PORTLAND STATE (8-3)
at FRESNO STATE BULLDOGS (6-4)

Monday, December 18, 2023, 7 p.m. • Save Mart Center (15,596), Fresno, CA
Live Stream: https://gobulldogs.com/sports/2016/6/8/videos
Live Stats: www.ViksLive.com

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OPENING TIP

Portland State will seek a split on its final non-conference road trip when the Vikings take on Fresno State Monday night in The Valley. PSU and the Bulldogs will be meeting on the basketball floor for the first time in 43 years.
     
The Vikings (8-3) come off a narrow loss to San Diego on Friday night, 69-65. PSU rallied back from double-digit deficits in both the first and second halves to lead, but came up just short at the end. The Vikings had a rough shooting night at 21-60 from the field (.350), including only 9-37 (.243) from the starters. Great efforts off the bench by JR F Isaiah Johnson (16 pts, 6 reb), SR G Bobby Harvey (15 pts, 6 reb, 5-8 3-pt FG) and SR G Isiah Kirby (5 pts, 4 ast) had the Vikings in the lead with less than three minutes left in the game, but PSU was out-played at the end.
     
Despite the loss, PSU still maintains the best record of any Big Sky Conference team and has had success on the road (3-2 road, 4-3 all games away from home).
     
Now the Vikings move on to face a program with which it is unfamiliar. Fresno State, a Mountain West Conference team, goes into Monday's game with a 6-4 record, including 5-1 at home. The Bulldogs beat CSU Bakersfield, 61-58, on Friday night for their third win in a row.
     
Fresno State has one common opponent with the Vikings, having lost to UC Santa Barbara, 69-65, at home. The Vikings beat UCSB, 82-76, on the road. FSU has also beaten Idaho State of the Big Sky Conference, 79-67. PSU has beaten Air Force of the Mountain West, 62-55.
     
Portland State and Fresno State haven't met since November 29, 1980 and have only played four times in their history. The Vikings will seek a first-ever win over the Bulldogs.
     
Although PSU missed a chance for a "best-ever" record against San Diego, it will have a chance to match a "best-ever" (9-3) with a win over Fresno State. The mark has been accomplished four times previously in PSU history, twice at the Division I level.
     
Monday's game will be the second of five straight on the road for the Vikings. It tips off at 7 p.m. at Save Mart Center in Fresno and will air on the Mountain West Digital Network. Live statistics are available at www.ViksLive.com.
 

COMING UP

Portland State will take a week off for the Christmas holiday. Big Sky Conference play begins on the road at Eastern Washington on Dec. 28, then Idaho on Dec. 30. PSU has one more non-conference game, Jan. 6 at Kansas City, as part of the Big Sky Conference - Summit League Challenge.
 

GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE vs. FRESNO STATE

• ALL-TIME SERIES: Portland State and Fresno State will meet for the first time in 43 years. The last meeting between the teams was Nov. 29, 1980 in Fresno, a 96-65 Bulldog win... FSU leads the series 4-0. All four games took place between 1967 and 1980.
• PORTLAND STATE vs. MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE: Portland State is 25-54 all-time against current members of the Mountain West Conference. The Vikings beat Air Force of the MWC, 62-55, earlier this season... Head Coach Jase Coburn is 2-1 all-time against the Mountain West.
• COACHES: Vikings Coach Jase Coburn (Arizona State, 2006) is in his third season as Head Coach and is 34-39 overall. Coburn has never faced Fresno State. He spent eight previous seasons on the Park Blocks as an Assistant and Associate Head Coach... the Bulldogs are coached by Justin Hutson (CSU Bakersfield, 1994) in his sixth season. Hutson has an 86-77 record and has never faced the Vikings.

 

SCOUTING FRESNO STATE

• Fresno State is a member of the Mountain West Conference. The Bulldogs were 11-20 last season, 6-12 and ninth in the MWC.
• Fresno State is 6-4 this year, including 5-1 at home. The Bulldogs have won three games in a row... FSU shoots a solid .492 from the field and .362 from three-point range, averaging 72.8 points while allowing 71.9. A weakness has been turnovers as the Bulldogs have a -3.4 turnover margin.
• Senior guard Isaiah Hill averages 14.3 points and 6.1 assists per game. Hill has made 20 three-point field goals and shoots .844 at the free throw line... senior guard Xavier DuSell averages 10.3 points and has made a team-high 26 threes... also averaging 10.3 points is senior guard Donavan Yap Jr. He shoots .897 at the line.

 
 

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 12-game start is 9-3, set four times previously, twice at the Division I level (see below).
• BENCH BOOST: Portland State struggled offensively at San Diego, shooting only .350 from the field. Fortunately, the efforts of three Vikings off the bench kept them in the game. SR G Bobby Harvey (15 pts, 6 reb, 5-8 3-pt), JR F Isaiah Johnson (16 pts, 6 reb) and SR G Isiah Kirby (5 pts, 4 ast) combined for 36 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and three blocked shots. They shot 12-22 from the field and 7-11 from three-point range... Harvey's five three-point field goals are the most he has made in a game as a Viking.
• THE BENCH BUNCH: Speaking of bench play, the Vikings have been producing all season when they make substitutions. PSU has scored 319 bench points (29.0 per game) so far to rank 40th in the nation... last year, the Vikings averaged 27.9 points per game off the bench to rank 12th in the nation.
• NEW KID ON THE BLOCK: JR C Hayden Curtiss has started the last three games for the Vikings. In that time he has averaged 11.7 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3.7 blocked shots. Curtiss now averages 1.3 blocks per game and is tied for second in the Big Sky Conference.
• 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 9.7 turnovers per game this season which ranks first in the Big Sky Conference and 20th in the nation... PSU's turnover margin is a +3.5 per game... the team assist-to-turnover ratio is 1.48 - second in the Big Sky.
• 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).

 

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
 

NON-CONFERENCE CALL

Portland State had a chance for a win over at least one team in every major conference in the west before losing at Washington, 71-61, on Dec. 2. So, no Pac-12 win this year, but 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). One more conference is a possibility when the Vikings play Kansas City of the Summit League on Jan. 6.