complete notes and stats in pdf

PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (11-9, 4-5) vs.
EASTERN WASHINGTON EAGLES (15-8, 7-3)
Saturday, February 4, 2017, 1:05 p.m. • Reese Court (5,000), Cheney, WA

Live Streaming Video and Audio: www.GoViks.com/Live 
Live Stats: www.ViksLive.com

THE OPENING TIP
The Portland State Vikings will try to turn things around in the third game of a three-game road swing this Saturday at Eastern Washington. PSU has lost the first two on the road and three in a row overall after a strong start to the Big Sky Conference season.

Portland State goes into Cheney with an 11-9 season record, 4-5 in the Big Sky. The Vikings are currently tied for seventh in the 12-team standings. A win against the Eagles might kickstart a turnaround for PSU as it comes home for two games next week.

PSU's downturn in results can be found simply by looking at the downturn in offensive production. Two weeks ago at 11-6, the Vikings were averaging 88 points per game and shooting 50% from the field. But in their last three outings, they have averaged 71.3 points, shot only .377 from the field and .243 from three-point range.

Eastern Washington has won four of its last five games, with the only loss coming in overtime, behind the blazing play of Jacob Wiley. The senior forward scored 38 points in a Thursday night win over Sacramento State. That has the Eagles at 15-8 on the season, 7-3 and tied for second in the Big Sky Conference. Wiley is averaging 18.7 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.9 blocked shots per game this season. In Big Sky play those numbers elevate to 25.7 points and 9.0 rebounds while shooting .673 from the field.

Portland State is 4-7 on the road this season with losses in its last three road games. The Eagles sport an 11-1 home record. This will be the only meeting of the regular season between the teams in the Big Sky's unbalanced schedule.

Saturday's game is a rare matinee with a 1:05 p.m. tip-off at Reese Court. It will be live streamed at www.GoViks.com/Live. Live stats are available at www.ViksLive.com.

COMING UP
Portland State plays at home next week for the first time since Jan. 21. The Vikings will host Idaho State (4-17, 2-7) on Thursday (Feb. 9), then Weber State (13-7, 8-1) on Saturday (Feb. 11). It will be the only meeting in the conference schedule with those two teams. Including those games, PSU has four home games and four road games to close out the Big Sky Conference regular season.

GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE vs. EASTERN WASHINGTON
• ALL-TIME SERIES: Portland State leads the all-time series with Eastern Washington, 25-21, and the Big Sky series, 22-20... the Eagles lead the Big Sky series 13-8 in Cheney, but PSU has had some recent success there, winning games in 2014 and 2015... the Vikings and Eagles have split the season series each of the last two years, however PSU has won 13 of 17 games dating back to 2008.
• LAST SEASON: Each team had resounding home wins last year, posting all-time scoring highs in the series. Jan. 28, 2016 in Cheney, EWU 112, PSU 83: The Vikings gave up the most points and most three-pointers (20) ever in a Big Sky game. The Eagles jumped to a 21-4 lead and led by 20+ points for most of the game. They shot .638 from the field and .645 from three-point range. Austin McBroom scored 25 points with six assists. Venky Jois added 23 points and nine rebounds. Cameron Forte had 37 points and 13 rebounds for the Vikings. Feb. 20, 2016 in Portland: PSU 107, EWU 91: The Vikings shot a season-high .647, scoring their most points in eight years. Forte had another big game with 32 points and nine rebounds. Calaen Robinson scored 18 points off the bench. Austin McBroom had 36 points to lead the Eagles.
• COACHES: Vikings Coach Tyler Geving (108-126/8th season) is 10-4 all-time against Eastern Washington... Eagles Head Coach Jim Hayford (99-87/6th year) is 3-7 all-time against Portland State.

EASTERN WASHINGTON EAGLES
• Eastern Washington, located in Cheney, joined the Big Sky Conference in 1987.
• The Eagles have won two Big Sky regular season titles, two tournament titles and made two appearances in the NCAA Tournament. Eastern's last tournament title came in 2015. 
• The Eagles were 18-16 last season, 10-8 and tied for fifth in the Big Sky Conference. Three starters and seven letterwinners return from that team.
• EWU is 15-8 this season, 7-3 in the Big Sky Conference. The Eagles are 11-1 at home and have won four of five overall.
• Senior forward Jacob Wiley is a Big Sky Player of the Year candidate, averaging 18.7 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.9 blocked shots, 2.5 assists and shooting .637 from the field and .839 at the line. Wiley is second in the Big Sky in rebounding and shooting and first in blocked shots.
• Junior forward Bogdan Bliznyuk averages 18.0 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game.
• Senior guard Felix Von Hofe (11.6 points) has made a team-high 66 three-point field goals.
• The Eagles lead the Big Sky Conference in free throw percentage (.747) and blocked shots (5.3).

WINNING LINES 
• Portland State is 11-9 this season, 7-2 at home, 4-7 on the road.
• The Vikings have lost three in a row and four of their last five. Prior to that, they had won seven of eight games.
• The three-game losing streak is the longest of the season.
• Portland State won five straight earlier this season (Dec. 13-29). It was the longest winning streak since winning six in a row late in the 2008-09 season. 

WHO IS HOT?
• DOUBLE FIGURES: JR G Deontae North has scored in double figures in 15 of the last 16 games. His only non-double-digit game was nine points. North scored a career-high 29 points (8-17 FG, 5-10 3-pt, 8-10 FT) in his first start of the season at Idaho. He leads the team in scoring in Big Sky games (16.2).
• SHOOTING STAR: JR C Traylin Farris has shot 50% or better in each of his last 13 games. He shoots .609 from the field overall and ranks fourth in the Big Sky.
• JR C Traylin Farris has only 14 turnovers in 19 games and 424 minutes of play for the season.
• CAREER GAME: SR F De'Sean Parsons scored a career-high 23 points (8-16 FG, 7-11 FT) at Idaho, grabbing a game-high nine rebounds as well.
• SR G Calaen Robinson has made at least one three-pointer in every game this season.

WHO IS NOT?
• The Vikings have shot .377 from the field in their last three games, all losses.
• PSU is shooting .578 from the free throw line in Big Sky Conference games. That has dropped the team's season percentage to .627. The Vikings rank last in free throw percentage and three-point shooting (.305) in Big Sky games.
• JR G Bryce Canda was 4-22 from the field and 1-12 from three-point range in the last three games.
• PSU has been outrebounded by 9.1 per game in its nine losses.
• JR F Braxton Tucker has played in only five games due to knee issues. He had arthroscopy on his left knee on Jan. 5.

TRENDING: With the season now more than half complete, here is a look at some Viking trends.
• Portland State is 10-1 when scoring 80 or more points, 0-3 when scoring less than 70.
• The Vikings are 8-1 when leading at halftime, 1-6 when trailing, 2-2 when tied.
• PSU is 9-1 when shooting a higher percentage from the field than its opponents, 2-8 when being outshot.

BIG SKY CONFERENCE LEADERS: Portland State leads the Big Sky Conference in: 
• Scoring, 84.8 points per game
• Assists, 16.6 per game
• Steals, 10.2 per game
• Turnover margin, +5.0
• Assist-to-turnover ratio, 1.5 (332/227)
• SR G Calaen Robinson leads in steals, 2.60