PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (9-11, 6-7) vs. SOUTHERN UTAH THUNDERBIRDS (18-3, 11-2)

Saturday, March 6, 2021, 12:05 p.m. • Viking Pavilion (3,094), Portland, OR

Live Video Stream: Pluto TV Channel 1051, www.pluto.tv, www.WatchBigSky.com
      Play-by-play: Matt Richert • Analyst: Devon Pouncey
Live Stats: www.ViksLive.com

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THE OPENING TIP

If tradition holds, the Portland State Vikings should have the Southern Utah Thunderbirds right where they want them on Saturday afternoon. The Vikings have been very good in the second game of the Big Sky Conference's back-to-back format against the same opponent this season. In six previous weeks, the Vikings have gone 1-5 in the opening game then bounced back to go 5-1 in the second game of the set, including wins in the last four Saturday Big Sky games. PSU hosts the T-Birds on Saturday in a 12:05 p.m. game at Viking Pavilion.
     
Reality though, says its a little more complicated than that. Why? Well, Southern Utah has proven to be the best team in the Big Sky with one game to go in the regular season. Down double-digits to the Vikings on Thursday night, the Thunderbirds came back to win 68-58 in the Pavilion.
     
SUU is now 18-3 on the season, 11-2 in the Big Sky, and one win away from a regular season title. The Vikings are 9-11 on the season, 6-7 in the Big Sky and in sixth place. PSU needs a win to hold on to sixth and earn a first-round Big Sky Tournament game with Idaho next Wednesday in Boise. A Viking loss would drop them to seventh place, and possibly eighth depending on the outcome of the Weber State/Northern Colorado game, also on Saturday.
     
Portland State will need to find an answer for the Southern Utah duo of John Knight III and Tevian Jones if they want to get that bounce-back win. Knight and Jones had 47 of SUU's 68 points, combining to make 15-28 from the field and 14-18 at the line. The Vikings will also need to revert to the better shooting they have seen in recent weeks. PSU was only 21-67 from the field (.313) in the loss to the Thunderbirds. The Vikings had shot 50% or better in three of their previous six outings.
     
Despite the loss, PSU has had a good five-week stretch, winning five of seven and seven of their last 10 overall. The Vikings are 7-5 at Viking Pavilion.
     
Southern Utah remains hot with its eighth straight win and is now 4-3 on the road.
     
Saturday's game is a 12:05 p.m. start. It can be viewed via live stream on Pluto TV Channel 1051, www.pluto.tv and www.WatchBigSky.com. Live statistics are available at www.ViksLive.com.

IF THE BIG SKY CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT STARTED TODAY...

The Big Sky Conference Tournament takes place Mar. 10-13 at Idaho Central Arena in Boise, ID. First-round games are on Wednesday, March 10. The top five teams in league play earn a bye into the quarterfinals on Thursday.
     
There is one game to go in the Big Sky regular season for most teams. The Vikings are currently in sixth place at 6-7. If the Big Sky Tournament began today, Portland State would be playing Idaho (11th seed) in a first-round game.
 
THE UPCOMING BIG SKY SCHEDULE
1. Southern Utah (11-2) - 3/6 at PSU
2. Weber State (12-3) - 3/6 UNC
3. Eastern Washington (11-3) - 3/5 ISU
4. Idaho State (8-5) - 3/5 at EWU
5. Montana State (7-5) - 3/5, 3/6 SAC
6. Portland State (6-7) - 3/6 SUU
7. Montana (7-9) - games cancelled
8. Northern Colorado (6-8) - 3/6 at WSU
9. Sacramento State (4-8) - 3/5, 3/6 at MSU
10. Northern Arizona (4-10) - regular season complete
11. Idaho (1-17) - games cancelled

2021 Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Championship Schedule

Wednesday, March 10, 2021, live streamed on Pluto TV, WatchBigSky.com
Game 1 – No. 8 Seed vs. No. 9 Seed, 9 a.m.   
Game 2 – No. 7 Seed vs. No. 10 Seed, Noon
Game 3 – No. 6 Seed vs. No. 11 Seed, 3 p.m.
 
Thursday, March 11, 2021, live streamed on Pluto TV, WatchBigSky.com
Game 4 – No. 1 Seed vs. Game 1 Winner, 11 a.m.     
Game 5 – No. 4 Seed vs. No. 5 Seed, 2 p.m.
Game 6 – No. 2 Seed vs. Game 2 Winner, 5 p.m.
Game 7 – No. 3 Seed vs. Game 3 Winner, 8 p.m.
 
Friday, March 12, 2021, live streamed on Pluto TV, WatchBigSky.com
Game 8 – Game 4 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner (Semifinals), 5 p.m.
Game 9 – Game 6 Winner vs. Game 7 Winner (Semifinals), 8 p.m.
 
Saturday, March 13, 2021, televised on ESPNU
Game 10 – Championship Game, 6 p.m.
 
All times listed are Mountain

GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE vs. SOUTHERN UTAH

• ALL-TIME SERIES: Portland State leads the all-time series, 11-5, and the Big Sky Conference series, 10-5... Southern Utah has won three in a row in the series... PSU is 6-2 in Big Sky games at home against the Thunderbirds.
• THURSDAY NIGHT: Mar. 4, 2021, SUU 68, PSU 58: Southern Utah used an 18-point mid-game run to take control of the contest... the dynamic duo of John Knight III and Tevian Jones combined for 47 of Southern Utah's 68 points... the Vikings had it all going their way in the first half. PSU hit four early three-pointers and led 25-13 with 6:28 to play. James Scott had 12 points in the first 14 minutes to pace the Vikings. But they went cold, missing their next nine shots and sprinkling in four turnovers to close out the half... the Thunderbirds took advantage with a 16-0 run to lead 29-25 at halftime... Southern Utah extended the run to 18 points with the first basket of the second half. The Vikings managed to come back and tie the game at 35-35 with 14:41 to play. But a 23-9 run over the next eight minutes, sparked by Knight, put the T-Birds in control. Southern Utah had its largest lead at 58-44 with 7:07 remaining in the game... the Thunderbirds managed just 22-52 from the field (.423) against a solid PSU defense. But the Vikings shot only 21-67 for the game (.313). PSU had its second-lowest point total of the season... Scott scored 20 points for Portland State. He also had eight rebounds and three assists. Elijah Hardy came off the bench to score 15 points with four rebounds.
• COACHES: Vikings Coach Barret Peery (Southern Utah, 1996) is in his third season on the Park Blocks and has a 63-55 career record. Peery is 2-4 all-time against Southern Utah... 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 Thunderbirds are coached by Todd Simon (Central Michigan, 2003) in his fourth season. He has a 71-81 record at Southern Utah, including 4-4 against the Vikings.
• FACING THE ALMA MATER: Portland State Head Coach Barret Peery faces his alma mater for the sixth and seventh times this week. He holds a 2-4 record against Southern Utah... Peery played at Southern Utah from 1993-95 and was part of two conference championships for the Thunderbirds. Peery served as a graduate assistant with the program in 1995-96 then returned to be an assistant coach 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.

WHO IS HOT

• Portland State's defense has allowed only 59.8 points and forced 17.7 turnovers the past 10 games, seven of which are wins... the Vikings allowed the fewest points (40) to a Division I opponent since joining the Big Sky Conference in 1996-97 in the 71-40 win over Idaho (2/20).
• SR G James Scott has 39 points in the last two games (19.5)... his 20-point game against Southern Utah was his fourth of the season... he also leads the Big Sky in steals in conference games (1.8).
• JR G Elijah Hardy scored 15 points in 18 minutes off the bench against Southern Utah. It was his fourth double-figure scoring game off the bench this season.
• PSU ranks 14th in the nation in offensive rebounding at 13.2 per game.
• PSU had a season-high 16 steals in the win over Idaho (2/18) and ranks 25th in the nation for the season (8.4).