The Vikings' first trip to an NCAA Tournament was short and not so sweet.

Portland State was a No. 16 seed and certainly looked like it in an 85-61 loss to top-seeded Kansas. The first-round game was played March 20 in Omaha.

"If this doesn't motivate guys to really try to get bigger and stronger in the offseason, nothing will," said Portland State head coach Ken Bone. "Because I can tell them all I want, like I've done the last couple years, that the bigger, stronger kids have an advantage."

The Vikes were never really in it against the Jayhawks, who led 14-3 six minutes in and 49-26 at halftime. Portland State looked nothing like the team that had gone 14-2 in the Big Sky Conference.

"We don't play teams like Kansas every day," said junior guard Jeremiah Dominguez. "I mean, we don't see those kind of athletes in our league."

In the final minute of the game, all five Portland State seniors -- Dupree Lucas, J.R. Moore, Scott Morrison, Deonte Huff and Brian Curtis -- were on the floor together. Huff was first-team All-Big Sky this season, while Morrison was a second-team selection.

Big Sky MVP Dominguez is among seven players from this year's Viking team slated to return next season. Redshirts Jamie Jones, Phil Nelson and Dominic Waters could also make meaningful contributions on what is expected to be another fine Portland State team.

Copyright (C) 2008 The Sports Xchange. All Rights Reserved.