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PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (15-11, 5-8) vs. IDAHO STATE BENGALS (12-12, 7-6)
Saturday, February 17, 2018, 1 p.m. • Lewis and Clark College (2,300), Portland, OR
Live Video and Audio: www.WatchBigSky.com, www.Pluto.tv • Play-by-Play: Tom Hewitt
Live Stats: www.ViksLive.com
Complete notes and stats in pdf

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THE OPENING TIP
Portland State will go after a season sweep of the Idaho State Bengals this Saturday when they host a Big Sky Conference game at Lewis and Clark College's Pamplin Sports Center.
           
The Vikings (15-11, 5-8) are two games behind behind the Bengals (12-12, 7-6) in the Big Sky standings, but earned a Jan. 18 win over ISU in Pocatello, 87-83. Another victory on Saturday would move PSU within one game of Idaho State with four games to play. It could prove valuable as a tie-breaker at season's end when seedings for the Big Sky Conference Tournament are determined.
           
Portland State pulled off a second-half comeback from a 16-point deficit when it beat the Bengals earlier this year. Since then, ISU has won four of seven games, including its last two. The Vikings have since lost five of seven games, including an overtime heart-breaker to Weber State on Thursday night, 95-86.
           
Now three games behind fourth-place Eastern Washington with five to play, Portland State's chances of climbing that high in the standings have narrowed significantly. Fourth place or better gets a first-round bye in the Big Sky Tournament. 
           
Still, the Vikings have three other teams directly in front of them that they have the potential to overtake and establish better seeding. That starts on Saturday afternoon with the Bengals. 
           
Portland State continues to find it challenging playing home games away from home at Lewis and Clark. That move has been necessitated by construction of the new Viking Pavilion on PSU's campus. Thursday's loss to WSU dropped the Vikings' home record to 6-4, just 2-4 in Big Sky home games.  PSU's home winning percentage (.600) is actually lower than its road percentage (8-5, .615).
           
Idaho State comes to town with a 4-8 road record after a  67-64 win on Thursday at Sacramento State. The Bengals are 3-3 in Big Sky road games.
 
Current Big Sky Conference Standings (upcoming opponents)
Montana, 13-1
Weber State, 11-2
Idaho, 10-3
Eastern Washington, 8-5
Northern Colorado, 8-6 (vs. PSU, 3/1)
Idaho State, 7-6 (vs. PSU, 2/17)
Montana State, 6-8
Portland State, 5-8
Southern Utah, 4-9 (PSU @ SUU, 2/22)
North Dakota, 4-10 (vs. PSU 3/3)
Sacramento State, 3-10
Northern Arizona, 1-12 (PSU @ NAU, 2/24)
 
Saturday's game with Idaho State tips off at 1 p.m. at Lewis and Clark College's Pamplin Sports Center. A live video stream is available at www.WatchBigSky.com and www.Pluto.tv. Live stats are available at www.ViksLive.com.
 
COMING UP
Next week, Portland State has its final road trip of the season, playing at Southern Utah (Feb. 22) and Northern Arizona (Feb. 24). The Vikings close out the season at home, hosting Northern Colorado (Mar. 1) and North Dakota (Mar. 3). The Big Sky Conference Tournament runs Mar. 6-10 in Reno, NV.
           
All Viking home games take place at Lewis and Clark College this season as construction on the new Viking Pavilion is being completed. Thursday games tip at 8 p.m. with Saturday games at 1 p.m.
 
GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE vs. IDAHO STATE
• ALL-TIME SERIES: Portland State leads the all-time series with Idaho State, 31-20... the Vikings hold a 27-16 edge in Big Sky Conference games, including 2-0 in Big Sky Tournament games... the Vikings leads the series, 16-5, in games played in Portland... PSU has a two-game winning streak against the Bengals.
 • Jan. 18 in Pocatello, PSU 87, Idaho State 83: Portland State came back from 16 points down with 18:30 to play in the game to pick off the road win. The Vikings never led until SR G Deontae North hit a driving layin with 3:21 left. North scored a game-high 24 points with nine rebounds. SR C Ryan Edwards had his best game to date with 19 points and 10 rebounds - both season highs - and three blocked shots. Brandon Boyd came off the bench to score 17 points and grab nine rebounds for the Bengals. ISU shot .554 from the field while PSU shot .508. The Vikings out-rebounded the Bengals, 37-27.
• COACHES: Vikings Coach Barret Peery is in his first season on the Park Blocks. His 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 Bengals are coached by Bill Evans in his sixth year. He is 57-118 at Idaho State, including 5-4 against the Vikings. In 21 seasons of collegiate coaching, Evans is 259-317.
• THE APPLE HASN'T FALLEN FAR FROM THE TREE: Portland State Head Coach Barret Peery belongs to the Bill Evans coaching tree. Peery was an assistant coach for Evans at Southern Utah from 1998-2002. The 2000-01 team won the Mid-Continent Conference title, reaching the NCAA Tournament, and compiled a 25-6 record. Peery was also a graduate assistant for Evans in 1995-96, and played for Evans from 1993-95. In their first meeting as head coaches, Peery got the best of Evans, 87-83.
 
IDAHO STATE BENGALS
• Idaho State is an original member of the Big Sky Conference. The Bengals have won two regular season Big Sky titles and two Big Sky Tournament titles. Idaho State has made a total of 11 appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
• The Bengals were 5-26 last season, 3-15 and tied for 11th in the Big Sky.
• Idaho State was picked to place 10th in the Big Sky Conference Coaches poll and 11th in the Media Poll this year. The Bengals appear poised to exceed those expections at 7-6 and sixth place in the Big Sky standings.
• The Bengals come into the contest having won their last two games. They average 72.8 points and allow 73.1 points per game. Idaho State ranks second in the Big Sky in shooting a .471 from the field, and third in three-point shooting at .380.
• Leading scorer Jared Stutzman (14.8 ppg) also leads the Big Sky Conference in three-point percentage at .495. Stutzman shoots .560 overall.
• Sophomore guard Brandon Boyd is averaging 13.3 points per game.
• Center Novak Topalovic averages 10.9 points, a team-best 6.1 rebounds and has 25 blocked shots. Topalovic shoots .525 from the field.
• Sophomore guard Balint Mocsan averages 10.0 points per game, has made a team-high 48 three-pointers and shoots .429 from distance.
• Senior point guard Geno Luzcando is the team leader in assists (2.9) and the Big Sky Conference leader in steals (2.2).
 
SUSTAINABLE AND RECYCLABLE VIKING QUICK NOTES
WINNING LINES 
• Portland State is 15-11 this season, 6-4 at home, 8-5 on the road, 1-2 at neutral sites.
• In Big Sky Conference games, PSU is 5-8 (2-4 at home, 3-4 on the road). 
• The Vikings have lost five of their last seven games. 
• PSU is 6-5 in games decided by five points or less or overtime.
Home Court(s)
• With the addition of Lewis and Clark's Pamplin Sports Center as a home court in 2017-18, Portland State has now had four home courts in its 22-season existence in the Big Sky Conference and at Division I. Here is the breakdown: 
  - 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 - 9 games, 5-4
  - 22 seasons - 289 games, 205-84 at home overall 
• Since the start of the 2006-07 season, PSU is 118-45 at home, including 69-37 in Big Sky Conference regular season and tournament games.
• Portland State has lost only eight non-conference home games in the last 11 seasons (49-8). PSU is 26-8 against Division I schools, and 23-0 against lower division schools over that span.
Big Sky Battles
• Portland State is 180-196 all-time in all Big Sky Conference games, including the Big Sky Tournament (11-12). 
• PSU is 118-62 in home games, 57-125 in road games and 5-9 in neutral-site games.
 
WHO IS HOT
• SR F Brandon Hollins had a career-high 22 points (10-12 FG, 1-2 3-pt, 1-1 FT) with 11 rebounds against Weber State... he has back-to-back double-doubles and a total of four double-doubles this season... in the last two games, he has averaged 19.0 points and 12.5 rebounds while making 16-23 shots (.696). He leads the Big Sky Conference with a .593 shooting percentage.
• SR G Bryce Canda broke out of a shooting slump at Montana State, scoring a team-high 18 points (6-10 FG, 4-7 3-pt, 2-2 FT). His three-pointer with 18.9 seconds left in the game provided the difference in an 80-77 win... Canda added 20 more points (9-18 FG, 2-8 3-pt) with seven rebounds against Weber State.
• JR G Deante Strickland made 4-7 three-pointers for 12 points against Weber State. He has hit 13 of his last 24 threes (.542) and is shooting a team-best .422 from distance.
 
WHO IS NOT
• Since going 10-10 from the field against Eastern Washington on Feb. 3, FR G Holland Woods is shooting 2-22 from the field.
• In Portland State's eight Big Sky losses, it has been easy to point at shooting as the downfall. PSU has shot .392 from the field and .265 from three-point range in seven Big Sky losses. PSU has shot .505 from the field in five Big Sky wins.
• Portland State averages 22.6 fouls per game, ranking 347th in the nation (among 351).

NORTH SUSPENDED FOR REMAINDER OF SEASON: Senior guard Deontae North, who has been under team suspension for the past six games, has been suspended for the remainder of the season. North was originally suspended from the program for conduct detrimental to the team.

THE COMEBACK: Portland State's come-from-behind victory at Montana State marked the seventh time this season that Portland State has erased a second-half deficit (three by double digits) and pulled out a win. Five of those have been on the road, two at Memorial Coliseum. Here is a list of the comebacks: 
• Beat Portland, 80-75, on Nov. 11 (R) - trailed by seven with 2:33 remaining.
• Beat Utah State, 83-79, at Memorial Coliseum on Nov. 20 - trailed by three with 7:16 remaining.
• Beat Stanford, 87-78, at Memorial Coliseum on Nov. 26 - trailed by 11 with 18:10 remaining (trailed by 14 in first half).
• Beat Santa Clara, 87-84, on Dec. 9 (R) - trailed by 17 with 14:51 remaining/trailed by 10 with 7:08 remaining.
• Beat Idaho, 73-72, on Jan. 6 (R) - trailed by five with 2:59 left.
• Beat Idaho State, 87-83, on Jan. 18 (R) - trailed by 16 with 18:30 remaining.
• Beat Montana State, 80-77, on Feb. 10 (R) - trailed by 10 with 12:12 remaining.
 
THE ROAD - NOT AS ROUGH AS IT SEEMS: Portland State is 8-5 in road games this season (3-4 in Big Sky road games). That is the most road wins for a Viking team in 22 seasons in the Big Sky Conference except for the two NCAA Tournament teams (2007-08, 10-9; 2008-09, 11-9)... in fact, PSU's road winning percentage (.615) is better than its home winning percentage (.600) this season.
 
MORE ABOUT WINS: With 15 wins so far this season, the Vikings now rank eighth in the win column in 22 seasons as a Big Sky member (with at least seven games remaining). Here is a list of PSU's Big Sky teams with the most wins:
 
Most wins in a season, Big Sky era:
2007-08: 23-10
2008-09: 23-10
2004-05: 19-9
2006-07: 19-13
1998-99: 17-11
2011-12: 17-15
2013-14: 17-15
2017-18: 15-11 
(PSU also had 15 win seasons in 1997-98 (15-12), 1999-2000 (15-14), 2014-15 (15-14) and 2016-17 (15-16)
 
BIG SKY LEADERS: The Vikings lead the Big Sky Conference in:
• Scoring, 86.8
• Steals, 10.5
• Assists, 16.9
• Turnover Margin, +6.3
• Assist-to-Turnover Ratio, 1.3
• Offensive Rebounds, 14.4
• 3-pt FG Made, 9.4
• Assists, Holland Woods, 5.8
• Field Goal Percentage, Brandon Hollins, .593