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PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (9-11, 4-5) at
            IDAHO STATE BENGALS (7-12, 3-7)
Saturday, February 2, 2019, 6:05 p.m. PT • Holt Arena (8,000), Pocatello, ID
Live Stream: Pluto TV Channel 243, pluto.tv, WatchBigSky.com • Play-by-play: Jerry Miller (Idaho State feed)
Live Stats: www.ViksLive.com
Complete notes and stats in pdf

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THE OPENING TIP
Portland State will ride a three-game winning streak and one of its biggest wins of the season into Pocatello for a Saturday night game with Idaho State.
     
The Vikings (9-11, 4-5) have had an up-and-down season and are currently in the middle of the Big Sky Conference pack. But they have proven one thing: they can beat the Big Sky Conference's best teams on the road. A Thursday night win at Weber State, along with a Jan. 5 win at Montana has given the Vikings road wins against two of the top three teams in the Big Sky. PSU gets a chance at first-place Northern Colorado on the road next week, but in the meantime must take care of business against the Bengals on Saturday. 
     
PSU will go after a season-long, four-game winning streak at ISU, and hope to take another step up the standings. The Vikings are currently tied for sixth. It will be the second straight road game in a season-long stretch of four in a row away from Viking Pavilion.
     
Portland State faces the Bengals for the first time this season and have beaten them on their last three meetings. That includes an 87-83 victory last year in Pocatello.
     
Idaho State (7-12, 3-7) lost at home on Thursday, 74-58, to Sacramento State. After a decent start to the season, the Bengals have lost five straight games. They are 3-4 at home this season.
     
The Vikings are now 2-3 in Big Sky road games after Thursday's thrilling 76-75 win at Weber State. PSU knocked off a team that had won eight of its last 10 games. The Vikings trailed the Wildcats by 12 points with less than 10 minutes to play. SR F Jamie Orme and SO G Holland Woods combined to score 17 of the next 21 points for the Vikings as they pulled into a 71-69 lead with 2:25 to play. After losing the lead to WSU, SR G Deante Strickland hit the biggest shot of the night - a deep three-pointer with 18.5 seconds left, giving PSU a 74-72 lead. SR G Derek Brown tacked on a pair of free throws with 3.9 seconds left to put PSU ahead 76-72 and seal the game.
     
It was a big win for the Vikings, who had lost seven straight in the series with Weber State, including three of the last four in overtime. It marked only the third time that PSU has won in Ogden since joining the Big Sky Conference in 1996.
     
This Saturday's game at Idaho State tips off at 7 p.m. MT/6 p.m. PT. It will be live streamed on Pluto TV Channel 243, www.pluto.tv and WatchBigSky.com. Live stats are available ViksLive.com.
 
COMING UP
Portland State will be on the road against next week, playing at Northern Colorado on Thursday. The Vikings have Saturday off then play at Sacramento State on Monday, Feb. 11.
 
GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE vs. IDAHO STATE
• ALL-TIME SERIES: Portland State leads the all-time series with Idaho State, 32-20, and the Big Sky series, 28-16... the Vikings swept the season series last year and have won three in a row overall... PSU is 10-11 in Big Sky games played in Pocatello.
• Jan. 18, 2018, PSU 87, ISU 83 at Pocatello: The Vikings trailed by 16 points with 18:30 to play in the game, but came back to get the win. Deontae North scored 24 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead PSU. Ryan Edwards had 19 points and 10 assists. Brandon Boyd and Balint Mocsan scored 17 points each for the Bengals. Feb. 17, 2018, PSU 91, ISU 77 at Lewis and Clark College: Portland State outscored Idaho State 57-39 in the second half to pull away for the win. The Vikings had just five turnovers in the game and out-rebounded ISU, 42-33. Deante Strickland came off the bench for 18 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. Ryan Edwards hit 9-11 shots and scored 19 points while Brandon Hollins had 13 points and 16 rebounds. Brandon Boyd scored 17 to lead Idaho State.
• COACHES: Vikings Coach Barret Peery (Southern Utah, 1996) is in his second season on the Park Blocks and has a 29-25 career record. Peery is 2-0 against Idaho 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 Bengals are coached by Bill Evans (Southern Utah, 1972) in his seventh season. Evans has a 66-134 record at Idaho State, and in 21 seasons as a collegiate head coach he is 274-357. Evans is 5-5 all-time against Portland State.
• 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. Peery won the first two meetings against his mentor last year, 87-83 in Pocatello and 91-77 in Portland.
 
IDAHO STATE BENGALS
• Idaho State, located in Pocatello, ID, is an original member of the Big Sky Conference. The Bengals have won two Big Sky Conference regular season championships, two Big Sky Tournament championships and made 11 appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
• Last year, Idaho State was 14-16 overall, 9-9 and tied for sixth in the Big Sky Conference. Three starters and eight letterwinners return from that team, including third-team All-Big Sky selection Jared Stutzman and honorable mention guard Brandon Boyd.
• This season the Bengals are 7-12 overall, 3-7 in the Big Sky Conference. After a 3-2 start they have lost five straight games by an average of 17.6 points. ISU averages 73.0 points and allows 78.1 points per game. The Bengals have been good three-point shooters, hitting at a .365 clip and making 9.5 per game - both of which rank second in the Big Sky Conference.
• Junior guard Brandon Boyd leads the team in scoring at 14.6 points per game and assists at 3.9 per game.
• Junior guard Balint Mocsan averages 11.2 points and has made 43 three-point field goals. He shoots .448 from long range, fourth in the Big Sky.
• Junior forward Chier Maker leads the team with 7.1 rebounds, fifth in the Big Sky, and averages 8.8 points per game.
 
SUSTAINABLE AND RECYCLABLE VIKING QUICK NOTES
WINNING LINES
• Portland State is 9-11 on the season, 6-4 at home, 2-6 on the road, 1-1 at neutral sites.
• The Vikings have won three in a row.
• PSU is 4-5 in Big Sky Conference play, 2-2 at home, 2-3 on the road.
• The Vikings are 1-1 in overtime... Head Coach Barret Peery is 3-2 all-time in overtime.
Big Sky Battles
• Portland State is 189-203 all-time in all Big Sky Conference games, including the Big Sky Tournament (12-13).
• PSU is 122-65 in home games, 61-128 in road games and 6-10 in neutral-site games.
 
WHO IS HOT
• Portland State beat Weber State in Ogden for only the third time in 23 seasons... it is also the first time PSU has beaten Montana and Weber State on the road in the same season.
• The Vikings allowed only 53 points to Idaho - the fewest by a Division I opponent in 196 games.
• Portland State shot .604 from the field (29-48) against Eastern Washington - its best mark in 80 games  and best mark against a Division I opponent in 88 games... the Vikings also shot .400 from three-point range (8-20) and .800 at the free throw line (12-15).
• SR G Deante Strickland is averaging 11.2 points and 2.5 assists off the bench over the last six games. He is 24-49 from the field (.490), 14-32 from three-point range (.438)... Strickland hit a go-ahead three-pointer with 18.5 seconds left at Weber State in a 76-75 win.
• SR F Jamie Orme is averaging 14.7 points and 5.0 rebounds and shooting 16-24 (.667) from the field, 5-8 (.625) from three-point range and 7-9 (.778) at the line during the three game winning streak... he scored 18 points (8-10 FG, 1-2 3-pt, 1-2 FT) with three blocked shots in the win at Weber State... he had 15 points (5-8 FG, 3-3 3-pt, 2-3 FT), seven rebounds, two assists and two steals against Eastern Washington. It was his highest scoring game against a Division I opponent in his career... Orme followed that with 11 points, four rebounds, three steals, two assists and a blocked shot against Idaho.
• Over the last nine games, PSU has shot 155-209 (.742) from the free throw line, improving the season mark to .687. Prior to that, PSU shot .647 as a team.
 
WHO IS NOT
• Portland State is shooting .285 from three-point range this season which ranks last in the Big Sky Conference.
• JR G Juwan Williams has missed the last six games with an ankle sprain.
 
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 24 road games he has coached, PSU is 12-12 (3-4 neutral site). The Vikings are 7-7 in Big Sky Conference road games. Before Peery arrived PSU was 7-22 the previous two years on the road (2015-17)... most significant this season, Peery has led the Vikings to road wins at Montana and Weber State in the same season for the first time ever.
 
PRETTY, PRETTY, PRETTY GOOD DEFENSE: Last week, PSU played three halves of outstanding defense. The Vikings trailed Eastern Washington 35-33 at halftime on Thursday, then put on a defensive clinic. PSU shut down the Eagles in the second half, holding them to 11-31 shooting (.355) and forcing six turnovers on the way to a 78-65 win. Then on Saturday, the Vikings held Idaho to 21-55 from the field (.382), 6-23 from three-point range (.261), forcing 19 turnovers and beat the Vandals, 69-53. It marked the fewest points PSU has allowed a Division I opponent in 196 games, dating back to Dec. 20, 2012 (63-49 win over Idaho State).
 
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 7-0 when out-shooting their opponents, 2-11 when they don't.
• In nine of PSU's 11 losses, they have shot 39% or less.
• Field goal percentage: 542-1,293, .419 (10th in Big Sky)
• Three-point percentage: 137-480, .285 (11th in Big Sky)
• Shooting in wins: .481/.348
• Shooting in losses: .366/.239
• Shooting in home games: .466/.341
• Shooting in road/neutral site games: .375/.237
 
DUNK YOU VERY MUCH: One way to improve your shooting percentage is to increase your dunk frequency. The Vikings did just that against Eastern Washington (1/24), getting seven slams, including four by JR C Sal Nuhu.
• Nuhu now has 27 dunks on the season, which already ranks as third-most by a Viking in the 23-season Big Sky Conference era. The most dunks in a season are 31 by Scott Morrison in 2007-08.
• Portland State has a total of 59 dunks this season in 20 games which is more than the 50 they had all of last season.
 
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 16.8 turnovers per game and have a +1.4 turnover margin. PSU has scored 355 points off turnovers compared to 332 for opponents.
• The Vikings average 17.2 offensive rebounds per game while opponents average 9.3. PSU has a huge advantage on its opponents in second-chance points this season (338-191).
• In all, the difference in total turnovers (28) and total offensive rebounds (157) is 185 extra possessions compared to opponents (9.3 per game).
• As a result, PSU has 201 more field goal attempts than the opponents. Opponents have 25 more free throw attempts.
 
CHEERING FOR BOO BOO: SO G Holland "Boo Boo" Woods leads the Vikings' in scoring (14.5) and assists (5.2). He ranks 10th in the Big Sky in scoring, second in assists and is fifth in steals (1.5).
• He has led the team in scoring 10 times and assists 16 times this season, and has two double-doubles.
• Woods, the Big Sky leader in assists last season (5.6), has led the Vikings in assists in 41 of 53 career games. He ranks ninth all-time at Portland State with 290 career assists in less than two seasons.
• Scored in double figures 13 times with five 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.
• Posted 21 points with four steals at Northern Arizona.
• Recorded a season-high 11 assists and 15 points (7-10 FG) in a win over Eastern Washington.
 
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 in scoring at 11.3 points per game in 21 minutes per night.
• He leads the team with 29 3-pt FG and a .363 3-pt FG%.
• Has scored in double figures 11 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 10.0 points in 21 minutes per game.
• He averages 5.8 rebounds to rank second on the Vikings and 10th in the Big Sky. He leads the Vikings and ranks fifth in field goal percentage (.550) and fourth in blocked shots (1.6).
• Has scored in double figures 11 times and led the team in rebounding four 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.
 
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 8.2 points and 4.6 rebounds in 19 minutes per game.
• Orme returned to the starting lineup three games ago and the Vikings are 3-0 in those games. He has averaged 14.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and shot .667/.625/.788 in those games.
• Scored in double figures 10 times and has two double-doubles this season.
• Has season highs of 19 points, 13 rebounds (twice) and five assists.
• Had 18 points (8-10 FG) - his career-high against a Division I opponent - four rebounds and three blocked shots in a win at 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 17 games and averages 22.8 minutes, ranking second on the team.
• McCoy averages 8.4 points and leads the Vikings in rebounding at 6.4 per game, ranking sixth in the Big Sky Conference. He leads the Big Sky in offensive rebounds (2.9 pg).
• He has led the Vikings in scoring once, rebounding six 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.