WEBER STATE WILDCATS (14-13, 9-5) at PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (12-15, 6-8)

Saturday, February 18, 2023, 7 p.m. • Viking Pavilion (3,094), Portland, OR
Live Stream: ESPN+ • Play-by-play: Matt Richert • Analyst: Devon Pouncey
Live Stats: www.ViksLive.com
Complete notes and stats in pdf

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Game Presented by Les Schwab • StrickCity Night

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THE OPENING TIP

A little redemption is available to the Portland State Vikings as they take on third-place Weber State this Saturday night in Viking Pavilion. PSU will try to redeem itself from the only Big Sky Conference game this season the Vikings felt they weren't competitive in, an 84-68 loss at Weber State on Jan. 19. The Vikings host the Wildcats in a 7 p.m. game available on ESPN+. The game is presented by Les Schwab and it will be StrickCity Night, honoring the legacy of Deante Strickland.
     
The Vikings (12-15, 6-8) come off a big 79-70 win over Idaho State on Thursday night. That moved them into a tie for fifth place with the Bengals in the Big Sky standings. PSU holds the tie-breaker advantage by virtue of a season sweep.
     
The win also marked the ninth game of 14 in Big Sky play that has been decided by single digits. PSU is 5-4 in those games, 3-1 in games decided by three points or less. Other games have been decided by 10, 11, 12 and 16 (a win over Idaho and the loss to WSU).
     
Portland State intends to make Saturday's game much closer than the first one with the Wildcats and extend its winning streak to three. PSU is 3-2 in the month of February, continuing a trend of success in the last six seasons in which the Vikings have compiled a 28-14 February record (.667) compared to a .406 Big Sky record in all other months.
     
PSU's last two wins have had one thing in common: outstanding shooting. The Vikings posted a 57% shooting mark from the field in both games - their best shooting against any Division I opponents this season - and a combined 46% from three-point range.
     
Thursday's win came with a shortened roster as SR G Mikal Starks and JR G Isiah Kirby were both out with injuries. Still, PSU received big contributions up and down the line. SR G Cameron Parker led the team in scoring for the 12th game in a row with 18 points and a season-high 12 assists. JR F Hunter Woods had 14 points, six rebounds and three assists. JR G Jorell Saterfield went for 12 points and six rebounds. JR G Keshaun Saunders had nine points, three rebounds and three assists in a starting role in place of Starks. And, SR G Bobby Harvey and JR F Isaiah Johnson were strong off the bench again, combining for 20 points.
     
Weber State (14-13, 9-5), sitting in third place in the Big Sky, comes off a different kind of win on Thursday, 52-49 at Sacramento State. The Wildcats shot only 40% from the field but pulled out the victory in a much slower-paced game.
     
PSU will need to find a way to solve All-Conference forward Dillon Jones, who leads the Wildcats in scoring (15.7), rebounding (10.8), assists (3.7) and steals (1.6). Jones had 17 points, 14 rebounds, eight assists and three steals in the first meeting with the Vikings.
     
Weber State is 6-8 in road games this season, 4-3 in Big Sky Conference road games. Portland State is now 6-5 at home, 3-4 in Big Sky home games.
     

BIG SKY CONFERENCE STANDINGS

1. Eastern Washington, 14-0, vs. UNC; at WSU; at ISU; vs. MSU
2. Montana State, 11-3, vs. UM; vs. SAC; vs. PSU; at EWU
3. Weber State, 9-5, at PSU; vs. EWU; vs. UI; at NAU
4. Montana, 8-6, at MSU; vs. PSU; vs. SAC; at UI
t5. Portland State, 6-8, vs. WSU; at UM; at MSU; vs. SAC
t5. Idaho State, 6-8, at SAC; vs. UI; vs. EWU; at UNC
t6. Sacramento State, 5-9, vs. ISU; at MSU; at UM; at PSU
8. Northern Colorado, 5-10, at EWU; vs. NAU; vs. ISU
9. Idaho, 4-10, vs. NAU; at ISU; at WSU; vs. UM
10. Northern Arizona, 3-12, at UI; at UNC; vs. WSU
 

2023 Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Championship Schedule
Idaho Central Arena, Boise, ID

 
Saturday, March 4, 2023 (First Round)
Game 1: #9 Seed vs. #10 Seed, 4:30 p.m. PT (ESPN+)
Game 2: #7 Seed vs. #8 Seed, 7 p.m. PT (ESPN+)
 
Sunday, March 5, 2023 (Quarterfinals)
Game 3: #1 Seed vs. Game 1 Winner, 4:30 p.m. PT (ESPN+)
Game 4: #2 Seed vs. Game 2 Winner, 7 p.m. PT (ESPN+)
 
Monday, March 6, 2023 (Quarterfinals)
Game 5: #4 Seed vs. #5 Seed, 4:30 p.m. PT (ESPN+)
Game 6: #3 Seed vs. #6 Seed, 7 p.m. PT (ESPN+)
 
Tuesday, March 7, 2023 (Semifinals)
Game 7: Game 3 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner, 5:30 p.m. PT (ESPNU)
Game 8: Game 4 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner, 8 p.m. PT (ESPN2)
 
Wednesday, March 8, 2023 (Championship)
Game 9: Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner, 8:30 p.m. PT (ESPN2)
 

GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE vs. WEBER STATE

• THE SERIES: Weber State leads the all-time series, 44-18, and the Big Sky Conference series, 40-18... Portland State leads 14-13 in Big Sky games played in Portland... PSU has won four of the last seven meetings overall.
• Jan. 19, 2023 at Ogden, WSU 84, PSU 68: Weber State had one of those nights and the Vikings had no answer. WSU shot 31-54 (.574) from the field for the game to only 20-51 for the Vikings (.392). Combined with a 40-22 rebounding advantage, the Wildcats had a relatively easy time of it... Weber State turned it on late in the first half, going on a 16-1 run to go into the locker room with a 51-29 lead. The Wildcats continued the onslaught in the second half, making six of their first eight field goal attempts and pushing the lead to 30 points... Portland State was led by Cameron Parker's 13 points, five rebounds and three assists. Bobby Harvey made three three-pointers in his role off the bench for nine points and five rebounds... All-Conference forward Dillon Jones had a big game for the Wildcats with 17 points, 14 rebounds, eight assists and three steals. Verplancken finished with 19 points.
• COACHES: Vikings Coach Jase Coburn (Arizona State, 2006) is in his second season as Head Coach and has a 26-32 record overall. He is 1-2 against Weber State. Coburn spent eight previous seasons on the Park Blocks as an Assistant and Associate Head Coach... the Wildcats are coached by Eric Duft in his first season. He was a long-time assistant prior to being named head coach.

 

WEBER STATE

• Weber State is an original member of the Big Sky Conference. The Wildcats have won 22 Big Sky regular season championships, 10 Big Sky Tournament Championships and made 16 appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
• Weber State is 14-13 on the season, 9-5 and third place in the Big Sky Conference. The Wildcats average 66.2 points and allow 67.3 points per game.
• Sophomore forward Dillon Jones is the star of the Wildcat program and one of the top players in the Big Sky Conference. He averages 15.7 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.6 steals per game.
• Junior guard Steven Verplancken is the team's top three-point shooter, having made 52 from distance and shooting a .413 percentage. Verplancken, who had 19 points in the first meeting with the Vikings, averages 12.8 points per game.

 

WHO IS HOT

• IN THE END, IT'S ALL ABOUT SHOOTING: You can be good at a lot of things on the basketball court, but in the end, you have to put the biscuit in the basket. The last two games, the Vikings have done just that, making a combined 65-114 from the field (.570) and 17-37 from three-point range (.459). The result has been two wins. PSU averaged 83.5 points in the two games.
• PARKER PUSHING THE PEDAL: SR G Cameron Parker's play has been stellar in recent weeks. Parker has averaged 23.7 points and 7.4 assists in the last seven games, making 54-94 shots from the field (.574)... he has led the team in scoring in each of the last 12 games (20.6)... Parker was named Big Sky Conference Player of the Week on back-to-back weeks (Feb. 7 and Feb. 14). He combined to average 26.0 points and 6.5 assists in those four games... Parker leads the team in scoring (17.2) and the Big Sky in assists (6.2)... Parker ranks fourth in the nation in free throws made and attempted (165-199) and is shooting .829 at the line this year. He ranks seventh in the nation in assists.
• THE BENCH BUNCH: Portland State has had solid bench play all season and averages 29.4 points per game off the bench to rank 11th in the nation... the Viking bench had 37 points and 17 rebounds at Northern Colorado on Thursday, then followed that with 34 points and eight rebounds at Northern Arizona on Saturday... against Idaho State SO F Isaiah Johnson had 12 points while SR G Bobby Harvey scored eight points... Harvey had a big game at NAU with 16 points (6-9 FG, 4-7 3-pt), five rebounds and three assists... Johnson had nine points (4-5 FG, 1-4 FT), two steals and the dramatic game-winning shot... Harvey leads the bench bunch with 7.5 points per game and has made 49 threes (.389). Johnson (6.6 ppg) and Kirby (6.3 ppg) follow close behind... SO C Hayden Curtiss leads the team with a .613 field goal percentage off the bench (19-31) while Johnson is shooting .562 (73-130) and SO F Kendall Munson shoots .551 (27-49)... players coming off the bench also have 45 of PSU's 86 blocked shots.
• IN A HURRY: Portland State is first in the Big Sky Conference and 11th in the nation in fast break points (15.1 pg)... the Vikings are also 15th in the nation in turnover margin.
• BIG SKY LEADERS: Portland State leads the Big Sky Conference in turnover margin (+4.1), turnovers forced (16.2), blocked shots (3.2) and steals (7.4)... SR G Cameron Parker leads in assists (6.2).

 

NO FOOLS IN FEBRUARY

The month of February has been a good one for the Vikings in Big Sky Conference play in recent seasons. This season the Vikings play nine games during February's 28 days, with five at home and four on the road.

• In the past six seasons the Vikings are 28-14 (.667) in February, including 5-2 last year. (2018: 5-3; 2019: 5-3; 2020: 5-2; 2021: 5-2; 2022: 5-2; 2023: 3-2)
• PSU is 54-52 in Big Sky games overall the last six seasons, which means the Vikings were 26-38 (.406) in non-February games.

 

BIG SKY PLAY NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART

For a testament to how closely-contested games are in the Big Sky Conference look no further than Portland State. The Vikings have held second-half leads in 11 of the 14 games played so far. Of those 11 games, PSU is 6-5. Among the nine games decided by single-digits, PSU is 5-4, including 3-1 in games decided by three or less... for the season, the Vikings are 5-2 in games decided by four points or less.
 

1,000-700... THERE ARE ONLY TWO

SR G Cameron Parker passed 1,000 career points earlier this season then passed 700 career assists at Sacramento State on Dec. 31. Parker currently has 1,324 career points and 786 career assists in 134 career games. He is one of only two active players with 1,000 career points and 700 career assists... Parker currently ranks 37th on the NCAA's all-time assist list... Jalen Pickett of Penn State has 2,022 points and 779 assists in 133 career games... Yuri Collins of Saint Louis has career totals of 933 points and 803 assists. He is the active NCAA assist leader (33rd all-time). Parker is currently number two among active assist leaders.