OMAHA MAVERICKS (3-7) at
PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (5-2)

Saturday, December 6, 2025, 2 p.m. • Viking Pavilion (3,094), Portland, OR
Live Stream: ESPN+ • Play-by-play: Matt Richert • Analyst: Devon Pouncey
Live Stats: www.ViksLive.livestats.us
 

OPENING TIP

Portland State returns to the comfy confines of Viking Pavilion this Saturday for the first time since mid-November to host Omaha in a Big Sky Conference-Summit League Challenge game. The Vikings are riding a four-game winning streak and have won 14 straight at "The Ship," which ranks as the ninth-longest home-court winning streak in the nation.
     
The Vikings (5-2) come off an impressive 77-71 road win at South Dakota on Wednesday in their first Big Sky-Summit Challenge game. That was part of a 6-3 night for the Big Sky Conference as all teams from both leagues are meeting on the same dates, with one home game and one road game.
     
SR F Terri Miller Jr. and JR G Keyon Kensie Jr. both had 20-10 games to lead the Vikings to victory. Miller had game-highs of 26 points (10-15 FG, 2-3 3-pt, 4-6 FT) and 11 rebounds, while Kenise pitched in a career-high 22 points (8-17 FG, 6-8 FT) and 10 rebounds. SR G Jaylin Henderson added a career-high 11 assists to go with 11 points.
     
The Vikings may have been even more impressive on defense, holding a team averaging 85 points to .379 shooting and forcing 17 turnovers. Only a flurry of late free throws got the Coyotes to 70 points.
     
Now PSU will try to extend its home-court dominance in a matchup with Omaha. The Vikings are 3-0 at home this season and have a home-court winning streak that dates to Dec. 14 of last season.
     
Like South Dakota, Omaha (3-7) is a first-time opponent for the Viking program, making the Mavericks a bit of a mystery. Omaha lost its Wednesday night Big Sky-Summit League Challenge game at home, 75-70, to Northern Colorado. The Bears maintain the best record in the Big Sky to date at 8-1.
     
Omaha has proven it can score, averaging 77.3 points per game, and is particularly effective from deep, averaging 9.5 three-pointers per game at a .375 clip. Leading scorer Lance Waddles will be a test for the Viking defense. Waddles averages 17.1 points and has made 34-75 three-point field goals this season (.453). Both his three-pointers made and percentage lead the Summit League and he ranks 24th in the nation in threes made.
     
Despite its sub-.500 record, Omaha won the Summit League last year (22-13/13-3) and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
     
Saturday's game tips off at 2 p.m. at Viking Pavilion. It can be seen on ESPN+. The game is sponsored by Les Schwab Tires and there will be a halftime Teddy Bear Toss to benefit the Fox 12 Les Schwab Tires Toy Drive.
           

COMING UP

     
Non-conference play concludes with a Dec. 13 home game against George Fox, followed by road games at Colorado (Dec. 17) and Tulane (Dec. 20).
     
The Big Sky Conference schedule begins on Jan. 1 at Weber State.
 

GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE vs. OMAHA

• ALL-TIME SERIES: This will be the first meeting ever between Portland State and Omaha.
• THE BIG SKY CONFERENCE-SUMMIT LEAGUE CHALLENGE: This is the third season of the Big Sky Conference-Summit League Challenge. Portland State picked up its first win in the series against South Dakota on Wednesday. The Vikings lost at Kansas City during the 2023-24 season, 83-67, then to Denver, 68-67, last season at home. This is the first year that PSU will play two games during the Big Sky-Summit week. The Vikings were limited to one game previously due to an uneven number of opponents between the leagues.
• PORTLAND STATE vs. SUMMIT LEAGUE: Portland State has played seven programs that are current members of the League, but only four while a member of the league (St. Thomas, Kansas City, Denver and South Dakota). PSU is 6-15 all-time against current members of the league.... the Viking program has never faced Omaha.
• 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 67-66. He has never faced Omaha... the Mavericks are coached by Chris Crutchfield (Omaha, 1992). Crutchfield is 49-61 in four seasons at Omaha.

 

SCOUTING THE MAVERICKS

• Omaha is a member of the Summit League, located in Omaha, NE. The Mavericks were 22-13 last season, 13-3 and winners of the Summit League regular season and tournament titles. Omaha advanced to the NCAA Tournament as a #15 seed, losing to #2 St. John's in a first-round game.
• The Mavericks are 3-7 this season, 0-4 in road games... they average 77.3 points per game and allow 81.8 points... Omaha makes 9.5 three-pointers per game and allows 10.6 threes to be made... as a team, the Mavericks shoot .466/.375/.715.
• Senior guard Lance Waddles has carried the Mavericks thus far, averaging team highs of 17.1 points and 5.8 rebounds. He also averages 2.9 assists, has made 34 three-pointers and shoots .453 from distance... senior guard Tony Osburn is averaging 14.9 points and 3.3 assists... senior guard Ja'Sean Glover averages 11.2 points and 4.2 rebounds. 

 

HOT SHOTS

• JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT: Over the last four games, SR F Terri Miller Jr.  is averaging 20.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, shooting .653 from the field, .700 from three-point range and .733 at the line... Miller put up a season-high 26 points (10-15 FG, 2-3 3-pt, 4-6 FT) and game-high 11 rebounds in the win at South Dakota... for the season, he averages 16.7 points, 7.2 rebounds and shoots .549/.526/.750.
• JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT, PART 2: JR G Keyon Kensie Jr. rattled the cage for a career-high 22 points (8-17 FG, 6-8 FT), grabbed 10 rebounds and made two steals in the win over South Dakota. It was Kensie's team-best third double-double of the season... ironically, Kensie's new career-high bettered his previous career-high of 20, scored last season as a member of the University of San Diego against... wait for it.... Portland State (PSU won the game).
• HENDERSON'S HELPERS: SR G Jaylin Henderson has done it all for the Vikings this season. On Wednesday, 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... this season, Henderson leads the Vikings in scoring (18.6), assists (6.3), steals (2.4) and free throw percentage (.870). He ranks second in steals, third in assists and free throw percentage and fourth in scoring in the Big Sky.
• 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 10-11 from the field this season (.909). Throw in his 30-game career at Tulsa a couple of seasons ago and Chukwu is a remarkable 26-34 from the field (.765) as a Division I player.
• CHAIRMEN OF THE BOARDS: Portland State has been dominant on the boards this season.  The Vikings have out-rebounded opponents by an average of 9.0 per game, which ranks second in the Big Sky. The Vikings lead the Big Sky in offensive rebounding (14.1 pg)... SR C Tre-Vaughn Minott leads the Big Sky with 8.9 rebounds per game. JR G Keyon Kensie Jr. ranks third at 8.1 per game. And SR F Terri Miller Jr. is fifth with 7.2 rebounds per game.
• MORE GOOD STUFF THAT DOESN'T FIT ANYWHERE ELSE: Portland State leads the Big Sky Conference in offensive rebounds (14.1) and turnovers forced (15.0)... in the last three games - all wins - PSU has held opponents to .379 shooting (69-182) and 65.0 points... the Vikings have two games in which they have shot at least 60%: vs. Northwest Indian (.617) and Cal State Bakersfield (.600)... SO C Kean Webb played in his first game as a Viking at South Dakota after recovering from injury. He played six minutes, grabbed a rebound and blocked a shot... Head Coach Jase Coburn is now 67-66 in his five seasons at Portland State. He is over .500 for the first time since being 2-1 in his first season.
• TRIVIA IS OUR NAME: Portland State Basketball has an all-time record of 899-871 in official games in 65 seasons as a collegiate program. That means the Viking program goes after win number 900 on Saturday.

 

HOME-COURT HAPPINESS: THE LIST

Yes, schedules vary, team-to-team and conference to conference, but being in the top 10 in the nation is always a good place to be.
 
LONGEST HOME COURT WINNING STREAKS IN THE NATION
1. Duke            22
2. St. Thomas   21
    Akron           21
4. Miami (OH)  20
5. Louisville      17
6. New Mexico 16
7. St. Mary's    15     
    Utah Valley  15
9. Portland State        14
    McNeese State      14
 

SHIP SHAPE

• PSU has a 14-game home-court winning streak at Viking Pavilion.
• PSU is 27-3 at home since the start of the 2023-24 season.
• The Vikings have won 12 straight Big Sky Conference home games dating back to the 2023-24 season.
• In three home games this season, PSU has trailed for only 27 seconds with two wire-to-wire wins.
• With a 13-1 home record last season, Portland State trailed in only five of the 14 games, winning wire-to-wire in nine games. In a total of 560 minutes played in Viking Pavilion, the Vikings trailed for only 67 minutes and 59 seconds. And the Vikings' lone home loss came by a single point.
• THE SHIP TURNS 100: When Portland State's Viking Pavilion opened for the 2018-19 season it was a long overdue upgrade for the Viking basketball program. PSU's Nov. 19 win over Evergreen State marked the 100th game for the men's basketball program in Viking Pavilion. PSU won 70 of the first 100 games, and more recently has turned "The Ship" into a house of horrors for opponents.