PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (13-7, 5-2)
AT MONTANA GRIZZLIES (13-8, 6-2)

Thursday, January 30, 2025, 7 p.m. MT/6 p.m. PT, Dahlberg Arena (7,322), Missoula, MT
Live Stream: ESPN+
Live Stats: www.ViksLive.com
 

OPENING TIP

The first truly "big game" of the Big Sky Conference schedule comes this Thursday night as the Portland State Vikings travel to face the Montana Grizzlies. The conference standings have taken shape after seven games, and the winner of the Vikings vs. Griz matchup will hold second place in the chase behind Northern Colorado to the Big Sky title.
           
PSU (13-7, 5-2) begins a road stretch of four games in the Treasure State at Montana and Montana State (Saturday). Next week includes games at Idaho and Eastern Washington. The Vikings are as hot as they have been in recent memory with three wins in a row and nine wins in the last 11 games. The two losses came by a combined six points.
           
Portland State swept games from Weber State (74-56) and Idaho State (76-59) at home last week while continuing their significant defensive presence in the recent 11-game run. The Vikings have allowed opponents only 59.5 points on .369 field goal shooting and .221 three-point shooting. Moreover, PSU has a +8.0 rebound margin and has averaged 9.3 steals and 5.2 blocked shots per game.
           
Saturday's win over Idaho State featured just those numbers. The Bengals scored 59 points on .313 from the field (3-20 from three-point range) while PSU blocked seven shots. And, the Vikings out-rebounding the league's top rebounding team (+11.2 margin entering the game), 43-38. Leading scorer SR G Jaylin Henderson also came alive with a career-high 31 points (12-18 FG, 3-6 3-pt, 4-4 FT).
           
Portland State is 8-1 at home this year, but must translate that success to the road over the next 12 days. The Vikings are 4-5 in road games (5-6 including neutral sites). They won their most recent road contest, 80-69, at Northern Arizona on Jan. 18.
           
The Montana road swing will be particularly tough. Traditionally strong programs, Montana and Montana State hold a combined 44-10 home advantage over the Vikings in Big Sky games over the past 28 seasons.
           
Montana (13-8, 6-2) has maintained second place in the Big Sky through the early season. The Griz have won their last two games, both at home, over Idaho State and Montana State. They maintain a 10-1 record at home overall.
           
Thursday's game tips off at 7 p.m. MT/6 p.m. PT. The game will air on ESPN+ with live statistics at www.ViksLive.com.
 

COMING UP

Portland State plays at Montana State on Saturday in the second of four straight games on the road. Next week, PSU will travel to Idaho and Eastern Washington.
           
PSU returns home for five of its final seven regular season games starting with Northern Arizona on Feb. 13.
 

GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE vs. MONTANA

• ALL-TIME SERIES: Montana leads the all-time series with Portland State, 45-28, and the Big Sky Conference series, 37-19... the edge comes in games played in Missoula, where the Vikings are only 4-21 all-time in Big Sky games.
• ROUGH ROAD: The annual Montana/Montana State road trip has always been the most difficult for the Portland State Vikings. PSU is 10-44 all-time against the two teams in Big Sky road games. The only year PSU swept the UM/MSU trip in the previous 28 seasons was 2007-08 when the Vikings went on to become Big Sky Champions.
• LAST SEASON: Jan. 25, 2024 at Viking Pavilion, PSU 72, UM 46: Portland State trounced Montana in the first matchup of the season between the teams. Four players scored in double figures, led by a career-high 19 points from Ismail Habib as the Vikings knocked off the hottest team in the Big Sky Conference. Montana came into the game having won 11 of 13 games and with the best overall record in the Big Sky... In the opening moments of the game, the Vikings brought the energy, and then they brought a full court press. That proved to be a huge addition as they held Montana to a mere 46 points and 31% shooting. The Grizzlies were averaging 79 points and shooting 49% going into the game... Just as important was a return of Portland State's shooting touch. The Vikings shot 53% in the first half, 49% for the game, and hit 12 three-point field goals (50%)... Montana managed the Vikings' defense early by making six threes in the first 11 minutes, leading 20-16. They would score only 26 more points in the final 29 minutes of the game. Montana scored only 15 points in the second half as PSU held them to a season-low for a Viking opponent... Habib was 7-12 from the field, 4-7 from three-point range and 1-2 at the line for his 19 points. He handed off six helpers without making a turnover. In fact, the Viking team had only four turnovers on the night... Bobby Harvey scored 13 points. for the Vikings... Brandon Whitney and Josh Vasquez each scored 11 points to lead Montana. Feb. 24 at Missoula, UM 82, PSU 73: A pair of contested three-point field goals by Aanen Moody in the final 2:15 of the game gave Montana the impetus it needed to break a tie with Portland State and roll on to the win. The Griz led the entire night, but the Vikings fought back to tie the game at 68 and 70 with under three minutes to play. That's when Moody answered both times... The Vikings got an excellent performance from KJ Allen, who scored 24 points and matched his career high with 13 rebounds. But Portland State had trouble converting shots around the basket. PSU was a solid 9-20 from three-point range (.450), but only 11-36 on two-pointers (.306).
• 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 56-58. He is 1-5 against Montana... the Grizzlies are coached by Travis DeCuire (Montana, 1994) in his 10th season. DeCuire has a career record of 214-132 and is 15-6 against the Vikings.

 

SCOUTING THE GRIZZLIES

• Montana is an original member of the Big Sky Conference. The Grizzlies have won 10 regular season Big Sky Championships, 11 Big Sky Tournament titles and made 12 NCAA Tournament appearances.
• The Grizzlies were 25-11 last season, 12-6 and tied for second in the Big Sky Conference.
• This season, Montana is 13-8 overall, 6-2 in the Big Sky. The Griz average 74.7 points and allow 74.6 points per game. They shoot .476 from the field, .325 from three-point range and .711 at the free throw line.
• Junior guard Malik Moore is the team's leading scorer at 13.6 points per game. Sophomore guard Money Williams is averaging 12.7 points and a team-high 3.3 assists per game. Senior guard Joe Pridgen averages 12.0 points, leads the Big Sky with a .623 field goal percentage, and leads Montana with 7.7 rebounds per game.

 

HOT SHOTS

• NO DOUBTING THIS DEFENSE: In the Vikings' 11-game run of nine wins, they have held opponents to 59.5 points per game, .369 field goal shooting, .221 three-point shooting and forced 15.6 turnovers per game. Only three of those opponents have shot above .400 from the field. The Vikings have averaged 9.3 steals and 5.2 blocked shots with a +8.0 rebounding margin in those games... the two losses were by a combined six points... PSU leads the Big Sky in fewest points allowed in league games (62.0), field goal percentage defense (.395) and three-point field goal percentage defense (.225).SHOOT YOUR SHOT: Portland State is shooting .485 as a team this season to rank second in the Big Sky behind Northern Colorado... SR C Tre-Vaughn Minott leads the way at .701 (61-87) from the field (and 32-43, .744 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 .554 (including .378 on three-pointers), SR F Hayden Curtiss is shooting .592 (including .423 on three-pointers) and JR F Isaac Brice is at .615.
• • FRONT RUNNERS: With an 8-1 home record, Portland State has trailed in only three of nine home games this season (for a total of 30:09), winning wire-to-wire in six games. 
• "...THE LIKES OF WHICH HAVEN'T BEEN SEEN AROUND HERE IN A COUPLE OF YEARS...": It had been almost two full seasons since a Viking had scored 30 points in a game, but SR G Jaylin Henderson made it look easy in a win over Idaho State. Henderson went for a career-high 31 points, hitting 12-18 from the field, 3-6 three-pointers and 4-4 free throws. He leads the team in scoring this season at 14.1 points per game... the last time a Viking scored 30+ was 58 games ago when Cameron Parker had 32 points at Northern Colorado, Feb. 9, 2023. 
• 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 11.1 points, 8.4 rebounds and a league-leading 2.0 blocked shots... He is shooting a remarkable 32-43 from the field (.744) and would lead the Big Sky in shooting but does not have enough attempts to qualify... Minott has double-doubles in three of the seven Big Sky games and double-figure rebounds in four of the games.
• Q RATING: SR G Qiant Myers had a Portland State career-high 19 points with seven assists at Northern Colorado (1/16). He followed that with 14 points and 11 assists in the win at Northern Arizona (1/18) for his fourth double-double of the season. In the last five games, Myers has averaged 13.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 7.6 assists.
• BLOCK PARTY: Portland State had a season-high nine blocked shots in the win at Pacific (12/18) and has three games of eight blocks. PSU currently averages 5.4 send-backs per game to lead the Big Sky... SR C Tre-Vaughn Minott has had a career-high four blocked shots three times this season (Wofford, Denver, Weber State) and ranks second in the Big Sky at 1.85 per game.
• LEADERS: Portland State currently leads the Big Sky Conference in scoring margin (+8.9), turnovers forced (15.3), turnover margin (+2.0), steals (8.6), blocks (5.35) and bench points (25.3), fast break points (12.9) 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... SR C Tre-Vaughn Minott leads the Big Sky in blocked shots in league games (2.0).

 

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 .636 at the line and has had only two games better than .688... the Vikings rank last in the Big Sky in free throw shooting.
• 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 95 throw-downs (4.75 per game) led by SR C Tre-Vaughn Minott (36) and SR G Jaylin Henderson (23). 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: 95 in 20 games (Tre-Vaughn Minott, 36)
2018-19: 84 - Sal Nuhu with a school-record 40
2019-20: 76
2015-16: 75
2021-22: 73
2004-05: 72