PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (6-4)
at TULANE GREEN WAVE (8-4)

Sat., Dec. 20, 2025, 6:30 p.m. CT/4:30 p.m. PT • Fogelman Arena (4,000), New Orleans, LA
Live Stream: ESPN+
Live Stats: www.ViksLive.livestats.us
 

OPENING TIP

Portland State will wrap up its non-conference schedule this Saturday night a looooooong way from home, playing at Tulane University - its furthest-from-home road game of the season. It will be only the second meeting between the schools in history and the first since 1996. Tip-off for the contest is 6:30 p.m. CT/4:30 p.m. PT at Fogelman Arena in New Orleans. The game can be seen on ESPN+.
     
PSU (6-4) has already assured itself of a winning non-conference record for the third season in a row, but would like a little momentum heading into a holiday break before Big Sky Conference action begins on Jan. 1. The Vikings lost to a talented Colorado team (10-1) in a close battle on Wednesday night, 84-73. PSU had won five of six prior to Wednesday's loss however it was the second straight loss to a Division I opponent. The Vikings are 2-3 on the road.
     
SR G Jaylin Henderson had a big game with 23 points (10-18 FG, 1-1 3-pt, 2-2 FT), six rebounds, four assists and two steals. And, Portland State shot a respectable .474 from the field. But, the Vikings couldn't keep up with the Buffaloes high-powered offense.
     
PSU will rely on its three preseason All-Big Sky Conference talents - Henderson (17.6 ppg, 6.2 apg), SR F Terri Miller Jr. (17.0 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 3.7 apg) and SR C Tre-Vaughn Minott (10.8 ppg, 7.9 rpg, .595 FG%) - to finish out-of-conference play on a high note.
     
Tulane (8-4) has come out of the blocks with a good start in non-conference play. The Green Wave beat Lousiana Tech on Wednesday night at home, 61-53. Tulane is 6-2 at home this season.
     
The amount of attention on the basketball game in the New Orleans is likely to be limited as the Tulane football team is competing in the College Football Playoff that afternoon in a game at Ole Miss.
     
But back to basketball... the Green Wave shoots a modest .440 from the field and .304 from three-point range but gets to the free throw line often, already making nearly 70 more free throws than their opponents this season (.766), and takes care of the ball with a mere 10.0 turnover average.         
     

COMING UP

Following the game, Portland State will be off for a holiday break. The Vikings return to action for the start of Big Sky Conference play on Jan. 1 at Weber State and Jan. 3 at Idaho State. PSU then comes home for three games in a row and five of seven over the remaining month of January.
 

GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE vs. TULANE

• ALL-TIME SERIES: Portland State and Tulane have met once, on Nov. 26, 1996 in New Orleans. It was PSU's second game since re-instituting its basketball program and joining the Big Sky Conference. Tulane won that game, 92-64.
• PORTLAND STATE vs. THE AMERICAN: Other than Tulane, PSU has only met two other members of the American Conference, albeit while they were in different conferences. PSU was 1-1 against North Texas in the 1970s and 1-1 against Rice in the 2000s.
• COACHES: Vikings Coach Jase Coburn (Arizona State, 2006) is in his fifth 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 68-68. He has never faced Tulane... the Green Wave is coached by Ron Hunter (Miami OH, 1986) in his ninth season. He is 97-93 overall. In his career, Hunter is 542-407 in 32 seasons. He faced Portland State once in 2007-08 while leading IUPUI. The Vikings won that game, 77-73.

 

SCOUTING THE GREEN WAVE

• Tulane is located in New Orleans, LA and is a member of The American Conference. The Green Wave was 19-15 last season, 12-6 in The American Conference.
• This season the Green Wave is 8-4 overall, 6-2 at home... Tulane averages 74.2 points and allows 76.4 points per game. The Green Wave shoots .440 from the field, .304 from three-point range and .766 at the line. They have a -6.6 rebounding margin, but a +2.2 turnover margin.
• Junior guard Rowan Brumbaugh leads the team in scoring at 18.8 points per game and averages 4.7 rebounds and 3.5 assists. He has made a team-high 24 three-point field goals and 24 steals... junior guard Curtis Williams Jr. averages 13.8 points and 5.2 rebounds with 23 three-pointers... senior guard Asher Woods averages 10.9 points per game.

 

HOT SHOTS

• HENDERSON'S HELPERS: SR G Jaylin Henderson has done it all for the Vikings this season. He comes off a 23-point (10-18 FG, 1-1 3-pt, 2-2 FT), six-rebound, four-assists, two-steal game at Colorado in 40 minutes of action... he how has four 20-point games this season and leads the Vikings in scoring (17.6) and the Big Sky Conference in assists (6.2) while ranking second in steals (2.2)... against South Dakota, Henderson set a new career high for assists with 11. It was the third time this season he has established a new career mark in that category.
• JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT: Over the last seven games, SR F Terri Miller Jr.  is averaging 19.8 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, shooting .611 from the field, .500 from three-point range and .692 at the line... Miller put up a career-high 31 points (14-20 FG, 1-1 3-pt, 2-2 FT) with nine rebounds and six assists in the win over George Fox... he had 26 points and 11 rebounds in a win at South Dakota... for the season, he averages 17.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists and shoots .554/.448/.704.
• ANOTHER MEANINGLESS 6-7 REFERENCE: I don't know what it means either, but SR C Tre-Vaughn Minott has made peace with the cultural phenomenon of 6-7. How?... He has 67 career blocked shots at Portland State in 58 career games, ranking third in school history... on a more important note, Minott ranks second in Portland State history in field goal percentage at .622 for his career. He is starting to see his percentage climb again this season (all those dunks help). TV is shooting .595 from the field, including 14-19 in his last three games (.737).
• CHAIRMEN OF THE BOARDS: Portland State has been dominant on the boards this season.  The Vikings have out-rebounded opponents by an average of 6.6 per game. The Vikings average 13.5 offensive rebounds per game... SR C Tre-Vaughn Minott ranks second in the Big Sky with 7.9 rebounds per game. JR G Keyon Kensie Jr. ranks fourth at 7.4 per game. And SR F Terri Miller Jr. is seventh with 6.9 rebounds per game.
• CHUCK IS NOT A CHUCKER: George Constanza made it clear his dislike for "chuckers" on the basketball court in an episode of Seinfeld. That said, he would love JR F Charles Chukwu. So far, Chukwu is 13-14 from the field this season (.929). Throw in his 30-game career at Tulsa a couple of seasons ago and Chukwu is a remarkable 29-37 from the field (.784) as a Division I player.
• TRENDING: Portland State is undefeated when leading at halftime (5-0), out-shooting an opponent (5-0) and out-rebounding an opponent (5-0).
• MORE GOOD STUFF THAT DOESN'T FIT ANYWHERE ELSE: Portland State leads the Big Sky Conference in turnovers forced (14.4) and field goal percentage defense (.414).

 

NOT SO HOT

DEEP THOUGHTS: The Vikings have seen a precipitous dip in their three-point efficiency in recent games. In the first four games of the season, PSU was 40-99 from three-point range (10.0/.404). In the last six games, the Vikings are 36-135 (6.0/.267).
 

NON-CONFERENCE ROUNDUP

Head Coach Jase Coburn's team is assured of a third-straight winning record in non-conference play during his tenure. The Vikings are 31-26 against non-conference opponents under Coburn, 23-13 in the past three years.
 
2021-22: 2-6
2022-23: 6-7
2023-24: 9-4
2024-25: 8-5
2025-26: 6-4