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PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (14-9, 4-6) vs. MONTANA GRIZZLIES (18-5, 11-0)
Thursday, February 8, 2018, 6 p.m. PT • Dahlberg Arena (7,322), Missoula, MT
Live Video and Audio: www.WatchBigSky.com, www.Pluto.tv 
Live Stats: www.ViksLive.com
Complete notes and stats in pdf

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THE OPENING TIP
The stretch run in the Big Sky Conference begins this week for the Portland State Vikings as they take on no less an opponent than undefeated Montana on the road.
           
The Vikings (14-9, 4-6) will take on the league's best in the Grizzlies (18-5, 11-0), who have managed to avoid a single blemish on their conference record. And Montana has done it in convincing fashion, outscoring opponents by 16 points per game over those 11 games. The closest league contest they have faced? A highly-charged 92-89 win over the Vikings in Portland. At times contentious, the game featured 16 lead changes in the first half, 57 fouls and 69 free throws in all. Michael Oguine's career-high 39 points led the Griz to the win.
           
Portland State will head to Missoula on a positive note following a 94-81 victory over Eastern Washington last Saturday. The Vikings "...looked like us..." according to Coach Barret Peery as they extinguished a three-game losing streak. The key element was something they Vikings had done poorly in recent weeks - shoot the ball. PSU hit a season-high .576 from the field and scored the most points since putting up 106 on Cal on Dec. 21. FR G Holland Woods had his game of the year, scoring 29 points with nine assists and no turnovers. He set a PSU school record for most field goals made in a game without a miss (10-10).
           
The Vikings need to carry that energy to Thursday night's game at Montana. The Griz are 9-0 at home this season.  PSU is 7-4 in road games, 2-3 in Big Sky road games. 
           
Montana also has a nice run going against the Vikings in Missoula, winning eight in a row at Dahlberg Arena, and 15 of the last 18 overall in the series. Portland State's last win at Montana came in 2008.
           
Portland State remains in eighth place in the Big Sky Conference at 4-6. The Vikings are a game-and-a-half out of fifth. They have four road games and four home games remaining in the Big Sky schedule.
 
Thursday's game tips off at 6 p.m. Pacific Time. A live video stream is available at www.WatchBigSky.com and www.Pluto.tv. Live stats are available at www.ViksLive.com.
 
COMING UP
Portland State's weekend road swing travels across the Treasure State for a Saturday afternoon contest at Montana State. That game tips at 1 p.m. PT. The Vikings beat the Bobcats, 93-74, on Jan. 11 in Portland. 
           
The Vikings return home to host Weber State (Feb. 15) and Idaho State (Feb. 17) next week. 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. MONTANA
• ALL-TIME SERIES: Montana leads the all-time series with Portland State, 37-23. In Big Sky Conference games, the Grizzlies hold a 29-14 edge... Montana leads the series, 17-3, in games played in Missoula... the Vikings have won the only Big Sky Tournament matchup between the schools... Montana has won 15 of the last 18 in the series overall.
• Jan. 13 in Portland, Montana 92, PSU 89: The Griz outlasted the Vikings in a highly-charged battle as Michael Oguine scored 39 points. Montana shot .551 from the field and made 33-47 free throws. The game featured 16 lead changes in the first half, 57 total fouls and 69 free throws. SR G Deontae North scored 18 points with seven rebounds for the Vikings. SR G Bryce Canda had 17 points and 12 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the season.  
• 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 Grizzlies are coached by Travis DeCuire in his fourth season. He is 75-46 overall, including 2-1 against the Vikings.
 
MONTANA GRIZZLIES
• Montana is an original member of the Big Sky Conference. The Grizzlies have won eight regular season Big Sky titles and nine Big Sky Tournament titles. Montana has made a total of 10 appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
• The Grizzlies were 16-16 last season, 11-7 and fifth in the Big Sky Conference. Three starters and five letterwinners return from that team.
• Montana was picked to place third in both the Big Sky Conference Coaches and Media polls this year, but are exceeding those expectations. UM is 18-5 on the season and a perfect 11-0 in conference play.
• Montana has an efficient offense (77.7 ppg, .468 FG%, .702 FT%) and ranks second in the Big Sky Conference in scoring defense (68.3), scoring margin (+9.4), rebounding margin (+4.0) and steals (8.1). 
• The Griz are led by a pair of junior guards in Ahmaad Rorie and Michael Oguine. Rorie averages 17.7 points, 3.6 assists and has 32 steals. Oguine averages 15.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and has 36 steals.
• Big man Jamar Akoh has been a key addition to the squad, averaging 14.0 points, 6.9 rebounds and shooting .582 from the field.
 
SUSTAINABLE AND RECYCLABLE VIKING QUICK NOTES
WINNING LINES 
• Portland State is 14-9 this season, 6-3 at home, 7-4 on the road, 1-2 at neutral sites.
• In Big Sky Conference games, PSU is 2-3 at home, 2-3 on the road. 
• Prior to Saturday's win, the Vikings had lost three in a row. 
Big Sky Battles
• Portland State is 179-194 all-time in all Big Sky Conference games, including the Big Sky Tournament (11-12). 
• PSU is 118-61 in home games, 56-124 in road games and 5-9 in neutral-site games.
 
WHO IS HOT
• FR G Holland Woods posted a career-high 29 points (10-10 FG, 2-2 3-pt, 7-8 FT) with nine assists and no turnovers in the Vikings' 94-81 win over Eastern Washington. He set a Portland State school record for most field goals made in a game without a miss... Woods continues to lead the Big Sky in assists (5.7).
• JR G Michael Mayhew scored a career-high 20 points (7-12 FG, 5-10 3-pt, 1-1 FT) against Idaho. His previous career-high was 18 in a win over Montana State. Mayhew added 12 more in the win over Eastern Washington to average 16.0 points in two starts last week.
• JR G Deante Strickland came off the bench to hit 7-11 three-point field goals last week (.636). He was 9-15 overall (.600) and averaged 12.5 points, 2.5 assists and had only one turnover in 25 minutes per game.
• SR F Brandon Hollins hit 12-20 shots (.600) last week to maintain his Big Sky league leadership in field goal percentage (.588). He averaged 13.5 points in the Vikings' two games.
• SR C Ryan Edwards has made 16 of his last 19 free throws (.842). SR G Bryce Canda has made 22 of his last 26 free throws (.846).
• Viking ball-handlers: PSU had only 13 turnovers in two games last week (6.5 per game).
• Portland State shot a season-best .576 from the field in a 94-81 win over Eastern Washington.
 
WHO IS NOT
• The Viking defense allowed Idaho to shoot an opponent season-high .614 from the field.
• In Portland State's six Big Sky losses, it has been easy to point at shooting as the downfall. PSU has shot .395 from the field and .258 from three-point range in six Big Sky losses. PSU has shot .516 from the field in four Big Sky wins.
• Portland State averages 22.8 fouls per game, ranking 347th in the nation (among 351).
 
ANOTHER LINEUP: Viking Coach Barret Peery tweaked his starting lineup slightly last week, as SR Fs Traylin Farris and Brandon Hollins started and SR C Ryan Edwards came off the bench. All three responded with quality production. Hollins averaged 13.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and shot .600 from the field. Farris averaged 10.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, shot .500 and made three steals. Edwards averaged 8.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and shot .545… PSU has used 11 different starting lineups this season.
 
THE COMEBACK: Portland State's come-from-behind victory at Idaho State (1/18) marked the sixth time this season that Portland State has erased a second-half deficit (three by double digits) and pulled out a win. Four 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.
 
FIRST-YEAR COACHING RECORDS: New Portland State Head Coach Barret Peery has gotten off to a good start in his first year on the Park Blocks. To this point, only one coach has won more games than Peery (Joel Sobotka 17-11, 1998-99). Below is a look at the best coaching records for first-year head coaches in Portland State history, ranked by winning percentage. 
 
Year              Coach                   W-L
1947-48         Joe Holland          14-5
2017-18         Barret Peery        14-9
1998-99         Joel Sobotka         17-11
1948-49         Arba Ager             14-12
1946-47         John Jenkins        11-10
1972-73         Ken Edwards        12-12
2005-06         Ken Bone              12-16
2009-10         Tyler Geving          13-19
1996-97         Ritchie McKay       9-17
1953-54         Sharkey Nelson     8-17
1965-66         Marion Pericin       6-19
1978-79         Glen Kinney          6-21
2002-03         Heath Schroyer     5-22
 
GRAND LARCENY: Portland State has broken the school record in steals in each of the last two seasons (2015-16 - 263/8.5 pg; 2016-17 - 307/9.9 pg). This year, the Vikings appear on pace to do it again. 
• The Vikings average 10.7 steals per game to lead the nation (247 total).
• PSU leads the nation in turnover margin (+7.4).
• The Vikings force 19.7 turnovers per game to rank second in the nation.
• Portland State has 18 or more steals in five games this season... opponents have 20 or more turnovers 10 times.
• Four Vikings rank in the top seven in steals in the Big Sky Conference.
 
HUSTLE CHART: Portland State Head Coach Barret Peery has emphasized that his team's full-court pressure style of play will be about forcing turnovers, creating fast breaks and getting to the offensive glass. Here is a look at PSU's hustle chart and the points they produce:
• Turnovers forced: 453 (19.7 to lead the Big Sky and rank second in the nation) for 540 points (23.4 per game)
• Fast break points: 282 (12.2 per game)
• Offensive rebounds: 325 (14.1 to lead the Big Sky and rank sixth in the nation) for 331 second chance points (14.4 per game)
 
PUTTING THE BISCUIT IN THE BASKET: Portland State is averaging 88.3 points per game this season. That is the most by a Viking team since 1976-77 (91.0) when Freeman Williams trod the (former) Stott Center hardwood. Here is a look at PSU's top scoring averages in 22 seasons as a member of the Big Sky Conference.
 
Year               PPG
2017-18         88.3
2016-17         85.3
1998-99         79.1
2006-07         78.2
 
OTHER TASTY TIDBITS
• GAME-WINNERS: When FR G Holland Woods hit a game-winning shot with 0.6 points left against Idaho (73-72) it marked the first time a PSU player has made a clincher in the final five seconds of a game since Feb. 27, 2016. On that date, Calaen Robinson made a three-pointer with two seconds left to win at Northern Colorado, 89-86. 
• TRIPLE THE FUN: Portland State is averaging 9.7 three-point field goals made per game. The school record is 9.6 per game set in 2008-09... PSU's 41 three-point attempts against Linfield were a school record (previous 39). The 18 three-pointers made came up just short of the record (21)... 11 different players have made a three-pointer this season.
• BEST RECORDS: Earlier this season, Portland State matched its best four-game (4-0), five-game (4-1), nine-game (7-2), 10-game (8-2), 11-game (8-3), 12-game (9-3), 13-game (10-3) and 14-game (10-4) records in 22 seasons as a member of the Big Sky Conference.
• IT'S A TEAM GAME: Portland State has had a total of 96 double-figure scorers through 23 games (4.3 per game)... Eight players are averaging 6.2 points or more and three average in double figures... 10 players are averagdoubel figures in minutes... 10 players have made starts... there have been 11 different starting lineups... only SR G Bryce Canda has started every game.
• WEST COAST DOMINANCE: Portland State went 3-0 against its three West Coast Conference opponents this season (Portland, Loyola Marymount, Santa Clara)... PSU was 2-1 against the Pac-12 (W - Stanford, W - Cal, L - Oregon)... the Vikings are also 1-0 against the Big West and 1-0 against the Mountain West... that made them 7-1 against teams from other Division I basketball conferences in the west.
• INJURY AND ILLNESS: Besides the opponent, the Portland State basketball team has been battling injury and illness all season. The Vikings have lost 45 player games by seven different players due to injury and illness this season. They are: Brendan Rumel (14), Braxton Tucker (14), Traylin Farris (8), Brandon Hollins (4), Jamie Orme (3), Ryan Edwards (1) and Deontae North (1).
 
BIG SKY LEADERS: The Vikings lead the Big Sky Conference in:
• Scoring, 88.3
• Steals, 10.7
• Assists, 17.2
• Blocked Shots, 3.7
• Turnover Margin, +7.4
• Assist-to-Turnover Ratio, 1.4
• Offensive Rebounds, 14.1
• 3-pt FG Made, 9.7
• Assists, Holland Woods, 5.7
• Field Goal Percentage, Brandon Hollins, .588