UC SANTA BARBARA GAUCHOS (7-2) at PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (5-6)

Saturday, December 17, 2022, 7 p.m. • Viking Pavilion (3,094), Portland, OR
Television: KRCW
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

Portland State will need to take advantage of its lone home game over the span of 40 days when it hosts UC Santa Barbara this Saturday night at Viking Pavilion. It won't be easy as once again PSU plays a team with a strong non-conference resume. The Gauchos come to the Rose City with a 7-2 record, as the Vikings have yet to play a Division I team with a losing record.
     
PSU (5-6) comes off a strong road performance, albeit a loss, dropping a Tuesday night game at Santa Clara, 78-75. The Vikings led by a point inside of one minute to play, but the Broncos scored on each of their final three possessions to come away with a victory (and improve to 9-3). Despite the loss, the Vikings bounced back from their poorest offensive outing of the year in a 72-49 loss at Cal Poly on Dec. 10. The offensive showing at Santa Clara closer resembled what PSU has been producing this season as it averages a Big Sky-leading 81.1 points per game.
     
Saturday's game with UC Santa Barbara is the only home game among seven contests stretching into Big Sky Conference play in January. The Vikings next home game won't come until Jan. 12 against Northern Arizona.
     
PSU is 3-0 at home this season and has won eight in a row at The Ship dating back to last season. Moreover, PSU is 64-14 in non-conference home games dating back 14 seasons.
     
UCSB has won its last three games and sports a 7-2 mark this season. The Gauchos have no common opponents with the Vikings but have played one game against a Big Sky team, losing at Northern Arizona, 63-54, on Nov. 18. PSU has been out-rebounded in its last three games and will need to be ready for a Gaucho team that out-rebounds its opponents by 7.2 per game.
     
Portland State is led by JR G Jorell Saterfield at 15.5 points per game. Saterfield is also tied for the Big Sky lead in three-point field goals made at 31 (.383).  JR F Hunter Woods comes off a career-high 25-point game at Santa Clara. He also had four rebounds, three assists and three steals. Woods is the Big Sky leader in steals at 2.1 per contest. SR G Cameron Parker dished off eight assists at Santa Clara, matching his season high, and still leads the Big Sky at 5.4 helpers per game.
     
Saturday's game is sponsored by The Barbers and tips off at 7 p.m. at Viking Pavilion. It will be televised on KRCW and ESPN+. Live statistics are available at www.ViksLive.com.
     

COMING UP

PSU wraps up non-conference play at California Baptist (7-4) on Dec. 22. The Lancers host Sonoma State on Sunday prior to facing Portland State.
     
Big Sky Conference play begins Dec. 31 at Sacramento State (5-5).
 

GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE vs. UC SANTA BARBARA

• ALL-TIME SERIES: UC Santa Barbara leads the all-time series, 3-0. The most recent contest was Nov. 27, 2019. The Gauchos have never played at Viking Pavilion.
• PORTLAND STATE vs. THE BIG WEST CONFERENCE: Portland State is 29-41 all-time against current members of the Big West Conference... Head Coach Jase Coburn is 0-3 against the Big West with two losses to Cal Poly and one to CSUN.
• COACHES: Vikings Coach Jase Coburn (Arizona State, 2006) is in his second season as Head Coach and has a 19-23 record overall. He has never faced UC Santa Barbara. Coburn spent eight previous seasons on the Park Blocks as an Assistant and Associate Head Coach... the Gauchos are coached by Joe Pasternak (Indiana, 1999) in his sixth season. Pasternak has 111-46 career record. He is 2-0 against the Vikings. 

 

SCOUTING UC SANTA BARBARA

• UCSB is a member of the Big West Conference located in Santa Barbara, CA.
• The Gauchos were 17-11 last season, 8-5 and fifth place in the Big West.
• UCSB has opened the season 7-2, including 1-2 in road games. The Gauchos have no common opponents with the Vikings. They lost a road game at Big Sky Conference foe Northern Arizona, 63-54.
• The Gauchos average 72.1 points and shoot .486 from the field. They also hold a +7.2 rebounding advantage over their opponents. The Gauchos give up 65.2 points per game.
• Sophomore guard Ajay Mitchell leads the team in scoring at 13.6 points per game while averaging 4.7 assists and 1.9 steals.
• Senior forward Miles Norris is averaging 13.2 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. Senior forward Andre Kelly averages 9.9 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.2 blocked shots per game.

 

WHO IS HOT

• GOOD WOOD: SJR F Hunter Woods scored a career-high 25 points at Santa Clara (9-19 FG, 5-10 3-pt, 2-2 FT), adding four rebounds, three assists and three steals. His previous career high was 21 points while playing for Elon at Manhattan on Nov. 23, 2019... Woods previous PSU high was 19 points in a win at Oregon State (11/19).
• HOME COOKING: Portland State is 3-0 at home this season and has won the last eight in a row at home dating to last season... in the last 14 seasons, PSU is 64-14 in non-conference home games.
• FREE IS A GOOD PRICE: The Vikings are shooting .747 at the free throw line this season, which is a school-record pace (.743). PSU shot 19-21 (.905) at Oregon State (11/19), then made 15-17 (.882) against Gonzaga (11/24)... SR G Cameron Parker made 13-13 at the line against West Virginia (11/25) - the fifth-most in school history without a miss. Parker shoots .864 at the line this season (57-66) and ranks fourth in the Big Sky... JR G Jorell Saterfield is shooting .885 (23-26) and would rank third in the Big Sky but does not have enough attempts.
• THE MARKSMAN: SR G Cameron Parker is shooting .533 from the field this season, .421 from three-point range and .864 at the line... he is averaging a career-high 14.5 points and his 5.4 assists leads the Big Sky... Parker matched his collegiate career high with 23 points (8-13 FG, 2-5 3pt, 5-7 FT) and six assists at Portland (11/11), then eclipsed that total with 24 points (5-6 FG, 14-16 FT) in the win over Air Force (12/3).
• THE BENCH: Portland State has had solid bench play all season and averages 35.0 points per game off the bench... SO F Isaiah Johnson had the best bench effort against Santa Clara on Tuesday with eight points, five rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot in 22 minutes... JR G Isiah Kirby is the leading scorer off the bench at 8.1 points since JR F Hunter Woods moved into the starting lineup five games ago... SO C Hayden Curtiss leads the team with a .667 field goal percentage off the bench (16-24) while JR G Keshaun Saunders is shooting .533 (16-30).
• BIG SKY LEADERS: Portland State leads the Big Sky Conference in several categories. Individually, JR G Jorell Saterfield leads in three-point field goals made per game (2.8), JR F Hunter Woods leads in steals (2.1), SR G Cameron Parker leads in assists (5.4)... as a team, the Vikings lead in scoring (81.1), scoring margin (+8.9), turnover margin (+4.7), turnovers forced (17.9), and steals (8.55)... the Vikings are 19th in the nation in turnovers forced and 31st in scoring.

 

THE COMPETITION IS STIFF

Portland State will play its 10th Division I opponent among 12 games this Saturday when it faces UC Santa Barbara. The Vikings have yet to face a D-1 team with a losing record at the time of the game, and only one of those games have come at home. Those teams currently have a combined 56-28 record. The next two opponents are guaranteed to have winning records at the time of the game. Here is how the opponents stack up:
 
11/11  at Portland (0-0, 19-15 in 2021-22, now 8-5)
11/13  at Seattle (2-0, now 7-1)
11/19  at Oregon State (3-0, now 4-6)
11/24  vs. Gonzaga (3-1, now 8-3)
11/25  vs. West Virginia (4-1, now 8-2)
11/27  vs. Oregon State (3-3, now 4-6)
12/3    Air Force (5-3, now 7-4)
12/10  at Cal Poly (4-3, now 5-4)
12/13  at Santa Clara (8-3, now 9-3)
12/17  at UC Santa Barbara (7-2)
12/22  at California Baptist (7-4)
12/31  at Sacramento State (5-5)