PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (9-3, 0-0)
at EASTERN WASHINGTON EAGLES (4-7, 0-0)

Thursday, December 28, 2023, 6 p.m. • Reese Court (5,000), Cheney, WA
Live Stream: ESPN+
Live Stats: www.ViksLive.com

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OPENING TIP

The Portland State Vikings bring as much optimism to the start of the 2023-24 Big Sky Conference schedule as they ever have. And, why not? The Vikings go into Thursday night's Big Sky opener at Eastern Washington with the best non-conference record in the league (9-3) and a knack for coming up big when they have needed to in the early season.
     
The Vikings pulled out their third buzzer-beater of the season in their most recent game, a 75-72 overtime win at Fresno State on Dec. 18. SR F KJ Allen buried a three-pointer to close out the game and give PSU one of its best non-conference records ever.
     
Allen leads Portland State in scoring (10.6) and rebounding (6.1), but the Vikings have five players averaging between 9.3 and 10.6 points per game. SO G Ismail Habib has a team-high 35 assists while SR G Bobby Harvey leads the team in three-point field goals (27).
     
It will have been nine days between games, but the Vikings hope that momentum, and a 4-2 road record, carry some weight into the game with Eastern Washington.
     
Make no mistake, PSU will be starting Big Sky play facing some big challenges. The Eagles are the defending Big Sky regular season champions, and have beaten PSU seven straight times.
     
Eastern Washington goes into the game at 4-7, but has only played twice at home - both of which were wins - while the road schedule has included five (!) Pac-12 opponents. Among common opponents, like the Vikings, Eastern Washington has beaten Air Force and Cal Poly on the road, with a 10-point road loss at Washington State. Also like the Vikings, Eastern Washington has a similar balanced attack with six players averaging between 9.4 and 11.6 points per game.
     
Following Thursday's game, the Vikings play an improved Idaho squad (6-6) Saturday on the road.
     
This week's games continue a run of road games for PSU - numbers three and four in a five-game road trip. It will wrap up with a final non-conference game at Kansas City on Jan. 6 as part of the Big Sky Conference-Summit League Challenge.
     
This Thursday's game tips off at Reese Court in Cheney at 6 p.m. All Big Sky Conference games can be seen on ESPN+. Live statistics are available at www.ViksLive.com.
 

A QUICK LOOK BACK AT NON-CONFERENCE PLAY

Portland State's non-conference performance has been impressive (the Vikings play one more non-conference game on Jan. 6 at Kansas City).  The Vikings have gone 9-3, matching their best 12-game record in school history. PSU also matched best-ever marks for five games (5-0), six games (5-1), seven games (6-1), nine games (7-2) and 10 games (8-2). The five- and six-game marks were the best ever at the Division I level.
     
The Vikings are 4-0 at home, 4-2 on the road, and 1-1 in neutral site games. Eight of the 12 games have been decided by seven points or less. PSU is 6-2 in those games.
     
PSU can boast wins over teams from the West Coast (Portland), Mountain West (Air Force, Fresno State), 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.
     
Highlights of the first 12 games have unquestionably been the three game-winning shots by the Vikings. SO G Ismail Habib had the first two in the span of 11 days. First, he hit a half-court, three-point shot at the buzzer to take down California Baptist, 66-63, on Nov. 17. Then, he made a driving hoop with 0.6 seconds remaining to beat Portland, 75-74, on Nov. 28. In the Vikings final non-conference game before the start of league play, SR F KJ Allen buried a three-pointer with 0.2 seconds remaining in overtime for a 75-72 Viking win at Fresno State.
     
The Vikings are loaded with talent and depth, but have no "stars" or one player they rely on night after night. Allen leads the team in scoring (10.6) and rebounding (6.1) with modest numbers. However, five Vikings average between 9.3 points and 10.6 points.  Another five Vikings average between 4.0 and 6.1 rebounds. Three different Vikings have between 27 and 35 assists. Moreover, it has been PSU's grit that gets the job done. The Vikings have a +3.2 turnover margin, a +1.3 rebound margin, average 12 offensive boards a game, and have 20 more steals than their opponents. Said Jase Coburn after the team's win at Fresno State, "We have to win in the margins - play good defense, rebound, win all the 50-50 balls. I give our guys credit, every time there was a loose ball tonight, we had guys diving on it," said Coburn. "These guys are great people and they never give up. I have got a good team."
 
PSU'S BEST NON-CONFERENCE RECORDS - BIG SKY ERA: Season-to-season, the quality, competition and number of games in the non-conference schedule varies, but here is a look at PSU's best non-conference records since joining the Big Sky Conference in 1996-97 (non-conference records do not count Big Sky Tournament or NCAA Tournament games).
 
Year        W-L   Pct.   Finish
2017-18  10-3 .769    20-14
2023-24  9-3   .750      ?
2008-09  10-4 .714    23-10
1998-99  7-3   .700    17-11
1999-00  8-4   .667    15-14
2006-07  9-5   .643    19-13
2010-11  9-5   .643   14-16
2016-17  7-4   .636    15-16
2004-05  8-5   .615    19-9
     

COMING UP

Portland State plays at Idaho on Saturday afternoon in a 1 p.m. game on ESPN+. The Vikings will then have a week off before traveling to Kansas City on Jan. 6 as part of the Big Sky Conference-Summit League Challenge.
     
The Vikings return home on Jan. 11 to face Idaho State. That begins a span of six out of eight games in Viking Pavilion.
 

GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE vs. EASTERN WASHINGTON

• ALL-TIME SERIES: Eastern Washington leads the all-time series, 31-27, and the Big Sky Conference series, 30-24. The Eagles have won the last seven meetings including both games last year... PSU is 9-19 all-time in Cheney, 8-19 in Big Sky games in Cheney.
• LAST SEASON: Jan. 5, 2023 at Reese Court, EWU 92, PSU 80: The Eagles were down six with eight minutes to play before going on a 28-10 run down the stretch to pick up the win. The Eagles shot 30-51 from the field (.588), making 16-31 from behind the arc (.516). Portland State couldn't match those numbers, shooting 31-74 (.419) and 8-28 (.284) from distance... PSU stayed in the game by turning the Eagles over 20 times for 31 points. They also had 15 rebounds on the offensive glass for 15 points... Eastern Washington shooters had a big night, making eight straight shots from the field and 11-13 at one point in the second half - five of which were three-point field goals... All-Conference forward Steele Venters led Eastern Washington with 25 points. Angelo Allegri added 21 points and eight rebounds... Jorell Saterfield topped the Vikings with 21 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Hunter Woods scored 15 points and Bobby Harvey had a dozen points with six rebounds off the bench... PSU played without point guard Cameron Parker who was serving a one-game league suspension. Feb. 4, 2023 at Viking Pavilion, EWU 98, PSU 88: Eastern Washington won its 14th game in a row by shooting .667 from the field in both the first and second halves and finishing the game 34-51 overall... The Vikings were 30-68 from the field (.441), but only 7-29 from three-point range (.241). They stayed close by forcing turnovers (17 by EWU) and committing few of their own (7). PSU had 12 steals in the game... Cameron Parker scored a career-high 29 points, handed off 10 assists and also made a career-high five steals. Jorell Saterfield scored 16 points, and Hunter Woods scored nine with nine rebounds for the Vikings... Tyreese Davis had 27 points to lead five players in double figures for the Eagles. He made 9-11 from the field and a pair of three-pointers, 7-9 at the line while adding team-highs of six rebounds and five assists.
• COACHES: Vikings Coach Jase Coburn (Arizona State, 2006) is in his third season as Head Coach and is 35-39 overall. Coburn is 0-4 against Eastern Washington. He spent eight previous seasons on the Park Blocks as an Assistant and Associate Head Coach... the Eagles are coached by David Riley in his second season. Riley is 45-33 overall, 4-0 against the Vikings.

 

SCOUTING EASTERN WASHINGTON

• Eastern Washington is located in Cheney, WA. The Eagles program has won three Big Sky Conference regular season titles and three Big Sky Tournament titles, making three appearances in the NCAA Tournament since joining the Big Sky in 1987. The most recent came in 2021... Eastern was 23-11 last season, 16-2 in the Big Sky, winning the regular season title.
• This season, Eastern Washington is 4-7 overall, including 2-0 at home. The Eagles average 74.8 points and allow 74.4 points per game. Eastern leads the Big Sky Conference in assists (17.9).
• Junior forward Cedric Coward leads the team in scoring (11.6) and rebounding (6.1). Senior guard Ellis Magnuson tops the team with 3.4 assists per game. Senior guard Jake Kyman averages 10.6 points and has made a team-high 26 three-point field goals. Freshman forward LeJuan Watts is shooting a brilliant .697 from the field while averaging 9.6 points and 5.9 rebounds.

 

WHO IS HOT

• THE VIKINGS: Portland State has matched the best five-, six-, seven-, nine-, 10- and 12-game records in program history so far this season... the best 13-game start is 10-3, set four times previously, twice at the Division I level (see below).
• PASSERS: SO G Ismail Habib had eight assists at Fresno State, including dimes on the Vikings' final two baskets - the tying hoop by JR F Isaiah Johnson and the winning three-pointer by SR F KJ Allen. Habib has 16 assists in the last three games (5.3) and now leads the team with 35 (2.9) on the season... SR G Isiah Kiby has 17 assists (4.3) in the last four games. He has also made 9-15 shots in the last three games, averaging 6.7 points.
• THE BENCH BUNCH: Speaking of bench play, the Vikings have been producing all season when they make substitutions. PSU has scored 343 bench points (28.6 per game) so far to rank 41st in the nation and first in the Big Sky... last year, the Vikings averaged 27.9 points per game off the bench to rank 12th in the nation.
• LEADER OF THE BUNCH: JR F Isaiah Johnson had another big week while coming off the bench. In the two California games, Johnson averaged 14.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, had three steals and two blocks.
• 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 10.1 turnovers per game this season which ranks second in the Big Sky Conference and 37th in the nation... PSU's turnover margin is a +3.2 per game... the team assist-to-turnover ratio is 1.41 - first in the Big Sky.
• THIS SEASON, THE VIKINGS HAVE NEVER LOST WHEN...: Playing at home (4-0)... leading at halftime (6-0)... out-shooting an opponent from the field (5-0)... out-rebounding an opponent (6-0)... scoring 80 or more points (3-0).
• BIG SKY LEADERS: Portland State leads the Big Sky Conference in blocked shots (4.0), bench points (28.6) and winning percentage (.750).

 

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, 2023-24
13-game 10-3: 1950-51, 1966-67, 2008-09, 2017-18
 

GAME WINNERS: THEY ARE BECOMING A HABIT

Portland State already has three game-winning shots among its nine 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 six game-winning shots flipped the lead, while two broke a tie.
• Notably, the Vikings also scored in the flow of the game in four of the six 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.
• KJ MAKES ALL THE PLAYS: SR F KJ Allen's gamer capped a 10-point run in overtime for another comeback win, 75-72, over Fresno State. Allen came alive in overtime, scoring eight of the Vikings' 10 points on 3-3 shooting, and grabbing a key offensive rebound with 20 seconds left to set up the game winner. Down 72-65, Allen hit a three-point field goal with 2:05 left. After a Bulldogs miss, Allen scored again on a turnaround jump shot with 1:25 to play. After another Fresno State miss, JR F Isaiah Johnson scored inside and was fouled with 20 seconds left. With the game tied at 72-72, Johnson missed the go-ahead free throw. The ball was tipped around and Allen came up with it. PSU called timeout and set up a pick-and-roll play with SO G Ismail Habib and Allen. Allen screened, flared to the wing in front of the Viking bench, took a Habib pass and drilled a three-pointer with 0.2 seconds to play.