Portland State University’s men’s basketball team is approaching the end of its regular season with a crucial matchup against the Montana Grizzlies on Saturday, February 28. The game will take place at Dahlberg Arena in Missoula and will be broadcast on ESPN+.
The Vikings, holding an 18-9 overall record and a 12-4 mark in Big Sky Conference play, have already secured at least a share of the conference’s regular season title. However, they need one more win from their remaining two games—against Montana or Weber State—to clinch the top seed outright for the upcoming Big Sky Conference Tournament. If either Montana State or Eastern Washington loses one of their last two games, Portland State would also secure the number-one seed.
Portland State faces challenges going into this game. The team has lost two consecutive games and three of its last four, including an 84-69 defeat at Montana State on Thursday. This loss marked both the highest number of points allowed by PSU in a regulation conference game this season and their largest margin of defeat.
The Vikings are looking to avoid their first three-game losing streak this year as they travel to face Montana. Historically, Portland State has struggled in Missoula, with only four wins in 26 attempts against Montana there.
Senior forward Terri Miller Jr., who leads the Big Sky in scoring with an average of 19.6 points per game and a .520 field goal percentage, scored 28 points against Montana State on Thursday. Senior guard Jaylin Henderson contributed 19 points and five assists; he averages 17.8 points and nearly six assists per game for the season. Senior center Tre-Vaughn Minott is leading the conference in rebounding (8.9 per game) while shooting .655 from the field.
Montana enters Saturday’s contest with a 15-14 record overall and a 9-7 conference record after defeating Sacramento State earlier this week to break out of a slump that saw them lose five out of six games. Guard Money Williams is second only to Miller Jr. in conference scoring at 19.4 points per game along with five assists.
Both teams are fighting for tournament seeding: Portland State for first place, while Montana could finish anywhere between second and seventh depending on final results.
In their previous meeting this season on January 29 at Viking Pavilion, Montana defeated Portland State 64-60 behind Williams’ 24-point performance as PSU struggled offensively with just .383 shooting from the field and committed 17 turnovers.
Vikings head coach Jase Coburn is completing his fourth year leading the program with an overall record of 80-73 but has won only two out of nine meetings against Montana during his tenure. Grizzlies coach Travis DeCuire has been at the helm for twelve seasons and holds a strong track record both overall (241-148) and specifically versus Portland State (17-7).
Portland State’s recent history includes multiple milestones: this year’s squad matched school records for road victories within league play (six) and reached seven consecutive league wins—a first in its Big Sky history spanning thirty years.
Statistically, PSU leads the conference not just in defensive categories like scoring defense (70.1), opponent field goal percentage (.411), and turnovers forced (12.6), but also boasts leaders such as Miller Jr., Minott (rebounding leader), and Henderson (minutes played leader).
The Vikings have swept several opponents during league play this season but now look to rebound after back-to-back losses as they try to close out strong before tournament action begins next week.
Saturday’s tipoff is set for 2 p.m Mountain Time/1 p.m Pacific Time; live coverage is available via ESPN+ with statistics provided through GoViks.com.
