The Portland State Vikings go on their final Big Sky Conference road trip of the season this week as they travel to Montana State and Montana for league games. The Vikings play at MSU on Thursday, then Montana on Saturday. Both games tip off at 6:05 p.m. PT.

The Vikings will carry a nine-game Big Sky Conference winning streak, four-game Big Sky road winning streak, and first-place standing into Bozeman. PSU lost a non-conference game at Cal State Fullerton, 85-69, last Saturday, ending the nine-game overall winning streak and four-game overall road winning streak.

It is always a tough trip through the Big Sky state for PSU. The Vikings are just 1-10 all-time at Montana State, 2-9 at Montana, in league games. The irony in this week's game at MSU is PSU clinched its' first-ever Big Sky Conference championship and right to host the tournament in 2005 at Worthington Arena. That game also came in a late-season road trip for the Vikings. Although PSU has already clinched a share of the Big Sky title, it needs one more win (or Weber State loss) to clinch the hosting rights for this year's tournament.

Portland State is 8-8 on the road this season, 4-2 in Big Sky road games. With eight road wins this year, the Vikings have the most since winning 10 in 1975-76.

Montana State, losers of two in a row and four of six, are 11-1 at home. The Bobcats are 15-12 overall, 7-7 in the Big Sky and still fighting for a tournament berth.

Montana is 13-14 this season, also 7-7 in the Big Sky and trying to clinch a tournament berth. The Grizzlies are just 6-5 at home.

Weber State (14-12, 9-5) plays at Northern Arizona (18-10, 9-5) on Thursday, then Sacramento State on Monday.

Portland State will wrap up its Big Sky Conference schedule on Tuesday, Mar. 4 when it hosts Eastern Washington at the Stott Center.

THEY'VE GOT A SHARE, NOW THEY WANT IT ALL
Portland State has earned a share of the Big Sky Conference regular season title. Now, just one more win, or Weber State loss, and the Vikings will secure the hosting rights to the Big Sky Conference Tournament, Mar. 11-12.

Northern Arizona (9-5) and Weber State (9-5) still have the potential to tie the Vikings in the conference standings, and the league does recognize co-champions. However, PSU has swept the season series from Lumberjacks, meaning they would win the tiebreaker if needed. The Vikings and Wildcats split their season series so, for a tiebreaker, those two teams would have to go to record against conference opponents in descending order of finish. With NAU looking like it will finish no worse than third, PSU would win that tiebreaker with WSU, as the Wildcats have already lost to the Lumberjacks this year. Further assisting the Vikings in this breakdown is the fact that Weber State plays at Northern Arizona this Thursday night.

Winning the Big Sky and hosting the conference tournament will also assure the Vikings of a first-ever trip to the NCAA Division I post-season. Obviously, winning the Big Sky Tournament guarantees a trip to the NCAA Tournament. But, the NIT has also guaranteed the Big Sky Conference a berth in its' post-season tournament to the regular season champion if it gets knocked out of the Big Sky Tournament. That caveat was not in place when the Vikings lost in the Big Sky Tournament in 2005.

Portland State has never competed in the NCAA Division I Tournament. PSU made the NCAA College Division playoffs in 1967 (a forerunner to NCAA II), and twice competed in the NAIA playoffs in the 1950s.

PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS VS. MONTANA STATE BOBCATS
Thursday, February 28, 6:05 p.m., Worthington Arena (7,250), Bozeman, MT
Television: None ? Live Webcast: www.bigskytv.org ? Live Stats: www.GoViks.com
Radio: AM 910 KTRO, www.am910ktro.com
Pregame Show: 5:30 p.m. ? Tip-off: 6:05 p.m. ? Play-by-play: Tom Hewitt

STORYLINE
The home team has won in this series in the last six contests, including a Feb. 2 meeting at the Stott Center. The Vikings won that one, 96-85, behind 28 points from Jeremiah Dominguez and 26 from Deonte Huff. PSU made 39-47 free throws in a foul-plagued game, and commited just six turnovers. Carlos Taylor scored 31 points for the Bobcats... last season, PSU defeated Montana State, 96-71, in a Big Sky Tournament quarterfinal game. It was the largest margin of victory ever by PSU over MSU... Montana State held a four-season dominance over the Vikings (2000-04), winning eight straight in the series. Since then, PSU has won six of eight games, including five in a row on its' home court... MSU does hold a 10-1 edge over the Vikings in games at Worthington Arena.

PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS VS. MONTANA GRIZZLIES
Saturday, March 1, 6:05 p.m., Dahlberg Arena (7,321), Missoula, MT
Television: None ? Live Webcast: www.bigskytv.org ? Live Stats: www.GoViks.com
Radio: AM 910 KTRO, www.am910ktro.com
Pregame Show: 5:30 p.m. ? Tip-off: 6:05 p.m. ? Play-by-play: Tom Hewitt

STORYLINE
Picked second by the coaches and first by the media in the preseason polls, Montana has been a disappointment this season as the Grizzlies are battling just to reach the Big Sky Tournament... Portland State and Montana have split the season series each of the last three years. In 2006-07, each team won on the others' home court... PSU has won each of the last two meetings by the score of 70-68... this season, the Vikings took the first meeting at the Stott Center. Jeremiah Dominguez hit two free throws with five seconds left to break a 68-68 tie. He scored 26 points with five assists to lead the Vikings. PSU shot 87% at the line and outrebounded the Grizzlies, 32-24... the Vikings had lost the first seven Big Sky Conference games they played in Missoula, but have won twice in the last four seasons there - including a 70-68 win late last year.


STREAKING
The year 2008 has been good to the Portland State Vikings as they have gone 11-2 since the calendar turned over. The Vikings had lost their final three games of 2007.

Despite losing a non-conference game at Cal State Fullerton last Saturday (85-69), Portland State has won nine straight Big Sky games, and four straight Big Sky road games. Both of those marks are school records. The nine-game winning streak was the longest by Portland State as a Division I program. PSU also had winning streak of 12, set in 1954-55, when PSU competed as an NAIA program.

PORTLAND STATE'S BIG SKY WINNING STREAK
J.13 at Idaho State 71-61
J.19 Northern Colorado (ot) 85-83
J.31 Montana 70-68
F.2 Montana State 96-85
F.7 at Northern Arizona 71-68
F.9 at Sacramento State 79-56
F.14 Idaho State 81-58
F.16 Weber State 76-73
F.20 at Northern Colorado 88-79

THE BIG SKY CONFERENCE AND THE POSTSEASON
The Big Sky Conference season culminates with the Big Sky Tournament, Mar. 8-12. The top six teams in the league qualify for the post-season tournament, with the tournament champion earning a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

If Portland State can earn the hosting rights to the Big Sky Conference Tournament (the magic number is one), the athletic department will host the Tournament “Final Four” at the Rose Garden on Mar. 11-12. By conference rule, Portland State (and Sacramento State) is not allowed to host a Big Sky men's tournament at its' home facility due to the size of the venue (1,500 capacity).

Quarterfinal round games take place on Mar. 8 at the sites of the third- and fourth-place teams. The third seed will host the sixth seed, with four hosting five. The winners of those two games will advance to the Big Sky “Final Four.” The lowest remaining seed will play the number one seed, and the highest remaining seed will play the number two seed in the semifinals.

Portland State has qualified for the Big Sky Tournament the last four years in a row, and seven of its' 10 seasons eligible. Last year, PSU was the fourth seed and defeated Montana State at home in the quarterfinals, 96-71. The Vikings lost to eventuial champion Weber State, 77-74, in the conference semifinals in Ogden.

PSU has won the Big Sky Conference regular season once before (2005), but lost in the tournament semifinals, 71-61, to Weber State at Memorial Coliseum.

WINS AND LOSSES
Portland State is 18-9 this season, 8-8 on the road this year... the Vikings set a Division I school record for consecutive wins (9) and Big Sky road wins (4) this season... Portland State has now won 10 Big Sky games in a season for the third time in history (1997-98 and 2004-05) and matched its record for Big Sky wins with 11... the Vikings have won 11 of 13 since the beginning of the year, including seven in a row at home... Portland State has won 11 of 13 Big Sky games, with the two losses coming by a combined six points... more W/L notes:
? With last Wednesday's win, Portland State maintains its perfect record over Northern Colorado - 8-0 all-time and 4-0 in Big Sky Conference games.
? Following Saturday's loss, the Vikings are now 1-4 all-time against Cal State Fullerton.
? The Vikings are 10-1 at home this year and have won seven in a row at home.
? Portland State is 8-8 in road games this year. The only time PSU has won more than eight road games in a season was a 10-9 mark in 1975-76.
? PSU is now 109-43 in home games since basketball was reinstated for the 1996-97 season. Included in that total is an 80-27 record at the Stott Center.
? Portland State is 9-5 in close games (eight points or less).
? The Vikings are 2-1 in overtime games this season.
? Head Coach Ken Bone is 49-38 in his third year at Portland State.
? Bone is 26-20 all-time against Big Sky Conference opponents (including tournament games). Bone is 4-0 against Northern Colorado. He is 4--2 against the Bobcats, 3-2 against the Grizzlies.
? With a Jan. 19 win over Northern Colorado, Bone reached 300 career victories. He has a career-record of 307-155 in 16 years as a collegiate coach.

TWICE IS NICE
SR C Scott Morrison now has bookends to his Portland State career, with the Big Sky Conference title as a freshman in 2005, and one as a senior in 2008. He is the only member of the program (outside of athletic trainer Jim Wallis), to take part in the two (and only) Big Sky Conference basketball titles at Portland State. In addition, Morrison has taken part in the most successful four-year span of basketball at PSU since it returned to the Park Blocks in 1996-97. The Viking record from 2004-05 to present is 68-47, including 36-21 in Big Sky games.

ANOTHER RECORD SET TO FALL
When he tips it off this Thursday, SR C Scott Morrison will tie Seamus Boxley for the Portland State record for career games played. They will both stand at 114, but Morrison has a minimum of four games remaining this season. He has been a starter in 95 of his 113 games so far... Morrison already holds Portland State records for blocked shots in a career (177), season (70) and game (6).

KEYS TO VICTORY: FREE THROWS, REBOUNDING
It sounds obvious, but the Vikings have done some very simple things very well as they have built a nine-game Big Sky winning streak. PSU has outrebounded Big Sky opponents by an average of 6.5 per game and shot .750 at the line... the free throw shooting has been particularly valuable as the Vikings were once as low as .637 as a team. They have now improved to .688 on the season. They have also gotten to the line a lot more often, averaging 20-26.7 during the winning streak. Prior to that the Vikings were averaging 11.0-17.0 per game through the first 16 contests.

AND THEN THERE WAS ONE... AND NOW THERE ARE 13
Depth has been the key word for the Vikings this year, as 13 players have seen significant action at one point or another. However, a true testament to the depth is the fact that only SR G Deonte Huff has played in every game this season (27). Six players have missed games with injuries, while others have sat out due to coaching decisions and eligibility. Only seven players have competed in as many as 23 of the 27 contests... with SR G Dupree Lucas, SO F Julius Thomas and FR G Justynn Hammond all back from recent injuries, Portland State had all 13 players get minutes at Cal State Fullerton for the first time this season.

PLAYING BIG
He is the smallest man on the court every night, but 5'6” JR G Jeremiah Dominguez continues to play big for the Vikings. During PSU's nine-game Big Sky Conference winning streak, he is averaging 18.6 points and 5.0 assists while shooting nearly 50% from the field and over 90% at the line... this season's highlights for Dominguez:
? Dominguez leads the Vikings in scoring (13.6), three-point field goals (63), assists (4.0) and steals (49).
? He has 17 double-figure scoring games this year and five 20+ scoring games while shooting .457 from the field, .412 from three-point range and .846 at the line.
? Dominguez leads the Big Sky Conference in steals (1.88 per game), free throw percentage (.846) and three-point field goals made per game (2.42). He ranks third in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.57), and assists (4.04). He is also fourth in scoring.
? J.D. made the game-winning basket against IUPUI with 4.5 seconds remaining at the Top of the World Classic (11/16). He shot 60% from the field in the three games and was named All-Tournament.
? Dominguez scored 19 points, scoring nine of those in overtime, in leading the Vikings to a 60-53 win over Utah Valley (12/1). He also had three assists, three rebounds and three steals.
? Dominguez had a 27-point game (9-16 FG, 6-9 3-pt FG, 3-4 FT) against San Jose State (12/28) along with four assists, three rebounds, two steals and no turnovers.
? Dominguez scored 22 points with five assists and three steals in an 85-83 overtime win against Northern Colorado (1/19). He scored 10 points in the last 2:26 of overtime.
? Dominguez made two free throws with 5.7 seconds left to lift the Vikings to a 70-68 win over Montana (1/31). He scored 19 of his game-high 26 points (7-13 FG, 8-8 FT) in the second half.
? Another big second half led to a career-high 28 points in the win over Montana State (2/2). Dominguez scored 26 after intermission and added five steals. He hit 9-14 from the field, 4-6 from three-point range, 6-6 at the line.
? Dominguez scored the last eight Viking points, including 6-6 at the line in the final 30 seconds, turning a 68-68 tie into a 76-73 win over second-place Weber State (2/16).

SOME HEAT FROM THE GREAT WHITE NORTH
SR C Scott Morrison has come up big in the Vikings' nine-game Big Sky winning streak, averaging 15.7 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.6 blocks while shooting 60% from the field and over 70% at the line... Morrison's season highlights:
? Morrison has been shooting the ball at a career-best pace (.586) to rank third in the Big Sky. He is also leads the league in blocked shots (43) for the second year in a row.
? Morrison leads the Vikings in rebounding (6.2), blocked shots (43), double-doubles (5) and dunks (25). He ranks third in scoring (11.3).
? Morrison is PSU's all-time leading shot-blocker with 177 in his career and ranks second all-time in shooting percentage (.545).
? Morrison scored a career-high 23 points, hitting 10-13 FGs and 3-4 FTs, in an 85-83 overtime win against Northern Colorado (1/19).
? The senior center scored 18 points (6-6 FG, 6-7 FT) with a season-high 11 rebounds and a school-record tying six blocked shots in a win at Sacramento State (2/9). He became the 16th Viking in history to pass 1,000 career points in that game.
? On his current pace, Morrison will be Portland State's all-time leader in games played (currently at 113) and blocked shots, and rank in the top 10 all-time in scoring (currently at 1,058), rebounding (641) and field goal percentage.
? Morrison has started 95 career games. The Vikings are 59-36 in those games.

HUFF STUFF
SR G Deonte Huff continued his remarkable season, scoring 17 points (6-10 FG, 5-7 FT) with six rebounds and three assists in the loss at Cal State Fullerton... Huff continues to be the steady force in the Vikings' lineup, scoring in double figures a team-high 19 games, with at least seven points in every game... other highlights for Huff this season:
? Huff ranks second on the team in scoring (13.3), assists (70), steals (30), and rebounding (5.9).
? Huff had 29 points, 17 rebounds and six assists as he earned All-Tournament honors at the Top of the World Classic in November.
? Huff scored a season-high 18 points, grabbed five rebounds, a career-high four steals and passed out three assists in his best game of the year against eighth-ranked Washington State (12/9).
? Huff ranks fourth all-time in field goal percentage at Portland State with a .531 career mark.
? Huff's free throw percentage is up to .769 this year after shooting .642 last season.
? Huff scored a career-high 26 points in a win over Montana State (2/2). He hit 17-17 free throws to set a Portland State record, and added eight rebounds, four assists, two steals and no turnovers.

BIG SKY LEADERS
In season statistics, JR G Jeremiah Dominguez leads the Big Sky Conference in steals (1.88), free throw percentage (.846) and three-point field goals made per game (2.42). SR C Scott Morrison leads the league in blocked shots (1.65)... as a team, the Vikings lead the league in three-point field goals made per game (8.67)... in conference only games, SO F Kyle Coston leads in three-point percentage (.526), while SR C Scott Morrison leads in blocked shots (2.08)... the Vikings lead the league in scoring (77.3), scoring margin (+9.2), rebounding margin (+6.2), assists (16.69) and three-point field goals made (8.85).

WHO'S HOT?
SR C Scott Morrison has 19 blocked shots in his last six games (3.2 per game)... SO F Tyrell Mara has made nine of his last 11 field goals (.818) and is 3-3 on three-pointers the last two games... SR G Deonte Huff has made 32-54 field goals in his last six games (.582).

NEW PORTLAND STATE RECORDS SET THIS SEASON
Free throw percentage, game (most made): 1.000, Deonte Huff, 17-17, vs. Montana State, 2/2
Blocked shots, game: 6, Scott Morrison, vs. Sacramento State, 2/9 (tied)
Blocked shots, career: 177, Scott Morrison

Division I winning streak: 9, 1/13 to 2/20
Road Winning Streak, All-Time: 4 (tied), 1/13 to 2/20
Big Sky Conference Wins: 11 (tied)
Big Sky Road Wins, season: 4 (tied, set twice previously)
Big Sky Road Winning Streak: 4 (tied), current

FULL HOUSE ADDS TO THE FUN
Portland State drew a sellout crowd of 1,500 at the Stott Center for the Feb. 16 win over Weber State. It marked the first full house of the season, and the first since having five sellouts during the 2004-05 season. Portland State had eclipsed the 1,000 mark on four previous occasions this season.