No. 3 Portland State
vs. No. 2 Weber State
Tuesday, March 6
5:35 p.m. MST
Dahlberg Arena, Missoula, Mont
TV: Altitude
Internet: Big Sky TV
Coaches: Portland State’s Tyler Geving is 44-48 in his third season. Geving has led the Vikings to the conference tournament in two of his three seasons. The Vikings were ineligible in 2010-11 because of APR penalties. Geving is 2-1 in the tournament…Weber State’s Randy Rahe is 118-66 in his sixth season with the Wildcats. He led WSU to the 2007 championship and a runner-up appearance in 2010. Rahe is 5-4 in tournament games. Rahe is 5-2 vs. Geving, including a 1-0 record in the tournament.
What’s next: The winner advances to the Big Sky Conference championship game on Wednesday against the winner of the other semifinal between Montana and Eastern Washington
Season Series: Weber State swept the regular-season series, winning 88-81 in Portland on Jan. 7, and topping the Vikings 92-79 on Feb. 2 in Ogden. WSU junior Damian Lillard scored 38 points with eight 3-pointers in the victory in Portland. In the second game, Lillard scored 40 points with six 3-pointers. The Wildcats made a combined 25 3-pointers in the two wins over PSU. Chehales Tapscott scored 26 points with eight rebounds to lead the Vikings in the Portland game. Charles Odum netted 26 in the game in Ogden.
Meetings in the Championship: This will be the fifth meeting between the Vikings and Wildcats in the Big Sky Championship, the fourth in the semifinals. Weber State is 4-0. WSU beat PSU 69-60 in a 2010 semifinal in Ogden. In a 2007 semifinal in Ogden, WSU beat the Vikings 77-74. Weber State upset top-seeded and tournament host PSU 71-61 in a 2005 semifinal. WSU beat PSU 84-62 in a 2002 quarterfinal in Bozeman, Mont.
Notes: Weber State is in the semifinals for the sixth straight season. Portland State is making its sixth semifinal appearance in eight years…Portland State has won four in a row and seven of eight…Weber State is seeking its 14th championship game appearance…Portland State is gunning for its third championship game appearance…PSU went 2-0 in neutral court games during the regular season. WSU was 1-0…WSU ranks first in the Big Sky in scoring offense at 78.1 points per game. PSU is second at 76.4…PSU is the top field-goal shooting team in the Big Sky…WSU leads the nation in free-throw shooting..WSU junior Damian Lillard leads the Big Sky in scoring at 24.5 points per game. PSU’s Charles Odum is second at 19 ppg. No. 4...PSU hasn’t lost to a Big Sky team since the Feb. 2 loss at Weber State...Lillard scored 23 points against PSU in the 2010 semifinal win...WSU will be playing its first game in seven days...PSU junior forward Renado Parker has scored in double figures in eight consecutive games...WSU has won 36 tournament games, more than any other team in the league.