PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (9-10, 3-4) vs. WEBER STATE WILDCATS (6-11, 2-4)
Monday, January 20, 2020, 7:05 p.m. • Viking Pavilion (3,094), Portland, OR
Television: None
Live Stream: Pluto TV Channel 532, pluto.tv, WatchBigSky.com • Play-by-play: Matt Richert • Analyst: Devon Pouncey
Live Stats:
www.ViksLive.com
Complete notes and stats in pdf
THE OPENING TIP
An opportunity arises for the Portland State Vikings on Monday night as they host the Weber State Wildcats in a Big Sky Conference game at Viking Pavilion. Following a Saturday night win over Idaho State the Vikings are in a five-way logjam for fifth place in the Big Sky. A win over Weber State would move PSU one-half game ahead of the other four teams and in fifth place alone.
The Vikings (9-10, 3-4) are home briefly in the road-heavy first half of their Big Sky schedule. PSU is in the midst six of eight games (and 8 of 11 stretch) on the road. The good news is they took advantage of their lone home game in the past three weeks, beating the Bengals on Saturday. SR F
Markus Golder had his best game of the season with 18 points, three rebounds and a pair of blocked shots in pacing the Vikings to an 82-76 victory. That has PSU at 5-2 at home this season. Another win Monday would be great momentum going into a pair of road games later in the week.
Weber State is in an unfamiliar spot at this point of the season. The Wildcats are 6-11 overall, 2-4 in the Big Sky Conference. The Wildcats come off a 76-68 overtime win at Idaho State last Thursday. The other win is over Idaho. Losses have come to Eastern Washington, Northern Arizona, Northern Colorado and Sacramento State. The Wildcats are 2-4 on the road.
WSU features two of the top guards in the Big Sky. Senior Jerrick Harding, a two-time first team All-Big Sky selection, leads the league in scoring at 20.5 points per game. Cody John, also a senior, averages 13.2 points per game.
History doesn't speak well of the Vikings in this series due mainly to the dominant presence Weber State has had in the conference over the years. Weber State has won 22 Big Sky titles in its history and leads the series with PSU, 37-14. Last season, each team won on the others home court.
Monday's game will tip off at 7:05 p.m. at Viking Pavilion. A Pluto TV live stream is available on Channel 532, www.pluto.tv and www.WatchBigSky.com. Live statistics can be found at www.ViksLive.com.
Portland Basketball asks everyone to help beat cancer on the court by pledging for every three-pointer the Vikings make Monday! Your support will help the American Cancer Society lead the fight for a world without cancer. Every Shot Counts. Every Life Counts. Make your pledge today at pledgeit.org/cvc20-portland-state.
COMING UP
Portland State will go back on the road for four of its next five games beginning later this week. The Vikings play at Sacramento State on Thursday night, then travel to Northern Arizona on Saturday. PSU will be home on Jan. 30 to host Montana in a game televised on Eleven Sports. Another road trip follows at Southern Utah (Feb. 8) and Northern Arizona (Feb. 10). The Vikings then play five of the final seven regular season games at home.
GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE vs. WEBER STATE
• THE SERIES: Weber State has been Portland State's number-one nemesis since joining the Big Sky Conference. The Wildcats have a 37-14 advantage over the Vikings in all Big Sky Conference games, which includes a 7-0 lead in Big Sky Tournament games... WSU is 12-11 in Big Sky games played in Portland... the Vikings broke through with only their third Big Sky win ever at Ogden last season, however the Wildcats won in Portland, and beat PSU in a quarterfinal round game at the Big Sky Tournament... WSU has won eight of the last nine meetings and 15 of the last 18.
• LAST YEAR: Jan. 12, 2019 at Viking Pavilion, WSU 95, PSU 88 (ot): The game was a draw through 44 minutes, then Brekkot Chapman hit a three-pointer with 41 seconds left in overtime to stake WSU to the final lead. Weber State shot a blistering .571 from the field and .857 at the line. Jerrick Harding scored 23 points and Chapman added 19 points and 11 rebounds.
Sal Nuhu's 20 points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots paced the Vikings.
Jan. 31, 2019 at Ogden, PSU 76, WSU 75: Portland State got its own big three-pointer when
Deante Strickland hit one with 18.5 seconds left to give PSU a 74-72 lead. The Vikings went on to win after overcoming a 12-point deficit in the last nine minutes of the game. PSU had a huge 44-27 edge on the boards.
Jamie Orme scored 18 points to lead the way.
Holland Woods had 16 points and eight rebounds. Jerrick Harding scored 28 to lead the Wildcats.
Mar. 14, 2019 at Boise, Big Sky Tournament Quarterfinal, WSU 81, PSU 71: The game was tied at halftime, but the Vikings went cold in the second half, making only 10-37 shots (.270) and Weber State pulled away for the win. PSU out-rebounded the Wildcats, 52-34, but shot just .343 for the game and committed 18 turnovers.
Holland Woods had 19 points and five assists to lead the Vikings. Jerrick Harding scored 23 to lead five Wildcats in double figures.
• COACHES: Vikings Coach
Barret Peery (Southern Utah, 1996) is in his third season on the Park Blocks and has a 45-40 career record. Peery is 1-4 all-time against Weber State... Peery's 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)... Randy Rahe (Buena Vista, 1982) is the dean of Big Sky Conference coaches. In 14 seasons at Weber State he has compiled a 272-164 record, won five Big Sky regular season titles and three tournament titles. Rahe is 22-6 all-time against Portland State.
WEBER STATE WILDCATS
• Weber State University is an original member of the Big Sky Conference. The Wildcats have won 22 Big Sky regular season titles, 10 Big Sky tournament titles and made 16 appearances all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
• The Wildcats were 18-15 last season, 11-9 and tied for fourth in the Big Sky. Three starters and eight letterwinners return from that team. Among them is two-time All-Big Sky Conference first-team selection Jerrick Harding and honorable mention All-Big Sky Cody John.
• This season, Weber State is 6-11 overall, 2-4 in the Big Sky Conference. The Wildcats average 70.5 points and allow 69.4 points per game.
• Senior guard Jerrick Harding is averaging a league-leading 20.5 points per game and has a team-high 31 three-point field goals.
• Senior guard Cody John averages 13.2 points and 3.2 rebounds.
• Junior forward Michal Kozak leads the team with 5.6 rebounds and ranks second in the Big Sky with 23 blocked shots.
SUSTAINABLE AND RECYCLABLE VIKING QUICK NOTES
WHO IS HOT
• SR F
Markus Golder scored a season-high 18 points (7-13 FG, 4-7 3-pt) with three rebounds and two blocked shots in PSU victory over Idaho State. He tallied 15 of those point in the second half as the Vikings pulled away for the win.
• THE VIKING BENCH: SR F
Rashaad Goolsby, SR G
Lamar Hamrick and FR G
Kyle Greeley combined for 27 points (12-24 FG) and 15 rebounds off the bench in the win over Idaho State... Goolsby had his second double-double of the season at Montana with 13 points and 11 rebounds... Goolsby has averaged 7.2 points, 9.6 rebounds and blocked 11 shots in his nine starts... coming off the bench Saturday, he had 10 points, eight rebounds and two steals... Hamrick is averaging 10.7 points off the bench in Big Sky games... Hamrick is shooting a .505 from the field, .519 in Big Sky games... Greeley scored eight points (3-4 FG, 2-2 FT) with four rebounds in Saturday's win. Greeley leads the team in shooting this season at .533 from the field, .368 from three-point range and .875 at the line.
• PSU leads the Big Sky Conference and and the nation in offensive rebounding (15.5 per game)... the Vikings average 14.4 second-chance points per game.
WHO IS NOT
• The Vikings are shooting .299 from three-point range in league games.
• Opponents are shooting .500 from the field against the Vikings in league games.
• SR G
Matt Hauser missed the last three games with an ankle sprain.
TRENDING
• Portland State is 0-7 when trailing at halftime, but 9-3 when tied or ahead at the break.
• PSU has out-rebounded 11 of 19 opponents, and that is important. The Vikings are 7-4 when they get more boards, 2-6 when they don't.
• Shooting is always the most important factor: the Vikings have not lost when shooting a higher percentage from the field than their opponent (6-0).
INJURY ANGST
Portland State has had bad luck with injuries so far this season. SR G
Matt Hauser (ankle sprain) has become the third starter to be sidelined.
• Hauser has missed three games with an ankle sprain.
• SR C
Sal Nuhu missed six games early this season with an ankle sprain, and a seventh due to illness.
• SR F
Alonzo Walker missed three games with a foot injury.
• SR G
Lamar Hamrick has missed four games with thumb and back injuries.
• PSU has lost a total of 17 player games to injury, 13 to starters.
• Nine different players have started three or more games this season.
HOME IS WHERE THE WINS ARE
The completion of the Viking Pavilion prior to the 2018-19 basketball season was transformative for the entire Portland State Athletic Program. So far, the results on the court have been better than ever. PSU is 17-6 in the Viking Pavilion (.739 winning percentage). The previous main home court, the old Peter W. Stott Center gym, produced a .721 winning percentage after reinstating basketball and joining the Big Sky Conference between 1996-97 and 2017-18. In all, PSU's four different home venues prior to the Viking Pavilion produced a .709 winning mark.
