PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (6-9, 0-2) at IDAHO VANDALS (6-10, 0-3)

Saturday, January 7, 2023, 2 p.m. • ICCU Arena (4,200), Moscow, ID
Live Stream: ESPN+
Live Stats: www.govandals.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Complete notes and stats in pdf

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THE OPENING TIP

Portland State wraps up its road odyssey this Saturday at the University of Idaho as the Vikings seek their initial Big Sky Conference win of the 2022-23 campaign. PSU will be playing its fourth straight game on the road and sixth in the last seven outings. The game at Idaho will also be the 12th away from home in 16 contests this season.
     
After starting the season 5-4, PSU has lost five of six games over the recent stretch. The Vikings were downed at Eastern Washington on Thursday night, 92-80. That leaves them at 6-9 overall, 0-2 in the Big Sky.
     
Making PSU's schedule even more challenging this year has been the quality of opponents. Idaho, at 6-10 overall, will be the Vikings' first Division I foe this season to have a losing record at the time of the game.
     
All things considered, the Vikings have fared reasonably well. They have wins over Oregon State (twice), Air Force and California Baptist among others, and lead the Big Sky in scoring (78.8). PSU erased a 16-point deficit at Eastern Washington on Thursday and led for eight minutes of the second half. Unfortunately, the red-hot Eagles rallied behind 59% shooting to win their fifth game in a row and maintain first-place in the Big Sky Conference.
     
JR G Jorell Saterfield led the Vikings with 21 points, eight rebounds and three assists in the game. JR F Hunter Woods poured in 15 points, and the Viking bench had another strong outing with 34 points and 14 rebounds.
     
When the Vikings and the Vandals meet on Saturday, the game figures to be a high-scoring affair as they are the top two scoring teams in the Big Sky. Idaho also leads in field goal percentage (.488), and the two teams shoot 75% from the free throw line. PSU has won each of the last two seasons at Idaho (79-68 last year) and is 4-4 all-time in Big Sky games in Moscow.
     
Idaho lost its fourth in a row on Thursday, 85-83 in overtime to Sacramento State. The Vandals got a 42-point, 12-rebound, four-assist, four-block, three-steal game out of junior center Isaac Jones. He will be a focus for the Viking defense as he leads the league in scoring (20.0), shooting (.707) and blocked shots (19).
     
Saturday's game with Idaho has a 2 p.m. start and can be seen on ESPN+.
 

COMING UP

The Vikings will have their Big Sky Conference home opener on Jan. 12 against Northern Arizona, then host Northern Colorado on Jan. 14. When PSU hosts NAU it will be the first home game in 26 days and only the second in 40 days. The NAU game starts a span of six of the next eight games at home for the Vikings.
 

GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE vs. IDAHO

• ALL-TIME SERIES: Portland State leads the all-time series, 18-17, and the Big Sky series, 8-7... the Vikings have won four of the last five and seven or the last 10 meetings... the teams split the season series last year with each winning on the other's home court... PSU is 4-4 in Big Sky games played at Idaho.
• LAST SEASON: Jan. 24 at Viking Pavilion, UI 84, PSU 79: The Big Sky's top three-point shooting team by percentage, Idaho simply out-shot the Vikings to pull out the win. Idaho was 29-51 from the field (.569), 8-20 from three-point range (.400) and 18-24 at the line (.750). Portland State also shot it well, but not quite well enough, making 27-57 from the field (.474), 6-21 from distance (.286) and 19-24 at the line (.792). Virtually everything else in the boxscore was even.... the Vandal guard trio of Mikey Dixon, Trevante Anderson and Rashad Smith combined for 62 of Idaho's 84 points. They made a combined 20-33 from the field, 6-12 three-pointers and 16-18 free throws... Damion Squire led the Vikings with 15 points, and had three rebounds, three assists and five steals. James Jean-Marie scored 14 points (7-11 FG) with eight rebounds and two blocked shots. Mar. 3 at ICCU Arena, PSU 79, UI 68: A 13-1 run by Portland State over the final 3:05 of the game led the Vikings to a 79-68 victory. Marlon Ruffin had a big game off the bench for PSU, leading the Vikings with 19 points in 22 minutes. He made 7-10 shots from the field and 5-9 at the line. Ezekiel Alley added 15 points and four rebounds. Khalid Thomas pitched in another strong performance with 14 points, 11 rebounds and two blocked shots... Portland State looked like they may run away with the game early. The Vikings turned Idaho over on eight of its first nine possessions, making six steals. PSU jumped to leads of 8-0 and 15-5. Idaho rallied back to a 38-36 halftime lead... the second half played out a little differently though. Idaho's shooting percentage sunk to just .300 (9-30) after halftime, including 0-8 from distance. The lead changed hands five more times in the half and PSU was still down 67-66 with 3:25 to play before the 13-1 rally... Trevante Anderson led the Vandals with 24 points and 10 rebounds. 
• COACHES: Vikings Coach Jase Coburn (Arizona State, 2006) is in his second season as Head Coach and has a 20-26 record overall. He is 1-1 against Idaho. Coburn 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 fourth season. Claus is 24-77 overall, 2-4 against the Vikings... Claus was a Portland State assistant coach from 2000-2002.

 

SCOUTING IDAHO

• Idaho is located in Moscow, ID. The Vandals have been members of the Big Sky Conference 1963-86 and 2014 to present. Idaho has won four Big Sky regular season championships, four Big Sky Tournament championships, and made five appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
• Idaho is 6-10 on the season, 0-3 in the Big Sky. The Vandals have lost four games in a row and are 4-4 at home. They average 77.1 points and allow 69.4 points per game while shooting a Big Sky-best .488 from the field and .749 at the free throw line.
• Junior center Isaac Jones is one of four Vandals scoring in double figures. He leads the Big Sky Conference at 20.0 points per game, in field goal percentage at .707, and in blocked shots at 1.3 per game. Jones ranks fifth in rebounding at 7.5.
• Senior guard Divant'e Moffitt is averaging 16.6 points and 5.4 assists per game... freshman forward Nigel Burris is averaging 9.8 points and 5.3 rebounds while shooting .539 from the field, .469 from three-point range and .923 at the line.

 

WHO IS HOT

• THE BENCH BUNCH: Portland State has had solid bench play all season and averages 32.4 points per game off the bench to rank 11th in the nation... the Vikings had 34 points and 14 rebounds in 74 minutes from their bench players at Eastern Washington, shooting 16-29 from the field (.552)... SR G Bobby Harvey scored 12 points (5-9 FG, 2-5 3-pt) and grabbed a season-high six rebounds... SO F Isaiah Johnson scored 10 points (5-9 FG) with four rebounds and two steals... Harvey and JR G Isiah Kirby lead the bench bunch with 7.1 points per game... SO C Hayden Curtiss leads the team with a .667 field goal percentage off the bench (16-24) while Johnson is shooting .533 (32-60).
• PORTAL PRODUCTION: SO F Isaiah Johnson was a late addition to the Vikings' roster last summer after leaving Oregon State. He is proving to be a great addition...  in the last five games Johnson has averaged 8.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, shot .581 from the field and .750 at the line... he had a career-high 11 points (4-6 FG, 3-4 FT) and four rebounds in 23 minutes off the bench at Sacramento State (12/31), then 10 points (5-9 FG), four rebounds and two steals in 25 minutes off the bench at Eastern Washington.
• AND ONE: SR G Cameron Parker ranks third in the Big Sky Conference with an .854 free throw percentage this season. He ranks seventh in the nation in free throws made and 23rd in free throw attempts (82-96).... he also ranks 22nd in the nation with 5.6 assists per game.
• BIG SKY LEADERS: Portland State leads the Big Sky Conference in several categories. As a team, the Vikings lead in scoring (78.8), turnover margin (+4.8), turnovers forced (17.9), and steals (8.5)... the Vikings are 17th in the nation in turnovers forced... JR F Hunter Woods leads the Big Sky in steals (1.8), SR G Cameron Parker leads in assists (5.6).
• IN A HURRY: The Vikings are leading the Big Sky Conference in fast break points (17.2 per game) which ranks 11th in the nation.
• FREE THROW SHOOTERS: Portland State is shooting .752 at the line this season which is above a school-record pace (.743)... the Vikings also lead the Big Sky in free throws made (15.7) and attempted (20.9) per game.

 

GRAND LARCENY

Remarkably, Portland State has led the Big Sky Conference in team steals per game for the past seven seasons. They lead once again with an 8.5 mark through 15 games. Thievery on the basketball court was also prevalent during the Barret Peery and Tyler Geving coaching eras. In addition, PSU has had two individual steals leaders with JR F Hunter Woods leading this year. A look:
 
Season, steals per game
2015-16: 8.5
2016-17: 9.9, individual: Calaen Robinson, 2.35
2017-18: 9.8
2018-19: 8.3
2019-20: 8.7, individual: Holland Woods, 2.06
2020-21: 8.2
2021-22: 9.3
2022-23: 8.5, individual: Hunter Woods, 1.80
 

1,000-700... THERE ARE ONLY TWO

SR G Cameron Parker passed 1,000 career points earlier this season then passed 700 career assists last Saturday at Sacramento State. Parker enters Saturday's game with 1,077 career points and 704 career assists in 122 career games. He was the only active player in the NCAA with 1,000-700... for one day. There are now two as Jalen Pickett of Penn State has 1,777 points and reached 700 assists on Sunday. He has played in 120 career games... there are a handful of other active players at 1,000 career points and more than 600 assists, though none would reach 700 assists until at least late January based on current pace.
 

IT'S NOT WHO STARTS...

Portland State's bench has been very effective this season. Starters have logged 1,853 minutes and reserves have logged 1,147 minutes. Remarkably, in those minutes, the bench has kept a good scoring pace in relation to the starters, 696 to 486.

• Bench players have logged 38% of the minutes and 41% of the points.
• PSU ranks 11th in the nation in bench scoring at 32.4 points per game.
• The bench has outscored the starters on three occasions.
• Bench players (186-377, .493) have out-shot the starters (227-554, .410) from the field.