PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (13-9, 5-4)
AT IDAHO VANDALS (10-13, 5-5)

Thursday, February 6, 2025, 6 p.m., ICCU Arena (4,200), Moscow, ID
Live Stream: ESPN+
Live Stats: https://govandals.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
 

OPENING TIP

Portland State is planning for better results in the second half of its longest road stretch of the season when it travels to Idaho and Eastern Washington this week. The Vikings played well but lost the first two of the four-game road trip at Montana (92-77) and Montana State (74-73) last week.
           
Despite the losses, PSU (13-9, 5-4) hung on to a share of third place in the Big Sky Conference. Suddenly though, the middle of the Big Sky is crowded as the Vikings are tied with Idaho State (also 5-4) and four other teams are within one game of third. Included in that group is Idaho (5-5), making Thursday's game vitally important to Portland State in the standings.
           
Although they lost back-to-back games for the first time in nearly two months, PSU has been formidable both offensively and defensively this season. The Vikings are averaging 78.5 points and lead the Big Sky in steals, blocked shots and turnovers forced.
           
Also in the back of their minds is a 75-63 win over Idaho back on Jan. 11 and 64-59 win over Eastern Washington on Jan. 9. So the Vikings know they can beat their upcoming foes. And, those games are followed by a run of five of the last seven Big Sky games at home.
           
Elevating his play last week was SR F Terri Miller Jr. who scored a career-high 25 points with six rebounds at Montana. He followed that with another 25 points and six rebounds at Montana State. Miller Jr. shot .645/.571/1.000 in those two games. He now leads the Vikings in scoring in Big Sky games (14.9). SR G Qiant Myers had a PSU career-high 28 points (11-18 FG) at Montana.
           
Portland State hopes to see the return of Hayden Curtiss this week (ankle). He would bring increased size, shooting prowess and shot blocking back to the roster.
           
Idaho (10-13, 5-5) has been up and down over the past month, alternating wins and losses for 10 straight games. The Vandals won at Weber State last week, then followed with a loss at Idaho State. Idaho is 6-4 at home this season.
           
Thursday's game at ICCU Arena in Moscow is a 6 p.m. tip off. The game can be seen on ESPN+.
 

COMING UP

The Vikings play at Eastern Washington on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. 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. IDAHO

• ALL-TIME SERIES: Portland State has won six straight in the series and nine of the last 10 games over Idaho. The Vikings lead the all-time series, 23-17, and the Big Sky series, 13-7... PSU is 6-4 in Big Sky games against the Vandals in Moscow.
• EARLIER THIS SEASON: Jan. 11, 2025 at Viking Pavilion, PSU 74, UI 63: The Vikings took advantage as big men Tre-Vaughn Minott and Terri Miller Jr. made the difference. The tandem combined for 33 points and 16 rebounds and controlled play inside. Miller had 17 points, on 8-13 field goals, and eight rebounds. Minott was a perfect 7-7 from the field and 2-2 at the line for 16 points, eight rebounds and a blocked shot. Their performance fueled a 45-25 rebounding edge and .517 to .382 shooting advantage.... Jaylin Henderson scored 14 points with six rebounds and four assists. Qiant Myers added 11 points, four rebounds and seven assists... Jack Payne led the Vandals with 15 points and seven rebounds. Kolton Mitchell scored 14 points with seven assists... the Vikings held Idaho to 7-34 from three-point range (.206).
• 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 56-60. He is 6-1 against Idaho... the Vandals are coached by Alex Pribble (California, 2007) in his second season. He has a 21-34 record overall and is 0-3 against the Vikings.

 

SCOUTING THE VANDALS

• The University of Idaho is located in Moscow, ID. The Vandals were 11-21 last season, 5-13 and ninth in the Big Sky Conference. Idaho has been a member of the Big Sky from 1963-96 and 2014 to present. Idaho has won four Big Sky regular season championships, four Big Sky Tournament championships, and made five appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
• Idaho is 10-13 this season, 5-5 and tied for fifth place in the Big Sky Conference. The Vandals average 74.4 points and allow 75.0 points per game. They shoot .451 from the field and lead the Big Sky in three-point field goals made with 9.3 per game.
• Kristian Gonzales leads a very balanced scoring attack at 11.5 points per game... Tyler Mrus averages 10.8 points and ranks second in the Big Sky in three-point field goal made with 2.5 per game... Kolton Mitchell averages 11.0 points and leads the team in assists (3.3).

 

HOT SHOTS

• SHOOT YOUR SHOT: Portland State is shooting .486 as a team this season to rank second in the Big Sky behind Northern Colorado... SR C Tre-Vaughn Minott leads the way at .681 from the field. He is currently on a school-record pace (Julius Thomas, .671, 2009-10)... SR F Isaiah Johnson has also been excellent at .541, SR F Hayden Curtiss is shooting .592 (including .423 on three-pointers), JR F Isaac Brice is at .615 and SR F Terri Miller Jr. shoots .508 from the field.
• MILLER TIME: SR F Terri Miller Jr. logged a career-high 25 points at Montana on 10-15 from the field, 3-5 three-pointers and 2-2 at the line. He added six rebounds, an assist and a blocked shot. He followed that with 25 points at Montana State on 10-16 from the field, 1-2 three-pointers, and 4-4 at the line with six more rebounds, two steals, an assist and a block... Since joining the starting lineup eight games ago, Miller has averaged 15.4 points and 6.4 rebounds.
• Q RATING: SR G Qiant Myers went for a PSU career-high 28 points at Montana on Thursday (he scored 30 in a game while playing at D-II Western Oregon) to continue his recent run of hot play. Myers made 11-18 from the field and added four assists. Myers has averaged 15.7 points and 6.6 assists while shooting .500 from the field over the last seven games... Myers has four points-assists double-doubles this season.
• 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 this season. PSU currently averages 5.1 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 1.7 per game.
• FRONT RUNNERS: With an 8-1 home record, Portland State has trailed in only three of nine home games this season, winning wire-to-wire in six games. In a total of 360 minutes played in Viking Pavilion, the Vikings have trailed for only 30:09.
• LEADERS: Portland State currently leads the Big Sky Conference in turnovers forced (15.1), turnover margin (+2.0), steals (8.5), blocks (5.1) and fast break points (12.4) and ranks second in four other categories... SR G Qiant Myers leads the Big Sky in assists (6.6) and ranks ninth in the nation.

 

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 .639 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 missed SR F Hayden Curtiss for the past six games due to an ankle sprain. The 6-11 Curtiss is averaging 6.8 points and 3.4 rebounds in 16 minutes per game.

 

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 99 throw-downs (4.5 per game) led by SR C Tre-Vaughn Minott (36) and SR G Jaylin Henderson (26). 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: 99 in 22 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