IDAHO VANDALS (4-14, 1-7) at PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (4-11, 2-5)

Monday, January 24, 2022, 7 p.m. • Viking Pavilion (3,094), Portland, OR
Live Stream: ESPN+ • Play-by-Play: Matt Richert • Analyst: Devon Pouncey
Live Stats: www.ViksLive.com
Complete notes and stats in pdf

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THE OPENING TIP

It's no rest for the weary as Portland State continues its four-game home stand on Monday night. The Vikings host Idaho in their third game in five days at Viking Pavilion. Tip-off is 7 p.m. in a game live streamed on ESPN+.
     
Portland State (4-11, 2-5) is still looking for its first win in the home stand after a 73-60 loss to Montana State on Saturday night. It was the Bobcats fifth win in a row and the Vikings third straight loss. PSU also lost a thriller to Montana, 66-64, on Thursday at Viking Pavilion.
     
The game with Idaho is the fifth in a 10-game-in-22 days run for the Vikings. The flurry of contests was set up due to three makeup games from previous postponements. Making it more challenging is getting the Vikings completely healthy. SO F Jacob Eyman (knee) and JR G Ian Burke (illness) did not play against Montana State (it was Burke's second missed game), and their status for the coming week is uncertain.
     
PSU took a step back offensively in the game with MSU, shooting only .353 from the field. It came after three solid shooting performances over the previous week, including a .491 effort against Montana.
     
History is on the Vikings side as they go into the game with Idaho. PSU has won three straight and six of their last eight in the series against the Vandals. Also, Idaho gives up a league-worst 81.3 points per game. That could aid PSU in an offensive bounce back performance.
     
Idaho (4-11, 1-7) comes off a thrilling 73-72 overtime win against Sacramento State at home on Saturday. That victory stopped a six-game losing streak. However, the Vandals are 0-7 on the road, 0-4 in Big Sky road games.

 
COMING UP

PSU hosts Southern Utah on Thursday. It will be the sixth game in a 10-game-in-22-day stretch. It will also be the final game of a four-game home stand. The Vikings then travel to a Northern Arizona for a 1 p.m. PT game on Saturday.
 

GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE vs. IDAHO

• THE SERIES: Portland State leads the all-time series, 17-16, and the Big Sky Conference series, 7-6... PSU leads the Big Sky series 4-2 in Portland... the Vikings swept the season series last year and have won six of the last eight overall.
• LAST SEASON: Feb. 18, 2021 at Viking Pavilion, PSU 84, Idaho 64: PSU continued its trend of stout defense with a much-improved offense. For the third straight game, the Vikings shot at 50% (28-56), while forcing the Vandals into 26 turnovers – a season-high for an opponent... James Scott led a balanced effort for the Vikings with 14 points and a season-high seven assists. Backcourt mate Paris Dawson added 12 points, hitting 4-6 shots, 3-5 behind the arc, and his only free throw. Elijah Hardy came off the bench for 11 points and three steals as the Vikings made a season-high 16 in all... Idaho hit 11-16 from the field (.688), including 5-6 three-pointers but turned it over too often... ahead 61-47 with 11:13 to play, Portland State went on a 16-2 run for the largest lead of the night at 77-49. The Vikings cruised home from there... in all, PSU scored 34 points off Idaho's 26 turnovers... the Vandals were led by 16 points from Damen Thacker. Feb. 20, 2021 at Memorial Gym, PSU 71, Idaho 40: An explosive second-half performance by Portland State led the Vikings to a fourth straight win. The Vikings turned a ho-hum four-point, first-half advantage into an exciting runaway second half, out-scoring the Vandals 43-16 after intermission. The 40 points allowed were the fewest by a Division I opponent since Portland State joined the Big Sky Conference in 1996-97... James Scott led the Vikings in scoring for the second game in a row with 16 points, five assists and four steals. Jacob Eyman added 10 points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots inside... Portland State's offense continued to produce as it has in recent weeks. The Vikings shot 28-61 from the field (.459), making 11-25 (.440) from three-point range. PSU out-rebounded the Vandals, 39-28, and forced another 20 turnovers for 28 points... Idaho made only 12-38 field goals in the contest (.316). Damen Thacker led the Vandals with 13 points.
• COACHES: Vikings Coach Jase Coburn (Arizona State, 2006) is in his first season as Head Coach. He has spent eight previous seasons on the Park Blocks as an Assistant and Associate Head Coach... the Vandals are led by Head Coach Zac Claus (Eastern Washington, 1998) in his second season. He is 13-59 overall, 1-3 against the Vikings. Claus was a PSU assistant coach from 2000-02.

 

IDAHO VANDALS

• The University of Idaho is located in Moscow. Idaho was an original member of the Big Sky Conference, then left after the 1995-96 season. The program rejoined the Big Sky in 2014-15. Idaho has won four Big Sky regular season titles and four Big Sky Tournament titles in its history.
• The Vandals were 1-21 last season, 1-17 and 11th in the Big Sky Conference.
• This season the Vandals are 4-14 overall, 1-7 in the Big Sky Conference. Idaho averages 73.9 points per game and gives up a league-high 81.3 points. Three-point shooting is a strength as the Vandals shoot a league-best .375 from distance and make 8.8 per game. Idaho has a negative rebounding margin (-2.9) and turnover margin (-2.8).
• Senior guard Mikey Dixon ranks fourth in the Big Sky at 17.8 points per game. Junior guard Trevante Anderson averages 12.2 points and is sixth in the Big Sky with 3.9 assists per game. Junior forward Philip Pepple, Jr. is third in the Big Sky with 24 blocked shots.

 

WHO IS HOT

• SR G Ezekiel Alley has scored in double figures in four of his last five games (he played only seven minutes and was scoreless against Montana due to a non-COVID-related illness). In the four games he was fully available, Alley averaged 12.8 points, hitting 20-39 from the field (.513) and 5-5 at the line. He also averaged 3.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists in those games.
• JR G Michael Carter III handed out a season-high six assists against Montana State.
• FR G Paris Dawson leads the Big Sky Conference in free throw percentage at .906 (29-32)... JR G Damion Squire is 9-9 at the line in four games.
• SR F James Jean-Marie hit 8-10 shots from the field, scoring 16 points in 22 minutes off the bench against Montana. He is 16-27 from the field in the last three games (.593) and shoots .512 for the season.
• The attendance of 1,496 against Montana State was the largest of the season at Viking Pavilion.