PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (8-2)
at SAN DIEGO TOREROS (7-4)

Friday, December 15, 2023, 7 p.m. • Jenny Craig Pavilion (5,100), San Diego, CA
Live Stream: ESPN+
Live Stats: www.ViksLive.com

---

 

OPENING TIP

The first one-third of the 2023-24 basketball season has gone mostly Portland State's way, but the next one-third will ramp up the challenge for the Vikings.
     
PSU has gone 8-2 so far, matching the best record in school history after 10 games. The Vikings now play their next five games, and seven of the next nine, on the road. Included are non-conference games with West Coast, Mountain West and Summit foes, and the opening of Big Sky Conference play.
     
Portland State wraps up its pre-Christmas schedule with games at San Diego (Dec. 15) and Fresno State (Dec. 18). So far, the Vikings can boast wins over teams from the West Coast (Portland), Mountain West (Air Force), Big West (Cal Poly, UC Santa Barbara) and Western Athletic Conferences (California Baptist).
     
PSU meets the Toreros for the first time in six seasons and only the eighth time in history. The Vikings have a 3-1 road record and 4-2 mark away from home overall this season.
     
The Vikings had a pair of home wins last week against lower division opponents Lewis and Clark and George Fox. It was a good week of action for the entire roster as players coming off the bench saw increased time and made big contributions including: JR C Hayden Curtiss (16.5 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 4.5 bpg in the two wins), SR G Keshaun Saunders (12.5 ppg, .526 FG%), SR F Hunter Woods (11.5 ppg, 8.0 rpg) and SR G Isiah Kirby (5.5 ppg, 5.0 apg, 2.0 spg). SR G Jorell Saterfield added a near triple-double in the win over George Fox with 25 points, career-highs of 10 rebounds and eight assists, and two steals.
     
Meanwhile, San Diego, will be a significantly stronger opponent for the Vikings. The Toreros are 7-4 overall, have yet to lose a home game (6-0) and come off a big win at home over Arizona State on Saturday, 89-84. The Vikings and USD do not have a common opponent, but San Diego has a 74-72 victory over a Big Sky school in Northern Colorado, while the Vikings have a 75-74 win over a West Coast Conference school in Portland.
     
The Vikings and Toreros will tip it off at 7 p.m. on Friday night at Jenny Craig Pavilion in San Diego. The game will be televised on ESPN+ with live statistics available at www.ViksLive.com.
 

COMING UP

Portland State plays at Fresno State next Monday, then takes a week off for the holiday. PSU begins Big Sky Conference play on the road at Eastern Washington on Dec. 28.
 

GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE vs. SAN DIEGO

• ALL-TIME SERIES: San Diego leads the all-time series, 6-1, including 4-0 in San Diego... the teams have not met in six seasons.... the last meeting was Mar. 17, 2018 at Jenny Craig Pavilion in the first round of the College Insider post-season tournament. The Toreros won 67-64.
• PORTLAND STATE vs. THE WEST COAST CONFERENCE: Portland State is 42-81 all-time against current members of the West Coast Conference... the Vikings defeated Portland on Nov. 28, 75-74.
• COACHES: Vikings Coach Jase Coburn (Arizona State, 2006) is in his third season as Head Coach and is 34-38 overall. Coburn has never faced San Diego. He spent eight previous seasons on the Park Blocks as an Assistant and Associate Head Coach... the Toreros are coached by Steve Lavin (San Francisco State) in his second season. Lavin is 18-24 overall and has never faced the Vikings. Also a head coach at St. John's and UCLA, Lavin has a career record of 244-157 in 13 seasons.

 

SCOUTING SAN DIEGO

• The University of San Diego is a member of the West Coast Conference. USD was 11-20 last season, 4-12 and 9th in the WCC. Eight letterwinners from that team return this season
• San Diego is off to a 7-4 start in non-conference play. The Toreros are 6-0 at home, including an 89-84 win over Arizona State last week. USD averages 73.6 points and allows 73.6 points per game. Team strengths include rebounding (+1.3 rebound margin) and free throw shooting (.769).
• Junior guard Deuce Turner leads the team in scoring at 14.2 points per game. He has a team-high 21 three-point field goals and shoots .840 at the free throw line. Junior guard Wayne McKinney III averages 13.3 points and is the team-leader in assists at 3.0 per game. Freshman guard Kevin Patton Jr. averages 8.4 points and leads the team in rebounding (5.3) and blocked shots (14).

 

WHO IS HOT

• THE VIKINGS: Portland State has matched the best five-, six-, seven-, nine- and 10-game records in program history so far this season... the best 11-game start is 9-2, set twice previously, but never at the Division I level (see below).
• THEIR MOMENT: JR C Hayden Curtiss moved to the starting lineup last Wednesday to fill in for an injured JR F Kendall Munson. He made the most of his opportunity. Curtiss averaged 16.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 4.5 blocked shots while shooting 15-18 from the field (.833). He had a career-high of 19 points (8-10 FG, 1-1 3-pt, 2-2 FT) with seven rebounds and five blocks against Lewis and Clark. Curtiss then came back with his first career double-double against George Fox with 14 points (7-8 FG), a career-high 10 rebounds and four blocked shots... SR G Keshaun Saunders posted his scoring high at Portland State with 15 points (6-10 FG, 2-3 3-pt, 1-1 FT), two rebounds, two assists and three steals against Lewis and Clark, then added 10 points, three rebounds and two assists against Lewis and Clark.
• TRIPLE DOUBLE-DOUBLE: SR G Jorell Saterfield nearly had the second triple-double in school history on Saturday as he posted a season-high 25 points (8-15 FG, 4-9 3-pt, 5-6 FT) with career-highs of 10 rebounds and eight assists, as well as two steals... joining Saterfield with double-doubles in the win were SR F Hunter Woods with season-highs of 12 points, 11 rebounds and three assists, and JR C Hayden Curtiss with 14 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots. 
• POSSESSION IS 9/10 OF THE LAW: After losing point guard Cameron Parker to graduation last season, one concern for the Vikings in 2023-24 was ball-handling. Well, fear not... the Vikings average a mere 9.6 turnovers per game this season which ranks second in the Big Sky Conference and 19th in the nation... PSU's turnover margin is a +3.7 per game... the team assist-to-turnover ratio is 1.50 - also second in the Big Sky.
• THE BENCH BUNCH: Nine different players have started games for the Vikings this season. But, no matter who starts, the bench always seems to produce. PSU has scored 282 bench points (28.2 per game) so far this season... last year, the Vikings averaged 27.9 points per game off the bench to rank 12th in the nation.
• THIS SEASON, THE VIKINGS HAVE NEVER LOST WHEN...: Playing at home (4-0)... leading at halftime (5-0)... out-shooting an opponent from the field (5-0)... out-rebounding an opponent (5-0)... scoring 80 or more points (3-0).

 

ODD STAT OF THE WEEK DEPARTMENT

After 10 games (as of Dec. 11), Portland State leads the Big Sky Conference in team scoring (74.6 points per game). However, PSU's leading scorer - SR F KJ Allen - ranks only in a tie for 25th among all players in the league (10.5 ppg). The oddity is a matter of the Vikings spreading the wealth in their offense. Seven players average between 6.8 points and 10.5 points per game.
 

BEST STARTS FOR THE VIKINGS IN PROGRAM HISTORY

While level of play and quality of schedule has varied over the years, it is worth noting that the Vikings have matched their best-ever five-, six-, seven- and nine-game records in program history this year. The program competed at the NAIA level in the 1950s (while actually being a two-year school up until 1954), and the NCAA College Division level for much of the 1960s (forerunner of Division II), and Division I independent in the 1970s.
     
PSU's five- and six-game records this season are the best-ever during the Big Sky Conference era (1996-present). Best records by games played are listed below with Division I-level records underlined. The current Vikings have a chance for a few more entries on this list.
 
BEST RECORDS
5-game 5-0: 1976-77, 2023-24
6-game 5-1: 1976-77, 2023-24
7-game 6-1: 1976-77, 2008-09, 2023-24
8-game 7-1: 2008-09
9-game 7-2: 1950-51, 1955-56, 1958-59, 1976-77, 2008-09, 2017-18, 2023-24
10-game 8-2: 1950-51, 1955-56, 1958-59, 2017-18, 2023-24
11-game 9-2: 1950-51, 1955-56
12-game 9-3: 1950-51, 1955-56, 2008-09, 2017-18
13-game 10-3: 1950-51, 1966-67, 2008-09, 2017-18
 

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 792 bench minutes out of 2000 total minutes, getting 282 points and 146 rebounds from the backups.

• The bench is shooting better than the starters. PSU shoots 108-241 (.448) off the bench and 162-385 (.421) from the starters.
• The Vikings have had all available players appear in eight of 10 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%).