PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (16-11, 8-6)
AT WEBER STATE WILDCATS (3-11, 9-19)

Saturday, February 22, 2025, 2 p.m. MT/1 p.m. PT, Dee Events Center (12,000), Ogden, UT
Live Stream: ESPN+
Live Stats: weberstatesports.com/sidearmstats/mbball/media
 

OPENING TIP

The margin has narrowed for the Portland State Vikings in the Big Sky Conference standings. PSU has held down third place for a handful weeks, but following a Thursday-night loss at Idaho State now has just a one-game lead over three Big Sky foes.
           
Portland State (16-11, 8-6) is still in a good position and controls its destiny - at least as a third-place team. But it won't be easy as the Vikings have another road game on Saturday afternoon at Weber State. PSU has lost six of eight Big Sky road games this season. The good news is that the WSU game will be the last on the road this season. And, the Vikings already have a 74-56 win over the Wildcats earlier this year in Portland. So, Saturday's game is big for the Vikings as Montana State, Idaho State and Idaho (all 7-7) have a chance to catch them with a win and a PSU loss.
           
PSU trails Montana (12-2) and Northern Colorado (12-3) by a wide margin, but third place in the Big Sky will be valuable come tournament time as it earns a quarterfinal round matchup with the sixth-seeded team.
           
The Vikings will need to regroup after an 82-74 loss at Idaho State. SR F Terri Miller Jr. had a big night with a career-high 28 points on 11-17 from the field and 5-6 at the free throw line. SR G Qiant Myers added 21 points as well, but the Vikings will need more production up and down the lineup to get a win at Weber State.
           
For their part, the Wildcats (9-19, 3-11) also need to regroup. WSU lost at home to Sacramento State, 80-77, to drop into a tie for ninth place with the Hornets. Weber State has lost four games in a row, but all have been close, single-digit defeats.
           
Uncharacteristically, WSU is just 4-9 in home games this season. The Vikings are 5-9 on the road with losses in four of the last five road games. That means late Saturday afternoon in Ogden, UT one team will walk away with great satisfaction and a little bit of relief.
           
Saturday's game tips off at 2 p.m. MT/1 p.m. PT. It will air on ESPN+.
 

COMING UP

The Vikings come home next week to host Montana State (Feb. 27), Montana (Mar. 1) and Sacramento State (Mar. 3) to close out the regular season.
           
The Big Sky Conference Tournament takes place Mar. 8-12 at Boise's Idaho Central Arena.
 

WHERE THEY STAND AND WHO THEY PLAY

#1 Montana                 12-2    2/22 at MSU; 2/27 at SAC; 3/1 at PSU; 3/3 EWU      
#2 Northern Colorado  12-3   2/22 UI; 3/1 at NAU; 3/3 at WSU
#3 Portland State        8-6       2/22 at WSU; 2/27 MSU; 3/1 UM; 3/3 SAC
#4 Montana State       7-7       2/22 UM; 2/27 at PSU; 3/1 at SAC; 3/3 UI
#5 Idaho State            7-7   2/22 SAC; 2/27 at UI; 3/1 at EWU; 3/3 NAU
#6 Idaho                     7-7   2/22 at UNC; 2/27 ISU; 3/1 WSU; 3/3 at MSU
#7 Eastern Washington   6-8       2/22 at NAU; 2/27 WSU; 3/1 ISU; 3/3 UM
#8 Northern Arizona       6-9   2/22 EWU; 3/1 UNC; 3/3 at ISU
#9 Weber State              3-11  2/22 PSU; 2/27 at EWU; 3/1 at UI; 3/3 UNC
#10 Sacramento State    3-11  2/22 at ISU; 2/27 UM; 3/1 MSU; 3/3 at PSU
 

GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE vs. WEBER STATE

• ALL-TIME SERIES: Weber State leads the all-time series, 46-20, including 42-20 in Big Sky Conference games... the Vikings are just 4-24 all-time in Ogden - their worst record at another Big Sky school. PSU's last win in Ogden was in 2020, 89-83. The Vikings have lost three in a row there since... despite the Wildcats' big series lead, PSU leads 7-6 in the last 13 meetings.
• EARLIER THIS SEASON: Jan. 23, 2025 at Viking Pavilion, PSU 74, WSU 56:  Portland State didn't trail for a single second in the win over Weber State. The Vikings held Weber State, a team averaging 75.2 points, nearly 20 points under their average. The Wildcats managed only .352 shooting as the Vikings blocked eight shots... All five Viking starters scored in double figures. Jaylin Henderson and Isaiah Johnson each had a team-high 14 points. Henderson added six rebounds and five assists while Johnson was 6-8 from the field... Weber State got a strong performance from Blaise Threatt. The senior guard had 22 points, seven rebounds and four assists... Portland State dominated the glass, 43-30, and scored 50 points in the paint, compared to only 18 for WSU.
• 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 59-61. He is 3-4 against Weber State... the Wildcats are coached by Eric Duft (Sterling College, 1995) in his third season. He was a long-time assistant prior to being named head coach. Duft has a career record of 47-46. He is 3-2 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 9-19 this season, 3-11 in the Big Sky Conference. WSU averages 72.9 points per game while allowing 72.4 points. The Wildcats shoot .461 from the field, .358 from three-point range and .691 at the free throw line.
• Senior guard Blaise Threatt averages 19.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.0 steals per game. Senior guard Miguel Tomley averages 11.2 points. Senior forward Dyson Koehler is averaging 10.1 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. Viljami Vartiainen has made 56 three-point field goals (.415) and comes off a 24-point game against Sacramento State.

 

HOT SHOTS

• FRONT RUNNERS: With a 10-1 home record, Portland State has trailed in only three of 11 home games this season, winning wire-to-wire in eight games. In a total of 440 minutes played in Viking Pavilion, the Vikings have trailed for only 30 minutes and nine seconds.
• BIG SKY LEADER: SR F Terri Miller Jr. has turned up his play in Big Sky Conference contests. He averages 11.8 points this season, but is up to 14.9 points in conference games and 16.2 points in the past 10 games. At Idaho State, Miller turned in another career-high performance with 28 points (11-17 FG, 1-2 3-pt, 5-6 FT), adding four rebounds, three assists, two steals and a blocked shot... Miller now has four 20-point games this season.
• ALSO ACCELERATING: SR G Qiant Myers has turned up the offense as well. Myers scored 21 points at Idaho State. He now averages 13.0 in Big Sky Conference games after averaging 7.9 points in non-conference games.
• BLOCK PARTY: Portland State had a season-high nine blocked shots in a win at Pacific (12/18) and has four games of eight blocks this season. PSU currently averages 5.2 send-backs per game to lead the Big Sky... PSU has 141 total blocks in 27 games. The school record is 153 in 32 games in 2006-07. The school record for blocks per game is 4.78, the same year... SR C Tre-Vaughn Minott has had a career-high four blocked shots five times this season (Wofford, Denver, Weber State, Eastern Washington, Northern Colorado) and ranks second in the Big Sky and 33rd in the nation at 1.81 per game.
• EVERYBODY PLAYS, NEARLY EVERYBODY STARTS: On Head Coach Jase Coburn's teams everybody plays... and nearly everybody starts at some point as Coburn routinely adjusts lineups based on a myriad of factors. In his 121 games as head coach, Coburn has started 40 different lineups. The Vikings currently have the longest stretch of the same five starters in Coburn's coaching career at 13 games (Myers, Henderson, Johnson, Miller, Minott). They are 8-5 as a group... of the 50 active players on Coburn's four teams, 39 have started. 
• TRENDY: Portland State is 13-2 when leading at halftime... the Vikings are 12-4 when out-rebounding an opponent and 14-2 when out-shooting an opponent... PSU is 5-5 in games decided by six points or less.
• LEADERS: Portland State currently leads the Big Sky Conference in turnovers forced (14.9), turnover margin (+1.8), steals (8.7), blocked shots (5.2), field goal percentage defense (.430) and fast break points (12.6)... SR G Qiant Myers leads the Big Sky in assists (6.2) and ranks 16th in the nation... SR C Tre-Vaughn Minott ranks 33th in the nation in blocked shots (1.81).

 

SHOOT YOUR SHOT

• HIGH PERCENTAGE SHOTS, PART 1: SR C Tre-Vaughn Minott is on pace to set a school record for field goal percentage in season. He is currently at .672 (.692 in Big Sky play)... along the way, he also tied the school record for consecutive field goals made (12), set twice previously... the current school record is .671, set by former NFL star (yes, NFL star) Julius Thomas in 2009-10. JT also holds the second and third spots in the field goal percentage list (.643, 2008-09 and .639, 2006-07), and of course the career shooting record (.663, 2006-10).
• HIGH PERCENTAGE SHOTS, PART 2: SR C Tre-Vaughn Minott (yes, him again) has set a new record for dunks in a season (42). No wonder he has such a great shooting percentage. However, even if you take the dunks out, he is shooting .506 from the field... Minott's five dunks in a single game, Jan. 11 vs. Idaho is also a school record... the previous record for a season was 40, by Sal Nuhu in 2018-19.
• HIGH PERCENTAGE SHOTS, PART 3: The Vikings have 112 dunks this season, smashing the school record of 82, set in 2018-19 in 32 games.
• HIGH PERCENTAGE SHOTS, PART 4: Portland State is shooting .483 as a team this season to rank third in the Big Sky. The school record for a season is .492... leading the way are SR C Tre-Vaughn Minott (.672), SR F Isaiah Johnson (.553), SR F Hayden Curtiss (.584), JR F Isaac Brice (.630) and SR F Terri Miller Jr. (.514).