SACRAMENTO STATE HORNETS (7-23, 3-14)
AT PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (18-12, 10-7)

Monday, March 3, 2025, 7 p.m., Viking Pavilion (3,094), Portland, OR
Live Stream: ESPN+ • Play-by-play: Matt Richert • Analyst: Devon Pouncey
Live Stats: www.ViksLive.com
 

OPENING TIP

Portland State has one more box to check on its home schedule when the Vikings host Sacramento State on Monday in the final game of the Big Sky Conference season. The Vikings have accomplished a lot, but still have a lot to play for.
     
Portland State (18-12, 10-7) is still reveling in a 79-76 overtime win over first-place Montana on Saturday. The Vikings moved to 18 wins on the season - the most in five years - and remain tied for third as they seek the number-three seed in next week's Big Sky Conference Tournament. But there is more on the horizon. Consider:
 

• A win over the Hornets on Monday would give them a perfect Big Sky Conference home record this season (9-0), something that PSU has accomplished only three times previously (1997-98, 8-0; 2004-05, 7-0; and 2007-08, 8-0), but never done with a 10-team conference.
• A win would be PSU's 11th straight at home and make them 13-1 at home this season matching their best record ever at home in the Big Sky era (also 13-1 in 1998-99 and 2007-08).
• A win would mean PSU has beaten every team in the Big Sky Conference this season. That's right the Vikings lost at Sacramento State, 56-53, two months ago in the Big Sky opener.
• A win would make 19 total for the season, which would tie for fourth-most in the Big Sky era.
• A win would guarantee PSU at least a share of third place which would be the highest conference finish since 2011-12.
• A win would make everyone on the Park Blocks very happy.

 
With two wins over Montana State and Montana this past week, the Vikings appear to be back on track after suffering a four-losses-in-seven-games stretch. They have followed the lead of Terri Miller Jr., who is playing his best basketball of the season. Miller had 21 points and 11 rebounds in the PSU's win over the Griz. He was a big part of a thrilling comeback that saw the Vikings rally from 10 points down with 4:30 to play to send the game to overtime and pick up the victory. Miller has averaged 15.0 points, 5.8 rebounds and shot .526 from the field during Big Sky play.
     
PSU is now guaranteed a first-round bye in the Big Sky Tournament. The Vikings will open in a quarterfinal round matchup on Monday, Mar. 10 against an opponent to be determined based on all the final seedings. The Vikings will be either the third or fourth seed. Currently, a potential opponent appears to be either Montana State or Idaho, both of whom are tied for fifth going into Monday's final game.
     
The final hurdle is Sacramento State (7-23, 3-14). Though the Hornets are in 10th place, they do have the knowledge of their previous win over PSU. Sacramento State comes into the contest having lost three in a row. The Hornets are 2-12 on the road this season.
     
Monday's game tips off at 7 p.m. at Viking Pavilion. PSU will honor five seniors prior to the game: SR F Isaiah Johnson, SR F Hayden Curtiss, SR G Shane Nowell, SR G Qiant Myers and SR C Tre-Vaughn Minott. The game can be seen on ESPN+. Tickets are available at www.GoViks.com.
 
THE BIG SKY: WHERE THEY STAND AND WHO THEY PLAY
#t1 Montana                    14-3                              3/3 EWU  
#t1 Northern Colorado   14-3                       3/3 at WSU
#t3 Portland State         10-7                             3/3 SAC
#t3 Idaho State                10-7                              3/3 NAU
#t5 Montana State          8-9                                3/3 UI
#t5 Idaho                          8-9                            3/3 at MSU
#7 Northern Arizona     7-10                         3/3 at ISU
#8 Eastern Washington 6-11                          3/3 UM
#9 Weber State               5-12                             3/3 UNC
#10 Sacramento State  3-14                        3/3 at PSU
 
2025 Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Championship Schedule
 
First Round, Saturday, March 8
Game 1: #9 Seed vs. #10 Seed – 5:30 p.m. MT/4:30 p.m. PT (ESPN+)
Game 2: #7 Seed vs. #8 Seed – 8 p.m. MT/7 p.m. PT (ESPN+)
 
Quarterfinals, Sunday, March 9
Game 3: #1 Seed vs. Game 1 Winner – 5:30 p.m. MT/4:30 p.m. PT (ESPN+)
Game 4: #2 Seed vs. Game 2 Winner – 8 p.m. MT/7 p.m. PT (ESPN+)
 
Quarterfinals, Monday, March 10
Game 5: #4 Seed vs. #5 Seed – 5:30 p.m. MT/4:30 p.m. PT (ESPN+)
Game 6: #3 Seed vs. #6 Seed – 8 p.m. MT/7 p.m. PT (ESPN+)
 
Semifinals, Tuesday, March 11
Game 7: Game 3 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner – 6 p.m. MT/5 p.m. PT (ESPNU)
Game 8: Game 4 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner – 9:30 p.m. MT/8:30 p.m. PT (ESPN2)
 
Championship, Wednesday, March 12
Game 9: Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner – 9:30 p.m. MT/8:30 p.m. PT (ESPN2)
 

GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE vs. SACRAMENTO STATE

• ALL-TIME SERIES: Portland State leads the all-time series, 35-23, and the Big Sky Conference series, 34-22... PSU is 11-16 in games played at Sacramento State... the Hornets have won three of the last four meetings over the past two seasons, including two in a row at the Hornets Nest.
• Jan. 4 at Sacramento, SAC 56, PSU 53: Portland State's shooting went south and with it a chance for victory. The Vikings entered the game leading the Big Sky in shooting (.498) and scoring (83.4). Credit the Hornets for finding a way to stifle those numbers with a game played at their pace... PSU shot a solid .542 from the field in the first half (13-24) and held a 31-25 halftime edge. But the Vikings managed only 8-27 after intermission (.296). Meanwhile, Sacramento State accomplished just the opposite, going from 8-29 (.276) to 11-22 (.500)... Isaiah Johnson led Portland State with 13 points on 5-9 from the field, 2-4 from distance and 1-2 at the line... EJ Neal scored 10 of his team-high 12 points in the second half to lead four Hornets in double figures. Jacob Holt added 10 points and 10 rebounds... Portland State's 53 points were the fewest in more than two seasons, a span of 67 games.
• 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 61-63. He is 3-4 against Sacramento State... Michael Czepil (Nicholls State, 2010) is in his first season as Interim Head Coach of the Hornets.

 

SCOUTING SACRAMENTO STATE

• Sacramento State was 10-24 last season, 4-14 and 10th place in the Big Sky Conference. The Hornet program joined the Big Sky Conference the same year as Portland State, 1996-97.
• The Hornets are 7-23 this season, including 3-14 in the Big Sky Conference. They average 66.4 points per game while allowing 70.5 points per game. The Hornets are shooting .431 from the field and .668 at the free throw line. They make 8.3 three-point field goals per game.
• Senior forward Jacob Holt averages 16.4 points and 7.1 rebounds per game while shooting .513 from the field. Junior guard Julian Vaughns is averaging 10.9 points per game. Sophomore guard Bailey Nunn leads the team with 3.6 assists per game.

 

HOT SHOTS

• FRONT RUNNERS: With a 12-1 home record, Portland State has trailed in only four of 13 home games this season, winning wire-to-wire in nine games. In a total of 520 minutes played in Viking Pavilion, the Vikings have trailed for only 49 minutes and 55 seconds. And the Vikings lone home loss came by a single point.
• DEFENDING THE SHIP: Portland State has held home opponents to 60.7 points per game, .372 field goal shooting and .265 three-point shooting. The Vikings are forcing an average of 14.8 turnovers, making 6.5 blocked shots and 9.1 steals per game. PSU has a +20.2 scoring margin at home... overall PSU leads the Big Sky in field goal percentage defense (.428), blocked shots (5.13) and steals (8.33) and ranks second in scoring defense (69.7)... in Big Sky games, those numbers are even better with PSU allowing only 66.4 points, .424 shooting, .279 three-point shooting, 4.5 blocks and 7.4 steals to lead in each category.
• WHAT A COMEBACK: Portland State trailed Montana by 10 points (63-53) with 4:30 to play on Saturday. SR F Hayden Curtiss hit a three-pointer with 3:52 left to cut it to 63-56 and that's when the defense kicked in. The Vikings held the Griz scoreless on their final six possessions, including forcing three turnovers. PSU tied the game, got to overtime, and followed SR F Terri Miller Jr. (7 pts, 3 reb in OT) to victory.
• BIG SKY LEADER: SR F Terri Miller Jr. has turned up his play in Big Sky Conference contests. He averaged 8.7 points prior to Big Sky play, but is up to 15.0 points in conference games for a season average of 12.2. At Idaho State (2/20), 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... he posted 14 points and a career-high tying 11 rebounds at Weber State (2/22)... Miller had his nose broken in the first half against Montana Stat (2/27) but managed to still play 20 minutes, scoring 12 points (6-9 FG)... on Saturday, his 21 points (8-15 FG, 5-7 FT) and 11 rebounds were vital, including seven points and three rebounds in overtime, to PSU's victory.
• BLOCK PARTY: With six blocked shots against Montana on Saturday night, Portland State established a new school record with 154 blocked shots for the season in 30 games. The previous mark was 153 in 32 games in 2006-07... PSU averages 5.13 blocks per game this season to lead the Big Sky... 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... 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 1.83 per game.
• TRENDY: Portland State is 14-3 when leading at halftime... the Vikings are 14-4 when out-rebounding an opponent and 15-3 when out-shooting an opponent... PSU is 6-6 in games decided by six points or less.
• LEADERS: Portland State currently leads the Big Sky Conference in turnovers forced (14.5), turnover margin (+1.9), steals (8.3), blocked shots (5.1), field goal percentage defense (.428) and fast break points (12.0)... SR G Qiant Myers leads the Big Sky in assists (6.1) and ranks 17th in the nation... SR C Tre-Vaughn Minott ranks 32nd in the nation in blocked shots (1.83).