River Battle @ Viking Pavilion Wed 12/5 @ 7:05

Even if you’re not a basketball fan, just a tour of the new Viking Pavilion is worth the trip to the Park Blocks.  In addition to the 3,094-seat arena, there are lots of tables to sit at for eating and drinking and plenty of glass to look through for a view of the outdoor lights.

If you don’t go, I’ve found free Pluto TV, Channel 232 a good option for streaming, www.pluto.tv, but have had less luck with www.WatchBigSky.com

PSU is 1-3 against D1 opponents with losses to Stanford, UCSB, and Oregon, and a win over UC-Riverside.

If the Pilots are to win this game, they’re going to have to take care of the ball and make free-throws, as the Vikings defense forces an average of 23 turnovers per game while averaging over 28 points per game from those turnovers.

But at the same time the Vikings are averaging 25 fouls per game, including a season high of 36 in their loss to UCSB in Boise.

PSU Head Coach Barret Peery emphasizes a full-court pressure defense that forces turnovers and creates transition opportunities.  On the offensive end, his team relentlessly attacks the offensive glass where they average close to 20 offensive rebounds per game, while their opponents are averaging fewer than 8 per game.

It’s an absurd number, but between opponent turnovers and offensive boards, PSU has so far this season had 145 extra possessions compared to 21 extra for their opponents…resulting in 158 more field goal attempts in their 7 games.

It's still a small sample size after seven games, and the Vikings have played some lower division opponents, Willamette, Northwest Nazarene, and Portland Bible, but they lead the nation in a handful of categories:  Offensive rebounds per game: 19.7, Total rebounds per game: 46.3, Steals: 13.0, Turnovers forced per game: 23.1, and Turnover margin: +8.6.

The early line is showing #241 PSU beating #263 UP by 5-9 points (KenPom.com is guessing it will be 81-76).

What's the ticket situation? Where will the UP fans be sitting?

up7587 wrote:What's the ticket situation?  Where will the UP fans be sitting?

I was told "you're on your own" for tickets.

A week ago, online, I was not able to get anything behind the UP bench, but snagged a front row center.

Looking forward to hosting our neighbors from the bluff and not being completely embarrassed about our facility. :-)

I was just there. I bet it will be loud!

up7587 wrote:What's the ticket situation?  Where will the UP fans be sitting?

I’m pretty sure you are looking at GA in the upper tier at this point.

I think I remember seeing Crisshawn’s anticipated return is the Grambling game? Any word on Tryon for tonight?

Dean Murdoch wrote:I think I remember seeing Crisshawn’s anticipated return is the Grambling game? Any word on Tryon for tonight?

The good news is Crisshawn no longer has the cast on his foot and is walking around without using his scooter.

There really isn't any bad news because the medics have been predicting his return toward the end of January, and it appears he may be ahead of schedule.  Crisshawn is targeting January 5th, the beginning of WCC play to see his first action...but it's one thing to be cleared to play and another thing to be ready to play.

The Grambling game is probably a good target date for Jacob's return.  He is finally practicing some, but what his foot really needs is rest.

I think we'll see a guard oriented lineup tonight in an attempt to take care of the ball, so Jacob's return is probably better to be put off for another 10 days or so anyway.

DoubleDipper wrote:If you don’t go, I’ve found free Pluto TV, Channel 232 a good option for streaming, www.pluto.tv, but have had less luck with www.WatchBigSky.com

I am having no luck getting either option to work.

Me either. All I see is kickboxing on Pluto TV, channel 215. No 232 listed for me.

up7587 wrote:I am having no luck getting either option to work.

Got it, check your messages.

Vikings excelling at offensive rebounding, and FT defense

Shaver’s back!!

Is Wally redshirting?

Woods is their leading scorer, but he was 7 of 31 on 3P tries coming into this game. He's unconscious tonight, 5 of 7 in the first half.

Pilot shooters can't hit any 3P shots this half, and the game is almost out of hand.

TFW you lose by 9, miss 11 FTs.

Not good at all. Ughh.

No excuse for being outrebounded 55-29. Completely unacceptable.

I thought the shot selection was much better than the Colorado game. But PSU dominated on the glass, by being quicker, more aggressive, and better positioned. Getting 28 2nd chance points will win a lot of games.

PSU's next two games are at BYU and against LMU. We'll see how they do, and how that portends for conference play for the Pilots.

This is becoming a thing.

Against Texas State: sunk by a 24-8 run shortly after halftime
Against Colorado: sunk by a 28-4 run shortly after halftime
Against PSU: sunk by a 23-6 run shortly after halftime

up7587 wrote:PSU's next two games are at BYU and against LMU.  We'll see how they do, and how that portends for conference play for the Pilots.

BYU beat the Vikings tonight, 85-66, and PSU had almost the same number of rebounds against the Cougars (28/28) as they did against the Pilots (27/28), but BYU has TJ Hawes, who dropped 30.

PSU had 21 turnovers and shot just over 30% but proved that not just UP will have difficulty stopping the #1 team in the nation in offensive rebounding.

Is there anything that prevents us from playing PSU twice each year? It would be fun to see this cross town rivalry build and pre-season games at both Chiles and Stott Center would be the way to do it. PSU has had good teams for a number of years and the Stott Center is a really nice arena now. It seems like we could build more interest on both sides if we doubled the games.