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PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (14-15, 9-9) vs. MONTANA GRIZZLIES (22-7, 15-3)
Thursday, March 7, 2019, 7:05 p.m. • Viking Pavilion (3,094), Portland, OR
Live Stream: Pluto TV Channel 232, pluto.tv, WatchBigSky.com • Play-by-play: Matt Richert
Live Stats: www.ViksLive.com
Complete notes and stats in pdf

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THE OPENING TIP
Portland State comes home for the final two games of the Big Sky Conference regular season this week, hosting first-place Montana and third-place Montana State.
     
Wins are vital for the Vikings (14-15, 9-9) as they sit in the middle of the Big Sky standings and still hold a chance for a 5th- (or 4th, or a tie for 3rd) place finish and a first-round bye in the Big Sky Conference Tournament, Mar. 13-16, in Boise, ID.
     
The Vikings are in sixth place in the Big Sky. Portland State is one game behind a fourth-place tie between Eastern Washington and Weber State (both 10-8) and two games behind third-place Montana State (11-7). In fact, the top 10 teams still haven't established their playoff positions with one weekend to play. The only position determined is #11 seed Idaho. The number six seed (currently PSU) would face Idaho in a first round game on Wednesday (PSU is 2-0 vs. Idaho this season).
     
The Vikings need a pair of wins, and maybe a little help, to assure themseles of a top-five position. A 1-1 week might get them into a fifth-place tie, which would require a tiebreaker to determine the first round bye (see Big Sky Tiebreaker Format on page 3).
     
Montana is in town on Thursday night. Portland State beat the Griz, 77-74, in an overtime thriller in Missoula on Jan. 5. However, Montana has won 12 of its last 13 games and maintains an 8-4 road record (7-1 in Big Sky games). Certainly the Grizzlies will be looking for a measure of revenge on Thursday night at Viking Pavilion. Montana features the league's best field goal shooting team (.493/.379) and best defensive team (68.8 points allowed per game). Backcourt stars Michael Oguine (13.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg),  Ahmaad Rorie (14.9 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 4.0 apg) and Sayeed Pridgett (14.4 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 2.2 apg) lead the Grizzlies.
     
The Vikings lost on Saturday at Eastern Washington on a three-pointer at the buzzer, 68-66. However, they had won five straight prior to that. PSU has won six in a row at the Viking Pavilion and are 10-4 in their new home this season.
     
Saturday's game with Montana State could have major ramifications to the standings. The Bobcats (11-7) play at Sacramento State (7-11) on Thursday, prior to facing the Vikings. MSU beat PSU, 98-88, on Jan. 3 in Bozeman.
     
Thursday's game against Montana tips off at 7:05 p.m. Saturday's game is also at 7:05 p.m. and will be Senior Night. Both games will be live streamed on Pluto TV Channel 232, www.pluto.tv and www.WatchBigSky.com. Matt Richert will call the play-by-play. Live stats are available at www.ViksLive.com.
 
COMING UP
The Big Sky Conference Tournament takes place at Cenutry Link Arena in Boise on Mar. 13-16. First-round games run on Wednesday, March 13. Quarterfinals are on March 14, semifinals on Mar. 15 and the Championship on Mar. 16.
 
BIG SKY CONFERENCE STANDINGS
1. Montana, 15-3                   at PSU (3/7), at SAC (3/9)
2. Northern Colorado, 14-4    at SUU (3/7), vs. NAU (3/9)
3. Montana State, 11-7          at SAC (3/7), at PSU (3/9)
4. Weber State, 10-8               vs. UI (3/7), vs. EWU (3/9)
5. Eastern Washington, 10-8  at ISU (3/7), at WSU (3/9)
6. Portland State, 9-9              vs. UM (3/7), vs. MSU (3/9)
7. Southern Utah, 9-10           vs. UNC (3/7)
8. Sacramento State, 7-11     vs. MSU (3/7), vs. UM (3/9)
9. Northern Arizona, 7-12       at UNC (3/9)
10. Idaho State, 6-12              vs. EWU (3/7), vs. UI (3/9)
11. Idaho, 2-16                        at WSU (3/7), at ISU (3/9)
 
GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE vs. MONTANA
• ALL-TIME SERIES: Montana leads the all-time series, 38-24, and the Big Sky Conference series, 30-15... the Grizzlies have a 12-10 edge in Big Sky games played in Portland... PSU has a 1-0 edge in Big Sky Tournament games (2014).
• Jan. 5, PSU 77, UM 74 (ot) in Missoula: Holland "Boo Boo" Woods hit a three-pointer late in regulation – capping a seven-point comeback - to send the game to overtime. After a couple of key baskets by Robert McCoy, Woods iced the game on a pair of free throws with 17 seconds left in the extra session. PSU's win was its first in 10 seasons at Dahlberg Arena. The Vikings trailed from the 8:16 mark of the first half and were never even tied until Woods' late three in regulation. Woods finished with a season-high 28 points, making 6-11 field goals, 3-4 three-pointers and 13-15 free throws. McCoy had 10 points and 11 rebounds for his third double-double of the season. Jamie Orme came off the bench to score 13 points on 6-9 field goals. Kendal Manuel led Montana with 22 points in the game.
• COACHES: Vikings Coach Barret Peery (Southern Utah, 1996) is in his second season on the Park Blocks and has a 34-29 career record. Peery is 1-2 against Montana... 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 Grizzlies are coached by Travis DeCuire (Montana, 1994) who is in his fifth season. DeCuire has an 104-56 career record, including 8-2 against Portland State.
 
MONTANA GRIZZLIES
• Montana is an original member of the Big Sky Conference (1963). The Grizzlies program has won nine Big Sky regular season titles, 10 Big Sky Tournament titles, and made 11 appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
• Last year, they won the Big Sky Conference regular season and tournament titles. Montana was 26-8 overall, 16-2 in league play. Ahmaad Rorie was named first team All-Big Sky Conference and Michael Oguine was second team All-Big Sky and Defensive Player of the Year. Head Coach Travis DeCuire was named Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year.
• The Grizzlies are currently in first place in the Big Sky at 15-3, and are 22-7 overall. They have won 12 of 13 games. Montana leads the Big Sky in field goal percentage (.493), three-point percentage (.379), scoring margin (+8.4) and scoring defense (68.6).
• Montana is led by a talented group of guards: Michael Oguine (13.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg),  Ahmaad Rorie (14.9 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 4.0 apg) and Sayeed Pridgett (14.4 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 2.2 apg).
• Senior center Jamar Akoh (15.5 ppg, 8.7 rpg, .587 FG%) is a force, but he has missed 13 games with injury this season. He has not played since Feb. 7.
 
BIG SKY CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT TIE BREAKER FORMAT
The won-lost percentage record of the teams in regular season Conference play will determine tournament seedings. The team with the best won-lost percentage in Conference play will be seeded #1, the next best won-lost percentage in Conference play will be seeded #2, and so forth through all the seeds.
 
Procedures for determining all tournament seeding will be: The tie-breaking system will only be used for the purpose of determining the Conference Championships tournament seeding. In the event of a tie, the win-loss percentage record of the teams in regular-season Conference play will determine tournament seeding. The team with the best win-loss percentage in Conference play will be seeded #1, the next best win-loss percentage in Conference play will be seeded #2, and so forth through all the seeds.
 
1. Head-to-Head Competition
      a) Consider the head-to-head record during the Conference season. In double round robin play a team would have to sweep the opponent to break a tie with this method.
      b) In the case of more than two tied teams, consider the Conference regular season record for head-to-head competition among all of the tied teams. This process is used to break ties between any of the tied teams with any remaining tied teams returning to the process at criteria "a" (Example: Teams A, B, C, and D have identical record from a double round robin season. In head-to-head competition Team A emerges with 4-2 record against the other tied teams, team B and Team C have a 3-3 record and team D has a 2-4 record. Teams A and D can be placed in the final standings at that point while teams B and C return to criteria "a." If B and C have split their regular Conference season games, they will move to criteria "Performance against other teams in descending order."
2. Performance against Conference teams in descending order of finish, beginning with the No.1 team.
      (Example: Teams B and C remained tied after head-to-head criteria from above. Team A has been declared the Conference Champion based on the above criteria. Team B has split the Conference season games with team A and team C has lost both of the Conference games to team A. Team B is now placed in second place ahead of team C.
3. NET rankings for men, RPI rankings for women
4. Coin flip between the tied teams
 
THE BIG SKY CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
The Big Sky Conference Championship is making a move to CenturyLink Arena in Boise, Idaho, Mar. 13-16. The tournament champion will receive automatic berths to the NCAA Division I Basketball Championship.
     
For the fourth-straight season, all Big Sky members will compete in the conference tournament with the field featuring 11 teams. The tournament opens on Wednesday with first round games. The men's championship continues Thursday with the quarterfinals. Friday's action consists of the men's semifinals, which will air on Eleven Sports. The week-long event wraps up Saturday with the men's championship game on the ESPNU at 5 p.m. PT.
     
CenturyLink Arena is a 5,300-seat facility located in downtown Boise that has been the home of the Idaho Steelheads hockey team since opening in 1997.
 
2019 Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Championship Schedule
(all times listed are Mountain)
 
Wednesday, March 13, 2019, live streamed on Pluto TV, WatchBigSky.com
Game 1 – No. 8 Seed vs. No. 9 Seed, 9:35 a.m.          
Game 2 – No. 7 Seed vs. No. 10 Seed, 30 minutes after game one, approx. 12:05 p.m.
Game 3 – No. 6 Seed vs. No. 11 Idaho (5-24, 2-16), 30 minutes after game two, approx. 2:35 p.m.
 
Thursday, March 14, 2019, live streamed on Pluto TV, WatchBigSky.com
Game 4 – No. 1 Seed vs. Game 1 Winner, 12:05 p.m.
Game 5 – No. 4 Seed vs. No. 5 Seed, 2:35 p.m.          
Game 6 – No. 2 Seed vs. Game 2 Winner, 5:35 p.m.
Game 7 – No. 3 Seed vs. Game 3 Winner, 8:05 p.m.
 
Friday, March 15, 2019, televised on Eleven Sports, live streamed on Pluto TV
Game 8 – Game 4 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner (Semifinals), televised on Eleven Sports, 5:35 p.m.
Game 9 – Game 6 Winner vs. Game 7 Winner (Semifinals), televised on Eleven Sports, 8:05 p.m.
 
Saturday, March 16, 2019, televised on ESPNU
Game 10 – Championship Game, 5 p.m. PT, televised on ESPNU, 6:05 p.m.
 
SUSTAINABLE AND RECYCLABLE VIKING QUICK NOTES
WINNING LINES
• Portland State is 14-15 on the season, 10-4 at home, 3-10 on the road, 1-1 at neutral sites.
• The Vikings have won six in a row at home.
• PSU is 9-9 in Big Sky Conference play, 6-2 at home, 3-7 on the road.
• The Vikings are 1-1 in overtime... Head Coach Barret Peery is 3-2 all-time in overtime.
Home Court(s)
• Portland State opened the Viking Pavilion at the Peter W. Stott Center in 2018-19. The Stoller Family Court will be PSU's fifth (and hopefully final) home court since joining the Big Sky Conference in 1996-97. The main home court was the old Peter W. Stott Center. However, the Vikings also used the Rose Garden (now Moda Center) and Memorial Coliseum occasionally over the years. In 2017-18, PSU used Lewis & Clark College's Pamplin Sports Center as a home court while the Viking Pavilion was being completed. Here is the breakdown:
  - Viking Pavilion - 14 games, 10-4
  - Peter W. Stott Center - 233 games, 168-65
  - Rose Garden (Moda Center) - 28 games, 19-9
  - Memorial Coliseum - 19 games, 13-6
  - Lewis and Clark - 12 games, 7-5
  - 23rd season - 306 games, 217-89 at home overall
• Since the start of the 2006-07 season, PSU is 130-50 at home, including 77-40 in Big Sky Conference regular season and tournament games.
• Portland State has lost only 10 non-conference home games in the last 12 seasons (53-10). PSU is 28-10 against Division I schools, and 25-0 against lower division schools over that span.
Big Sky Battles
• Portland State is 194-207 all-time in all Big Sky Conference games, including the Big Sky Tournament (12-13).
• PSU is 126-65 in home games, 62-132 in road games and 6-10 in neutral-site games.
 
WHO IS HOT
• Portland State's defense has held the last three opponent to 63.3 points per game (76.3 prior) and just .376 from the field.
• In his last six games, SR G Deante Strickland has averaged 11.5 points and 3.8 assists... he has shot .543 from the field and .556 from three-point range... Strickland scored a career-high 20 points (7-10 FG, 5-6 3-pt) with six assists in the win over Idaho State... he matched that with 20 points (8-13 FG, 4-6 3-pt) and four assists against Eastern Washington
• SO G Holland Woods is averaging 16.8 points, 6.5 assists and shooting .487 in the Vikings' last six games.
• JR C Sal Nuhu leads the Big Sky Conference with 2.1 blocks per game. His 60 total blocks are fourth-most in school history... he is also averaging 11.0 rebounds over the last five games and a team-leading 6.9 for the season... Nuhu has made 17 free throws in a row and is shooting .797 at the line in Big Sky games.
• SR F Jamie Orme leads the Big Sky Conference in three-point shooting in league games (.487).
• In Big Sky Conference games, PSU has shot .743 from the free throw line. During the 11 non-conference games, PSU shot .647 as a team.
• Portland State continues to lead the nation in offensive rebounding (15.5 pg).
 
WHO IS NOT
• The Vikings have averaged 66.0 points in the past three games (78.5 prior), shooting only .394 from the field.
• PSU has forced only 12.9 turnovers against Big Sky Conference opponents. The Vikings forced 19.1 turnovers against non-conference opponents.
• JR G Juwan Williams will miss the remainder of the season with ankle problems. FR F Filip Fullerton is also out for the season (back).
 
YOU'VE GOT TO PUT THE BISCUIT IN THE BASKET: There is no question that shooting efficiency is the most important element in basketball. Portland State's shooting was erratic early in the season, but has leveled off, and recently improved dramatically. Still there are distinct differences in shooting between wins and losses, and home and road games. The Vikings shoot nearly 10% better at home than they do on the road. Here is a breakdown:
• The Vikings are 11-1 when out-shooting their opponents, 3-14 when they don't.
• In 11 of PSU's 15 losses, they have shot 39% or less.
• Field goal percentage: .426 (10th in Big Sky)
• Three-point percentage: .312 (11th in Big Sky)
• Shooting in wins: .480/.362
• Shooting in losses: .373/.270
• Shooting in home games: .477/.366
• Shooting in road/neutral site games: .379/.268
 
ON THE OTHER (HOT SHOOTING) HAND: Portland State has had some challenging shooting nights this season, but as Big Sky Conference play has progressed, things have changed. Look at these numbers in Big Sky games:
• SR F Jamie Orme leads the Big Sky in three-point percentage (19-39, .487)
• SR G Deante Strickland ranks 10th in three-point percentage (33-79, .418)
• SR G Michael Mayhew ranks 12th in three-point percentage (27-65, .415)
 
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 15.3 turnovers per game and have a +0.9 turnover margin. PSU has scored 462 points off turnovers compared to 449 for opponents.
• The Vikings average 15.5 offensive rebounds per game while opponents average 9.3. PSU has a huge advantage on its opponents in second-chance points this season (445-280).
• In all, the difference in total turnovers (27) and total offensive rebounds (177) is 204 extra possessions compared to opponents (7.0 per game).
• As a result, PSU has 220 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 (14.8) and assists (5.4). He ranks eighth in the Big Sky in scoring, second in assists (1st in league games) and is fourth in steals (1.4).
• He has led the team in scoring 14 times and assists 25 times this season, and has three double-doubles.
• Woods, the Big Sky leader in assists last season (5.6), has led the Vikings in assists in 50 of 62 career games. He ranks fourth all-time at Portland State with 343 career assists in less than two seasons.
• Scored in double figures 22 times with six 20+ point games.
 
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 10.8 points per game in 20 minutes per night.
• He leads the team with 46 3-pt FG.
• Has scored in double figures 16 times with three 20+ point games.
Yahoo For Nuhu:
• Nuhu averages 9.9 points in 23 minutes per game.
• He averages 6.9 rebounds to lead the Vikings and rank fifth in the Big Sky. He ranks eighth in the Big Sky in field goal percentage (.505) while leading in blocked shots (2.1).
• Shooting .797 from the free throw line in Big Sky games.
• Has scored in double figures 15 times, led the team in rebounding 12 times and has three double-doubles.
 
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 8.0 points and 4.0 rebounds in 19 minutes per game.
• Leads the Big Sky in three-point shooting percentage in league games (.487).
• Scored in double figures 13 times and has two double-doubles this season.
• Has season highs of 19 points, 13 rebounds (twice) and five assists.
 
THE REAL McCOY: In his first season as a Viking, JR F Robert McCoy has stepped into a key role as a starter. He averages 22.2 minutes, ranking third on the team.
• McCoy averages 7.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, ranking 16th in the Big Sky Conference. He also has 17 blocked shots.
• He has led the Vikings in scoring twice, rebounding six times and has two double-doubles.
• Has season-highs of 26 points, 12 rebounds and five steals.
 
DUNK YOU VERY MUCH  
• JR C Sal Nuhu has a new school record of 38 dunks on the season.
• Portland State has a total of 78 dunks this season in 29 games which ranks as the most ever as a team (PSU had 50 all of last year).
• The Vikings had a season-high of 11 dunks against Portland Bible (12/1). They had seven slams in a win over Eastern Washington (1/24), including four by Nuhu... Nuhu also had four against Northern Arizona (2/14).
 
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 1,121 fans through 14 home games - the most since the 2007-08 season (1,347).
 
Portland State leads the Big Sky Conference in:
Rebounds Per Game                39.9
Offensive Rebounds                 15.5
Rebounding Margin                   +6.9
Steals                                         8.4
Sal Nuhu, blocked shots             2.1
Jamie Orme, 3-pt% (conference) .487
Holland Woods, assists (conference) 5.4