ISU Opens Big Sky Conference Play at Home vs. Portland State

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POCATELLO, Idaho- The Idaho State men's basketball team opens Big Sky Conference play on Thursday, January 2, at 7:05 p.m. vs. Portland State at ICCU Court in Holt Arena. The Bengal then host Eastern Washington on Saturday, January 4, at 7 p.m. Both games will be broadcast on Rock 102.5 and 930 CBS Sports Radio. For Saturday's game vs. Eastern Washington, educators in District 25 can show their ID card and get a free ticket to the game. They then can purchase additional tickets at a price of $6.

Series vs. Portland State
Portland State leads the series 27-17. Idaho State won the last meeting, 72-71, in Pocatello to end the the 2012-13 season. The Bengals last win in Portland was an 84-79 victory on Feb. 10, 2011.

Series vs. Eastern Washington
Eastern Washington leads the series 40-27. EWU has won eight straight over the Bengals with the last ISU victory being an 80-74 win on Jan. 22, 2010, in Pocatello. The last time the Bengals won in Cheney was a 65-63 victory in the 2002-03 season.

Scouting Portland State
Portland State is 5-4 and averaging 73.2 points a game. Tim Douglas is scoring 16.1 points a contest and DeShaun Wiggins is netting 13 points a game. The Vikings are shooting .454 percent from the floor and averaging 35.2 rebounds a game.

Scouting Eastern Washington
Eastern Washington is 5-6 and scoring 75.6 points a game. Tyler Harvey is scoring 19.3 points to lead the Eagles and Venky Jois is scoring 12.4 points and grabbing eight rebounds a game. EWU is shooting .452 percent from the floor and averaging 38.2 rebounds a game.

Tough Schedule
The Bengals Division I opponents are a combined 50-28 as of December 30.  Only Idaho boasts a  losing records at 6-8.  Utah is currently 11-1, Arizona State 10-2, Washington 8-5, USF is 8-5 and Bakersfield is 7-7.

Bengal Bites
- The last time Idaho State started conference play 2-0 was in the 2007-08 season. That year the Bengals finished 8-8 in league play. Since that season the Bengals have started 1-1 every year except last season when they got dropped their first two games on the road to Eastern Washington and Portland State.
- Since the 2004-05 season, only the 2005-06 team has finished the season averaging more than 70 points a game. That team finished the year with an average of 78.7 points a contest. This year's Bengal team is scoring 72.4 points a game.