PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (6-1)
at WASHINGTON STATE COUGARS (5-1)

Saturday, December 2, 2023, 2 p.m. • Beasley Coliseum (11,671), Pullman, WA
Television: Pac-12 Network
Live Stream: www.pac-12.com
Live Stats: www.ViksLive.com

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OPENING TIP

Well, that was a pretty good month of November, wasn't it?
     
Portland State Basketball rolled through the calendar's 11th month about as well as any Viking team before it, going 6-1, to match the best seven-game start in program history. And, game seven was as thrilling as any you might see this season. The Vikings came from 12 points down in the second half to defeat crosstown rival Portland, 75-74. SO G Ismail Habib delivered a game-winning, driving lay-in with 0.8 seconds to play, sending Viking Pavilion into pandemonium.
     
PSU built its seven-game record on two home wins, three road wins and a 1-1 mark in neutral site games. The Vikings have wins against teams from the Mountain West, Big West, Western Athletic and West Coast Conferences. Prior to the win over Portland, the Vikings were ranked 22nd in The Field of 68 Media Network's mid-major poll and 24th in the College Insider mid-major poll.
     
Now, the Vikings move on to face perhaps their sternest test of the season at Washington State. The Vikings and the Cougars meet at Beasley Coliseum on Saturday in a 2 p.m. game televised on the Pac-12 Network and live streamed at www.pac-12.com.
     
Washington State goes into the game with an impressive 5-1 record, and an even more impressive +17.0 scoring margin. The Cougars have already beaten a pair of Big Sky Conference schools, Idaho and Eastern Washington. PSU has beaten six different Pac-12 schools in its history, but never Washington State.
     
As has been the case through Portland State's early-season success, the Vikings got contributions from all over the roster in the win over Portland. Most significant, of course, was Habib's game-winner - his second of the season. Habib hit a pair of three-pointers in the final two minutes as part of the Vikings' comeback on the way to season-highs of 18 points and four assists. JR F Isaiah Johnson posted a career-high 18 points to go with 10 rebounds, and SR G Bobby Harvey was also key in the comeback scoring 18 points, with 13 coming in the second half.
     
Balance has been the key for Coach Jase Coburn's Vikings. All 12 players saw action for the fifth time in seven games this season. Johnson is the team's leading scorer at only 11.3 points per game, but is one of five Viking players averaging between 9.0 and 11.3 points. He also averages a team-high 6.1 rebounds and shoots .593 while coming off the bench.
     
PSU has played sturdy defense, allowing only 64.9 points per game. While the Vikings would like to improve their .421 team field goal percentage, they have still been efficient, averaging fewer than 10 turnovers, three more shot attempts and five more free throw attempts than opponents per game.
 

COMING UP

Portland State's next home game is Dec. 6 against Lewis and Clark College. The Vikings will then host George Fox on Dec. 9. The final two games before Big Sky Conference play are Dec. 15 at San Diego and Dec. 18 at Fresno State.
 

GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE vs. WASHINGTON STATE

• ALL-TIME SERIES: Washington State leads the all-time series 9-0, including 7-0 in Pullman... the last meeting between the schools was Dec. 13, 2020 - a 69-60 Cougars victory in Pullman.
• PORTLAND STATE vs. THE PAC-12 CONFERENCE: Portland State is 9-58 all-time against current members of the Pac-12 Conference... PSU has wins over Oregon (2), Oregon State (2), Arizona State (2), USC (1), Stanford (1) and Cal (1) in its history - all coming during PSU's Big Sky Conference era (9-44).
• COACHES: Vikings Coach Jase Coburn (Arizona State, 2006) is in his third season as Head Coach and is 32-37 overall. Coburn has never faced Washington State. He spent eight previous seasons on the Park Blocks as an Assistant and Associate Head Coach... the Cougars are coached by Kyle Smith (Hamilton, 1992) in his fifth season. Smith is 74-62 at Washington State, including 1-0 against the Vikings.

 

SCOUTING WASHINGTON STATE

• Washington State is a member of the Pac-12 Conference located in Pullman. The Cougars were 17-17 last season, 11-9 and tied for fifth in the Pac-12.
• The Cougars are 5-1 this season, 4-0 at home. Among their five wins are victories over Idaho and Eastern Washington of the Big Sky Conference... WSU has been dominant offensively, averaging 80.7 points while shooting .501 from the field and committing only 10.0 turnovers per game. The Cougars also out-rebound opponents by 8.0 per game.
• Freshman guard Myles Rice leads the Cougars in scoring at 17.2 points per game. He shoots .535 from the field and .773 at the free throw line... senior forward Andrej Jakimovski averages 13.0 points and 5.7 rebounds. Senior forward Isaac Jones, who played at Idaho last season, is averaging 12.8 points, 7.3 rebounds and shoots .596 from the field.

 

WHO IS HOT

• THE VIKINGS: At 6-1 on the season, Portland State has the best seven-game record in program history, matching seven-game starts in 2008-09 and 1976-77... the best eight-game start is 7-1, set in 2008-09.
• SHOOTING STAR, PART ONE: SO G Ismail Habib has already produced two game-winners among the Vikings' six wins this season. Habib went viral on Nov. 17 when he hoisted a half-court shot at the buzzer against California Baptist that banked home for the win, 66-63... on Tuesday night, he pulled victory from the jaws of defeat, making a drive through the entire Portland Pilots team in the final six seconds for a game-winner with 0.8 on the clock. The JC transfer also hit a pair of three-pointers in the final two minutes to aid in a come-from-behind victory... Habib now averages 10.1 points and leads the team in three-point shooting (16-36, .444).
• SHOOTING STAR, PART TWO: JR F Isaiah Johnson averages 11.3 points to lead the Vikings in scoring despite coming off the bench in six of seven games. Johnson is 22-35 from the field in the last four games (.629) and now leads the team with a .593 shooting mark... oh, and he is the team leader in rebounds at 6.1 per game.
• POSSESSION IS 9/10 OF THE LAW: With a mere six turnovers against Portland on Tuesday, the Vikings' turnover average dipped below 10 to 9.7 per game - second-best in the Big Sky and 30th-best in the nation.
• WARMING UP: As the days get colder, SR G Bobby Harvey is warming up. In his last three games, Harvey has made 14-25 from the field (.560) and 10-21 from three-point range (.476) while averaging 12.7 points.
• THE BENCH BUNCH: Portland State averaged 27.9 points per game off the bench last season to rank 12th in the nation. Nothing has changed as PSU has 188 bench points (26.9) so far this season... JR F Isaiah Johnson had a double-double off the bench in the win over Portland with 18 points and 10 rebounds.

 

GAME WINNERS: THEY ARE BECOMING A HABIT

Portland State already has two game-winning shots among its six wins this season. This comes after the Vikings had three late-game-winners last season - twice at the buzzer and one with eight seconds left.

• Four of the five game-winning shots flipped the lead, while one broke a tie.
• Notably, the Vikings also scored in the flow of the game in four of the five contests, not calling a timeout to set up a last-second play as is common, including both of this season's last-second winners.
• HABIB'S HEAVENLY HEAVE: SO G Ismail Habib banked home a half-court heave at the buzzer to beat California Baptist, 66-63 (11/17). It was part of a 14-point comeback in the final nine minutes of the game. The Vikings had trailed, 58-44, but went on a 22-5 run down the stretch. PSU took a 63-61 lead with 30 seconds left on a JR F Isaiah Johnson spin move inside. The Lancers tied it with 2.4 seconds left on a short jumper. Johnson inbounded to Habib who raced up court and let the shot go just before the buzzer. Johnson, Habib and SR F KJ Allen led the Vikings comeback.
• LIGHTNING STRIKES TWICE: As cool as could be, SO G Ismail Habib put the ball between his legs, sized up the defense, then sliced through four Portland Pilot defenders to the basket for a game-winning lay-in with 0.8 seconds on the clock. And for the second time in two weeks, Habib delivered his Portland State team the deciding basket at the end. The Vikings came away with a thrilling, come-from-behind 75-74 victory in the crosstown rivalry game at Viking Pavilion (11/28). Big contributions in a comeback from 12 points down came from SR G Bobby Harvey (13 points in the second half), JR F Isaiah Johnson (12 points, six rebounds in the second half) and Habib, who hit a pair of three-point field goals in the final two minutes before his scramble to the rim for the game-winner.

 

READY WHEN YOUR NUMBER IS CALLED

Continuing the trend of last season, Head Coach Jase Coburn continues to go deep into his bench. The Vikings have 548 bench minutes out of 1400 total minutes, getting 188 points and 102 rebounds from the backups.

• The bench is shooting better than the starters. PSU shoots 72-157 (.459) off the bench and 103-259 (.398) from the starters.
• The Vikings have had all 12 players appear in five of seven games.
• Last season, PSU's bench logged 36% of the total minutes and 37% of the points. The Vikings ranked 12th in the nation in bench scoring at 27.9 points per game. Bench players (330-698, .473) out-shot the starters (505-1,167, .433) from the field and had 52 of the team's 105 blocked shots (49%).

 

SEASON HIGHLIGHT REEL

• Saterfield Gets Preseason Honors: SR G Jorell Saterfield was picked to the six-man Preseason All-Big Sky Conference team. Saterfield averaged 13.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and made 65 three-point field goals last season.
• Nov. 6, PSU 62, Air Force 55: The Vikings opened the season with a seven-point win on the road, beating Air Force for the second straight season. The Vikings out-rebounded the Falcons, 41-34, including 14 on the offensive glass for 16 second-chance points. SR G Jorell Saterfield had 10 points and seven rebounds. JR F Isaiah Johnson grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds.
• Nov. 9, PSU 82, UC Santa Barbara 76: Portland State knocked off defending Big West Conference Champion and preseason favorite UC Santa Barbara. After a close first half, the Vikings led for virtually the entire second half. Five players scored in double figures as PSU got 48 points in the paint and 22 on the fast break. The Vikings made 12 steals, forcing 18 turnovers.
• Nov. 12, PSU 70, Linfield 53: SR F KJ Allen sparked a sluggish Vikings team in the first half with back-to-back three-point plays and went on to lead the team to its third straight win. Allen had 18 points (6-8 FG, 6-7 FT), seven rebounds and five steals in the game. PSU made 12 steals and blocked seven shots in holding Linfield to 53 points.
• Woods Gets 1,000: SR F Hunter Woods reached 1,000 points in his collegiate career in the win over Linfield (11/12). Woods scored nine points in the game on three three-point field goals giving him 327 points in 34 games at Portland State and 676 points in 84 games at Elon.
• Nov. 17, PSU 66, California Baptist 63: SO G Ismail Habib buried a half-court shot at the buzzer to give the Vikings their fourth straight win to open the season. It was part of a 14-point comeback in the final nine minutes of the game. PSU took a 63-61 lead with 30 seconds left on a JR F Isaiah Johnson spin move inside. The Lancers tied it with 2.4 seconds left on a short jumper. Johnson inbounded to Habib who raced up court and let the shot go just before the buzzer. Johnson led the Vikings with 16 points (7-10 FG, 2-4 FT) as he, Habib and SR F KJ Allen sparked a 22-5 rally down the stretch.
• Nov. 18, PSU 73, Cal Poly 57: Portland State won its fifth game in a row for the best start in the Big Sky era and matching the best start ever for the program (5-0). The Vikings jumped to a double-digit lead early, pushed it as high as 25 in the second half and cruised to the win. SR F KJ Allen had the first double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds. PSU out-rebounded the Mustangs, 43-31, and held them to .373 shooting.
• Allen Named Lancer Joust All-Tournament: SR F KJ Allen was named to the Lancer Joust All-Tournament team on Sunday. He averaged 12.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.0 assists while shooting .458/.556/.667 as the Vikings won two of three games.
• Nov. 28, PSU 75, Portland 74: SO G Ismail Habib made a driving lay-in with 0.8 seconds on the clock to complete a 12-point comeback by the Vikings. Habib also hit a pair of three-pointers in the final two minutes as the Vikings improved to 6-1 - matching their best seven-game start in school history. Habib had 18 points (6-11 FG, 5-9 3-pt) and four assists, while JR F Isaiah Johnson added a career-high 18 points (7-12 FG, 4-5 FT) and 10 rebounds.