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PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (5-7, 0-1) at
        MONTANA STATE BOBCATS (4-8, 1-1)
Thursday, January 3, 2019, 6 p.m. PT • Worthington Arena (6,772), Bozeman, MT
Live Stream: Pluto TV Channel 238, pluto.tv, WatchBigSky.com • Play-by-play: Tom Schulz (Montana State stream)
Live Stats: www.ViksLive.com
Complete notes and stats in pdf

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THE OPENING TIP
With a daunting road schedule over the first six weeks of Big Sky Conference play, the Portland State Vikings may as well face their toughest trip on the opening weekend.
     
The Vikings play at Montana State and Montana this weekend beginning a span of eight out of 11 games on the road. The Montana double has traditionally been PSU's most challenging Big Sky road trip. In the previous 22 seasons, the Vikings are 8-35 at MSU (5-17) and UM (3-18).
     
Portland State opens the trip on Thursday in Bozeman, meeting the Bobcats in a 7 p.m. MT/6 p.m. PT game. The good news for PSU is they swept the season series with Montana State last year, including an 80-77 win at Worthington Arena. The bad news is the Vikings go into the game on a four-game losing streak that has emphasized the team's struggles on offense.
     
PSU, 5-7/0-1, dropped its Big Sky opener against Northern Colorado, 73-60, on Monday at the Viking Pavilion. The Vikings shot .373 from the field, marking the fourth straight game - all losses - that they have failed to reach 40% in the shooting department. Making matters further challenging, the Vikings have averaged 17.3 turnovers in those four games.
     
PSU has lost four in a row for the first time since a similar stretch on Jan. 21-Feb. 4, 2017. The last time a Viking team lost five straight was Dec. 2-22, 2015.
     
A matchup with Montana State may be the answer to PSU's offensive woes. The Bobcats, 4-8/1-1, allow the most points (81.2 ppg) and best opponent shooting percentage (.489) of any team in the Big Sky Conference.
     
MSU split its opening road trip in Big Sky play, winning at Southern Utah (92-62), then losing at Northern Arizona (74-68). The Bobcats feature one of best backcourts in the league with senior Tyler Hall (18.4 ppg, 3.3 3-pt FG pg) and junior Harald Frey (13.7 ppg, 4.6 apg).
     
Montana State has played only three home games this season (2-1) and none since a Nov. 27 win over North Dakota. The Vikings are 0-3 on the road (1-1 neutral sites) and last played a road game on Dec. 12. The teams have one common opponent as both lost a non-conference game to UC Santa Barbara. The Gauchos beat the Vikings 76-69 on Nov. 23 and beat the Bobcats 88-69 on Nov. 17.
     
In an effort to turn around his team's offensive struggles, Head Coach Barret Peery made some adjustments to his starting lineup in recent games, moving in JR G Michael Nuga, JR C Sal Nuhu and SR G Michael Mayhew. Also returning to the starting lineup after a few games coming off the bench is JR F Robert McCoy. They join SO G Holland "Boo Boo" Woods, who is now the only player to start every game he has played (11).
     
McCoy had 13 points and seven rebounds against Northern Colorado. SR G Derek Brown, who had started the first 11 games, came off the bench for a team-high 16 points in 20 minutes against the Bears.
     
Thursday's game at Montana State is the second of three games in six days for the Vikings. It will be available via live stream at Pluto TV Channel 238, www.pluto.tv and www.WatchBigSky.com. Live statistics are available at www.ViksLive.com.
 
COMING UP
Portland State plays at defending Big Sky Conference Champion Montana on Saturday night. The Grizzlies have won three straight in the series and 16 of the last 19 overall. Included is a nine-game winning streak in Missoula.
     
The Vikings come home next week for a single game, hosting Weber State on Saturday, Jan. 12 at the Viking Pavilion.
 
GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE vs. MONTANA STATE
• ALL-TIME SERIES: Montana State leads the all-time series with the Vikings, 33-24, and the Big Sky Conference series, 26-21... MSU leads 17-5 in games played in Bozeman... PSU has won two in a row and five of the last seven games in the series... Portland State has a 4-0 advantage over Montana State in Big Sky Tournament games.
• LAST YEAR: Jan. 11 - PSU 93, MSU 74 at Lewis and Clark College: Despite missing three forwards due to injury and illness, the Vikings rolled to a comfortable 19-point win over the Bobcats behind one of their best shooting performances of the season. PSU shot .531 from the field, hit 14-32 three-pointers (.438) and 11-13 free throws (.846). Deontae North led five Vikings in double-figures with 22 points and four steals. Michael Mayhew hit 6-9 three-point field goals for 18 points. Tyler Hall led five Bobcats in double figures with 16 points. Feb. 10 - PSU 80, MSU 77 at MSU: The Vikings rallied back from a 10-point deficit with just over 12 minutes to play and pulled out the win in Bozeman. PSU shot .548 from the field in the second half and took advantage of a 44-35 rebounding edge. Bryce Canda scored 18 points to lead the Vikings, while Brandon Hollins added 16 points and 14 rebounds. Harald Frey scored 22 points to lead the Bobcats.
• BRING OUT THE BROOM: Portland State swept the season series last year, marking the sixth straight year one of the two teams have swept the series (three times by PSU, three times by MSU).
• COACHES: Vikings Coach Barret Peery (Southern Utah, 1996) is in his second season on the Park Blocks and has a 25-21 career record. Peery is 2-0 against Montana State... 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 Bobcats are coached by Brian Fish (Marshall, 1989) in his fifth season. Fish has a 54-83 record at MSU. He is 2-5 all-time against Portland State.
 
MONTANA STATE BOBCATS
• Montana State is an original member of the Big Sky Conference (1963). The Bobcat program has won four Big Sky regular season titles, two Big Sky Tournament titles, and made three appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
• Last year, the Bobcats went 13-19, 6-12 and tied for eighth in the Big Sky Conference. Four starters and five letterwinners return from that team. Included are second team All-Big Sky Conference selection Tyler Hall and honorable mention All-Big Sky Harald Frey.
• This year, MSU averages 72.3 points per game, but allows a league-worst 81.2 points. The Bobcats are also last in field goal percentage defense at .489.
• Hall, a senior guard, leads the team with 18.4 points per game, ranking third in the Big Sky Conference. He makes 3.3 three-point field goals per game, which is second in the league.
• Frey, a junior guard, averages 13.7 points and 4.6 assists per game. He is first in the Big Sky in assist-to-turnover ratio, having committed only 17 turnovers this season.
• Junior forward Ladan Ricketts, a junior college transfer, is averaging 10.8 points while shooting .464 from three-point range and a perfect 11-11 at the free throw line.
 
SUSTAINABLE AND RECYCLABLE VIKING QUICK NOTES
WINNING LINES
• Portland State is 5-7 on the season, 4-3 at home, 0-3 on the road, 1-1 at neutral sites.
• PSU is 0-1 in Big Sky Conference play, 0-1 at home, 0-0 on the road.
• The Vikings have lost four games in a row for the first time in two seasons.
• PSU has lost three straight home games.
Big Sky Battles
• Portland State is 185-199 all-time in all Big Sky Conference games, including the Big Sky Tournament (12-13).
• PSU is 120-64 in home games, 59-125 in road games and 6-10 in neutral-site games.
 
WHO IS HOT
• SR G Derek Brown scored 16 points (5-7 FG, 2-2 3-pt FG, 4-5 FT) against Northern Colorado in 20 minutes. It was his first game off the bench this season and matched his career scoring high.
• Five Vikings rank among the top 13 in steals in the Big Sky Conference.
• Portland State leads the nation with 19.3 offensive rebounds per game.
• PSU matched its season-high for free throw percentage (.833) against Northern Colorado.
• SO G Holland Woods ranks second in the Big Sky in assists (5.0).
 
WHO IS NOT
• PSU has lost three in a row at home and four straight overall.
• Over PSU's four-game losing streak, it has failed to shoot above 39%. The overall mark is 79-224, .353 and the Vikings have averaged only 63.8 points per game. The Vikings averaged 86.2 points prior to that.
• Portland State is shooting .276 from three-point range this season, which ranks last in the Big Sky Conference.
• After out-rebounding their first 10 opponents this season, the Vikings have been out-rebounded in the last two games.
 
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 have shot under 39% from the field in all seven losses this season. They have shot over 40% in all five wins.
• Field goal percentage: 331-814, .407
• Three-point percentage: 79-286, .276
• Shooting in wins: .491/.379
• Shooting in losses: .336/.206
• Shooting in home games: .458/.344
• Shooting in road/neutral site games: .342/.197
 
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 18.3 turnovers per game and have a +2.8 turnover margin.
• The Vikings average 19.3 offensive rebounds per game while opponents average 8.7.
• In all, the difference in total turnovers (33) and total offensive rebounds (127) is 160 extra possessions compared to opponents (13.3 per game).
• As a result, PSU has 172 more field goal attempts than the opponents. Opponents have 26 more free throw attempts.
 
CHEERING FOR BOO BOO: SO G Holland "Boo Boo" Woods leads the Vikings' in scoring (13.8), and assists (5.0). He ranks 13th in the Big Sky in scoring, second in assists and 10th in steals (1.5).
• He has led the team in scoring six times and assists nine times this season.
• Woods, the Big Sky leader in assists last season (5.6), has led the Vikings in assists in 34 of 45 career games.
• Scored in double figures seven times with three 20+ point games.
• Woods reached 200 career assists in 36 career games. He is now one assist short of reaching the Portland State all-time top 10 for assists.
• Had a season-high nine assists twice this season.
• 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.
 
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 is tied for the team lead in scoring at 13.8 points per game in 21 minutes per night.
• He is shooting .470 from the field and .358 from three-point range.
• Has scored in double figures seven 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 10.2 points in 20.3 minutes per game.
• He averages 6.3 rebounds to rank second on the Vikings and eighth in the Big Sky. He ranks eighth in field goal percentage (.551) and third in blocked shots (1.9).
• Has scored in double figures eight 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.
 
FINDING HIS F-ORME: SR F Jamie Orme has been looked to for a big step forward in 2018-19. Last season he averaged 4.0 points and 3.1 rebounds in 13 minutes per game. This year he is averaging 8.5 points and 5.8 rebounds in 20 minutes per game.
• Ranks 15th in the Big Sky in rebounding.
• Scored in double figures six times and has two double-doubles this season.
• Has season highs of 19 points, 13 rebounds (twice) and five assists.
 
WHAT BROWN CAN DO FOR YOU: SR G Derek Brown has also taken a big step up in 2018-19. Last year, he averaged 5.1 points in 12 minutes per game... this season Brown has started 11 games and averages 9.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.5 steals.
• Led the team in scoring four times, assists twice and scored in double figures seven times.
• Matched his career-high in scoring of 16 points (twice), with career-highs of six rebounds and eight assists also this season.
 
THE REAL McCOY: In his first season as a Viking, JR F Robert McCoy has stepped into a key role. He has started nine games and averages 21.6 minutes, ranking third on the team.
• McCoy averages 8.5 points and leads the Vikings in rebounding at 6.5 per game, and ranks sixth in the Big Sky Conference.
• He has led the Vikings in scoring once, rebounding four times and has two double-doubles.
• Has season-highs of 26 points, 12 rebounds and five steals.
 
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.
• The core 11 players are all averaging at least 11 minutes per game or more. Only six average 20 minutes, and only SO G Holland Woods averages over 30.
• Portland State has had nine players start games, while none have started every game this season. Only Woods has started every game he has played (missed one due to injury).
• The Vikings have had six different starting lineups in 12 games.
 
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 1,069 fans through seven home games - the most since the 2008-09 season (1,106).
 
Portland State leads the Big Sky Conference in:
Rebounds Per Game  41.1
Offensive Rebounds   19.3
Rebounding Margin    +11.4
Steals                            9.9