Early Start To Big Sky Play Has Vikings On The Road Against Bengals - Portland State Vikings

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PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (2-3, 0-0) at IDAHO STATE BENGALS (1-5, 0-0)

Thursday, December 2, 2021, 7 p.m. MT/6 p.m. PT • Reed Gym, Pocatello, ID
Live Stream: ESPN+
Live Stats: www.ViksLive.com
Complete notes and stats in pdf

THE OPENING TIP

An early start to the Big Sky Conference season takes place this week as Portland State goes on the road to face Idaho State and Weber State. The Vikings will try to turn their recent fortunes against a pair of teams that finished in the top half of the Big Sky Conference last year. ISU tied for fourth place (8-6) while Weber State was third (12-3) in 2020-21.

Idaho State was picked to place sixth in the Big Sky Conference preseason polls this season, while Weber State was picked to place second. The Vikings were picked seventh by the coaches and eighth by the media.

PSU (2-3) tries to bounce back from a rough Thanksgiving Week in which it took losses to Portland and undefeated Iowa. A team that has played good defense and rebounded well through the first five games, the Vikings simply shot too poorly to win either game last week.

Some positive signs heading into Big Sky play for the Vikings include the play of SR F James Jean-Marie (13.4 ppg, 11.2 rpg), who leads the league in rebounding; JR G Marlon Ruffin (13.4 ppg, .481 FG%), who went for 18 points at Iowa; and SR F Khalid Thomas (10.0 ppg, 6.2 rpg), who leads the Big Sky in steals (2.4 pg). Also, while Portland State has not shot well in recent games, the Vikings have held opponents to .381 from the field (a Big Sky best) and .260 from three-point range.

The Vikings will attempt to restore their shooting touch against two teams they did not face on the road last season due to a COVID-impacted schedule. PSU did play both Idaho State and Weber State twice, splitting each series, with all the games played at Viking Pavilion.

Idaho State (1-5) comes into Thursday's contest on a five-game losing streak. The Bengals opened the year with an 82-61 win over Eastern Oregon, but has been unable to eclipse the 60-point mark since then. Like the Vikings, shooting has been an issue for the Bengals as they shoot .395 from the field, .285 from three-point range and .672 at the free throw line.

Following Thursday's game at Idaho State, the Vikings will face Weber State in Ogden on Saturday. The Wildcats are undefeated (6-0) and host Northern Arizona on Thursday night.

PSU's game with Idaho State will be played at Reed Gym in Pocatello on the ISU campus. It is the second in a stretch of five out of six on the road for the Vikings. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. MT/6 p.m. PT. The game, like all Big Sky games, will air on ESPN+. Live statistics are available at www.ViksLive.com.

PORTLAND STATE AND THE BIG SKY CONFERENCE

Portland State begins its 26th campaign in the Big Sky Conference this week. PSU joined the league in 1996-97, reinstating a once-dormant (for 15 seasons) basketball program.

The Vikings have won Big Sky Conference regular season titles in 2004-05 and 2007-08. They won Big Sky Tournament titles in 2007-08 and 2008-09, advancing to the NCAA Tournament each season. Since then, PSU's best finish in the Big Sky has been third place.

Portland State is 202-210 all-time in Big Sky Conference games, 214-225 including Big Sky Tournament games. PSU is 140-72 in home games, 68-141 in road games and 6-12 in neutral-site games.

First-year Head Coach Jase Coburn, hired last April, is PSU's seventh Head Coach in the Big Sky era and 14th all-time in its 61st competitive season.

The Vikings were picked to place seventh in the Big Sky Conference in the preseason coaches poll, eighth in the preseason media poll.

COMING UP

The Big Sky Conference schedule will take a three-week pause for more non-conference games following this week's play. Big Sky play restarts on Dec. 30 when the Vikings host Eastern Washington.

In the meantime, PSU is home to host Cal Poly on Dec. 11, travels to CSUN on Dec. 18, then Utah State on Dec. 21 to round out the non-conference schedule.

GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE vs. IDAHO STATE

ALL-TIME SERIES: Portland State leads the all-time series with Idaho State, 35-22, and the Big Sky Conference series, 32-18... the Vikings are 11-12 in Big Sky games in Pocatello, but have not played there since the 2019-20 season... PSU has won four of the last five meetings and seven of the last nine... the season series was split in 2020-21, with both games played in Portland.
LAST SEASON: Jan. 21 at Viking Pavilion: ISU 64, PSU 57: A solid defensive effort was overshadowed by poor shooting for the Vikings. The Vikings forced Idaho State into 17 turnovers and held the Bengals to 64 points. However, they shot 19-56 from the field for a .339 mark. Idaho State shot 21-43, getting several fewer attempts because of the turnovers. But some strong three-point shooting - at one point, the Bengals were 10-15 from three-point range - allowed them to overcome their miscues... Amari McCray scored 14 points with six rebounds to lead the Vikings. Khalid Thomas added 11 points and five boards for the Vikings... Tarik Cool had 17 points and four assists to pace Idaho State... Austin Smellie added 13 points, hitting 3-6 three-pointers. Jan. 23 at Viking Pavilion: PSU 69, ISU 43: This time, the defensive performance was rewarded. Portland State's relentless pressure set the tone early, and the offense matched effort. The Viking defense forced 14 turnovers in the first half, and held the Bengals to 5-27 from the field (.185) in the second half... On offense, the Vikings bounced back from a shoddy shooting performance to hit 26-58 from the field for a respectable .448 mark, and 14-18 at the free throw line (.778)... The Vikings' full-court pressure forced 18 turnovers in all, which they turned into 17 points. Idaho State finished at 13-47 shooting from the field (.277). The 43 points allowed by PSU were the fewest by a Division I opponent in 12 seasons... Khalid Thomas had a strong all-around game with 14 points on 4-6 from the field and 6-7 at the line. He grabbed six rebounds, had three steals, two assists and a blocked shot... James Scott also scored 14 points... ISU got 10 points each from Tarik Cool, Robert Ford and Brayden Parker.
COACHES: Vikings Coach Jase Coburn (Arizona State, 2006) is in his first season as Head Coach. He has spent eight previous seasons on the Park Blocks as an Assistant and Associate Head Coach... the Bengals are coached by Ryan Looney in his third season. Looney is 22-38 overall, 1-3 against the Vikings.

SCOUTING IDAHO STATE

Idaho State is located in Pocatello, ID. The Bengals are an original member of the Big Sky Conference. ISU has won two regular season Big Sky Championships, and one tournament championship in its history.
The Bengals were 13-11 last season, 8-6 and tied for fourth in the Big Sky. All five starters return from that team.
ISU is 1-5 this season and is on a five-game losing streak, having fallen to Pepperdine, Seattle, Nebraska, Kansas City and Air Force. The Bengals are 1-1 at home.
Idaho State ranks last in the Big Sky in scoring (59.8), free throw percentage (.672) and field goal percentage defense (.502). The Bengals allow 69.0 points per game.
Junior guard Robert Ford III leads the team with 11.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. He is shooting .400 from three-point range and .882 at the line.
Senior guard Tarik Cool averages 9.5 points and 2.5 assists per game.

THE NEW-LOOK VIKINGS

Portland State was guaranteed to look different in 2021-22 as Jase Coburn has taken over as the Vikings' new Head Coach. Through the first five games, PSU has looked quite a bit different on the court. Although the Vikings have eight returners and seven newcomers, only one returning player has been in the starting lineup.

SR F Khalid Thomas has started all five averaging 10.0 points, 6.2 rebounds and a Big Sky-leading 2.4 steals.

Newcomers in the starting lineup have included: JR Gs Mikal Starks (3.8 ppg, 1.4 apg), Michael Carter III (7.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.6 apg) and Marlon Ruffin (13.4 ppg, 3.3 rpg), and SR F James Jean-Marie (13.4 ppg, Big Sky-leading 11.2 rpg). Jean-Marie opened the season with four straight double-doubles. Ruffin has scored in double figures in four of five games.

Off the bench, JR G Ian Burke (5.0 ppg, 3.2 rpg, .600 FG%), SR G Ezekiel Alley (6.4 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 4.0 apg), SO F Jacob Eyman (2.0 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 1.0 bpg) and FR G Paris Dawson (7.8 ppg, Big Sky-leading 14-14 FT) have all played big minutes.

The Vikings also expect JR G Damion Squire to play a big role once he is healthy and on the floor.

WHO IS HOT

SR F James Jean-Marie had four straight double-doubles to open the season. He is the first Viking with four straight double-doubles in PSU's Big Sky Conference era (1996-present)... Jean-Marie now has five games of double-figure rebounds and leads the Big Sky with 11.2 per game.
JR G Marlon Ruffin matched his season-high with 18 points (7-14 FG, 3-4 FT), four rebounds and two steals at Iowa... Ruffin has four games in double figures this season and is the co-scoring leader (13.4).
FR G Paris Dawson leads the Big Sky in free throw percentage at 14-14 this season.
SR F Khalid Thomas leads the Big Sky in steals (2.4).
The Vikings lead the Big Sky Conference in field goal percentage defense (.381).

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