Why do you love the Tourney?- Jerseys Anyone?

For many, the pageantry of college basketball is the binding force that keeps us excited about March Madness year after year.

Just like college football, the colors, jerseys, pep bands, cheerleaders and all of the hoopla that CBS and ESPN can throw at you keep me and millions of basketball fans tuned in from the early season moments of Midnight Madness to Selection Sunday and all the way through the Final Four.

This year, like any other, I have filled out two brackets.

The first is based on which teams I actually feel will win and is not particularly unique from the millions of others being filled out.

But my other bracket is chosen based on the most beautiful uniform that is playing in the game. Michigan’s classic navy jerseys that they seem to have been wearing for twenty years take the cake over Clemson’s Nike horn pattern, for example.

In filling out my uniform bracket this year, I came across some interesting tidbits that I found worth mentioning. I have divided the observations into the four regions.

Midwest Region

It always seems strange when teams have the All-American look going strong on their jerseys. The red, white and blue has become synonymous with the flag that represents our country but it typically doesn’t have the same aesthetics on a basketball court.

This region has three teams, (Kansas, Dayton and Arizona) that sport the red, white and blue although there is some variation in each team’s shade of blue. I am particular fond of Dayton’s and have them advancing all the way to my Uniform Final Four, although I wish that the Flyers would wear this jersey more often.

What a thing of beauty this matchup would be...

Stumptown Sports Hook has noticed some striking similarities between Cleveland State and our homegrown Portland State squad. The school’s share a mascot--Vikings-- but also share colors and there are some striking similarities in the mascots...

Cleveland State vs. Portland State.



You decide...





Boston College and USC both seem to sport a similar color palette but the Eagles are the lone representative in the tourney sporting Reebok gear.

Uniform Picks: Arizona, Wake Forest, Dayton, Kansas, Michigan State with Arizona and Dayton advancing to the Elite Eight. Like we said before, we like Dayton...

Best first round matchup: West Virginia vs. Dayton Best potential matchup: Dayton vs. Arizona

West Region

While pouring over the West region we came across one abnormality that the people from the state of Utah have likely debated before. Both Brigham Young and Utah State seem to be running off the same jersey with the same basic colors of Navy and White. Interesting....

The West region features an interesting brand matchup with Maryland (thankfully the only Under Armour team in the tourney) meeting Cal (one of only two teams clothed by Jordan). We like the Golden Bears.

Memphis, after their embarrassing (uniform) in the national championship last year switched to Nike and the swooshers from Beaverton gave the Tigers something special for their inaugural Nike season.

Someone might want to remind John Calipari that special arrangements haven’t worked out so well for the Ducks.

We would be remised if we didn’t bring attention to the Marquette jerseys, not only the most original and most bold in the tourney but also our overall favorite. The Stumptown Sports Hook is headed to Boise to watch Portland State take on Xavier but don’t blame us for wanting a close look at the Golden Eagles, who also will head to Potato country.

Uniform Picks: Marquette, Marquette, Marquette... But if you horizontal stripes aren’t your thing, check out Cal, Washington (minus the annoying shoulder thing and UCONN, just not the silver jerseys)

Best first round matchup: Washington vs. Mississippi St. I don’t usually have an affinity for purple so I’ll hope that the Huskies will go with the white or gold.
Best potential matchup: Connecticut vs. Marquette

East Region
Besides boasting our own Vikings of Portland State, the East region has one of the more unique uniform matchups of the tourney. When Oklahoma State takes on Tennessee, the orange on orange battle will reign supreme.


I am partial to the creamsicle of the Volunteers but since I can’t stand watching the academic juggernauts that Bruce Pearl deploys, its hard to root for them.

The East has a staggering 12 of the 16 teams dressed in Nike apparel. Included in that bunch is the beautiful jerseys of Villanova, the classic (up until the ACC Tournament) Duke blue’s and the busy, busy black jerseys of Florida State.

For all the talk about VCU defeating the history-rich tradition of UCLA, I just don’t see their jerseys pushing the Bruins around one bit.

Uniform Picks: Tennessee, Villanova, Duke

Best first round matchup: Oklahoma State vs. Tennessee
Best potential matchup: UCLA vs. ‘Nova

South Region

For some reason, I have a hard time getting excited about the aesthetics of this bracket. Outside of Gonzaga’s patented number font and Carolina’s argyle on the shorts there isn’t too much to care about.

Of course, then I saw that Syracuse is in the bottom half of the bracket and my pulse jumped a bit. Maybe it’s the way they play, or the 2-3 defense or the fact that they always seem to have a white guy that annoys the crap out of opponents.

I personally think that its the orange jerseys... I am praying that the Orange advance all the way to the Final Four, only so I can see those jerseys in primetime a few more times.

For a sleeper pick in the South, check out Akron who apparently gets some special benefits from Lebron James, the King of preferential treatment. James’ high school coach is now the coach of the Zips...

Uniform Picks: North Carolina, Gonzaga, Syracuse, Michigan

Best first round matchup: Arizona St vs. Temple
Best potential matchup: Michigan vs. Syracuse

Vikings matched up with Xavier in first round: Portland State earns a No. 13 seed and will face the Musketeers in Boise on Friday

The Vikings learned what a difference one year makes on Sunday afternoon when the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee slotted the repeat Big Sky Champions as a surprising 13 seed and rewarded head coach Ken Bone’s squad with a first round game in Boise, Idaho.

Last season, the Vikings rolled through the Big Sky Conference and tournament but lacked a signature non-conference win and were seeded No. 16 leading to a difficult first round matchup with eventual national champion Kansas.

But this year, a December victory against Gonzaga coupled with a Portland State victory for the second consecutive year at the Big Sky Tournament earned the Vikings a much-improved and more winnable game against Xavier of the Atlantic-10 Conference.

The Musketeers seemed like a lock for a better seed until they were upset by Temple in the A-10 Semifinals on Friday. They boast a 25-7 record and were 12-4 in conference play.

Included in those seven defeats were losses at Duke, Duquesne, Dayton, Charlotte, Temple and Richmond. The Musketeers lost only one home game all season, on Dec. 23 (the same day the Vikings defeated Gonzaga) to Butler. Three of their seven losses came to NCAA Tournament teams but Xavier has posted impressive wins over Missouri, Virginia Tech, Memphis, Auburn, Cincinnati and Virginia.

Xavier is led in scoring by 6-6 senior forward B.J. Raymond who averages 14.1 points per game and shoots 42 percent from beyond the three-point arc. Junior forward Derrick Brown provides the interior presence for the Musketeers averaging 13.8 points and 6 rebounds per game.

The matchup will be the first in the history of the two schools and the Vikings have never faced an opponent from the Atlantic 10. Game time for the first round contest has yet to be announced.

Portland State and Xavier will join Florida State, Wisconsin, Marquette, Utah State, Missouri and Cornell in first round games at Taco Bell Arena on the campus of Boise State University.

Vikings release football schedule: Red Raiders will head to PGE Park

As suspected when we broke the tentative football schedule several weeks ago, the Vikings will head into the 2009 season looking favorably at the schedule.

Portland State will open up the season at Reser Stadium in Corvallis in a game that will likely be televised on FSN. They'll continue their trip through college football in Oregon with a matchup against NAIA Southern Oregon.

The Red Raiders are considering elevating athletics to Division II status where they would be able to compete against Western Oregon and Humboldt State, both more accessible to SOU out of Ashland.

The Vikings will take on Montana in the squads road and Big Sky opener but then will play four of five at home in a stretch that will determine the teams ability to achieve their goal of making the subdivision playoffs.

Unlike last season, the Vikings will likely play just one "cold weather game" when they take on Eastern Washington in Cheney on Oct. 31. They also head to Pocatello for a matchup with the Bengals but will play in a dome in their season finale.

The full schedule is as follows:

Sept. 5
at Oregon State, TBA

Sept. 12
vs. SOUTHERN OREGON, 1:05 p.m.

Sept. 19
at Montana, 12:05 p.m. PT

Sept. 26
vs. WEBER STATE, 1:05 p.m.

Oct. 3
vs. SACRAMENTO STATE, 1:05 p.m.

Oct. 10
at Northern Colorado, TBA

Oct. 17
vs. NORTHERN ARIZONA, 1:05 p.m.

Oct. 24
vs. UC DAVIS, 1:05 p.m.

Oct. 31
at Eastern Washington, TBA

Nov. 7
vs. MONTANA STATE, 1:05 p.m.

Nov. 14
at Idaho State, TBA

PSU headed to the Dance again, 79-77

Written by: Tom Sedun, Vanguard staff

The Portland State Vikings are headed to the NCAA tournament again after defeating Montana State in a wire to wire 79-77 victory over Montana State in front of 1546 at the Dee Event Center in Ogden, Utah.

“We beat an impressive team in Montana State, said head coach Ken Bone who has now led the Vikings to its second NCAA tournament in school history. “This victory is a tribute to our team.”

Senior captain Jeremiah Dominguez led all scorers with 22 points and was named the Big Sky tournament Most Valuable Player. Divaldo Mbunga led the Bobcats with 20 points and ten rebounds.

“It’s a great feeling after working so hard,” Dominguez said. “We had some struggles in the middle of the season, but we were able to come out and win the championship.”

“Jeremiah put us on his back,” said junior forward Julius Thomas who scored 17, including the game winning slam from Dominic Waters with five seconds remaining.”He is the leader of this team.”

The first half was nip and tuck with both teams exchanging baskets en route to a 40-39 halftime lead for the Vikings. Kyle Coston provided much of the energy for the high scoring half for Portland State with seven points.

“Kyle came out with tremendous confidence,” said Bone. “He was a definite presence on the defensive end.”

In the second half with the game tied at 50 and Montana State being the early aggressors, Dominguez ignited his team to a 11-1 run giving Portland State a ten-point advantage with 12:25 to play.

“I didn’t want to go out like that,” Dominguez said. “I got a feeling in my stomach and sometimes you feel confident in yourself; luckily I hit some big shots and made some plays down the stretch.”

Montana State had a chance to force overtime or win the game outright with 2.5 seconds remaining. But junior guard Dominic Waters stripped Brendan Johnson in the middle of his game winning shot attempt.

“They (Montana State) threw it to Howard and Dom’ (Waters) guarded him well,” Bone said.
Now the Vikings wait for selection Sunday to see who and where they will play their first round game.

“Last year was exciting to get to the tournament, this year we’re excited to be going again, but lets try to build from last year’s experience and go win a game.

Vikings look to be pulling away: lead 71-62

If your dancing shoes got a little dusty over the past 12 months, you better shine them up because it looks like the Vikings are pulling away from Montana State. A win, of course, would earn the club their second consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Men’s Basketball Preview: Big Sky Championship Edition

What: Portland State (22-9, 12-5 BSC) vs. Montana State (14-16, 7-10)
Where: Dee Events Center, Ogden, Utah
When: 7:30 p.m., Tonight
On the air: 800 AM KPDQ (audio, Tom Hewitt play-by-play), ESPN2 (Comcast channel 36)

Stars: Montana State has had an inconsistent year thus far, but when the Bobcats have played well it has been based heavily on the inside presence of senior All Big Sky center Divaldo Mbunga.

Mbunga, the Zach Randolph lookalike, is a force on the glass and on defense. In their win over Weber State he had 11 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks and 1 steal.

The Montana State backcourt tandem of Marquis Navarre and Will Bynum form a strong duo of players capable of running the offense and scoring. Combined, they average 15 points per game but have been effective in hounding opposing ball handlers with their quickness.

In addition to those three stars, Junior Branden Johnson was the player of the game for Montana State in their semifinal victory. The southpaw shooter hit four of his six threes en route to a team high 16 points.

Portland State will need a strong game from at least two of their perimeter players. In their semifinal victory over Idaho State, it was junior Dominic Waters who sparked the team in the first half and senior guard Andre Murray who brought the team to life in a stagnant second half.

A key matchup should be Johnson and Portland State junior forward Kyle Coston. Both players like to roam outside the three point line and three’s by either will help either team establish the spacing and tempo that both of these teams will want to play at.

Just a taste: An unlikely pairing, the two squads will meet for the third time this season, but this time a Big Sky Championship and a trip to the NCAA Tournament will be on the line.

Montana State has bulldozed through two of the top three seeds in the conference, all on the road, and will have an opportunity to knock off the Vikings and earn the school’s third ever trip to the Big Dance.

Portland State is making their second consecutive trip to the championship game and will have to give a more consistent effort should they earn a subsequent berth in the NCAA Tournament.

The Vikings have struggled with consistency within games this season and only played well during the first half of their 61-53 semifinal victory over the Bengals.

The two teams split their matchups this season, with Montana State eking out a narrow three point victory in Bozeman and Portland State picking up a six point win at the Stott Center.

With host Weber State dropping their semifinal yesterday and nearby Idaho State also stumbling, the Big Sky Championship will likely be played in front of just a few hundred fans as neither Montana State nor Portland State looked well supported in their semifinal.

This will be the second time this season that the Vikings have appeared in a ESPN game. Portland State defeated Boise Stat on Feb. 21 in the other game.

The two squads met last in the Big Sky Tournament in 2007, when Portland State defeated the Bobcats, 96-71 in a quarterfinal game played at the Stott Center.

Favorites shocked: Weber State falls in a stunner to No. 6 seed Montana State

In a game that not a soul was bold enough to predict, Montana State defeated Weber State in the Big Sky Tournament Semifinals, 70-61.

The win advances Montana State, an unlikely participant, to the Big Sky Championship where they will face the No. 2 seeded Portland State in the championship game tomorrow evening. At stake will be a spot in the NCAA Tournament, the first for Montana State since 1996.

The Bobcats trounced the host Wildcats, who they had fallen to by 20 points just one week ago, behind a terrific defensive performance and sharpshooting from the perimeter.

Weber State managed to hit just four of their 26 three-point attempts while Montana State shot an efficient 40 percent from beyond the arc. The Wildcats shot just 33 percent from the field for the game and had just eight team assists.

“They played really hard,” Kellen McCoy, Weber State’s senior guard said. “We just didn’t hit our shots and they came in with a lot of heart. Everything changed from two weeks ago.”

The loss left the 5,162 in attendance devastated, and the host Wildcats wondering what went wrong.

Montana State, who barely snuck into the Big Sky Tournament, upset rival Montana in a road game last Saturday to earn their ticket to Ogden.

On Tuesday night, they made believers out of the rest of the conference by handing Weber State just their second loss of the conference season.

“Our guys persevered through a lot this season,” said Montana State head coach Brad Huse. “This win is exciting for our program, exciting for our university.”

The Big Sky MVP, McCoy, had an off-night and was hounded by defensive pressure from Marquis Navarre and Will Bynum. McCoy finished with just 16 points but struggled from the perimeter and hit just four of 10 field goal attempts. He also had six turnovers.

Navarre and Bynum had 17 total points and joined Branden Johnson, Erik Rush and Divaldo Mbunga in holding off a furious Weber State rally in the waning moments.

The Weber State freshman combination of Damian Lillard and Kyle Bullinger that spurned Big Sky opponents during the regular season was held in check for the majority of the game. They combined for just 10 total points.

Momentum may have swung as early as the final moments of the first half when a Bynum steal led to a thunderous transition dunk over Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year, Weber State forward Daviin Davis.

Bynum’s play and the subsequent technical foul he earned for jawing with Davis infuriated the crowd but ignited a strong run by the Bobcats to close the half.

Despite the heartbreaking loss, Weber State will continue their season in the NIT. Due to the defeat, the Wildcats will claim the conference’s automatic bid to the tournament and could possibly host a first-round game next week.

Montana State will move on to keep their streaking run through the Big Sky Tournament with a chance to take their lackluster 13-16 record to the NCAA Tournament with a victory over Portland State tomorrow night.

Vikings Stumble into Big Sky Championship

Written by: Tom Sedun, Vanguard staff

Ogden, Utah- For the second consecutive season, the Portland State Vikings have reached the Big Sky conference tournament championship game. And for the second consecutive year they reached the conference championship by defeating Idaho State.

The Vikings were able to pull out a 61-53 victory in front of 2779 at the Dee Events Center on the campus of Weber State.

The road back to the final did not come easy for the Vikings who let Idaho State rally from a 19-point halftime deficit.

“Well it wasn’t the prettiest of games but we are glad that we were able to win,” said Portland State head coach Ken Bone. “It feels great to be back in the championship game. It’s something we have been striving for all season long.”

Andre Murray led all scorers with 24 points and scored 13 of Portland State’s 19 points in the second half. “They were beating us in transition,” Murray said. “I felt I needed to score the ball for us.”

Portland State went on a 22-2 run in the first half to give the defending Big Sky champions a 42-23 halftime advantage, Phil Nelson scored 12 of his 14 in the first half.

But much like their earlier meeting in Pocatello, the Bengals opened the second half with an 18-3 run and had all the momentum late in the ball game.

“I told the guys that this game was just like that one. Idaho State is a very good team and could have very well been in the championship game,” Bone said.

With the Bengals only trailing the Vikings by three with Jeremiah Dominguez sealed the Portland State victory by hitting three free throws, all in the final minute.

“It’s great we are back in the championship game,” said the first team all Big Sky guard. “But we need to play focused for forty minutes in order to win tomorrow.”

Even though the game was not the finest performance from the Vikings, the victory was satisfying enough, at least for one night.

“A win is a win,” said Andre Murray. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a blowout or by one point, I’ll take it.”

Marnix, our student blogger predicts the conference tourneys...sort of

By now, most of you will have familiarized yourselves with our student and unabashed Viking fan, Marnix Brinkhoff.

He took a few days off but Marnix is back with a guest post about how he feels the men's and women's basketball teams will do in the Big Sky Tournament's this weekend.

With March Madness around the corner that can mean only one thing: Conference Tournaments!

With the Men’s Big Sky Tournament kicking off tomorrow and the women’s later this week here are my predictions for both Tournaments this week.

Men’s Semifinals:

Portland State vs. Idaho State: I predict PSU wins this match-up, because the team is rested and hopefully pumped for the opportunity to play again on television with an opportunity to defend their Big Sky Conference Crown.

Weber State vs. Montana State: Even though MSU is the only team to beat Weber State in conference this year, the Wildcats are no joke and come to play every night.

Men’s Final:Weber State v. Portland State.

I believe the Vikings will show up to this one, but with the poise and leadership the Wildcats have, I’m going to have to give the edge to Weber State.

It pains me to say such a thing and I’ve never wanted to be proved wrong more, but I believe the Wildcats are going to win, because they are consistent, have worked hard and gotten better all year.

Even though the bright lights of ESPN will be shining again, I just don’t see the lethargic Vikings being able to pull off what I would classify as a huge upset.

Women’s Semifinals:

Screw it, lets just get straight to the inevitable finale: Portland State and Montana.


Portland State vs. Montana: The clash of the two titans in Big Sky women’s basketball should be quite the match-up.

Last Saturday’s game would have been quite the match-up too, but Comcast is too sexist to cover the game I guess, but I digress.

My prediction for next week’s match-up is that the Vikings pull off the victory and gain a berth to the NCAA tournament, because Kelsey Kahle and Claire Faucher are just too big of competitors to let another “W” slip through their grasp.

Besides, I’m still a Viking fan and I still hate Montana so there is no way I can predict them to win.

Well, those are my predictions. You can like them or you can hate them. I may be wrong or I may be right, but either way be sure to tune in and cheer the Vikings on!

Marnix, our student blogger predicts the conference tourney'