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By Nick Bartlett, SuperWest Sports
PPortland State may not be a big name on the college basketball landscape, but the Vikings have won seven straight games and are currently undefeated atop the Big Sky Conference.
A trip to the Big Dance would be the program’s first since 2009.
PPortland State hosts Montana State, currently second in the Big Sky, on Thursday and third-place Montana on Saturday.
If the Vikings were to sweep the Treasure State teams, it would give them some breathing room entering the second half of their conference schedule.
The Norse will have no other opportunities to bolster their resume against quality teams, making their home matchups against Montana schools vital to their resume.
Portland State is 0-3 against Quad One and Quad Two opponents, having lost to Stanford, San Francisco and Colorado.
Wins over the Grizzlies and Bobcats would be considered Quad Three wins. The Vikings are 3-1 against Quad Three teams and 6-1 against the Fourth Quadrant.
Jase Coburn is in his fifth season as Portland State’s head coach, and his impact is starting to show results after leading the Norsemen to back-to-back winning seasons.
The program has not had consecutive winning campaigns since 2013-15.
The Vikings have had some decent teams in the middle, but have lacked consistency since 2006-09. If PSU can finish this year with a record over .500, it would be the first time in 17 years that they have had three consecutive winning seasons.
But Coburn, who played college baseball at MiraCosta College, is more than just a coach: He’s a vibe. Upon his hiring, he attracted national media attention by not eating breakfast before arriving at the facility, saying he wanted to “be hungry.”
He was also known for driving a 2003 Chevy Tahoe without heat or air conditioning. Hopefully it has gotten better since then.
This isn’t some pampered former athlete turned coach… This is a man fighting for his legacy.
“This is a dream come true for me, my family and I,” he once said. “I’ve worked my whole life to get to this point.”
But in addition to being a feel-good story, it’s a winner. His teams have built success based on the three principles of effort, toughness and team unity.
This year’s Portland State team allows 70.7 points per game, but that statistic is misleading considering the Vikings rank 49th in defensive rating.
Complementing their bravery on defense is a trio of scorers led by forward Terri Miller Jr., who averages 19.6 points per game while shooting 55 percent from beyond the arc.
He’s also shooting at an excellent rate from downtown, at 41 percent, and averaging 6.3 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game.
The Vikings’ second leading scorer is guard Jaylin Henderson, who has struggled from beyond the arc, but is a great distributor with the ball in his hands, averaging 17.6 points and 6.3 assists per game.
He also leads the team in steals with 1.7 hits per game.
Keyon Kensie Jr. and Tre-Vaughn Minott round out the group of notable players, combining for an average of 23.5 points per game, split down the middle.
Both are solid rebounders as well, with Minott leading the team with 8.8 per game and Kensie Jr. close behind at 7.6.
PSU is quietly building something special, and a sweep this week would put the Big Sky on notice.
Exaggeration or not, there’s quite a dance going on at the Viking Pavilion.
He writes about football and basketball as a senior writer and hosts “The Nick Bartlett Show” for SuperWest Sports.
