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PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (6-9, 1-3) AT
    SOUTHERN UTAH THUNDERBIRDS (7-7, 2-3)
Thursday, January 17, 2019, 5:30 p.m. PT • America First Center (5,300), Cedar City, UT
Live Stream: Pluto TV Channel 236, pluto.tv, WatchBigSky.com • Play-by-play: Art Challis (Southern Utah stream)
Live Stats: www.ViksLive.com
Complete notes and stats in pdf

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THE OPENING TIP
Portland State opens a string of six out of eight games on the road this Thursday with a Big Sky Conference matchup at Southern Utah.
        
How will the extended period on the road go for the Vikings? Based on recent history, Head Coach Barret Peery and his crew have reason for optimism. The Vikings were 5-4 in Big Sky road games last year and are 1-1 so far this season. Overall, PSU is 6-5 under Peery in Big Sky road games, and 11-10 in all road games since he took over at the start of the 2017-18 season.

Throw on top of that the success that the Viking program has had in Cedar City, winning the last four times they have traveled there. Overall, Portland State has won nine straight in the series with Southern Utah.

Results similar to the above over the next four weeks would be huge for the Vikings as they will close out the Big Sky schedule with six of the last eight games at their Viking Pavilion home.
        
Portland State (6-9, 1-3) comes off a 95-88 overtime loss on Saturday at home to one of the Big Sky's top teams, Weber State. It marked the second straight OT game for the Vikings. The 1-3 league record might not look great, but a closer examination shows PSU has played the top four teams in the league so far (Northern Colorado, Weber State, Montana State all 4-1, Montana 4-2).
        
Southern Utah (7-7, 2-3) sits just ahead of the Vikings in the Big Sky standings as does Saturday's opponent Northern Arizona (also 2-3), making this week's games a big chance for the Vikings to move up the ladder.
        
The Thunderbirds have won back-to-back games, winning in overtime at Weber State than at home against NAU. The T-Birds are 4-2 at home overall.
        
Last Saturday's loss to Weber State was a tough one for PSU as the Wildcats pulled away in the final minute of overtime. Quality performances came from JR C Sal Nuhu (season-high 20 pts, 7 reb, 4 blk) and JR F Robert McCoy (17 pts, 6 reb, 2 blk). SR G Deante Strickland provided a big lift off the bench (13 pts, 4 ast, 6 st) and SO G Holland Woods handed off a season-high 10 assists.
        
This Thursday's game at Southern Utah tips off at 6:30 p.m. MT/5:30 p.m. PT. The game is available via live stream at Pluto TV Channel 236, www.pluto.tv and www.WatchBigSky.com. Live statistics are available at www.ViksLive.com.
 
COMING UP
Portland State's road trip continues with a game at Northern Arizona on Saturday. The Vikings' next home game is Jan. 24 against Eastern Washington.
 
GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE vs. SOUTHERN UTAH
• ALL-TIME SERIES: Portland State leads the all-time series, 10-1, including a 9-1 advantage in Big Sky Conference games... after losing their first-ever Big Sky meeting with the Thunderbirds in 2013, the Vikings have won nine straight in the series... the Vikings are 4-1 in Big Sky games in Cedar City.
• LAST YEAR: Feb. 22, PSU 96, Southern Utah 91 (ot) at SUU: Portland State trailed by nine in the second half and by six points with 4:36 remaining in the game. A Holland Woods three-pointer with 3.2 seconds left to play tied the game, sending it to overtime. Michael Mayhew hit a pair of three-pointers in overtime and the Vikings prevailed... Woods finished with 20 points and seven assists, leading six Vikings in double figures. Brandon Hollins added 12 points and 13 rebounds... Dwayne Morgan had 21 points, 10 rebounds and three blocked shots for Southern Utah.
• COACHES: Vikings Coach Barret Peery (Southern Utah, 1996) is in his second season on the Park Blocks and has a 26-23 career record. Peery is 1-0 against Southern Utah... 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 Thunderbirds are coached by Todd Simon (Central Michigan, 2003) in his third season. Simon is 26-53 overall, including 0-3 against the Vikings.
• YOU CAN GO HOME AGAIN: Portland State Head Coach Barret Peery returns to coach against his alma mater for the second time. Last year, Peery's team won 96-91 in overtime... Peery played at Southern Utah from 1993-95 under Bill Evans (now head coach at Idaho State). Peery was part of two conference championships for the Thunderbirds and earned Academic All-League honors. Peery served as a graduate assistant with the program in 1995-96. Peery then returned to be an assistant coach 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.
• FRIENDS AND FOES: Portland State SO G Holland "Boo Boo" Woods and Southern Utah SO G Dre Marin played together in the same backcourt at Apollo High School in Arizona. Thursday's game will be the second time they square off against each other. Last year, Woods had 20 points and seven assists in an overtime win by the Vikings at Southern Utah. Marin dropped in 18 points and two assists... more recently, Marin hit the game-winning jumper with 1.5 seconds left last Saturday in an 84-82 victory over Northern Arizona. Woods had 10 assists in an overtime loss to Weber State, also last Saturday.
 
SOUTHERN UTAH THUNDERBIRDS
• Southern Utah, located in Cedar City, joined the Big Sky Conference for the 2012-13 season. The Thunderbirds have never won a Big Sky Conference Championship.
• Last year, Southern Utah was 13-19 overall, 5-13 and 10th in the Big Sky Conference. The T-Birds won two games in the Big Sky Tournament, advancing to the semifinals. Two starters and seven letterwinners return from that team.
• This year, the Thunderbirds have started out 7-7, 2-3 in Big Sky play, including a big overtime win at Weber State on Jan. 5. Southern Utah averages 78.1 points per game and allows 78.7 points.
• Junior forward Cameron Oluyitan leads the team in scoring at 13.6 points per game. Senior forward Dwayne Morgan averages 13.0 points but has played in only four games due to injury.
• Senior guard Brandon Better averages 11.4 points and has made a team-best 30 three-point field goals.
 
SUSTAINABLE AND RECYCLABLE VIKING QUICK NOTES
WINNING LINES
• Portland State is 6-9 on the season, 4-4 at home, 1-4 on the road, 1-1 at neutral sites.
• PSU is 1-3 in Big Sky Conference play, 0-2 at home, 1-1 on the road.
• PSU has lost four straight home games and six of the last seven overall.
• The Vikings are 1-1 in overtime... Head Coach Barret Peery is 3-2 all-time in overtime.
Big Sky Battles
• Portland State is 186-201 all-time in all Big Sky Conference games, including the Big Sky Tournament (12-13).
• PSU is 120-65 in home games, 60-126 in road games and 6-10 in neutral-site games.
 
WHO IS HOT
• JR C Sal Nuhu scored a season-high 20 points (8-16 FG, 4-5 FT), grabbed seven rebounds and blocked four shots against Weber State.
• SO G Holland Woods scored a season-high 28 points (6-11 FG, 3-4 3-pt, 13-15 FT) in the win at Montana. He followed that with a season-high 10 assists against Weber State.
• SR G Deante Strickland scored a season-high 13 points with four assists and six steals against Weber State.
• Five Vikings rank among the top 13 in steals in the Big Sky Conference.
• Portland State leads the nation with 17.9 offensive rebounds per game.
 
WHO IS NOT
• PSU has lost four in a row at home and six of seven overall.
• After out-rebounding their first nine opponents this season, the Vikings have been out-rebounded in the five of the last six games. They are 1-4 in those games.
• Portland State is shooting .284 from three-point range this season which ranks last in the Big Sky Conference.
• JR G Juwan Williams missed the game with Weber State due to an ankle sprain.
 
GO FIGURE: Portland State is 4-7 in Big Sky home games, 6-5 in Big Sky road games over the last two years.
 
AT HOME ON THE ROAD: Since Barret Peery took over as Vikings' Head Coach, Portland State has proven to be a pretty good road team. In the 21 road games he has coached, PSU is 11-10 (3-4 neutral site). The Vikings are 6-5 in Big Sky Conference road games. Before Peery arrived PSU was 7-22 the previous two years on the road (2015-17).
 
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, with distinct differences in shooting between wins and losses, and home and road games. Here is a breakdown:
• The Vikings are 5-0 when out-shooting their opponents, 1-9 when they don't.
• Field goal percentage: 415-1,008, .412 (10th in Big Sky)
• Three-point percentage: 103-363, .284 (11th in Big Sky)
• Shooting in wins: .479/.360
• Shooting in losses: .361/.237
• Shooting in home games: .456/.333
• Shooting in road/neutral site games: .363/.237
 
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 17.8 turnovers per game and have a +3.1 turnover margin. PSU has scored 277 points off turnovers compared to 231 for opponents.
• The Vikings average 17.9 offensive rebounds per game while opponents average 9.4. PSU has nearly doubled its opponents in second-chance points this season (265-140).
• In all, the difference in total turnovers (47) and total offensive rebounds (128) is 175 extra possessions compared to opponents (11.7 per game).
• As a result, PSU has 188 more field goal attempts than the opponents. Opponents have 30 more free throw attempts.
 
CHEERING FOR BOO BOO: SO G Holland "Boo Boo" Woods leads the Vikings' in scoring (15.0) and assists (5.4). He ranks ninth in the Big Sky in scoring, leads in assists and is eighth in steals (1.4).
• He has led the team in scoring eight times and assists 12 times this season.
• Woods, the Big Sky leader in assists last season (5.6), has led the Vikings in assists in 37 of 48 career games. He ranks ninth all-time at Portland State with 266 career assists in less than two seasons.
• Scored in double figures 10 times with four 20+ point games.
• Went for 20 points and five assists at Stanford.
• Had 27 points (8-14 FG, career-high 5-7 3-pt, 6-6 FT) and six assists in a win over Portland.
• Scored 17 points with seven rebounds and seven assists at Montana State, making 10-10 FTs.
• Posted a season-high 28 points (6-11 FG, 3-4 3-pt FG, 13-15 FT) in a win at Montana, adding four rebounds and three assists.
• Had a season-high 10 assists against Weber State.
 
NU-COMERS PLAYING WELL: Portland State newcomers JR G Michael Nuga and JR C Sal Nuhu are having a big impact for the Vikings.
Nuga Nuggets:
• Nuga ranks second on the team lead in scoring at 13.1 points per game in 22 minutes per night.
• He leads the team with 23 3-pt FG.
• Has scored in double figures nine times with two 20+ point games.
• Went for 17 points and nine rebounds against Stanford.
• Scored a season-high 24 points against CSU Bakersfield.
Yahoo For Nuhu:
• Nuhu averages 10.7 points in 20.6 minutes per game.
• He averages 5.8 rebounds to rank second on the Vikings and 13th in the Big Sky. He leads the Vikings and ranks sixth in field goal percentage (.564) and second in blocked shots (1.9).
• Has scored in double figures 10 times.
• Posted a double-double against Stanford with 15 points and 14 rebounds.
• Went for 10 points, nine rebounds and a season-high six blocked shots against Portland.
• Scored 16 points (5-6 FG, 6-8 FT) at Montana State.
• Tallied a season-high 20 points (8-16 FG, 4-5 FT) with seven rebounds and four blocked shots against Weber State.
 
THE REAL McCOY: In his first season as a Viking, JR F Robert McCoy has stepped into a key role. He has started 12 games and averages 22.9 minutes, ranking third on the team.
• McCoy averages 8.7 points and leads the Vikings in rebounding at 6.5 per game, ranking sixth in the Big Sky Conference. He leads the Big Sky in offensive rebounds (3.0 pg).
• He has led the Vikings in scoring once, rebounding five times and has two double-doubles.
• Has season-highs of 26 points, 12 rebounds and five steals.
• Scored 17 points with six rebounds, two blocks, two assists and two steals against Weber State.
 
IF YOU BUILD IT: The crowd of 2,020 that attended the game against Portland (12/5) in the Viking Pavilion is the largest crowd of the season so far. Portland State's home opener against UC Riverside had a crowd of 1,424. The largest recent crowd was a sellout of that 1,500 attended the Portland State/Oregon State game in the old Stott Center gym on Dec. 12, 2012... PSU is averaging 1,142 fans through eight home games - the most since the 2008-09 season (1,106).
 
Portland State leads the Big Sky Conference in:
Rebounds Per Game                         42.9
Offensive Rebounds                          17.9
Rebounding Margin                           +8.0
Steals                                                 10.0
Turnover Margin                                +3.1
Holland Woods, assists                      5.4
Robert McCoy, offensive rebounds    3.0