point range to lead the team and rank sixth in the Big Sky.
• Leads the team with 18 steals, ranking fifth in the Big Sky.
• 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 had 23 points (8-15 FG, 1-4 3-pt, 6-8 FT), five steals, four rebounds and three assists in a win over Walla Walla (12/22).
• Wiggins has scored in double figures in 11 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 10.9 points and leads the team in rebounding (6.1)... Tucker returned from injury last week to average 14.0 points and 8.5 rebounds in two games. He had missed the previous game with injury.
• Tucker had a season-high 18 points (7-10 FG, 4-6 FT), with four rebounds and two blocks against CSU Bakersfield (12/13).
• Against Southern Utah he posted 16 points (6-9 FG, 4-4 FT) and six rebounds in a win.
• Tucker ranks 10th in the Big Sky in rebounding (6.1) and has led the team in rebounding four times this year.
• Tucker shoots .494 from the field and .781 at the line.
 
A BIG HAND FOR COLLIN: JR F Collin Spickerman had a big hand in the faces of CSU Bakersfield on Dec. 13, blocking six shots and tying a school record set three times previously (Scott Morrison twice, Seth Scott once). 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 has started the last seven games, blocking 15 shots. He has 20 blocks in the last nine games.
• Though he is averaging only 18.8 minutes per game, Spickerman ranks second in the Big Sky Conference in blocks (1.8).
 
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 nine of 10 games, Bamba is averaging 10.9 points, 4.6 rebounds and shoots .535 from the field.
• 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.
• Has led the team in scoring three times and rebounding three times this season.
 
FILLING THE STAT SHEET: SO G Bryce White is another addition making a big impact on the team this season. White ranks fifth on the team in scoring (10.2) and third in rebounding (4.4)... White missed three games with a left hip injury, but came back to play 27 minutes against Southern Utah, scoring six points with four rebounds, then 31 minutes against Northern Arizona, scoring eight points with four rebounds and two assists.
• White has scored in double figures five times this season.
 
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.