One play 3 units Port st - 3.5 gl to all. Just think the line is wayyyy of I may be wrong any input to this will be greatly appreciated
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Port st
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The lowdown: The Vikings have five conference games left, including three on the road, to try and overtake first-place Weber State and earn the right to host the Big Sky Conference tournament. "It won't be easy to catch them, but this week is critical," PSU coach Ken Bone said. "We obviously have to go into Idaho State and do a great job, and then we have to go into Weber State (on Saturday) and beat them. If we can do that, then I think we're in a good position. Not great like last year, but I think we're in a good position." ... The Vikings stumbled the last time they went on the road, falling 72-65 at Montana and 85-82 at Montana State, but bounced back with homes wins over Northern Arizona (78-66) and Sacramento State (59-42). "We're kind of up and down right now," sophomore forward Phil Nelson said. "We have spurts where we play real well, and we have spurts where we're kind of playing lazy and content with the score. If we can play a whole game without any of those lazy spurts, we'll be fine." ... PSU has scored at least 80 points in three of the past seven games and has the conference's highest-scoring offense, averaging 74.4 points a game. ... Idaho State has lost four consecutive games, including Saturday's 79-74 lost at Northern Colorado. Junior forward Chron Tatum led three Bengals in double figures with 18 points on 7 for 10 shooting from the field. ... The last time these teams met, Nelson scored 23 points and Julius Thomas added 11 points and seven rebounds of the bench, pacing the Vikings to an 85-58 rout in Portland.
ISU happy to have Morgan back
Long after practice was over Wednesday afternoon at Holt Arena, Amorrow Morgan stayed on the court and practiced his jump shot with Mike Lacey.
After missing three practices and a game to be with his ailing father, who passed away Tuesday in Memphis after a long battle with cancer, the junior guard didn't say much to his teammate or show any irregular emotions during the extra workout. He just kept shooting.
Lacey seemed fine with the arrangement. He just kept rebounding.
That's the way he and all of his teammates on the Idaho State roster wanted it for Morgan's first day back. They gave him some space but were willing to help in any way they could.
"It's good to have him back," said freshman point guard and roommate Sherrod Baldwin. "I haven't really said much to him yet. I'm just gonna wait for him to talk before I do anything. But he knows we're all here for him."
Morgan was not made available to the media on Wednesday and likely won't speak publicly again until he has had an appropriate time to grieve.
But Idaho State coach Joe O'Brien said he was still hurting.
He said Morgan only found out his father was in critical condition on the bus ride to the Northern Colorado game Friday, and that he was completely blind-sided by the bad news.
"I don't think I've ever had a player lose a parent, but in the middle of the season, I'm sure it's incredibly hard," O'Brien said. "Add into that that he really didn't understand how bad the situation was. He hasn't had a chance to mentally prepare himself to deal with all this. It really hit him in the face on Friday.
"He knew his dad was sick, but he didn't prepare himself for losing him. His dad didn't want him to be concerned about his health, so he never really told him. He wanted him to focus on school and basketball. That's a very unselfish person."
Morgan is scheduled to be back in Memphis for his father's funeral on Monday, and O'Brien has said he too will attend the service.
But before then, Morgan will play two important home games with the Bengals. First up is a 7:05 p.m. matchup with Portland State today at Holt Arena.
Senior guard Matt Stucki is excited that Morgan will be back in the lineup.
"He's a big piece of this team," Stucki said. "He's the leading scorer and makes a lot of things happen on the court. It's nice to have him back, so he can open up things for the rest of us."
Without him against Northern Colorado, the Bengals lost 79-74 and moved their losing streak to four games. But more than that, it's also nice that the team can try to heal right along with him.
"Last game was hard for us without him, not only because of what he can do for us, but because of the things we know he's going through," Stucki said. "We were feeling for him. We were concerned. It was tough on us in both ways."
Things should be easier tonight.
Especially with the confidence Idaho State players have in Morgan to play through a tough situation.
"I think he will respond," Baldwin said. "He plays with emotion, and he knows how to use it. That's something I noticed when I first got here. When he gets ticked off, he plays better. He's an emotional player."
What's at stake:
Idaho State badly needs to win one of its two home games this week to stay in contention for a spot in the conference tournament. Beating Portland State would give the Bengals an opportunity to win both and climb up the standings.
Key matchup:
Phil Nelson vs. Matt Stucki. Nelson went off for 23 points and five rebounds against the Bengals in their first meeting this season. Stucki needs to outscore him tonight.
Three things about Portland State
-- The Vikings are a pedestrian 6-5 on the road this season.
-- Portland State is one of the smallest teams in the league. Coach Ken Bone doesn't regularly play anyone taller than 6-foot-8.
-- The Vikings were the only Big Sky team to receive a televised game in ESPN's yearly BracketBuster weekend. It will be played against Boise State on Feb. 21.
Happy ending if ...
Idaho State gets busy from behind the arc and knocks down more than 10 3-pointers. That's about the only way the Bengals are going to be able to keep up with the Vikings.
Sad ending if ...
Portland State builds an early lead of any size. There will be no coming back against the defending Big Sky champions.
Bottom line:
Joe O'Brien has never beaten Portland State during his three seasons at Idaho State.
Long after practice was over Wednesday afternoon at Holt Arena, Amorrow Morgan stayed on the court and practiced his jump shot with Mike Lacey.
After missing three practices and a game to be with his ailing father, who passed away Tuesday in Memphis after a long battle with cancer, the junior guard didn't say much to his teammate or show any irregular emotions during the extra workout. He just kept shooting.
Lacey seemed fine with the arrangement. He just kept rebounding.
That's the way he and all of his teammates on the Idaho State roster wanted it for Morgan's first day back. They gave him some space but were willing to help in any way they could.
"It's good to have him back," said freshman point guard and roommate Sherrod Baldwin. "I haven't really said much to him yet. I'm just gonna wait for him to talk before I do anything. But he knows we're all here for him."
Morgan was not made available to the media on Wednesday and likely won't speak publicly again until he has had an appropriate time to grieve.
But Idaho State coach Joe O'Brien said he was still hurting.
He said Morgan only found out his father was in critical condition on the bus ride to the Northern Colorado game Friday, and that he was completely blind-sided by the bad news.
"I don't think I've ever had a player lose a parent, but in the middle of the season, I'm sure it's incredibly hard," O'Brien said. "Add into that that he really didn't understand how bad the situation was. He hasn't had a chance to mentally prepare himself to deal with all this. It really hit him in the face on Friday.
"He knew his dad was sick, but he didn't prepare himself for losing him. His dad didn't want him to be concerned about his health, so he never really told him. He wanted him to focus on school and basketball. That's a very unselfish person."
Morgan is scheduled to be back in Memphis for his father's funeral on Monday, and O'Brien has said he too will attend the service.
But before then, Morgan will play two important home games with the Bengals. First up is a 7:05 p.m. matchup with Portland State today at Holt Arena.
Senior guard Matt Stucki is excited that Morgan will be back in the lineup.
"He's a big piece of this team," Stucki said. "He's the leading scorer and makes a lot of things happen on the court. It's nice to have him back, so he can open up things for the rest of us."
Without him against Northern Colorado, the Bengals lost 79-74 and moved their losing streak to four games. But more than that, it's also nice that the team can try to heal right along with him.
"Last game was hard for us without him, not only because of what he can do for us, but because of the things we know he's going through," Stucki said. "We were feeling for him. We were concerned. It was tough on us in both ways."
Things should be easier tonight.
Especially with the confidence Idaho State players have in Morgan to play through a tough situation.
"I think he will respond," Baldwin said. "He plays with emotion, and he knows how to use it. That's something I noticed when I first got here. When he gets ticked off, he plays better. He's an emotional player."
What's at stake:
Idaho State badly needs to win one of its two home games this week to stay in contention for a spot in the conference tournament. Beating Portland State would give the Bengals an opportunity to win both and climb up the standings.
Key matchup:
Phil Nelson vs. Matt Stucki. Nelson went off for 23 points and five rebounds against the Bengals in their first meeting this season. Stucki needs to outscore him tonight.
Three things about Portland State
-- The Vikings are a pedestrian 6-5 on the road this season.
-- Portland State is one of the smallest teams in the league. Coach Ken Bone doesn't regularly play anyone taller than 6-foot-8.
-- The Vikings were the only Big Sky team to receive a televised game in ESPN's yearly BracketBuster weekend. It will be played against Boise State on Feb. 21.
Happy ending if ...
Idaho State gets busy from behind the arc and knocks down more than 10 3-pointers. That's about the only way the Bengals are going to be able to keep up with the Vikings.
Sad ending if ...
Portland State builds an early lead of any size. There will be no coming back against the defending Big Sky champions.
Bottom line:
Joe O'Brien has never beaten Portland State during his three seasons at Idaho State.
At first glance I was tempted to agree with you but when I really looked at it I find that the line is about right. If it wasn't for Vegas over valuing Id St all year I would think the line was a little high. Good luck
