complete notes and stats in pdf

PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (13-11, 7-7) vs. NORTHERN COLORADO BEARS (12-13, 7-7)
Saturday, February 21, 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
As the Big Sky Conference race is heating up, it appears so are the Vikings. Portland State has won its last two games  - over first-place Eastern Washington, and on Thursday against North Dakota - to climb into a tie for fifth place in the 12-team Big Sky Conference.
     
Now the Vikings (13-11, 7-7) have a chance to solidify their position in fifth as they take on the team they are tied with on Saturday night, Northern Colorado (12-13, 7-7). The winner of that game, played at the Stott Center, will hold fifth place alone and come within a game of clinching a Big Sky Conference Tournament berth.
     
Portland State led wire-to-wire on Thursday night in its 80-70 victory over North Dakota. That win improved PSU to 8-3 at home. The Vikings will go after a third straight win when they host the Bears, 66-59 losers to Sacramento State on Thursday. Since opening the season with four straight wins, Portland State has not won more than two in a row all season.
     
Northern Colorado has lost three games in a row and is just 3-10 on the road this season. However, the Bears beat the Vikings, 90-85, on Jan. 8 in Greeley.
           
Saturday's game tips off at 7:05 p.m. at the 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.
 
GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE VS. NORTHERN COLORADO
• ALL-TIME SERIES: Portland State leads the all-time series 15-6. The Vikings lead 8-2 in Portland.
• BIG SKY CONFERENCE SERIES: Portland State leads the Big Sky series 11-6. The Vikings have a 6-2 advantage in Portland.
• STREAK: Since 2010-11, the teams have alternated sweeping the season series: 2010-11, UNC; 2011-12, PSU; 2012-13, UNC; 2013-14, PSU.
• LAST MEETING: Jan. 8 at UNC: Northern Colorado 90, Portland State 85: Portland State shot .528 from the field and made a season-high 12 three-point field goals, but the Vikings couldn't stop the Bears. PSU led by six with little more than eight minutes to play, but UNC went on a decisive 20-4 run. Cameron Michael led five Bears in double-figures with 22 points. Tevin Svihovec had 16 points and seven assists. Gary Winston scored 19 points and had a career-high eight assists. DaShaun Wiggins also scored 19 points.
• COACHES: Vikings Coach Tyler Geving (82-96, 6th season) is 5-6 all-time against Northern Colorado. UNC Coach BJ Hill (73-75, 5th season) is 5-4 all-time against the Vikings.
 
SCOUTING NORTHERN COLORADO
• 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 12-13 this season, 7-7 in the Big Sky Conference. The Bears have a 3-10 road record. UNC averages 75.4 points per game and allows 73.5 points per game.
• Senior guard Tevin Svihovec and sophomore guard Cameron Michael each average 13.5 points per game to lead the Bears. Svihovec is also the assist leader with 3.0 per game, while Michael has made 59 three-point field goals this season.
• Senior forward Dominique Lee averages 10.2 points and a team-best 7.2 rebounds per game. He shoots .599 from the field and has blocked 26 shots.
• The Bears lead the Big Sky Conference in turnover margin at +3.4. They commit the fewest turnovers in the league (10.6 per game). UNC ranks last in field goal percentage defense (.478).
 
THE BIG SKY CONFERENCE RACE
Portland State moved from seventh place into a tie for fifth with Northern Colorado after beating North Dakota on Thursday night. The Vikings now have a 2.5 game lead over ninth-place Southern Utah with four games remaining. PSU plays two at home and two on the road: Feb. 21 vs. UNC (7-7), Feb. 28 vs. SAC (11-3), Mar. 5 at NAU (9-4), Mar. 7 at SUU (4-9).
 
Eastern Washington is still the league leader at 11-2, but Sacramento State (11-3) and Montana (11-3) make it a three-team race. Montana and Eastern Washington will meet in a game on Feb. 28 in Cheney.
     
If the tournament started today, the Vikings would take the sixth seed (due to a loss to Northern Colorado) and play Montana in a quarterfinal round game. The Hornets hold a tie-breaker advantage over Montana after beating them earlier this season.
     
Since eight of 12 teams get into the Big Sky Tourney it appears eight wins (8-10) would be needed to make the post-season. Nine wins (9-9) would seem to be a sure thing. The Big Sky Conference Tournament takes place Mar. 12-14 at the home of the regular season champion.
 
SUSTAINABLE AND RECYCLABLE VIKING QUICK NOTES
WINNING LINES
• Portland State is 13-11 this season, 8-3 at home, 5-8 on the road.
• The Vikings are 7-7 in the Big Sky Conference, 4-3 at home, 3-4 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.
• PSU has won two games in a row and will go for three straight on Saturday. The Vikings have not won or lost more than two games in a row since Dec. 6 (17 games).
Stott Stuff
• PSU has gone 149-55 in 204 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 180-70 at home over the past 19 seasons.
• Portland State is 56-26 at home in six seasons under Tyler Geving.
• Since the start of the 2006-07 season, PSU is 93-29 at home, including 54-25 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 156-162 all-time in all Big Sky Conference games, including the Big Sky Tournament (9-9).
• PSU is 104-50 in home games, 48-107 in road games and 4-5 in neutral site games.
• PSU is 70-65 in Big Sky games since the start of the 2007-08 season, 77-68 including tournament games.
 
HOT SHOTS
• In the last five games SR F Tiegbe Bamba has scored 70 points (14.0), grabbed 38 rebounds (7.3) had nine steals and six assists. He has made 27-40 (.675) from the field and 16-21 at the line (.762). Ironically, his surge has come since he moved from the starting lineup to a sixth-man role. Bamba has averaged a team-leading 31 minutes in those five games.
• The Vikings have held each of their last two opponents to .382 shooting from the field.
• SR G DaShaun Wiggins had 27 points in the win over Northern Colorado. It was the second-highest scoring output of his career. Wiggins has scored in double figures in 22 of 24 games this season.
• SR G Douglas is shooting .867 at the line this season currently ranking 10th-best in school history. Douglas has 10 assists and just one turnover in 49 minutes off the bench in the last two games.
• SO G Zach Gengler had a career-high five assists against Northern Colorado.
• JR C Collin Spickerman has blocked at least one shot in 15 straight games, and 21 of 24 overall. He ranks second in the Big Sky Conference (1.9) with 47 blocks on the season. That also ranks fourth all-time in a season at Portland State - eighth all-time for a career.
• PSU ranks 17th in the nation in free throw percentage (.748).
 
1,000 WATCH: SR G Gary Winston is just six points shy of 1,000 for his career. When he hits that milestone, he will be only the 18th player in Portland State basketball history to score 1,000 points. The magic number could come Saturday against Northern Colorado. The last Viking to reach 1,000 career points was guard Charles Odum in 2012 (1,033 career). Seven of the 17 1,000-point scorers at PSU have come during the Big Sky Conference era (1996-present)... here is where Gary stands on some of PSU's all-time lists:
 
Games Played: 108, t6th
Career Points: 994 (17 players have 1,000 career points and Winston is on pace to reach that total)
Assists: 279, 8th
Steals: 68
3-pt FGs: 160, 4th
3-pt FGAs: 378, 7th
3-pt FG%: .423, 5th
 
• Winston is third on the team in scoring (11.4), second in three-pointers (40) and first in assists (3.8)
• Winston scored 18 points with five rebounds and four assists in a win over Southern Utah (1/1).
• He had 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).
• Scored 23 points (9-19 FG, 4-11 3-pt, 1-2 FT) with four assists and three rebounds at Idaho (2/12).
• Winston has led the team in scoring five times and assists 14 times this season.
 
GRACE UNDER PRESSURE: The Vikings held off late runs by both Eastern Washington and North Dakota to win the last two games. The Vikings 68-66 win over Eastern Washington makes them 8-4 in close games this season (decided by eight points or less). That continues a trend of last season when PSU was 10-6 in close games... the Vikings led North Dakota by 20 early in the second half but had to weather a 29-10 run by UND. PSU pulled away in the final minutes for the win.
 
BEST OFF THE BENCH: Here are Portland State's top performances by players off the bench this season:
• SR G DaShaun Wiggins scored a career-high 32 points (12-18 FG, 3-4 3-pt, 5-10 FT) in 36 minutes off the bench in an overtime win against Southern Illinois Edwardsville (11/24).
• FR G Iziahiah Sweeney was 5-5 from the field for 10 points in 14 minutes at Portland (12/3).
• SR C Brandon Cataldo had career-highs of 16 points (8-9 FG) and 13 rebounds in a win over Walla Walla (12/22).
• SR G Tim Douglas posted 20 points (9-12 FG, 2-3 3-pt), seven assists and three steals in 31 minutes off the bench against Eastern Washington (1/15).
• SO G Zach Gengler had nine points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals in 25 minutes off the bench in a win over Idaho (1/17).
• Douglas tallied 17 points (5-8 FG, 3-3 3-pt, 4-4 FT) with a game-high five assists in 29 minutes off the bench in a win over Montana State (1/31).
• SR F Tiegbe Bamba was a perfect 5-5 from the field, scoring 13 points and grabbing a game-high seven rebounds in 27 minutes at Sacramento State (2/7).
• Bamba had 18 points (7-11 FG, 4-6 FT), seven rebounds and two steals in 34 minutes against Idaho (2/12).
• Bamba scored 12 points (5-8 FG, 2-2 FT) with nine rebounds and two steals in 30 minutes of a win over Eastern Washington (2/14).
• Bamba had 17 points (6-9 FG, 5-7 FT), nine rebounds, two steals, a block and an assist in 31 minutes in a win over North Dakota (2/19).
 
GUARD STUFF: Portland State has excellent depth at guard. Although SR G Tim Douglas no longer starts for the Vikings, he has had his moments. And, SO G Zach Gengler has moved into the starting lineup due to the injury to SO G Bryce White. Here is some more guard stuff:
• SR G Tim Douglas ranks 10th-best in school history for a season in free throw percentage (.867).
• Douglas has 10 assists and just one turnover in 49 minutes off the bench in the last two games.
• SO G Zach Gengler saw little playing time earlier in the season, but has averaged 25 minutes, 7.3 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.1 steals and made only six turnovers over the last nine games.
• SR G DaShaun Wiggins' .440 three-point percentage currently ranks fifth-best for a season in school history.
• FR G Iziahiah Sweeney has been pressed into more playing time due to the injury to SO G Bryce White. He has responded, scoring nine points with five rebounds in 13 minutes at Idaho (2/12).
• Gengler and Sweeney have combined to play 516 minutes this season. The tandem has only 17 turnovers combined - or one per 30 minutes of play.
 
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.