UCSB vs. Portland State (in Boise) Preview
Friday, November 23, 2018, 4PM PST
Overview:
The Gauchos and the Vikings will attempt to shake off their Thanksgiving dinner sluggishness and get back to basketball on Friday. The Vikings are coming off a successful season in which they went 20-14 including a sweep of the Bay Area Pac 12 teams and had close losses to Butler & Oregon. However they lose a lot from that team and this will likely be a transitional season. They were walloped at nationally ranked Oregon to open the season and struggled to beat UC Riverside in their home opener which also served to christen their brand new arena.
By the Numbers
| Portland St. | UCSB | |
| Record (D1 only) | 1-1 | 2-1 |
| Neutral vs D1 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| National Rankings | ||
| Composite | 224 | 195 |
| DCI (2) | 282 | 220 |
| RPI | 222 | 273 |
| Pomeroy | 242 | 181 |
| Massey | 179 | 138 |
| Sagarin | 222 | 198 |
| ESPN BPI | 196 | 157 |
| SOS | 270 | 265 |
| CBS Preseason Rank | 213 | 203 |
| SI Preseason Rank | 202 | 289 |
| Preseason Poll Pick | 5th -8th | 1st – 6th |
| Efficiency Rankings (Pomeroy) | ||
| Offense | 225 | 148 |
| Defense | 264 | 232 |
| Scoring | 84.0 | 79.0 |
| PPG Allowed | 69.7 | 62.2 |
Portland State:
Best win: UC Riverside
Worst Loss: Oregon
Portland St.-UCSB History
UCSB All-time record vs. Vikings: 5-2
Last game (1981): UCSB 90-79, in SB
The Arena: While the Vikings get to play their home games in a brand new arena this season, the two teams will play this game at neutral site Century Link Arena in downtown Boise. Built in 1997, it seats 5,732 for basketball. Its main occupant is the local minor league hockey team. It will host the Big Sky hoops tournament this year, which may explain why Portland State and Idaho are interested in playing UCSB at this site while taking on a lower division school in their respective other game.
Head Coach:
Second year Coach Barrett Peery did a great job in his first season, taking the Vikings to their first 20 win season in 10 years while not playing a single home game on campus as their new arena was being built. They played 21 games on the road, finishing 10-6, their best road record ever. Before joining the Vikings, he was Assc. HC at Santa Clara and was an extremely successful HC of two JCs, including College of Southern Idaho (Armond Davis, Roberto Gittens)
Roster
Tasked with a major rebuild after graduating the majority of his team’s production from last season, Coach Peery dipped into a well he is familiar with, Junior Colleges. Given his success at that level (178-30), he might just be uniquely positioned to succeed with that type of player. He will count on returning starter, Sophomore PG Holland Woods who led the Big Sky in assists and was named FOY.
Possible Starters
PG Holland Woods #3 6’0”, 170 lb, Sophomore, 14.3 ppg, 2.3 rbp, 4.3 apg, 3.0 spg. Leads the team in getting to the line, 10/14.
Guard Derek Brown #0 6’0”, 180 lb, Senior, 8.3 ppg, 5.7 rbp, 4.3 apg, 3.0 spg.
Forward Jaime Orme #13 6’7”, 200 lb, Senior Junior 13.7 ppg, 7 rbg. Has more than doubled his scoring and rebounding from last year.
Forward Robert McCoy #10 6’7”, 195 lb, JC transfer Junior 7.7 ppg, 6.3 rpg Southern California Junior College Player of the Year as a sophomore, Conference MVP, 16.8 points, 7.4 rebounds, had 59 steals and 58 blocked shots… shot .499 from the floor, .341 from three-point range and .714 at the line
F/C Brendan Rummel #4 6’10”, 240 lb, Sophomore, 8.7 ppg, 2.7 rpg. Injured after 8 games his freshman year.
Possible Key Reserves:
Guard Michael Nuga #1 6’2”, 180 lb, Junior, 11.3 ppg, shooting .455 from three.
Guard Deante Strickland #11 5’10”, 180 lb, Senior, Shooting only 3-17 from three
Guard Juwan Williams #22 6’5”, 215 lb, JC transfer Junior 6.7 ppg, 3 rpg
Forward Sal Nuhu #10 6’8”, 215 lb, JC transfer Junior 7.0 ppg, 3 rpg
Forward Rashad Goolsby #23 6’7”, 200 lb, JC transfer Junior Arizona CC POY in 2017-18, First team NJCAA Division 2 All-American, First team NABC NJCAA Division 2 All-American, First team All-NJCAA Division 2 Region 1 and first team All-ACCAC… averaged 18.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.1 blocked shots per game, shot .539 from the field and .776 at the free throw line
Match-up overview:
I’m really looking forward to the matchup between Ramsey and Woods. Woods is the type of player that has destroyed UCSB the past few seasons and should be a great barometer for Ramsey to see if he can defend a TJ Shorts type of player. The Vikings are inexperienced in their front court and it is an open question if their forwards that had great careers at the JC level can translate that to D1 success. UCSB should have the advantage there. Coach Peery on the Vikings outlook: "The style of play will be the same," said Peery, referring to a team that ranked third in the nation in scoring last year (85.2 ppg), and second in steals (9.8) and turnovers forced (18.1). "I think we will be able to ramp it up even more. I think our depth will be very good. I like our length and athleticism and our speed has taken a step up. The strength of our team will be our depth at each position and the interchangeable parts. We have recruited guys that can play multiple positions," said Peery. "Our weakness will be that we will have some inexperience early on, but I also think our talent level has taken a step up.
Keys to the game for the Gauchos:
Neutralize Woods and have our frontcourt get lots of touches. As with every game, its all about the effort on defense. (I miss Gabe's dad)
Prediction: Could be a fun up tempo game with two teams that can run even though UCSB has been slowing the pace so far this year. With advantages in the front court, JP may choose to slow it down to get Sow, Idehen and Ami more touches. Gaucho depth & front court prevail, UCSB 82 Portland State 73
Official Site: https://goviks.com/index.aspx?path=mbball
Hey Guys! https://bigskyfans.com/vikings/viewforum.php?f=3
How to Watch: http://pluto.tv/tv/pluto-tv-spotlight
Portland State Pre-Season Preview Links:
https://www.three-man-weave.com/3mw/big ... eview-2019
https://goviks.com/news/2018/9/24/mens- ... -home.aspx
https://cbbcentral.com/2018/10/07/32x32 ... y-preview/
Fun fact about Portland State:
Freeman Williams, ’78, is the second all-time NCAA scoring leader, trailing only Pistol Pete Maravich. He accomplished this in only 106 games and without the benefit of the three point line.
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