PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (10-14, 4-7) at NORTHERN COLORADO BEARS (9-16, 3-9)

Thursday, February 9, 2023, 5 p.m. PT • Bank of Colorado Arena (2,734), Greeley, CO
Live Stream: ESPN+
Live Stats: www.uncbears.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Complete notes and stats in pdf

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This week's Viking Podcast With Coach Jase Coburn 

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THE OPENING TIP

With seven games remaining on the Big Sky Conference regular season schedule, the Portland State Vikings have some work to be done. PSU is currently in seventh place in the 10-team Big Sky standings. As the Vikings look for the best possible seeding in next month's Big Sky Tournament, they aim to get sixth or higher in the standings to avoid a first-round game and go directly to the Big Sky quarterfinals.
     
On paper, this week's games would be a chance to start that move. The Vikings (10-14, 4-7) play a pair of teams behind them in the standings as they go on the road. Thursday night, PSU plays at Northern Colorado (9-16, 3-9), then Saturday the Vikings travel to Northern Arizona (6-19, 2-10). The Vikings have played each team at home already with games decided on the final shot. PSU lost to UNC, 69-67, on Jan. 14, but defeated NAU, 75-74, on Jan. 12.
     
Close games are a trademark of PSU's play and the Big Sky Conference in general. Six of the last eight that the Vikings have played have been decided by single digits. Portland State is 3-3 in those games, including the two with this week's opponents.
     
The Vikings come off a home split last week, beating Idaho, 69-66, then losing to first-place Eastern Washington, 98-88. SR G Cameron Parker has been on an absolute tear. He posted a career-high 29 points (9-18 FG, 10-12 FT) with 10 assists and a career-high five steals against the Eagles. Parker has averaged 23.8 points and 7.5 assists while shooting .542 from the field over the last four games. He leads PSU in scoring (16.4) and the Big Sky in assists (6.0) for the season.
     
PSU's final seven games include three at home and four on the road. The Vikings have a 4-7 road mark this season, 2-3 in the Big Sky. 
     
Portland State begins the week just one game behind sixth-place Sacramento State (5-6), who plays the same opponents. The Vikings are one-and-a-half games behind fifth-place Montana (6-6) and two behind fourth-place Idaho State (6-5). The Vikings will face all three of those teams down the stretch run.
     
Northern Colorado has been a bit perplexing this season. Picked for second place in preseason polling, the Bears have not lived up to that billing. They have, however, beaten the Vikings in their first meeting and feature some of the top individual talent in the Big Sky. That includes the senior guard Dalton Knecht who leads the league in scoring at 19.9 points per game and tallied 31 against the Vikings in their earlier meeting.
     
The Bears have a 3-6 home record and did impress on Monday night with a 88-54 pasting of Weber State in Greeley. Prior to that, the Bears had lost two in a row and 11 of their previous 13 games.
     
Thursday's game starts at 5 p.m. PT and can be seen on ESPN+.
 

COMING UP

Portland State returns home on Feb. 16 to host Idaho State, then Feb 18 against Weber State.
 

GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE vs. NORTHERN COLORADO

• THE SERIES: Portland State leads the all-time series, 23-14, and the Big Sky Conference series, 19-14... the Vikings are 9-7 in Big Sky games played at Northern Colorado... PSU swept the regular season series last year, but lost to the Bears in the Big Sky Tournament semifinal, 86-79.
• Jan. 14, 2023 at Viking Pavilion, UNC 69, PSU 67: Northern Colorado hung on to beat the Vikings at the wire, 69-67. The Vikings were down four points with 14 ticks remaining on the clock. UNC star Dalton Knecht had just swished a pair of free throws to cap his 31-point night and the Vikings were desperate. Cameron Parker took the ensuing inbound pass, raced the length of the court, got into the lane and hit a tough driving layin. That trimmed the score to 69-67 with 9.3 seconds left. Plenty of time for another miracle, right? Following a quick timeout Portland State immediately got the break it needed. The Vikings' dogged press caused the Bears' Daylen Kountz to step on the end line after catching the inbound pass. Suddenly, it was Viking basketball with 7.7 seconds left under their own basket.PSU inbounded and found Jorell Saterfield in the corner. He let fly with a tying 20-foot  jumper. The ball rimmed out, but was rebounded by Hunter Woods, who quickly tossed it back at the rim. The ball fell away and the Vikings were denied a chance at an improbable win... PSU was ahead 58-44 with 8:52 left to play when the Bears leapt into action. UNC went on a 13-point run - the last 11 of which came from Knecht - and it was game on with five minutes to play... Parker led Portland State with 14 points, seven assists and five rebounds. Bobby Harvey came off the bench to hit five of six field goals, including three three-pointers for 13 points... Knecht was the star of the show with 31 points on 11-21 from the field, 6-13 from distance and 3-3 at the line. He also led the Bears with six rebounds... Portland State's bench scored 35 of the Vikings' 67 points, combining to make 15-22 shots from the field (.682).
• COACHES: Vikings Coach Jase Coburn (Arizona State, 2006) is in his second season as Head Coach and has a 24-31 record overall. He is 2-2 against Northern Colorado. Coburn spent eight previous seasons on the Park Blocks as an Assistant and Associate Head Coach... the Bears are coached by Steve Smiley in his third season. He has a 40-42 career record, including 3-3 against the Vikings.

 

SCOUTING NORTHERN COLORADO

• Northern Colorado joined the Big Sky Conference in 2006-07. The Bears have won one Big Sky Championship, playing in the NCAA Tournament in 2011.
• Northern Colorado is 9-16 this season, 3-9 and tied for eighth place in the Big Sky Conference. The Bears average 71.3 points and allow a league-high 77.2 points. UNC leads the league in three-pointers made per game (8.6).
• Senior forward Dalton Knecht leads the Big Sky Conference in scoring at 19.9 points per game. He  also leads the Bears with 7.0 rebounds, 62 three-point field goals and 13 blocked shots.
• Senior guard Daylen Kountz is averaging 16.4 points and 3.3 assists per game... senior guard Matt Johnson averages 11.8 points, 3.5 assists and has made 54 three-pointers.

 

WHO IS HOT

• PARKER PUSHING THE PEDAL: SR G Cameron Parker's play has been elevating in recent weeks. Parker has averaged 23.8 points and 7.5 assists in the last four games, making 32-59 from the field (.542)... he has led the team in scoring in each of the last nine games (19.6)... Parker scored a career-high 29 points (9-18 FG, 10-12 FT) with 10 assists and a career-high five steals against Eastern Washington... He now leads the team in scoring (16.4) and the Big Sky in assists (6.0)... Parker ranks third in the nation in free throws made and fifth in attempts (143-172) and is shooting .831 at the line this year. He ranks eighth in the nation in assists.
• THE BENCH BUNCH: Portland State has had solid bench play all season and averages 29.2 points per game off the bench to rank 13th in the nation... the Viking bench had 29 points and shot 12-23 from the field (.522) against Eastern Washington... SR G Bobby Harvey leads the bench bunch with 7.1 points per game and has made 41 threes (.383)... SO C Hayden Curtiss leads the team with a .600 field goal percentage off the bench (18-30) while SO F Isaiah Johnson is shooting .556 (60-108) and SO F Kendall Munson shoots .537 (22-41)... players coming off the bench also have 39 of PSU's 71 blocked shots.
• PORTAL PRODUCTION: SO F Isaiah Johnson was a late addition to the Vikings' roster last summer after leaving Oregon State. He is proving to be a great addition... in the last 11 games Johnson has averaged 8.1 points and shot over 60% from the field.
• BOBBY THREE-BALL: SR G Bobby Harvey has made at least one three-point field goal in 20 straight games. His 41 for the season rank second on the team with JR F Hunter Woods. He is averaging 8.0 points over the last seven games.
• IN A HURRY: Portland State is first in the Big Sky Conference and 11th in the nation in fast break points (15.4 pg).
• BIG SKY LEADERS: Portland State leads the Big Sky Conference in turnover margin (+4.3), turnovers forced (16.6), and steals (7.7)... the Vikings are 18th in the nation in turnovers forced... SR G Cameron Parker leads in assists (6.0).

 

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 26-13 (.667) in February, including 5-2 last year. (2018: 5-3; 2019: 5-3; 2020: 5-2; 2021: 5-2; 2022: 5-2; 2023: 1-1)
• PSU is 52-51 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 nine of the 11 games played so far. Of those nine games, PSU is 4-5. Among the six games decided by single-digits, PSU is 3-3, including 2-1 in games decided by three or less.
 

GRAND LARCENY

Remarkably, Portland State has led the Big Sky Conference in team steals per game for the past seven seasons. They lead once again with an 7.7 mark through 24 games. Thievery on the basketball court was also prevalent during the Barret Peery and Tyler Geving coaching eras. In addition, PSU has had two individual steals leaders. A look:
 
Season, steals per game
2015-16: 8.5
2016-17: 9.9, individual: Calaen Robinson, 2.35
2017-18: 9.8
2018-19: 8.3
2019-20: 8.7, individual: Holland Woods, 2.06
2020-21: 8.2
2021-22: 9.3
2022-23: 7.7
 

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 1,253 career points and 764 career assists in 131 career games. He is one of only two active players with 1,000 career points and 700 career assists... Parker currently ranks 50th on the NCAA's all-time assist list... Jalen Pickett of Penn State has 1,949 points and 758 assists in 130 career games... Yuri Collins of Saint Louis has career totals of 897 points and 778 assists. He is the active NCAA assist leader (41st all-time). Parker is currently number two among active assist leaders.