At the Stott Center Thursday, the Vikings moved one step closer to securing a spot in the Big Sky Conference playoffs after crushing the Sacramento State Hornets 100-73. The Vikings host Idaho State Saturday afternoon and a win will punch their playoff ticket.
Only a league as decadent as the NBA could take an all-star game and spread it out over the course of a whole weekend. And though some of the festivities can be a bit much, for the most part all-star weekend is a warm and engaging spectacle. Amidst a light wind of controversy NBA commissioner David Stern granted the wishes of many fans, owners and players by allowing the games to be played in Las Vegas.
It was do or die for the Vikings Saturday in Cheney, Wash. And with a 92-86 victory over the Eagles, the men’s team holds on to their playoff bid. The win gives Portland State (7-7 in conference play) a leg up in the race for the Big Sky’s sixth and final playoff spot.
Saturday night was mapped out for me and I was feeling good about it. Booze, hot dogs and a press pass to the monster truck rally at the Rose Garden. For days I had been salivating for the extra-large and fattening slice of hi-octane, skull crunching, shrieking, red-state meatloaf I would receive.
Thursday night’s critical game against conference-leading Weber State should have been a win, but in the end the Vikings just couldn’t find a way. They fell to the Wildcats 64-62 at home. You know your team has been away for a while when you notice their hair has grown visibly longer.
The Portland State men’s basketball team recently wrapped up their longest road trip of the season. It took them from Sacramento to Bozeman, Mont., and at first glance, the 2-2 record the Vikings bring home feels like a pretty good split. “Big picture, when we went on the road we were four and four [in conference play], and we had four games on the road,” head coach Ken Bone said before embarking on the trip.
The season is halfway over. Which means we’re halfway to the real season. Once the playoffs begin, the NBA becomes an entirely different and exponentially more exciting beast. Players won’t coast through quarters and halves like during the regular season. There are no nights off and no more “turning it on” when it counts.
Cleaning my apartment last night, I came across an old issue of this very paper. Thumbing through, I was surprised to find the NFL Power Rankings I had written way back in week four. Guess who held the No. 1 and 2 slots? You got it, the Bears and the Colts.
The Vikings were able to carry the efficiency and energy from last Thursday’s drumming of Northern Colorado into Saturday’s matchup with Northern Arizona, and knocked off the Lumberjacks 83-78 at the Stott Center. What a difference a week can make. Seven days ago, after a crushing defeat on their home floor to a seemingly inferior Eastern Washington team, the Vikings sensed their season could be in danger of slipping away.
Capping a 33-point career-high performance with a steal and a thrilling, two-handed fast break dunk, junior guard Dupree Lucas pumped his fists and howled up into the rafters of the Stott Center last night. In the final six minutes against Northern Colorado Wednesday, everything fell into place for the mercurial Vikings as the team bounced back with an 86-71 win over the Bears.
After this season’s solid start, the Vikings’ men’s basketball team now find themselves beneath a deep, dark cloud. Saturday afternoon Portland State played host to Eastern Washington at the Stott Center. A win would’ve given the Vikings a .500 record in conference play for the first time this season.