PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS
at WASHINGTON STATE COUGARS

Nov. 4, 2024, 8 p.m., Beasley Coliseum (11,671), Pullman, WA
Live Stream: ESPN+ • Play-by-play: Ben Creighton • Analyst: Mary Murphy
Live Stats: www.ViksLive.com
 

OPENING TIP

The Portland State Vikings will open their 2024-25 basketball season on Monday at Washington State in the first non-conference game of the season. PSU will play 13 non-conference games, including five at home, six on the road and two neutral site.
           
Portland State is led by fourth-year Head Coach Jase Coburn who comes off his best season at the helm of the Viking ship. PSU was 17-15 overall last year, 8-10 in the Big Sky Conference.
           
Washington State is led by first-year Head Coach David Riley. He is no stranger to the Vikings though after spending the last three seasons at Eastern Washington where he compiled a 62-38 record. WSU was 25-10 last season under Kyle Smith.
           
The Cougars beat the Vikings in a game last December in Pullman, 71-61, but that will have little bearing on this year's contest. PSU has only five returning letterwinners (one starter) and WSU has only one returning letterwinner. The Cougars do have four former Eastern Washington Eagles on their roster whom the Vikings have battled in the past.
           
Portland State will be led by third-year SR F Isaiah Johnson (9.3 ppg, 4.8 rpg) and JR G Ismail Habib (9.0 ppg, 2.8 apg, 48 3-pt FG), a returning starter. At this point, PSU's first starting lineup is a mystery, but Coburn is known to play a deep bench. Among PSU's eight newcomers are four Division I transfers, one Division II transfer, one JC transfer and two freshmen (see 2024-25 SEASON PREVIEW below).
           
Much has changed for Washington State with the near dissolution of the Pac-12 Conference and subsequent rebuild to begin in 2026. In the meantime, the Cougars will play an affiliate schedule with the West Coast Conference.
           
After the season opener on the road, the Vikings will come home to host Evergreen State on Nov. 7, then follow with a game at San Diego on Nov. 12. All 31 scheduled Viking games this season can be seen on ESPN+.
           

GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE vs. WASHINGTON STATE

• ALL-TIME SERIES: Washington State leads the all-time series, 10-0, including 8-0 in Pullman... the Cougars beat the Vikings, 71-61, last season in Pullman.
• LAST SEASON: Dec. 2, 2023 at Pullman, WSU 71, PSU 61: The inside-outside combo of Isaac Jones and Myles Rice combined for 46 points to lead the Washington State Cougars to victory... the Vikings shot poorly with a season-low .309 from the field (21-68), getting 10 shots blocked by the much taller Cougars... Washington State never led by more than seven points until the final minute, and Portland State held a lead as late as 12 minutes to go in the game. But the Vikings made only three of their last 13 shot attempts.... KJ Allen and Isaiah Johnson scored 11 points each to lead the Vikings.
• PORTLAND STATE vs. THE PAC-12 CONFERENCE: Sure the Pac-12 has changed/is changing, but here is what history tells us when Portland State has played current (and former) members of the league: PSU is 9-59 all-time against Pac-12 programs... PSU has wins over Oregon (2), Oregon State (2), Arizona State (2), USC (1), Stanford (1) and Cal (1) in its history - all coming during PSU's Big Sky Conference era (9-45)... all that said, Washington State is playing this basketball season as a West Coast Conference affiliate before the Pac-12 adds new programs in 2026.
• COACHES: Vikings Coach Jase Coburn (Arizona State, 2006) is in his fourth season as Head Coach and is 43-51 overall. Coburn is 0-1 against Washington State. He spent eight previous seasons on the Park Blocks as an Assistant and Associate Head Coach... the Cougars are coached by David Riley (Whitworth, 2011) in his first season. Riley has a career record of 62-38 in three seasons at Eastern Washington. He was 6-0 against the Vikings during that time.

 
SCOUTING WASHINGTON STATE

• Washington State is a member of the Pac-12 Conference located in Pullman, WA. The Cougars were 25-10 last season, 14-6 and second place in the Pac-12. The Cougars won an NCAA Tournament game before being knocked out by Iowa State... Washington State is playing this basketball season as a West Coast Conference affiliate before the Pac-12 adds new programs in 2026.
• Head Coach David Riley was hired in the off-season after three years at Eastern Washington... the Cougars have one returning letterwinner and 12 newcomers. Four of those are from Eastern Washington.

 

EVERYBODY PLAYS, (NEARLY) EVERYBODY STARTS

One thing has become apparent during Head Coach Jase Coburn's tenure at Portland State; everybody plays. And nearly everybody starts at some point as Coburn routinely adjusts lineups based on a myriad of factors. In his 94 games as head coach, Coburn has started 35 different lineups. It will some be 36 of 95 when the Vikings tip off with the Cougars. Here is a look at Viking starters through the years:

• 2023-24: 14 different lineups, 11 of 12 players started
• 2022-23: 9 different lineups, 9 of 13 players started
• 2021-22: 12 different lineups, 11 of 14 players started

 

MEANINGLESS TRIVIA

Portland State was picked to place sixth in the Big Sky Conference Preseason Coaches Poll and seventh in the Big Sky Conference Preseason Media Poll. The Vikings were sixth in 2023-24.
 

2024-25 PORTLAND STATE SEASON NOTES

• Jase Coburn (43-51) begins his fourth season as Head Coach of the Vikings. He was named Portland State's new head basketball coach on April 16, 2021. He is the 14th men's basketball coach in Portland State history and the seventh since PSU joined the Big Sky Conference in 1996-97. Coburn is in his 12th season at PSU after serving as an assistant coach then associate head coach (2013-21)... Coburn received a two-year contract extension in the off-season and his contract now runs through the 2027-28 season.
• PSU has six players returning from last season, including five letterwinners and one redshirt. The only regular starter returning is JR G Ismail Habib (6-0, 9.0 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 2.7 apg, 48 3-pt FG). The Vikings' second leading scorer and rebounder last season was SR F Isaiah Johnson (6-6, 9.3 ppg, 4.8 rpg, team-high 33 steals), who made only nine starts, but averaged 22 minutes per game... emerging SO G Cole Farrell (6-5, 4.0 ppg, 1.4 rpg) and redshirt FR G Kelcy Phipps (6-2) return to the back court... both Viking big men are back as well, including SR F Hayden Curtiss (6-11, 3.0 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 44 blocks) and SR C Tre-Vaughn Minott (6-9, 1.0 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 8 blocks).
• The Viking program has added eight newcomers for 2024-25, including four Division I transfers, one junior college transfers, one Division II transfer and two freshmen… SR G Qiant Myers (6-5) played three years at Western Oregon, averaging over six assists per game in the past two seasons... five other transfers will be perimeter players for the Vikings, including SR Gs Shane Nowell (6-6, UNLV, 3.4 ppg, 2.6 rpg), Jaylin Henderson (6-3, Louisiana Tech, 3.7 ppg, 1.7 rpg) and JR G Sebastian Tidor (6-5, Roane State CC, 22.6 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 2.8 apg, .536/.391/.815). The two freshmen include Alex Dupre (6-5, Los Angeles Birmingham HS) and Tait Spencer (6-3, Seattle Great Futures Prep).. a pair of forwards joining the Vikings include SR Terri Miller Jr. (6-8, Louisiana Tech, 3.2 ppg, 2.0 rpg) and JR Isaac Brice (6-6, Iona, 0.9 ppg, 0.9 rpg).
• JR G Ismail Habib ranked 13th in assists (2.8) and 14th in three-point field goals made (1.7) in the Big Sky Conference last season... SR F Isaiah Johnson ranked 15th in rebounds (4.8) and steals (1.1) in the Big Sky... SR F Hayden Curtiss ranked third in blocked shots (1.5) in the Big Sky.
• In 70 career games, SR F Hayden Curtiss ranks sixth all-time at Portland State in career field goal percentage (.548) and seventh in career blocked shots (64).
• A Sociology major, JR G Ismail Habib earned Academic All-Big Sky Conference honors in 2023-24.
• CONNECTIONS: SR G Jaylin Henderson and SR F Terri Miller Jr. were teammates at Louisiana Tech last season... JR F Isaac Brice is the son of a former Vikings assistant football coach, Alundis Brice (2007-08)... FR G Kelcy Phipps and SR F Isaiah Johnson attended the same high school (Bishop Montgomery) in southern California.

 

THE 2024-25 SCHEDULE

• The 2024-25 schedule will include 31 games prior to the Big Sky Conference Tournament. The Vikings will play 14 games at home, 15 on the road and two neutral site games.
• The Vikings play in the Cream City Challenge, hosted by Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Nov. 22-24. PSU will face Milwaukee of the Horizon League, St. Thomas of the Summit League and Wofford of the Southern Conference. PSU has never played UWM or Wofford in basketball. The Vikings met St. Thomas in a different tournament last season, losing to the Tommies, 76-70, at the Lancer Joust in southern California... a home game with Denver on Dec. 7 is part of the Big Sky Conference - Summit League Challenge.
• The non-conference schedule includes two West Coast Conference schools in San Diego (A) and Pacific (A). Washington State (A), a Pac-12 member - though playing a WCC schedule, is the season opener on Nov. 4. Three Western Athletic Conference opponents include Utah Tech (H), Seattle (A) and Bakersfield (A). PSU again plays two Summit League schools in St. Thomas (N) and Denver (H). Other conferences represented include the Horizon (Milwaukee) and Southern (Wofford) at the Cream City Challenge... there are three lower division opponents in the non-conference schedule - Evergreen State, Northwest Indian College and Walla Walla - all of whom come to Viking Pavilion.
• Portland State will play a traditional 18-game, home-and-home schedule during the Big Sky Conference season. The season opens on Jan. 4 at Sacramento State. The Vikings will play seven of the first 11 on the road, then finish with five of seven at home. The Big Sky Tournament takes place March 8-12 at Boise's Idaho Central Arena.
• First-time opponents for Portland State include Wofford, Utah Tech and Northwest Indian College... PSU has actually faced Wisconsin-Milwaukee, splitting a pair of games during the 1977-78 and 1979-80 seasons at UWM... the Vikings played St. Thomas last year for the first time in history... despite the relative proximity on the west coast, PSU will be playing Pacific for the first time since Nov. 29, 1999.