---

PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (4-3) vs. PORTLAND PILOTS (5-4)
Wednesday, December 5, 2018, 7:05 p.m. • Viking Pavilion (3,094), Portland, OR
Live Stream: Pluto TV Channel 232, www.pluto.tv, www.WatchBigSky.com • Play-by-play: Matt Richert
Live Stats: www.ViksLive.com
Complete notes and stats in pdf

---

THE OPENING TIP
Portland State welcomes University of Portland to its new home, the Viking Pavilion, for the first time ever as the team's renew their cross-town rivalry this Wednesday night.
     
The Vikings have played at UP the past two seasons (both PSU wins) as the Viking Pavilion was being completed, but now can show hospitality to their friends from across the Willamette river. PSU (4-3) will try to maintain its perfect home record (now 3-0) while the Pilots (5-4) will try to stop a brief two-game skid.
     
Although the Vikings have won their last two meetings with Portland, the Pilots can claim three straight wins on the Park Blocks (2010, 2013 and 2015) in the old Stott Center arena. Portland leads the all-time series, and more specifically has a 12-9 advantage since PSU reinstated basketball and joined the Big Sky Conference in 1996-97.
     
Portland State is in the midst of a five-out-of-six game home stretch through the month of December. This is game two of that run as the Vikings are trying to get their offensive game up to par with a strong defensive and rebounding performance so far this year.
     
PSU upped its overall shooting percentage to .430 and three-point shooting percentage to .251 after a rout of lower division Portland Bible last Saturday, 123-40. JR F Robert McCoy led seven Vikings in double figures with 26 points and eight rebounds. JR C Sal Nuhu had 17 points on 8-8 field goals in only 10 minutes of action. SR G Deante Strickland had eight assists and a school-record nine steals.
     
PSU set new school records for margin of victory (83), turnovers forced (43) and steals (31).
     
So far, PSU has liked the home court, hitting 120-223 (.538) shots from the field in three games (admittedly with two games against small colleges).
     
Portland comes into the game with a 1-2 road mark. The Pilots had a four-game winning streak stopped by Texas State on Nov. 24, losing 91-68 at home, and most recently lost a road game at Colorado, 93-69.
     
The Vikings and Pilots have no common opponents with the exception of Multnomah University. PSU won an exhibition game over the Lions, 119-89, on Nov. 2. The Pilots took a season-opening win over Multnomah, 111-103, on Nov. 6.
     
Wednesday's game tips off at 7:05 p.m. A live stream of the game is available on Pluto TV Channel 232, www.pluto.tv, and www.WatchBigSky.com. Live statistics can be found at www.ViksLive.com.
 
COMING UP
The Vikings are on the road on Dec. 12 at BYU, then wrap up the non-conference schedule with home games against Loyola Marymount (Dec. 15) and CSU Bakersfield (Dec. 20). Big Sky Conference play begins on Dec. 31 when the Vikings host Northern Colorado in a 2:05 p.m. game.
 
GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE vs. PORTLAND
• ALL-TIME SERIES: Portland leads the all-time series, 36-19. The Pilots lead 12-9 since Portland State resumed its program in 1996-97 and joined the Big Sky Conference (PSU did not have basketball from 1981-96). PSU is 5-5 in home games against the Pilots and 4-7 in games played at the Chiles Center over that span... the Vikings have won the last two seasons at the Chiles Center, including 80-75 last season.
• LAST YEAR: Nov. 11, 2017 at the Chiles Center, PSU 80, PORTLAND 75: The Vikings scored the final 12 points of the game to come from behind and beat the Pilots in Head Coach Barret Peery's first game at the helm for Portland State. Bryce Canda hit a go-ahead three-pointer with 34 seconds to play... neither team held a double-digit lead at any point in the game and they traded the lead down the stretch until Portland went on a 12-2 run. That had the Pilots up 75-68 with 2:33 to go, but they would not score again. The Viking rally was led by pressure defense that forced two turnovers and ended with fast break layins by Holland Woods and Canda tying the game. Following two more defensive stops by the Vikings, Canda hit the big three. Another defensive stop led to a rebound and two free throws by Ryan Edwards for the final 80-75 score... Canda led five Vikings in double figures with 18 points... the Vikings gathered in 26 offensive rebounds for 26 second-chance points. They also forced 17 Pilots turnovers for 19 points... Phillip Hartwich had 10 points, 18 rebounds and six blocked shots for Portland. Josh McSwiggan and Marcus Shaver Jr. each scored 15 points.
• PORTLAND STATE vs. THE WEST COAST CONFERENCE: Portland State is 39-72 all-time against the West Coast Conference, but went 3-1 last season against WCC schools... PSU will play three members of the conference this season (Portland; at BYU on Dec. 12; vs. Loyola Marymount on Dec. 15).
• GEVING RETURNS: Former Portland State Head Coach Tyler Geving is now an assistant coach on the Portland staff. Geving was head coach at PSU from 2009-17, compiling a 112-133 career record. Geving had the second-longest tenure (8 years) of any head coach in PSU history. He was an assistant for the Vikings from 2005-09. 
• COACHES: Vikings Coach Barret Peery (Southern Utah, 1996) is in his second season on the Park Blocks and has a 24-17 career record. Peery is 1-0 against Portland, 3-1 against West Coast Conference schools... Peery's only other head coaching experience is at the junior college level where he was 178-30 in six seasons (2005-08, College of Southern Idaho; 2011-14, Indian Hills (IA) CC)... the Pilots are coached by Terry Porter (Wisconsin-Stevens Point) in his third season. Porter, a former Portland Trail Blazers star, has also been a head coach in the NBA. He is 26-48 at Portland, 0-2 against the Vikings.
 
PORTLAND PILOTS
• The University of Portland is a member of the West Coast Conference. The Pilots were 10-22 last season, 4-14 and ninth in the WCC.
• Portland has started this season 5-4, including 1-2 in road games. The Pilots have lost their last two games. Portland averages 76.3 points per game and have given up 78.2 points.
• Junior forward Josh McSwiggan leads the Pilots in scoring at 15.8 points per game. He is a strong shooter, hitting .476 from the field, .409 from three-point range and .960 at the free throw line.
• Sophomore guard Marcus Shaver Jr. averages 14.4 points, 3.3 assists and has a team-high 15 steals.
• Sophomore guard JoJo Walker averages 12.8 points, 3.7 assists and has made 18 three-point field goals.
• Freshman center Theo Akwuba leads the team with 8.0 rebounds per game and 15 blocked shots.
 
SUSTAINABLE AND RECYCLABLE VIKING QUICK NOTES
WINNING LINES
• Portland State is 4-3 on the season, 3-0 at home, 0-2 on the road, 1-1 at neutral sites.
• PSU was 20-14 in 2017-18, 8-5 at home, 10-6 on the road, 2-3 at neutral sites.
• In Big Sky Conference games, PSU was 9-9 (4-5 at home, 5-4 on the road).
• PSU was 9-6 in games decided by five points or less or overtime.
• The Vikings were 2-1 in overtime.
Home Court(s)
• Portland State opens the Viking Pavilion at the Peter W. Stott Center in 2018-19. The Stoller Family Court will be PSU's fifth (and hopefully final) home court since joining the Big Sky Conference in 1996-97. The main home court was the old Peter W. Stott Center. However, the Vikings also used the Rose Garden (now Moda Center) and Memorial Coliseum occasionally over the years. In 2017-18, PSU used Lewis & Clark College's Pamplin Sports Center as a home court while the Viking Pavilion was being completed. Here is the breakdown:
  - Viking Pavilion - 3 games, 3-0
  - Peter W. Stott Center - 233 games, 168-65
  - Rose Garden (Moda Center) - 28 games, 19-9
  - Memorial Coliseum - 19 games, 13-6
  - Lewis and Clark - 12 games, 7-5
  - 23rd season - 295 games, 210-85 at home overall
• Since the start of the 2006-07 season, PSU is 123-46 at home, including 71-38 in Big Sky Conference regular season and tournament games.
• Portland State has lost only eight non-conference home games in the last 12 seasons (52-8). PSU is 27-8 against Division I schools, and 25-0 against lower division schools over that span.
 
WHO IS HOT
• SHOOTERS RETURN: Portland State shot a season-high .588 from the field and .438 from three-point range in the win over Portland Bible... JR C Sal Nuhu was a perfect 8-8 from the field for 17 points... JR F Robert McCoy had a season high 26 points (9-11 FG, 2-2 3-pt, 6-9 FT) and eight rebounds.
• 20-20: SO G Holland Woods had his second 20-point game of the season with 20 and five assists at Stanford. Woods has six 20-pointers in his 40-game career.
• OFFENSIVE REBOUNDERS: The Vikings have 138 offensive rebounds (19.7) this season. They have converted them to 138 second-chance points (19.7)... Among 351 Division I programs, Portland State ranks first in offensive rebounding.
• VIKING DEFENSE: Portland State has forced 162 turnovers (23.1), turning them into 199 points (28.4)... the Vikings lead the nation in steals (13.0)... SR G Deante Strickland currently leads the Big Sky Conference in steals (2.7).
 
WHO IS NOT
• THREE-POINT SHOOTING: Portland State is shooting 44-175 from three-point range this season (.251). Overall, PSU shoots .430.
• PARDON ME: The Vikings are averaging 24.9 fouls per game - 349th in the nation - including a season-high 36 against UC Santa Barbara.
 
YOU'VE GOT TO PUT THE BISCUIT IN THE BASKET
There is no question that shooting efficiency is the most important element in basketball. So far, the Vikings have been inconsistent when chucking the rock at the old peach basket. Here is a breakdown:
• Field goal percentage: 222-516, 430
• Two-point percentage: 178-341, .522
• Three-point percentage: 44-175, .251
• Shooting in wins: .512/.365
• Shooting in losses: .318/.122
• Shooting in home games: .538/.343
• Shooting in road/neutral site games: .348/.194
 
FOR THE RECORD: Portland State took advantage of a lower division opponent in beating Portland Bible, 123-40, last Saturday. The result was several new school records:
• Margin of victory: 83 points
• Turnovers forced: 43
• Steals: 31
• Individual steals: Deante Strickland, 9
 
NATION'S BEST: It's still a small sample size after seven games, and the Vikings have played some lower division opponents, but they lead the nation in a handful of categories:
• Offensive rebounds per game: 19.7
• Total rebounds per game: 46.3 (rank seventh in rebound margin, +12.6)
• Steals: 13.0
• Turnovers forced per game: 23.1
• Turnover margin: +8.6
 
PEERY PRESSURE, PART II: Portland State Head Coach Barret Peery emphasizes a full-court pressure defense that forces turnovers and creates transition opportunities. Then, on the offensive end, his team relentlessly attacks the offensive glass. Here are the analytics of those two areas. In 2018-19:
• The Vikings have forced 23.1 turnovers per game and have a +8.6 turnover margin.
• The Vikings average 19.7 offensive rebounds per game while opponents average 7.6.
• In all, the difference in total turnovers (60) and total offensive rebounds (85) is 145 extra possessions compared to opponents (20.7 per game).
• As a result, PSU has 158 more field goal attempts than the opponents. Opponents have 17 more free throw attempts.
 
CHEERING FOR BOO BOO: SO G Holland "Boo Boo" Woods is the Vikings' leader in scoring (15.0), assists (4.8) and steals (2.0). He ranks ninth in the Big Sky in scoring, third in assists and and fifth in steals... Woods sat out the game against Portland Bible, but will return to face the University of Portland.
• He has led the team in scoring five times and assists four times this season.
• Woods, the Big Sky leader in assists last season (5.6), has led the Vikings in assists in 30 of 40 career games.
• Woods reached 200 career assists in 36 career games. He is now 27 assists short of reaching the Portland State all-time top 10 for assists.
• He had a season-high 22 points (7-12 FG, 2-4 3-pt, 6-6 FT), career-high seven steals and four assists in the win over Willamette.
• Woods went for 16 points, nine assists, three rebounds and two steals in a win over Northwest Nazarene.
• Went for 20 points and five assists at Stanford.
 
NU-COMERS PLAYING WELL: Portland State newcomers JR G Michael Nuga and JR C Sal Nuhu are having a big impact off the bench for the Vikings.
Nuga Nuggets:
• Nuga ranks second in the team in scoring at 13.6 points per game in 20 minutes per night.
• He is shooting .493 from the field and .375 from three-point range.
• Has scored in double figures the last five games, averaging 16.6 points.
• Went for 17 points and nine rebounds against Stanford.
Yahoo For Nuhu:
• Nuhu averages 10.9 points in 17.4 minutes per game.
• He averages 6.0 rebounds and has a team-leading nine blocked shots.
• Nuhu shoots .652 from the field
• In the last five games, he has scored in double figures, averaging 13.4 points and 7.0 rebounds
• Posted a double-double against Stanford with 15 points and 14 rebounds.
 
NEW SEASON, NEW LOOK: Portland State Head Coach Barret Peery has four new starters in his lineup this season, along with returning starter SO G Holland Woods. Also tipping it off are SO C Brendan Rumel (three total starts in the previous two years), SR F Jamie Orme (one start last year), JR F Robert McCoy and SR G Derek Brown.
• In addition to McCoy, also new to the Vikings are JR Gs Michael Nuga and Juwan Williams, JR F Rashaad Goolsby, JR C Sal Nuhu and FR F Filip Fullerton.
 
PARTICIPATION AWARDS ALL AROUND: Portland State Head Coach Barret Peery's style of aggressive full-court pressure requires fresh bodies at all times. The Vikings sub early and often and everybody plays. So far, the core 10 players are all averaging at least 13 minutes per game or more. Only five average over 20 minutes, and only SO G Holland Woods averages over 30.
 
IF YOU BUILD IT: The crowd of 1,424 that attended the first official game in the Viking Pavilion and Portland State's home opener against UC Riverside was the largest since a sellout crowd of 1,500 attended the Portland State/Oregon State game in the old Stott Center gym on Dec. 12, 2012... PSU had a crowd of 1,010 in the win over Willamette and averages just over 1,000 fans after three games.