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PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (9-12, 4-6) at
            NORTHERN COLORADO BEARS (14-7, 8-2)
Thursday, February 7, 2019, 6:05 p.m. PT • Bank of Colorado Arena (2,734), Greeley, CO
Live Stream: Pluto TV Channel 241, pluto.tv, WatchBigSky.com • Play-by-play: Troy Coverdale (Northern Colorado feed)
Live Stats: https://uncbears.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Complete notes and stats in pdf

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THE OPENING TIP
At the mid-point of the Big Sky Conference season, the Portland State Vikings find themselves in a log-jam in the middle of the league standings. Five teams between fourth and eighth place are within a game-and-a-half of each other. PSU, at 4-6, is just one game out of fifth place, which would bring a first-round bye in the end-of-season Big Sky Conference Tournament.
     
The Vikings, 9-12 overall, seek that number five spot - or higher - as they embark on the second half of the schedule. This week, they face Northern Colorado on Thursday in the third of four straight games on the road. The Bears are tied for first place (8-2) going into a game tonight against Montana State.
     
PSU lost to UNC on Dec. 31 in the Big Sky opener at home, 73-60. The Vikings must prepare for one of the Big Sky's best offensive teams and the league's leading scorer in Jordan Davis (24.1 ppg). A senior guard, Davis went for 27 points in the Bears earlier win over the Vikings.
     
Portland State comes off a narrow loss at Idaho State on Saturday, 69-67. The Vikings had won three straight prior to that, including a win at Weber State last Thursday. PSU is only 2-7 on the road this season, but those two wins have come at WSU (currently third at 8-3) and Montana (tied with UNC at 8-2). And though they lost at Greeley last year (87-84), the Vikings have a successful history there, going 6-5 in Big Sky games.          
     
 
SR F Jamie Orme has been hot for the Vikings as of late, shooting 66% from the field and averaging 14.5 points and 5.3 rebounds over the last four games.
     
Northern Colorado, 14-7 overall, is 6-1 in home games this season. The Bears have won three straight going into tonight's home contest with the Bobcats. They feature an offense that averages 78.3 points (second in the league) and lead all teams in three-point shooting (.372) and three-pointers made (9.8).
     
Thursday's game at Northern Colorado tips off at 7 p.m. MT/6 p.m. PT. It will be live streamed on Pluto TV Channel 241, pluto.tv and WatchBigSky.com. Live stats are available at www.uncbears.com.
 
COMING UP
      The Vikings have a rare Saturday off then play at Sacramento State next Monday. Following that game, PSU comes home to play six of the final eight regular season games on the run up to the Big Sky Conference Tournament.
 
GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE vs. NORTHERN COLORADO
• ALL-TIME SERIES: Portland State leads the all-time series, 18-10, and the Big Sky series, 14-10. However, the Bears have won the last four meetings between the teams, two of which were PSU home games... PSU holds a 6-5 edge in Big Sky games played in Greeley.
• Dec. 31, UNC 73, PSU 60: Northern Colorado dictated the pace and led much of the game, taking advantage of a poor shooting performance by the Vikings. All-Big Sky guard Jordan Davis led the way with 27 points for the Bears. Bodie Hume hit five three-pointers and scored 19. The Vikings shot only .373 from the field. Derek Brown scored 16 points off the bench and Robert McCoy added 13 points and seven rebounds.
• COACHES: Vikings Coach Barret Peery (Southern Utah, 1996) is in his second season on the Park Blocks and has a 29-26 career record. Peery is 0-2 against Northern Colorado... 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 Bears are led by third-year Head Coach Jeff Linder (Western State). He has a 51-37 career record at UNC, including 4-0 against the Vikings.
 
NORTHERN COLORADO BEARS
• Northern Colorado is located in Greeley, CO and is in its 13th season as a Big Sky member. The Bears won a Big Sky title back in 2011.
• Last year, the Bears were 26-12 overall, 11-7 and fifth place in the Big Sky Conference. The Bears went on to win four straight games and capture the CollegeInsider.com post-season tournament title.
• Three starters and six letterwinners return from that team. Included is Jordan Davis, who was a third team All-Big Sky Conference selection.
• Northern Colorado ranks second in the Big Sky Conference in scoring (78.3), and first in three-point percentage (.372) and three-pointers made (9.8 pg). The Bears are also a strong rebounding team, ranking second in margin (+4.2) behind the Vikings.
• Senior guard Jordan Davis leads the Big Sky Conference in scoring at 24.1 points per game. He shoots .394 from three-point range, .816 at the line, and also averages 5.0 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game.
• Freshman forward Bodie Hume is averaging 11.8 points and has team-highs of 48 three-pointers and 25 blocked shots.
 
SUSTAINABLE AND RECYCLABLE VIKING QUICK NOTES
WINNING LINES
• Portland State is 9-12 on the season, 6-4 at home, 2-7 on the road, 1-1 at neutral sites.
• The Vikings have won two in a row at home.
• PSU is 4-6 in Big Sky Conference play, 2-2 at home, 2-4 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 189-204 all-time in all Big Sky Conference games, including the Big Sky Tournament (12-13).
• PSU is 122-65 in home games, 61-129 in road games and 6-10 in neutral-site games.
 
WHO IS HOT
• SR F Jamie Orme is averaging 14.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and shooting 21-32 (.656) from the field, 9-14 (.643) from three-point range and 7-9 (.778) at the line over the last four games... he scored 18 points (8-10 FG, 1-2 3-pt, 1-2 FT) with three blocked shots in the win at Weber State. It was his career-high against a Division I opponent... Orme made a career-high 4-6 three-pointers at Idaho State.
• In two starts last week, SR G Derek Brown averaged 10.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and made 8-13 field goals (.615).
• Over the last 10 games, PSU has shot 160-217 (.737) from the free throw line, improving the season mark to .686. Prior to that, PSU shot .647 as a team.
• Portland State continues to lead the nation in offensive rebounding (17.0 pg).
• 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.
 
WHO IS NOT
• Portland State is shooting .288 from three-point range this season which ranks last in the Big Sky Conference.
• PSU has forced only 13.3 turnovers against Big Sky Conference opponents. The Vikings forced 19.1 turnovers against non-conference opponents.
• JR G Michael Nuga was limited to 20 total minutes in two games last week due to knee soreness.
• JR G Juwan Williams has missed the last seven games with an ankle sprain.
 
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, 2-12 when they don't.
• In nine of PSU's 12 losses, they have shot 39% or less.
• Field goal percentage: 568-1,353, .420 (10th in Big Sky)
• Three-point percentage: 147-510, .288 (11th in Big Sky)
• Shooting in wins: .481/.348
• Shooting in losses: .371/.248
• Shooting in home games: .466/.341
• Shooting in road/neutral site games: .380/.247
 
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 29 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 61 dunks this season in 21 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 16.3 turnovers per game and have a +1.2 turnover margin. PSU has scored 358 points off turnovers compared to 352 for opponents.
• The Vikings average 17.0 offensive rebounds per game while opponents average 9.2. PSU has a huge advantage on its opponents in second-chance points this season (352-207).
• In all, the difference in total turnovers (25) and total offensive rebounds (163) is 188 extra possessions compared to opponents (9.0 per game).
• As a result, PSU has 208 more field goal attempts than the opponents. Opponents have 28 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 eighth in the Big Sky in scoring, second in assists and is sixth in steals (1.4).
• He has led the team in scoring 11 times and assists 17 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 42 of 54 career games. He ranks eighth all-time at Portland State with 294 career assists in less than two seasons.
• Scored in double figures 14 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.
 
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 8.4 points and 4.6 rebounds in 19 minutes per game.
• Orme returned to the starting lineup four games ago and has been on fire. He has averaged 14.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and shot .656/.643/.788 in those games.
• Scored in double figures 11 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.
 
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 10.7 points per game in 20 minutes per night.
• He leads the team with 29 3-pt FG and a .358 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 9.9 points in 21 minutes per game.
• He averages 6.0 rebounds to rank second on the Vikings and 10th in the Big Sky. He leads the Vikings and ranks fifth in field goal percentage (.540) and third in blocked shots (1.7).
• Has scored in double figures 11 times and led the team in rebounding five 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.
• Had eight points, nine rebounds and five blocked shots at Idaho State.
 
THE REAL McCOY: In his first season as a Viking, JR F Robert McCoy has stepped into a key role. He has started 18 games and averages 22.8 minutes, ranking second on the team.
• McCoy averages 8.1 points and leads the Vikings in rebounding at 6.2 per game, ranking sixth in the Big Sky Conference. He leads the Big Sky in offensive rebounds (2.8 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.