WEBER STATE WILDCATS (7-12, 1-4) AT
PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (11-7, 3-2)

Thursday, January 23, 2025, 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
 

OPENING TIP

Portland State returns home this week to build on its most recent road victory as the Vikings will host Weber State on Thursday and Idaho State on Saturday at Viking Pavilion. PSU stands in third place in the Big Sky, one-half game behind Montana.
     
The Vikings (11-7, 3-2) won their most recent game at Northern Arizona, 80-69, on Saturday. PSU led for nearly 38 minutes of the game and got solid play up and down the lineup. SR G Qiant Myers, the Big Sky Conference assists leader, posted his fourth double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 assists. The Vikings shot .466 from the field, .467 from three-point range and .792 at the free throw line while committing a season-low four turnovers.
     
That victory was the seventh in nine games for PSU and a good starting point for this week's brief home stand. These games will be important to the Vikings as they follow this week with four straight games on the road. The Vikings are 6-1 at home this season, including wins in the last four home games. Dating to last season, PSU has won five straight Big Sky games at home.
     
After brief absences, SO G Cole Farrell and SR G Shane Nowell have returned and were key to last Saturday's win at NAU. The Vikings also overcame the absence of SR F Hayden Curtiss (ankle) in last week's games. His status for this week is uncertain.
     
Weber State (7-12, 1-4) comes into this week's play in an unfamiliar position. The Wildcats, traditionally a Big Sky power, are tied for ninth place in league play. WSU has lost six of the last seven games and is 2-7 on the road overall.
     
The Wildcats feature one of the top players in the Big Sky in Blaise Threatt. The senior guard is third in scoring at 16.9 points, shoots .518 from the field, averages 3.8 assists and leads the Big Sky in steals with 40.
     
Thursday night's game with the Wildcats tips off at 7 p.m. at Viking Pavilion. Tickets can be purchased at www.GoViks.com. The game will air on ESPN+ with live statistics at www.ViksLive.com.
 

COMING UP

Portland State will host Idaho State on Saturday at 2 p.m. Following will be four straight games on the road including Montana, Montana State, Idaho and Eastern Washington.
     
PSU then returns home for five of its final seven regular season games starting with Northern Arizona on Feb. 13.
 

GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE vs. WEBER STATE

• ALL-TIME SERIES: Weber State leads the all-time series, 46-19, including 42-19 in Big Sky Conference games... PSU leads 15-14 in Big Sky games played in Portland... despite the Wildcats' big series lead, the teams are 6-6 in the last 12 meetings, including a series split last season.
• LAST 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. Feb. 8 at Dee Events Center, WSU 84, PSU 72: The Wildcats led by as many as 23 in the first half, and though PSU made a charge, Weber State held on for thew win...  Weber State's Dillon Jones had 20 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists to lead the way. The Wildcats shot .528 from the field, including .529 from three-point range - numbers the Vikings couldn't come close to matching - in getting the win... Isaiah Johnson had a career-high 20 points with seven rebounds and two steals. KJ Allen added 14 points and five rebounds.
• COACHES: Vikings Coach Jase Coburn (Arizona State, 2006) is in his fourth season as Head Coach. He spent eight previous seasons on the Park Blocks as an Assistant and Associate Head Coach. Coburn's overall record is 53-58. He is 5-1 against Northern Arizona... 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 THE WILDCATS

• Weber State is an original member of the Big Sky Conference located in Ogden, UT. 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 7-12 this season, 1-4 in the Big Sky Conference. WSU averages 75.2 points per game while allowing 71.2 points. The Wildcats shoot .454 from the field, .354 from three-point range and .703 at the free throw line.
• Senior guard Blaise Threatt averages 16.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists and leads the Big Sky with 2.3 steals per game. Senior guard Miguel Tomley averages 11.4 points and has made a team-high 39 three-point field goals. Senior forward Dyson Koehler is averaging 10.6 points and 5.1 rebounds per game.

 

HOT SHOTS

• NO DOUBTING THIS DEFENSE: In the Vikings' nine-game run of seven wins, they held opponents to 59.9 points per game, .378 field goal shooting, .224 three-point shooting and 16.2 turnovers per game. Only three of those opponents have shot above .400 from the field. The Vikings have averaged 9.7 steals and 4.7 blocked shots in those games. PSU leads the Big Sky in fewest points allowed in league games (63.8) and three-point field goal percentage defense (.232).
• SHOOT YOUR SHOT: Portland State is shooting .484 as a team this season to rank second in the Big Sky behind Northern Colorado... SR C Tre-Vaughn Minott leads the way at .730 (54-74) from the field (and 25-30, .833 in Big Sky games). He is currently on a school-record pace (Julius Thomas, .671, 2009-10)... SR F Isaiah Johnson has also been excellent at .561 (74-132), SR F Hayden Curtiss is shooting .592 (45-76, including .423 on three-pointers) and JR F Isaac Brice is at .615 (16-26).
• TV RATINGS ARE HIGH: SR C Tre-Vaughn Minott continues to impress with his improved play this season and his Big Sky Conference numbers are his best yet. Minott is averaging 12.2 points and 7.6 rebounds in league games to lead the Vikings in both catregories. He is shooting a remarkable 25-30 from the field (.833) to lead the Big Sky in league games, and .786 at the free throw line.
• Q RATING: SR G Qiant Myers had a Portland State career-high 19 points with seven assists at Northern Colorado. He followed that with 14 points and 11 assists in the win at Northern Arizona for his fourth double-double of the season. Myers has averaged 14.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 8.3 assists in the last three games.
• FINDING HIS RANGE: SO G Cole Farrell has begun to shoot - and hit - from outside. Farrell has made 13-22 three-pointers in his last eight games (.591) and is now shooting .500 from distance this season... he has averaged 11.4 points and 3.6 rebounds in those eight games.
• BLOCK PARTY: Portland State had a season-high nine blocked shots in the win at Pacific (12/18) and currently averages 5.1 send-backs per game... SR C Tre-Vaughn Minott has had a career-high four blocked shots twice this season (Wofford, Denver) and ranks second in the Big Sky at 1.7 per game.
• LEADERS: Portland State currently leads the Big Sky Conference in turnovers forced (15.5), turnover margin (+2.2), steals (8.7) and bench points (27.3) and ranks second in seven other categories... SR G Qiant Myers leads the Big Sky in assists (6.9) and ranks seventh in the nation... Tre-Vaughn Minott is shooting .833 from the field in league games to lead the Big Sky.

 

NOT SO HOT

• YOU'VE GOT TO MAKE YOUR FREE THROWS: While Portland State's field goal shooting has been strong, the free throw shooting has floundered. For the season, PSU shoots .635 at the line and has had only two games better than .688... the Vikings rank last in the Big Sky in free throw shooting... the good news is, the Vikings shot .792 at the line, just off the season high (.793), in a win at Northern Arizona.
• SHORT BENCH: Portland State has been impacted by injuries at mid-season. SR G Shane Nowell (knee), SO G Cole Farrell (illness) and SR F Hayden Curtiss (ankle) have all missed games since the start of Big Sky play.

 

DUNK YOU VERY MUCH

Stuff, slam, smash, cap, flush... whatever you call it, the dunk is always the highlight of a college basketball game. This season, the Vikings are poised to obliterate the Portland State dunk record in the Big Sky Conference era (29 seasons, no such records were kept prior).
     
For the season, the Vikings have a school-record 86 throw-downs (4.8 per game) led by SR C Tre-Vaughn Minott (33) and SR G Jaylin Henderson (21). Last season, the Vikings had 58 total dunks in 32 games. Minott is on the verge of the individual record for dunks (40).
     
Here are the best seasons for slams in PSU history:
 
2024-25: 86 in 18 games (Tre-Vaughn Minott, 33)
2018-19: 84 - Sal Nuhu with a school-record 40
2019-20: 76
2015-16: 75
2021-22: 73
2004-05: 72