IDAHO STATE BENGALS (5-10, 0-2) at
PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (10-5, 1-1)

Thursday, January 11, 2024, 7 p.m. • Viking Pavilion (3,094), Portland, OR
Live Stream: ESPN+ • Play-by-play: Matt Richert • Analyst: Devon Pouncey
Live Stats: wwViksLive.com 

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OPENING TIP

Portland State dives headlong into Big Sky Conference play this week with a pair of home games against Idaho State and Weber State at Viking Pavilion. Those games begin an eight-week stretch of 16 games leading into the Big Sky Conference Tournament, Mar. 9-13, in Boise, ID.
     
The Vikings (10-5, 1-1) welcome the opportunity to play at home after what will be a 33-day span away from Viking Pavilion. PSU has played five road games since its last appearance at home, going 2-3. Overall, the Vikings have had a strong first half of the season, with a 10-5 mark, 4-0 at home, 5-4 on the road and 1-1 in neutral site games.
     
But, with 11 of 15 games away from home, the balance has to shift at some point. And the shift occurs this week. PSU opens a span of six of the next eight games at home, and eight of the next 12. The Vikings host Idaho State (5-10, 0-2) on Thursday night at 7 p.m., then Weber State (11-4, 2-0) on Saturday at 4 p.m. New this season for Portland State is Saturday home games now tipping at 4 p.m.
     
Through 15 games, SR F KJ Allen has established himself as the top Viking, averaging team-highs of 10.9 points and 6.5 rebounds. SR G Bobby Harvey has hit the most three-point field goals for the Vikings (31), SO G Ismail Habib leads in assists (42), and JR C Hayden Curtiss is among the league leaders in blocked shots (18).
     
PSU is currently tied for fourth in the Big Sky at 1-1 after opening on the road in the final week of December with a loss at Eastern Washington and a win at Idaho. The Vikings take on an Idaho State team that seeks its first Big Sky win. PSU has had a lot of success against the Bengals in recent seasons, winning the last six meetings with the Bengals, nine of the last 10 and 12 of 14.
     
PSU and ISU have two common opponents - St. Thomas and Fresno State. The Vikings split those games, beating Fresno State, while the Bengals lost both.
     
In order to have success at home, the Vikings will need to find their shooting touch. In the five-game road swing, PSU managed to eclipse the 40% shooting mark only twice. PSU was 112-295 (.380) from the field in those five games. The team shooting percentage has dropped from .431 to .415 over that span. In the past three games, the Vikings are only 17-61 from three-point range (.279).
     
On the other side, Idaho State has shot an impressive .470 as a team this season and out-rebounded its opponents by nearly two per game. That belies the 5-10 record, but the Bengals have also allowed opponents to shoot .473 from the field.
     
ISU had lost six straight before a 63-62 win over Omaha last Saturday. The Bengals bring a 1-7 road record to the Pavilion.
     
This week's games - and all games for the remainder of the season - can be seen on ESPN+. Live statistics are available at www.ViksLive.com. 
 

COMING UP

Portland State hosts Weber State on Saturday at Viking Pavilion. It will be the start of PSU's new Saturday game times as tip off will be 4 p.m. All Saturday conference games will be at 4 p.m. Weeknight game times will remain at 7 p.m.
     
The Vikings are on the road next week at Northern Arizona and Northern Colorado, then come home for four straight games.
 

GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE vs. IDAHO STATE

• ALL-TIME SERIES: Portland State leads the all-time series with Idaho State, 41-22, and the Big Sky Conference series, 37-18. That is the best PSU record against any Big Sky opponent... the Vikings are 22-6 in Big Sky home games against the Bengals... PSU swept the season series last year and has won six straight against ISU, nine of the last 10 and 12 of 14... the Vikings are also 3-0 all-time in Big Sky Tournament games against the Bengals.
• LAST SEASON: Jan. 12, 2023 at Pocatello, PSU 72, ISU 65: Portland State's bench delivered again. The Vikings had a career-high 16 points from Isaiah Johnson and a dozen from Bobby Harvey in picking up the road win... Against Idaho State, the reserves poured in 32 points. Highlighting that effort was Johnson who hit 7-10 shots from the field, adding four rebounds and three assists in 24 minutes. Harvey made 4-6 from the field and 2-4 three-pointers with three rebounds in 21 minutes... The Vikings were solid throughout the contest, leading for the final 31 minutes and were up by double digits for most of the second half. PSU shot .469 from the field and .826 at the line, including 15-19 in the second half when the Bengals were resorting to fouls to try to make a comeback... The Bengals scored 11 points in the final minute of the game to close the margin to seven... PSU's bench made 13-24 field goals (.542) and had 13 of the team's 29 rebounds. The Vikings won the battle on the backboards, 29-22... Cameron Parker led the way for Portland State with 17 points, six assists and four rebounds... Brayden Parker and Miguel Tomley each scored 17 points for the Bengals. Idaho State's bench managed only 11 points. Feb. 16, 2023 at Viking Pavilion, PSU 79, ISU 70: PSU shot 57% including a 59% second-half shooting effort... Cameron Parker led the Vikings in scoring with 18 points and added a season-high 12 assists. Hunter Woods had 14 points, a team-high six rebounds and three assists. Jorell Saterfield scored 12 points with six rebounds, and Isaiah Johnson tallied 12 points off the bench... PSU finished at 30-53 from the field (.566) and 8-17 from three-point range (.471)... Brayden Parker scored 26 points on 12-17 shooting for the Bengals. Brock Mackenzie scored 12 points with six assists.
• COACHES: Vikings Coach Jase Coburn (Arizona State, 2006) is in his third season as Head Coach and is 36-41 overall. Coburn is 5-0 against Idaho State. He spent eight previous seasons on the Park Blocks as an Assistant and Associate Head Coach... the Bengals are coached by Ryan Looney (Eastern Oregon, 1998) in his fifth season. Looney is 44-87 overall, 1-8 against the Vikings.

 

SCOUTING IDAHO STATE

• Idaho State is an original member of the Big Sky Conference. The Bengals have won four Big Sky regular season championships, four Big Sky Tournament Championships and made five appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
• The Bengals were 11-21 last season, 8-10 and fifth place in the Big Sky... this season, ISU is 5-10, 0-2 in Big Sky Conference play... the Bengals average 68.7 points per game and allow 69.0 points per game They shoot .470 from the field while opponents shoot .473.
• Senior center Brayden Parker leads the team with 14.1 points per game while shooting .590 from the field to lead the Big Sky Conference. He has also made 22-54 three-pointers (.407). Junior forward Kiree Huie averages 12.0 points and team-highs of 6.5 rebounds and 19 blocked shots while shooting .549 from the field. Sophomore guard Maleek Arrington is the team-leader in assists at 4.2 per game and steals at 2.3 per game, ranking second in the Big Sky in both categories.

 

WHO IS HOT

• KJ DOUBLES UP: SR F KJ Allen has double-doubles in each of his last two games, averaging 16.0 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists. He shot 10-19 (.526) from the field and 12-15 (.800) at the line... Allen leads the team with three double-doubles this season. He also leads the Vikings in scoring (10.9), rebounding (6.5) and free throws made and attempted (55-71, .775).
• THE BENCH BUNCH: The Vikings have been producing all season when they make substitutions. PSU has scored 414 bench points (27.6 per game) to rank 50th in the nation and second 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 is not a starter, but ranks second in scoring at 9.9 points per game, second in rebounding at 5.1, and second in field goal percentage at .533... FR G Cole Farrell came off the bench for a season-high nine points at Kansas City, leading all bench players.
• KEYS TO VICTORY: The Vikings have never lost this season when... playing at home (4-0)... leading at halftime (6-0)... out-shooting an opponent from the field (5-0)... out-rebounding an opponent (7-0)... scoring 80 or more points (3-0).

 

VIKING BASKETBALL NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART

Portland State has had a strong start to the season, and it has included a lot of close games and game-winning shots. Through 15 games, nine have been decided by seven points or less. The Vikings are 7-2 in those games.