Living a champion’s life

As head basketball coach Ken Bone scampered hurriedly through the South Park Blocks to meet up with a visiting recruit at around noon Thursday, his face showed all the typical signs of tiredness and exhaustion.

The morning after Bone’s Portland State squad won the Big Sky Championship and earned an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament, both firsts for the school, he was bombarded with interview requests from local and national media.

By midday, Bone had already completed a pair of interviews with ESPN and had about 15 more lined up with other media outlets for the afternoon. This rigorous schedule left Bone little time to think, let alone rest, a day after his team had made history.

Bone had been experiencing what he called “absolute chaos” since the Vikings celebrated their NCAA Tournament berth with a defeat of Northern Arizona 67-51 Wednesday night.

In addition to the media, several members of the Portland State community walked up to shake Bone’s hand and offer their congratulations.

“It’s great exposure and we’re receiving a lot of attention,” Bone said. “We need to take advantage of that attention as both an athletic department and basketball program.”

Amid the media frenzy, the Vikings still have a game for which to prepare, although it is difficult because they have no idea whom their opponent will be or where the game will be held.

While ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi’s latest predictions reveal that Portland State will face off against Texas in Little Rock, Ark., Bone still contends that he has no clue which team or where the Vikings might play.

The Vikings and the rest of the nation will find out the fate of each team in the field of 65 this Sunday. The National Championship Selection Show, which will highlight the selection committee’s seeds and regional assignments, begins at 3 p.m. on CBS.

In an interview last week, Lunardi told the Vanguard that Portland State would most likely be a No. 15 seed, with an outside chance at landing a No. 14 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Regardless of whether the Vikings are assigned a No. 14 or 15 seed, it is probable that they will have to compete against a top-10 team.

“Any of those teams would be fun,” junior point guard Jeremiah Dominguez said of the prospects of taking on Kansas, Georgetown, Texas or Duke. “I don’t really care who we play. I just want to play.”

Some experts are suggesting that Portland State should be content with advancing to the NCAA Tournament and soaking up the experience of March Madness for the first time. Lunardi has given the Vikings only a one in 10 chance of winning their opening round matchup.

Dominguez, the Big Sky MVP, has a different opinion on the matter. Unlike the experts, the 5-foot-6 guard believes the Vikings may be able to upset whomever comes their way in the first round.

“We’ve played 40 games of basketball, so anything can happen,” Dominguez said. “But we will have to play one of our best games.”

In order to out-duel one of the best teams in the nation and pull off a colossal upset, Dominguez said the Vikings must take advantage of their supreme shooting ability.

Portland State shoots a Big Sky-best 39.4 percent from beyond the arc, and Dominguez and sophomore forward Kyle Coston rank fourth and seventh, respectively, in three-point shooting percentage.

One facet of the game that worries Dominguez is rebounding. He said the Vikings might have some trouble outrebounding such talented and lanky competition, such as Georgetown’s 7-foot-2 center, Roy Hibbert, or the Jayhawks’ big man, Roy Arthur.

Bone, who coached on Washington’s staff when the Huskies participated in March Madness in 2005 as a No. 1 seed, said the NCAA Tournament berth is just an excellent opportunity for his team.

“It’s the type of challenge players and coaches look forward to,” Bone said. “You can’t beat them unless you play them.”