PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (14-9, 5-5)
at WEBER STATE WILDCATS (14-9, 5-5)

Thursday, February 8, 2024, 7 p.m. MT/6 p.m. PT • Dee Events Center (12,000), Ogden, UT
Live Stream: ESPN+
Live Stats: weberstatesports.com/sidearmstats/mbball/media

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OPENING TIP

A pair of teams with matching records will square off on Thursday night at Dee Events Center as the Portland State Vikings travel to face the Weber State Wildcats. Both teams stand at 14-9 on the season and 5-5 in the Big Sky Conference. Thursday's game tips off at 7 p.m. MT/6 p.m. PT and can be seen on ESPN+.
     
Though the two squads are at .500 and tied for fifth place in the conference standings, they are both only a game-and-a-half out of second place (Northern Colorado, 6-3). There is a lot to play for on Thursday and over the final eight games of the Big Sky regular season schedule as teams jockey for the best seeding in the Big Sky Tournament, Mar. 9-13, in Boise, ID.
     
Portland State had been playing well but was defeated once again by first-place Eastern Washington on Monday night, 90-77. The Vikings' offense was inconsistent and couldn't keep up with the outside shooting threats of the Eagles. Bright spots were 18 points, seven rebounds and four assists from SR G Isiah Kirby, and a career-high 16 points and four steals from FR G Cole Farrell.
     
PSU had won its previous three games before the loss to Eastern. Now the Vikings look ahead to five of the final eight games on the road. Dee Events Center has been the toughest place for a Portland State team to win in its Big Sky history. The Vikings have won in only four of 27 appearances there - the last coming in 2020. However, PSU has had success on the road this season, going 5-6 in true road games. And, the Vikings took an earlier meeting from the Wildcats, 69-66, on Jan. 13 in Portland.
     
Weber State won two games on the road last week, but had lost five of the previous seven. The Wildcats are 8-2 at home this season. They feature Big Sky Conference Player of the Year candidate Dillon Jones. The junior forward averages 19.7 points, 9.7 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game - all of which rank second in the Big Sky.
     
Thursday's game will be the third in six days for the Vikings. They play a fourth game in eight days on Saturday at Idaho State.
 

COMING UP

Portland State plays at Idaho State on Saturday. PSU's next home game is Feb. 15 against Northern Colorado. Five of the Vikings' final eight regular season games will be played on the road.
 

GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE vs. WEBER STATE

• ALL-TIME SERIES: Weber State leads the all-time series, 45-19, and the Big Sky Conference series, 41-19... Weber State leads the Big Sky series, 23-4, in games played at Dee Events Center, making it the toughest road venue in the league for the Vikings... the Wildcats swept the season series last year, but PSU won the first meeting this season... the Vikings have won six of the last 11 meetings... PSU last won in Ogden in 2020... PSU has never beaten Weber State in the Big Sky Tournament (0-7).
• EARLIER THIS SEASON: Jan. 13 at Viking Pavilion, PSU 69, WSU 66: PSU played some of its best basketball of the season, leading by as many as 24 points in the second half before the Wildcats stormed back to within one in the final minute. That's when Jorell Saterfield buried a pair of free throws with 13 seconds left for a three-point lead and eventual victory as a late three attempt by Weber State bounced away harmlessly... KJ Allen had a big game for the Vikings scoring 13 points and hauling down a career-high 14 rebounds. Saterfield finished with 13 points and Bobby Harvey was hot early with 12 points... But it was the bench play of Isiah Kirby and Hayden Curtiss that really made a difference. Kirby scored team-high 14 points on 7-8 shooting in 19 minutes. The hustle plays of Curtiss included two blocks, two steals and two rebounds and ignited the Vikings in the first half... The Vikings led 50-26 early in the second half and was up 59-37 with just over 12 minutes to go. But the Wildcats scored 13 in a row, seven of which came from Dillon Jones. That closed the margin to single digits...Dyson Koehler scored seven points in another 11-0 Wildcat rally down the stretch. His free throws with 24 seconds left closed the margin to 67-66... Koehler led the Wildcats with 21 points. Jones added 20 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
• COACHES: Vikings Coach Jase Coburn (Arizona State, 2006) is in his third season as Head Coach and is 40-45 overall. Coburn is 2-3 against Weber State. He spent eight previous seasons on the Park Blocks as an Assistant and Associate Head Coach... the Wildcats are coached by Eric Duft (Sterling College, 1995) in his second season. He was a long-time assistant prior to being named head coach. Duft has a career record of 32-24. He is 2-1 against the Vikings.

 

SCOUTING 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.
• The Wildcats are 14-9 overall, 5-5 in the Big Sky and tied with the Vikings for fifth place. Weber State averages 75.4 points per game while allowing 65.1 points. WSU leads the Big Sky in scoring defense, scoring margin (+10.3), fewest turnovers (9.9) and turnover margin (+2.4).
• Junior forward Dillon Jones is already a five-time Big Sky Conference Player of the Week this season. He ranks second in the league in scoring (19.7), rebounding (9.7) and assists (4.8).
• Senior guard Steven Verplancken is the top shooter on the team with 53 three-point field goals. He averages 11.9 points and shoots .396 from three-point range... junior forward Dyson Koehler averages 10.8 points and junior guard Blaise Threat averages 10.6 points while shooting .550 from the floor.

 

WHO IS HOT

• BLOCK PARTY: JR C Hayden Curtiss had the biggest shot-blocking performance of his career with six in the win over Sacramento State (2/3). That was just one shy of the school record and he did so in 13 minutes of action. The 6-11 post followed that with three more blocks against Eastern Washington. Curtiss leads the Big Sky Conference in blocked shots at 1.6 per game, 2.4 per game in league games... PSU is also the team leader with 3.87 blocks per game.
• GOOD DECISIONS: Lately, when SR G Isiah Kirby has the ball in his hands, good things happen. Kirby has averaged 12.9 points over the last seven games on 34-66 from the field (.515). Kirby also has 23 assists in those seven games (3.2)... Kirby scored a career-high 20 points (6-11 FG, 3-4 3-pt, 5-6 FT) with four assists in the win over Montana State (1/27)... against Sacramento State (2/3) he had a career-high seven assists... he followed that with 18 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals against Eastern Washington... Kirby shoots .484 from the field this season to rank third on the team.
• A SHORT CAREER, BUT A CAREER GAME NONETHELESS: FR G Cole Farrell has been emerging in recent weeks, getting more playing time and being more productive. Farrell posted a career-high 16 points (6-8 FG, 2-4 3-pt, 2-4 FT) with four steals and two assists in 14 minutes against Eastern Washington... in his last seven games, Farrell has averaged 6.4 points, 1.7 assists and shot 16-32 from the field (.500) in 13 minutes per game.
• THE BENCH BUNCH: The Vikings have been producing all season when they make substitutions. PSU has scored 633 bench points (27.5 per game) to rank 35th 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.
• STRONG INDICATORS: Portland State is 8-2 when playing at home... 8-1 when leading at halftime... 8-0 when out-rebounding an opponent... 7-1 when out-shooting an opponent... 10-2 when scoring 70 or more points... 8-2 when starting a new lineup.
• LATE GAME HEROICS: Once again this season Portland State has had numerous close games and game-winning shots. Through 23 games, 13 have been decided by seven points or less. The Vikings are 10-3 in those games. PSU is 5-0 in games decided by three points or less.