Portland State (9-9) at Eastern Washington (9-10)
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GAME NOTES: The tie for fifth place in the Big Sky Conference will be broken tonight as the Portland State Vikings head to Reese Court to take on the Eastern Washington Eagles.
This will be the 37th meeting in the all-time series. Not only are these programs tied in this year's Big Sky standings, they are also tied up in their rivalry with each other as each side has won 18 games.
Portland State evened up its overall record at 9-9 and its league record at 3-3 with an 80-68 victory over the Idaho State Bengals on Monday. The Vikings have now scored 80 points or more in four straight games and shot 45 percent from the field or better in five straight games. Although the Vikings have the second best scoring offense (77.4 ppg) and the highest field goal percentage (48.6) in the Big Sky, it has the worst scoring defense in the league with an allowed average of 74.1 ppg.
The Vikings will rely on Charles Odom and Chehales Tapscott for leadership in this pivotal matchup. Odom is second in the Big Sky in scoring with an average of 18.2 ppg on 53.4 percent shooting from the field. The senior guard was in the zone his last time out, as he scored 29 points on 10-of-18 shooting from the floor versus Idaho State. Tapscott is second on Portland State in scoring with 14.0 ppg and is the conference's leading rebounder with an average of 8.7 boards per game. The senior forward seemed to be everywhere against Idaho State as he finished with 15 points, six rebounds, five steals, and four blocks.
Opposite the visitors, Eastern Washington has been struggling lately as the team comes in on a two-game losing slide. The Eagles lost 91-78 to Seattle University on Monday which dropped their overall record to 9-10. Although Eastern Washington connected on 44.3 percent of its field goal attempts and 12-of-32 from three-point range (40.6), it allowed Seattle to shoot 56.1 percent from the floor and an even 50 percent from beyond the arc. Eastern Washington will need to provide a much better rebounding effort in this one as it lost the battle of the boards 42-24 its last time out. The Eagles have the third best scoring offense in the league with an average of 72.4 ppg.
The Eagles have three players scoring in double figures. Collin Chiverton is third in the league behind Odom in scoring with an average of 17.0 ppg. The junior forward went 8-of-21 from the field and 6-of-12 from beyond the arc to score 26 points his last time out against Seattle. Cliff Colimon is a very capable scorer as well as he is contributing 15.1 ppg while also dishing out 5.4 apg. Cliff Ederaine is adding 10.1 ppg into the mix while he ranks second in the conference in rebounding with 7.4 rpg.
This should be a very even and action packed contest. Both sides have proven scorers and lack any emphasis on the defensive end. Although they have lost their last two, the Eagles hold a slight advantage on their home floor.
Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/01/21/3383302/portland-state-9-9-at-eastern.html#storylink=cpy" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
GAME NOTES: The tie for fifth place in the Big Sky Conference will be broken tonight as the Portland State Vikings head to Reese Court to take on the Eastern Washington Eagles.
This will be the 37th meeting in the all-time series. Not only are these programs tied in this year's Big Sky standings, they are also tied up in their rivalry with each other as each side has won 18 games.
Portland State evened up its overall record at 9-9 and its league record at 3-3 with an 80-68 victory over the Idaho State Bengals on Monday. The Vikings have now scored 80 points or more in four straight games and shot 45 percent from the field or better in five straight games. Although the Vikings have the second best scoring offense (77.4 ppg) and the highest field goal percentage (48.6) in the Big Sky, it has the worst scoring defense in the league with an allowed average of 74.1 ppg.
The Vikings will rely on Charles Odom and Chehales Tapscott for leadership in this pivotal matchup. Odom is second in the Big Sky in scoring with an average of 18.2 ppg on 53.4 percent shooting from the field. The senior guard was in the zone his last time out, as he scored 29 points on 10-of-18 shooting from the floor versus Idaho State. Tapscott is second on Portland State in scoring with 14.0 ppg and is the conference's leading rebounder with an average of 8.7 boards per game. The senior forward seemed to be everywhere against Idaho State as he finished with 15 points, six rebounds, five steals, and four blocks.
Opposite the visitors, Eastern Washington has been struggling lately as the team comes in on a two-game losing slide. The Eagles lost 91-78 to Seattle University on Monday which dropped their overall record to 9-10. Although Eastern Washington connected on 44.3 percent of its field goal attempts and 12-of-32 from three-point range (40.6), it allowed Seattle to shoot 56.1 percent from the floor and an even 50 percent from beyond the arc. Eastern Washington will need to provide a much better rebounding effort in this one as it lost the battle of the boards 42-24 its last time out. The Eagles have the third best scoring offense in the league with an average of 72.4 ppg.
The Eagles have three players scoring in double figures. Collin Chiverton is third in the league behind Odom in scoring with an average of 17.0 ppg. The junior forward went 8-of-21 from the field and 6-of-12 from beyond the arc to score 26 points his last time out against Seattle. Cliff Colimon is a very capable scorer as well as he is contributing 15.1 ppg while also dishing out 5.4 apg. Cliff Ederaine is adding 10.1 ppg into the mix while he ranks second in the conference in rebounding with 7.4 rpg.
This should be a very even and action packed contest. Both sides have proven scorers and lack any emphasis on the defensive end. Although they have lost their last two, the Eagles hold a slight advantage on their home floor.
