complete notes and stats in pdf

PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (7-6, 1-2) vs. NORTH DAKOTA (5-9, 1-2)
Saturday, January 10, 2 p.m. CT/Noon PT • Betty Englestad Center (3,064), Grand Forks, ND
 
Television: Fox College Sports Pacific (Comcast 415, DirecTV 608, Dish 447)
Live Video Stream: www.WatchBigSky.com
Live Audio Stream: www.GoViks.com • Play-by-play: Tom Hewitt • Pregame Show: 11:45 a.m. PT
Live Stats: http://www.undsports.com/liveStats/liveStats.dbml?
 
THE OPENING TIP
It may be early in the Big Sky Conference season, but two teams trying to stay relevant in the league race meet Saturday in Grand Forks, ND when the Portland State Vikings take on the University of North Dakota. Both PSU (on the road) and UND (at home) suffered close losses on Thursday night and dropped to 1-2 in the Big Sky standings. Both squads go into the game having lost two in a row.
     
Portland State finally found its shooting touch on Thursday night, hitting .528 from the field and .632 from three-point range, but host Northern Colorado did not oblige, beating the Vikings 90-85. Meanwhile, North Dakota lost 63-61 to league-leader Sacramento State on a last-second basket by the Hornets' Mikh McKinney.
     
Portland State, 7-6 overall, carries a 2-5 road record into Saturday's game. PSU has lost its last five road games. North Dakota, 5-9 overall, is 2-1 at home this season.
     
Saturday's game will be the first meeting between the two schools since North Dakota beat the Vikings in a Big Sky Conference Tournament semifinal last March in Ogden, UT. UND won two of three meetings between the schools in 2013-14 and finished 17-17 overall. Portland State ended the season at 17-15.
     
Saturday's game tips off at 2 p.m. CT/Noon PT. It will be televised on Fox College Sports Pacific (Comcast 415, DirecTV 608, Dish 447). The game is also 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 return home for a pair of challenging opponents next week. The Vikings host Eastern Washington (11-4, 2-0) on Thursday night at the Peter W. Stott Center. Then on Saturday, the University of Idaho (7-6, 2-0) comes to town for the first-ever Big Sky Conference meeting between the schools. Both games tip off at 7:05 p.m. Eastern Washington and Idaho meet this Saturday night in Moscow.
 
GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE VS. NORTH DAKOTA
• ALL-TIME SERIES: North Dakota leads the all-time series, 6-1. UND leads 3-0 in Grand Forks.
• BIG SKY CONFERENCE SERIES: North Dakota leads the Big Sky series, 4-1, including 2-0 in Grand Forks.
• STREAK: UND has won the last two meetings, at Grand Forks, and in last year's Big Sky Tournament semifinals in Ogden, UT.
• LAST SEASON: Feb. 1, 2014 at PSU: Portland State 70, North Dakota 68: Gary Winston scored 15 of his team-high 19 points in the second half as the Vikings came from seven points down at halftime to win. PSU shot .614 from the field to overcome 19 turnovers. DaShaun Wiggins scored 16 points off the bench. Troy Huff had 20 points and seven rebounds for North Dakota. Feb. 27, 2014 at UND: North Dakota 83, Portland State 73: PSU never led but stayed within single digits most of the night. Troy Huff had 24 points and eight rebounds to pace North Dakota. Kyle Richardson had 19 points, 14 rebounds and five blocked shots for the Vikings. Mar. 14, 2014 at Big Sky Tournament Semifinal, Ogden, UT: North Dakota 79, Portland State 63: PSU shot .390 from the field, had 18 turnovers and was out-rebounded, 41-29. Aaron Anderson scored a game-high 19 points. Troy Huff added 18 points, five rebounds and three steals. For the Vikings, Gary Winston scored 14 points.
• COACHES: Vikings Coach Tyler Geving (76-91, 6th season) is 1-4 all-time against North Dakota. UND Coach Brian Jones (124-140/9th season) is 4-1 all-time against the Vikings.
 
THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA
• North Dakota was 17-17 last season, 12-8 and tied for second in the Big Sky Conference. Two starters and nine letterwinners return from that team.
• A member of the Big Sky Conference since 2012-13, UND is now in its third season in the league. North Dakota moved up to the Division I level in 2007.
• North Dakota is 5-9 this season, 1-2 in the Big Sky Conference.
• UND plays a deliberate style, averaging only 62.3 points per game. The green and white shoot .432 from the field and just .659 at the free throw line. North Dakota leads the Big Sky Conference in steals at 7.6 per game, but also has a -4.2 rebounding deficit per game.
• Senior forward Jaron Nash leads North Dakota with 11.1 points and 7.2 rebounds per game.
• Junior guard Estan Tyler averages 10.2 points and 2.5 assists per game.
• Sophomore guard Quinton Hooker averages 9.9 points, 3.0 assists and has a team-high 23 steals.
 
SUSTAINABLE AND RECYCLABLE VIKING QUICK NOTES
WINNING LINES
• Portland State is 7-6 this season, 5-1 at home, 2-5 on the road.
• PSU has lost two in a row overall and five straight games 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.
Big Sky Battles
• Portland State is 150-157 all-time in all Big Sky Conference games, including the Big Sky Tournament (9-9).
• PSU is 101-48 in home games, 45-104 in road games and 4-5 in neutral site games.
• PSU is 64-60 in Big Sky games since the start of the 2007-08 season, 71-63 including tournament games.
 
HOT SHOTS
• SR G Gary Winston has averaged 18.3 points per game in conference play, raising his season scoring average from 8.0 to 11.8. He had 19 points and a career-high eight assists at Northern Colorado.
• SR F Tiegba Bamba had his best scoring game in seven outings with 15 points (5-6 FG, 2-2 3-pt, 3-5) and six rebounds at Northern Colorado.
• SR G DaShaun Wiggins made 4-5 three-point field goals on his way to 19 points against Northern Colorado. He ranks third in the Big Sky Conference with a .480 three-point field goal percentage.
• Portland State shot .528 from the field against Northern Colorado - its best against a Division I opponent this season. The Vikings made a season-high 12 three-point field goals and shot a season-best .632 from behind the arc.
• SO G Zach Gengler scored a season-high eight points (2-2 3-pt FG, 2-2 FT) in a season-high 19 minutes at Northern Colorado.
• JR C Collin Spickerman has blocked 21 shots in the last 10 games. With 23 on the season, he now ranks second in the Big Sky Conference.
• Portland State ranks first in the Big Sky Conference in turnover margin (+3.2).
 
NOT SO HOT
• PSU has lost five straight road games.
• The Vikings allowed Northern Colorado to shoot .516 from the field. PSU led by six points with just over eight minutes to play in the game, but was outscored 28-17 down the stretch.
• Portland State is last in the Big Sky Conference in rebounding margin (-5.7).
• JR C Dorian Cason (plantar fasciitis) has missed four straight games. He is expected to return to play next week.
 
NATIONAL STATISTICAL RANKINGS: Where Portland State stands in the NCAA statistical rankings through games of Jan. 8 (top 30 rankings):
• 28th in the nation in fewest turnovers per game (11.0).
• 27th in turnover margin (+3.2).
• 26th in free throw percentage (.743).
 
HOME-ROAD DIFFERENTIAL: Portland State is 5-1 at home this season, 2-5 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 65.1 points on the road, shooting .372/.364/744.
• PSU has out-rebounded opponents by 0.2 per game at home, but has been out-rebounded by 10.7 per game on the road.
• Opponents shoot .421 from the field, .364 from three-point range and .682 at the line in the Stott Center. They shoot .499/.388/.719 in their own arenas against the Vikings.
 
A SIGN OF GOOD THINGS TO COME?: Despite losing, Portland State had a long-awaited strong shooting night at Northern Colorado. The Vikings hit 28-53 from the field (.528), 12-19 from three-point range (.632) and 17-22 at the line (.773). It was PSU's best shooting performance - and most three-pointers made - against a Division I opponent this season... 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.
 
STRONG INDICATORS: A few numbers coming out of the first 13 games are strong indicators of winning and losing:
• PSU is 7-0 when leading at halftime, 0-6 when trailing.
• The Vikings are 4-0 when they out-rebound opponents.
• The Vikings are 4-1 when shooting a higher percentage than opponents. PSU lost its first game when out-shooting an opponent at Northern Colorado.
• Portland State's five-point loss to Northern Colorado was its first loss in a "close game" this season. PSU 5-1 in games decided by eight points or less.
 
THE EVER-CHANGING LINEUP: Head Coach Tyler Geving has gone with seven different starting lineups in 13 games this season. The constant change has been the result of numerous nagging injuries to different players and certainly affected team continuity.
• Against Northern Colorado, he started the unit of SR G Gary Winston, SR G DaShaun Wiggins, SO G Bryce White, SO F Braxton Tucker and SR F Tiegbe Bamba. That has been his most common starting unit this season with five starts. The Vikings have gone 3-2 when that group has started.
• Nine different players have started games this season, none have started all 13 games and only four players have competed in all 13 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 223-300 this year (.743), ranking 28th in the nation in percentage.
• PSU has made more charity shots (223) than its opponents have attempted (221).
• The Vikings average 23.0 free throw attempts per game. Opponents average only 16.9.
 
GARY IS GETTING HOT: SR G Gary Winston started the season slow offensively, but has turned it on over the last seven games, scoring in double figures six times and raising his scoring average to 11.8. Winston also leads the Vikings with 3.6 assists and 32.9 minutes per game.
• In Big Sky Conference play, Winston averages 18.3 points and 4.7 assists.
• 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).
• Winston has led the team in scoring three times and assists eight times this season.
 
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 98th game at North Dakota. Here is where Gary stands on some of PSU's all-time lists.
Games Played: 97
Career Points: 872 (17 players have 1,000 career points and Winston is on pace to reach that total)
Assists: 237, 11th
Steals: 61
3-pt FGs: 140, t6th
3-pt FGAs: 330, 9th
3-pt FG%: .425, 5th