PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (11-13, 5-7) at NORTHERN COLORADO BEARS (15-7, 8-3)
Monday, February 10, 2020, 6 p.m. PT • Bank of Colorado Arena (2,950), Greeley, CO
Television: None
Live Stream: Pluto TV Channel 541, pluto.tv, WatchBigSky.com
Live Stats: www.uncbears.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Complete notes and stats in pdf

---

THE OPENING TIP
A difficult road trip gets even more challenging on Monday night when the Portland State Vikings travel to face Northern Colorado.
     
The Vikings come off their biggest loss of the season, 85-57, at fourth-place Southern Utah. Now they meet third-place Northern Colorado (15-7, 8-3) in Greeley. Portland State (11-13, 5-7) will need a big bounce-back after their poorest shooting night of the season (.254) at Southern Utah. It was PSU's fourth straight road loss, and they are 1-6 in Big Sky road games. The Vikings have slipped to eighth place in the Big Sky.
     
That said, the Vikings have already one-upped the Bears this season, beating them in Viking Pavilion. Now, Portland State will go after a sweep of the Bears, who have been very good this season.
     
Northern Colorado is on a three-game winning streak and has won eight of its last 10 since losing to the Vikings in the Big Sky Conference opener on Dec. 28. The Vikings won that game in Portland, 69-65, but the Bears rebounded from the loss and are only one game behind first-place Montana.
     
UNC boasts a 9-1 home court record. In addition, Northern Colorado will have had a four-day break from competition heading into the game. The Vikings will be looking for their first win in Greeley since 2016.
     
The Bears have gotten the job done with defense, ranking as one of the top defensive teams in the Big Sky. They allow only 62.0 points per game, and have held opponents to less than four three-pointers per game and .279 shooting from distance. On the other end, they lead the Big Sky in three-point field goals made at 10.3 per game. Trent Harris (68) and Bodie Hume (56) rank 1-2 in the Big Sky in three-pointers made. Meanwhile, point guard Jonah Radebaugh is one of the best players in the conference with 15.7 points and a Big Sky-best 6.2 assists per game.
     
Portland State got 14 points and seven rebounds from SR F Rashaad Goolsby on Saturday against Southern Utah. Goolsby made 4-6 from the field and 6-7 at the line, but the rest of the team simply couldn't find the mark. Second-leading scorer SR G Matt Hauser returned to action after missing seven games, but he too was unable to get going offensively.
     
Monday's game in Greeley tips at 7 p.m. MT/6 p.m. PT. A Pluto TV live stream is available on Channel 541, www.pluto.tv and www.WatchBigSky.com. Live statistics can be found at www.uncbears.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary.
 
COMING UP
Portland State will be home for its next three games and five of the final seven Big Sky Conference regular season contests. The Vikings will match up with first-place Eastern Washington this Saturday at Viking Pavilion in a 7:05 p.m. game. Idaho comes to town on Monday, Feb. 17, followed by Montana State on Feb. 20.
 
GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE vs. NORTHERN COLORADO
• ALL-TIME SERIES: Portland State leads the all-time series, 19-11, and the Big Sky Conference series, 15-11... the Vikings ended a five-game losing streak to the Bears with a 69-65 win in Viking Pavilion on Dec. 28... the Big Sky series is tied 6-6 in Greeley, with PSU leading 8-6 all-time, however the Vikings have lost in their last two trips to UNC.
• Dec. 28, 2019 at Viking Pavilion, PSU 69, UNC 65: It looked like a blowout early for the Vikings as they led by 22 points in the first half, but Northern Colorado rallied all the way back to within a point in the late-going. PSU shot .508 from the field, but made only 4-11 free throws and was out-rebounded 36-32 by the Bears. In the end, Lamar Hamrick led the Vikings with 16 points in 16 minutes off the bench. Holland Woods had 15 points, six assists and three rebounds in a game in which he set the PSU career record for assists. Bodie Hume scored 22 points to lead UNC. Jonah Radebaugh had 14 points, nine assists and seven rebounds.
• COACHES: Vikings Coach Barret Peery (Southern Utah, 1996) is in his third season on the Park Blocks and has a 47-43 career record. Peery is 1-3 all-time against Northern Colorado... 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)... the Bears are coached by Jeff Linder (Western State) in his fourth season. He has a 73-48 record at Northern Colorado, including 5-1 against the Vikings.
 
NORTHERN COLORADO BEARS
• Northern Colorado is located in Greeley. UNC joined the Big Sky Conference in 2006-07. The Bears program has won one Big Sky Conference title and made one appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
• The Bears were 21-11 last season, 15-5 and second place in the Big Sky Conference. Four starters and seven letterwinners return from that team. Guard Jonah Radebaugh was the Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year last season. Bodie Hume was named Big Sky Freshman of the Year. Jeff Linder was selected as Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year.
• This season the Bears are 15-7 overall, 8-3 and one game out of first place in the Big Sky Conference. UNC leads the league in scoring margin (+11.9), three-point field goal percentage defense (.279) and three-point field goals made (10.4). Northern Colorado allows only 62.0 points per game, while scoring 73.8 per game.
• Senior guard Jonah Radebaugh leads the Bears with 15.7 points per game. He averages 6.5 rebounds and a Big Sky-leading 6.2 assists per game. Radebaugh shoots .487 from the field, .416 from three-point range and .795 at the free throw line.
• Sophomore forward Bodie Hume averages 14.2 points and 4.6 rebounds with 23 blocked shots. He has made 56 three-point field goals to rank second in the Big Sky behind teammate Trent Harris, who has 68. Harris averages 10.9 points per game.
• Senior forward Kai Edwards averages a team-high 7.3 rebounds per game and shoots .632 from the field.
 
WHO IS HOT
• SR F Rashaad Goolsby scored 14 points (4-6 FG, 6-7 FT) with seven rebounds, two assists and two steals in 23 minutes against Southern Utah, It was the second-highest scoring game of his career.
• Goolsby has made 11 of his last 16 field goals (.688).
• SR C Sal Nuhu has blocked 11 shots in the last four games (2.7)... he has become the fifth Viking in history with 100 career blocked shots (101).
• PSU leads the Big Sky Conference and and the nation in offensive rebounding (14.9 per game).
 
WHO IS NOT
• Portland State has lost four in a row on the road.
• The Vikings shot a season-low 17-67 at Southern Utah (.254), and 2-23 from three-point range (.087).
 
TRENDING
• Portland State is 0-9 when trailing at halftime, but 11-4 when tied or ahead at the break.
• PSU has out-rebounded 14 of 24 opponents, and that is important. The Vikings are 9-5 when they get more boards, 2-8 when they don't.
• Shooting is always the most important factor. However, the Vikings are 6-2 when shooting a higher percentage than opponents.
 
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 19-6 in the Viking Pavilion (.760 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.