PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS at
AIR FORCE ACADEMY FALCONS

Monday, Nov. 6, 2023, 7:30 p.m. MT/6:30 p.m. PT • Clune Arena (5,843), ASAF Academy, CO
Television: Altitude 2
Live Stream: MWC Network - themw.com/watch/?sport=13&school=56
Live Stats: www.ViksLive.com

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THE VIKING PODCAST WITH COACH JASE COBURN

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OPENING TIP

Portland State opens its 2023-24 basketball season on the road next week at Air Force (Nov. 6) and UC Santa Barbara (Nov. 9) before a home opener against Linfield on Nov. 12.
     
PSU has a fast start to the season with six games in the first 14 days. Just one of the games will be at home. After a week's rest, PSU follows with six more non-conference games - three at home - leading into the Christmas holiday. In all, Portland State plays 13 non-conference games (one comes in January), with four at home, seven on the road and two neutral site contests.
     
The Vikings look forward to the upcoming season with a talented, veteran group of players. PSU returns eight letterwinners and one redshirt for '23-'24, which in the transfer portal era should rank among the most returners in the Big Sky Conference and even nationally. Third-year Head Coach Jase Coburn and his staff added four newcomers that include two guards and two transfer big men, balancing out his roster for the coming season.
     
The Vikings feature shooters (SR G Jorell Saterfield, SR G Bobby Harvey, SR F Hunter Woods) and six big men ranging from 6-6 to 6-11 on the roster. Saterfield (13.1 ppg, 65 three-point field goals in 2022-23), Harvey (7.4 ppg, 57 3-pt FG) and Woods (9.9 ppg, 47 3-pt FG) should maintain a strong perimeter game for the Vikings. JR F Isaiah Johnson (7.3 ppg, 3.0 rpg), SR G Isiah Kirby (5.7 ppg) and SR G Keshaun Saunders (4.5 ppg) played big minutes for the Vikings last season as well. JR F Kendall Munson and JR C Hayden Curtiss also bring experience and depth inside for the Vikings. What is new will be Texas Tech transfer KJ Allen (6-6) and South Carolina transfer Tre-Vaughn Minott (6-9) adding bulk inside. RS FR G Cole Farrell, SO G Ismail Habib and FR G Kelcy Phipps will lend ball-handling to the roster as they compete with Kirby and Saunders for point guard minutes. (For a full preview, see below)
     
PSU takes on Air Force on Monday at the Academy. It marks the first time PSU has played in Clune Arena since 1999. Last season, the Vikings hosted the Falcons at Viking Pavilion and came away with a 68-64 victory.
     
Air Force was 14-18 overall last year, 5-13 and 10th place in the Mountain West Conference.
     
Portland State was 12-19 last year, 6-11 and seventh place in the Big Sky Conference.
     
Monday's game tips off at 7:30 p.m. MT/6:30 p.m. PT and can be seen on a live stream on the Mountain West Network (www.themw.com) and on Altitude 2 on some cable packages.
 

COMING UP

Portland State has a busy opening two weeks of the season, playing six games in 13 days.  The Vikings will travel to UC Santa Barbara for a Thursday game, then have a home-opening game against Linfield on Sunday, Nov. 12.
     
The Vikings compete in The Lancer Joust on Nov. 17-19, playing California Baptist, Cal Poly and St. Thomas over three days.
 

GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE vs. AIR FORCE ACADEMY

• ALL-TIME SERIES: Portland State leads the all-time series, 5-2. The Vikings are 3-1 at home against Air Force after a 68-64 win last season, and 2-1 at Air Force... PSU is 3-0 against the Falcons during the Big Sky Conference era (1996 to present).
• LAST SEASON: Dec. 3 at Viking Pavilion, PSU 68, AFA 64: Cameron Parker and Jorell Saterfield combined for 48 points (24 each), including 32 in a second-half comeback for the Vikings... the Vikings were down 12 with 7:53 left in the game, but went on a 29-13 run down the stretch. Parker had 13 and Saterfield had 12 over that stretch... PSU shot .500 from the field to .400 for the Falcons... Rytis Petraitis came off the bench for 22 points and eight rebounds for Air Force.
• PORTLAND STATE vs. MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE: Portland State is 24-54 all-time against current members of the Mountain West Conference. The Vikings will also play Fresno State of the MWC this season... Head Coach Jase Coburn is 1-1 all-time against the Mountain West.
• COACHES: Vikings Coach Jase Coburn (Arizona State, 2006) is in his third season as Head Coach and has a 26-36 record overall. He is 1-0 against Air Force. Coburn spent eight previous seasons on the Park Blocks as an Assistant and Associate Head Coach... the Falcons are coached by Joe Scott (Princeton, 1987), who is in his eighth season. Scott has a career record of 81-119.

 

SCOUTING AIR FORCE ACADEMY

• The Air Force Academy is a member of the Mountain West Conference located near Colorado Springs, CO.
• Air Force was 14-18 last season, including 5-13 and 10th place in the Mountain West Conference.
• The Falcons have 11 returning players from last season, including four starters... the top returning players is sophomore forward Rytis Petraitis, who averaged 10.4 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists last season. Also back is forward Beau Becker (7.4 ppg, 3.4 rpg) and guard Ethan Taylor (7.1 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.1 apg).

 

JORELL SATERFIELD PICKED TO PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM

Portland State senior guard Jorell Saterfield is one of six Big Sky Conference basketball players named to the preseason All-Conference team, selected by league coaches and media.
     
Saterfield, a 6-5 senior from Chicago, is a top returning player for the Vikings in 2023-24. During his junior season, Saterfield ranked second on the team in scoring at 13.1 points per game and second in rebounding at 4.3 per game. Saterfield had 65 three-point field goals to lead the team and rank fifth in the Big Sky.
     
Perhaps Saterfield's biggest game of the season was a career-high 26-point, five-rebound effort in a 79-66 win at Oregon State. It marked the first time PSU had beaten OSU on the hardwood (and they proceeded to do it again eight days later).
     
Saterfield was the only Viking to start every game last season. He had 22 double-figure scoring outputs, and five 20-point games. He led the team in scoring seven times and rebounding 12 times.
  
2023-24 Men's Basketball Preseason All-Conference Team
Most Valuable Player – Dillon Jones, Weber State
Aanen Moody, Montana
Ethan Price, Eastern Washington
Steven Verplancken Jr., Weber State
Brayden Parker, Idaho State
Jorell Saterfield, Portland State
 

VIKINGS PICKED FIFTH/SIXTH IN PRESEASON POLLS

The Portland State Vikings have been picked fifth in the Big Sky Conference's preseason Coaches Poll. PSU was selected sixth in the preseason Media Poll.
     
PSU moves up a couple of slots from last year's preseason predictions as they come off a seventh-place finish in last season's standings.
     
The Vikings, under third-year Head Coach Jase Coburn, return eight letterwinners and one redshirt. Four newcomers, including some key big men have bolstered the roster for 2023-24.
     
Weber State was picked first in both polls, while last year's regular season champion, Eastern Washington was picked third and second, respectively. The Eagles alternate those two spots with Montana, who was picked second by the coaches and third by the media. Last year's Big Sky Tournament Champion, Montana State, was picked seventh by the coaches and fourth by the media.
     
Also moving up with the Vikings by the preseason prognosticators is Sacramento State. The Hornets were picked fourth by the coaches and fifth by the media.
 
Big Sky Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll
1 – Weber State (9) – 81
2 – Montana (1) – 70
3 – Eastern Washington – 68
4 – Sacramento State – 50
5 – Portland State – 48
6 – Idaho State – 39
7 – Montana State – 35
T8 – Northern Arizona – 22
T8 – Northern Colorado – 22
10 – Idaho – 15
 
Big Sky Conference Preseason Media Poll
1 – Weber State (33) – 347
2 – Eastern Washington (2) – 301
3 – Montana – 279
4 – Montana State – 197
5 – Sacramento State – 196
6 – Portland State – 166
7 – Idaho State – 155
8 – Northern Arizona – 135
9 – Northern Colorado – 90
10 – Idaho – 59
 

FAST BREAKS

• Jase Coburn (26-36) begins his third season as Head Coach of the Vikings. He was named Portland State's new head basketball coach on April 16, 2021. He is the 14th men's basketball coach in Portland State history and the seventh since PSU joined the Big Sky Conference in 1996-97. Coburn is in his 11th season at PSU after serving as an assistant coach then associate head coach (2013-21)… Coburn is assisted by associate head coach Matt Dunn and assistant coaches Quinton Upshur and Nate Laing.
• PSU has nine players returning from last season, including eight letterwinners and one redshirt. Starters Jorell Saterfield (6-5, SR, G, 13.1 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 65 3-pt FG) and Hunter Woods (6-6, SR, F, 9.9 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 45 steals, 45 3-pt FG) are among the top returners… the Vikings also feature SRs Bobby Harvey (6-4, 7.4 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 57 3-pt FG), Isiah Kirby (6-4, 5.7 ppg) and Keshaun Saunders (6-5, 4.5 ppg) in the backcourt… in addition is RS FR Cole Farrell (6-5)… other front court returners include JRs Isaiah Johnson (6-6, 7.3 ppg, 3.0 rpg, .556 FG%, 23 blk), Kendall Munson (6-8, 2.5 ppg, .541 FG%, 18 blk) and Hayden Curtiss (6-11, 2.1 ppg, .588 FG%).
• The Viking program has added four newcomers for 2023-24, two portal transfers, one from junior college player and one from high school… SR F KJ Allen (6-6, 2.4 ppg, 2.0 rpg) transferred to PSU from Texas Tech, while JR C Tre-Vaughn Minott (6-9, 1.8 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 12 blk, .685 FG%) comes from South Carolina… SO G Ismail Habib (6-0, 11.5 ppg, 3.5 apg, 3.7 rpg) is a junior college signee from South Plains College (TX)… FR G Kelcy Phipps (6-2) comes from the same high school (Bishop Montgomery) in Torrance, CA as teammate Isaiah Johnson.
• SR G Bobby Harvey enters the 2023-24 season with a streak of 27 straight games with a made three-point field goal.
• SR F Hunter Woods ranked third in the Big Sky Conference in steals (45) last season... SR G Jorell Saterfield was sixth in the Big Sky in three-point field goals made (65).

• Remarkably, Portland State has led the Big Sky Conference in team steals per game for eight straight seasons. Thievery on the basketball court has been prevalent during the Barret Peery, Tyler Geving and Jase Coburn coaching eras. In addition, PSU has had two individual steals leaders. League-leading 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: 7.1

• In the era of the portal, Portland State's roster includes 10 players who have played Division I basketball at other schools. Entering the 2023-24 season, Portland State has 674 games of Division I experience among 10 players: Keshaun Saunders (117), Hunter Woods (115), Kendall Munson (75), Jorell Saterfield (64), Isaiah Johnson (63), Hayden Curtiss (61), Bobby Harvey (53), Isiah Kirby (52), KJ Allen (45), Tre-Vaughn Minott (29). The only players that have not played a Division I game are RS FR Cole Farrell, FR Kelcy Phipps and SO Ismail Habib.

 

THE SCHEDULE

• The 2023-24 schedule will consist of 31 games prior to the Big Sky Tournament. The Vikings will play 13 at home, 16 on the road and two neutral site games. There will be nine Big Sky Conference home games and four non-conference home games.
• Portland State will play a traditional 18-game, home-and-home schedule during the Big Sky Conference season. The season opens on Dec. 28 and concludes on Mar. 4, with the Big Sky Tournament May 9-13 at Boise's Idaho Central Arena.
• Portland State plays five of its first six games, and 11 of the first 15, on the road.
• PSU will see teams from all over the west as it is scheduled to face two Summit League opponents; two each from the West Coast Conference, Big West Conference and Mountain West Conference; and one each from the Pac-12 Conference and Western Athletic Conference.
• The Vikings play in the California Baptist Tournament during non-conference competition, Nov. 17-19, at California Baptist University. The tournament includes California Baptist, Cal Poly and St. Thomas. The Vikings went 1-1 against the participants last season, beating California Baptist, 74-72, and losing to Cal Poly, 72-49, in non-conference games. The Vikings have never played St. Thomas.
• PSU will take part in the newly-formed Big Sky – Summit Challenge during the first week of 2024. The Vikings play at Kansas City on Jan. 6.