Weber State basketball: Wildcats in for high-octane affair

OGDEN — Weber State may have to trade its basketball shoes in for a pair of running shoes Friday.

The Wildcats are facing Portland State — the Big Sky's highest scoring team — in a key conference game at the Dee Events Center. Weber State is in first place in the Big Sky with a half game lead over Northern Colorado and Montana State while Portland State is two games back.

The high-powered Vikings are in a must-win situation to stay in the regular season conference title race. Portland State is certainly capable of beating anyone in the Big Sky, as it leads the conference in scoring offense, free-throw percentage and made 3-pointers.

"They're the most talented team in the league, the most potent offense in the league," said Weber State coach Randy Rahe. "They've got four different guys that start for them capable of giving you 25 points or more a night, so they've got weapons all over the place."

The Wildcats will have to pick up their play on the defensive end in order to defeat the Vikings, who have been the Big Sky's representative in the NCAA Tournament the last two seasons. Weber State allowed Idaho State to shoot 50 percent in a 95-93 triple overtime win on Saturday. Allowing the Vikings to shoot that great of a percentage will get the Wildcats beat tonight.

"We have to come together and play good 'D,'" said center Steve Panos. "We need to focus on our transition defense. They like to get the ball and push it really fast. We need to get our matchups and make it a half-court game."

Rahe would be OK with running with the Vikings as long as it's on Weber State's terms. The Wildcats' rule is always, "we run, they don't" and they can do that by playing good defense, forcing turnovers and not giving Portland State easy baskets.

"We're going to play like we play," Rahe said. "We hope it's a track meet for us and not for them. We don't play at track speed but we do try to push it really hard. It's going to be a real challenge to get them slowed down."

Weber State isn't exactly facing a defensive juggernaut tonight. The Vikings allowed Northern Arizona to shoot 72 percent in a 93-86 loss last week. It was the fourth highest shooting percentage in Big Sky history.

The Wildcats will also host Eastern Washington on Saturday. This is the first of three Friday-Saturday sets of conference games Weber State will play this season.

Wildcats on the air

Portland State at Weber State

Today, 7 p.m.

TV: none

Radio: 1430 AM

e-mail: aaragon@desnews.com