Weber State University Athletics
Wildcats Face Northern Arizona in Semifinals of Big Sky Tournament
3/10/2008 6:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Weber State Overall Record: 16-13 / BSC 10-6
HOME: 12-2 ROAD: 3-9 NEUTRAL: 0-2
Home: 7-1 Road: 3-5
2008 Big Sky Conference Post-Season Tournament SEMIFINAL GAME
G A M E # 30
vs. NORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY
WHEN Tuesday, March 11, 2008
SITE The Rose Garden (19,000)
WHERE Portland, Oregon
TIME 5:30 p.m. (PDT) / 6:30 p.m. (MDT)
PROBABLE WEBER STATE STARTERS
Pos.No. Name HT WT CL HOMETOWN PPG RPG APG
F-11 Arturas Valeika 6-9 225 Sr. Vilnius, LITHUANIA 9.8 10.1 1.2
F-31 Daviin Davis 6-4 205 Jr. Midland, TX 8.2 3.0 1.9
C-40 Steve Panos 6-8 230 So. Salt Lake City, UT 7.2 3.4 0.3
G-23 Brody Van Brocklin 6-2 175 Sr. Fruit Heights, UT 4.9 1.9 2.0
G-10 Dezmon Harris 6-1 175 Sr. Fort Worth, TX 10.8 1.9 2.2
RESERVES
G-33 Kellen McCoy 5-6 175 Jr. Norman, OK 9.1 3.0 1.9
F/G45 Juan Pablo Silveira 6-4 205 Jr. Salto, URUGUAY 6.2 1.4 1.8
F-44 Tyler Billings 6-8 225 Sr. Smithfield, UT 4.5 1.9 0.5
C-55 Trevor Morris 6-9 20 Fr. Nampa, ID 3.9 2.4 0.1
WEBER STATE UNIVERSITY "Wildcats"
HEAD COACH RANDY RAHE
In his first season at Weber State RANDY RAHE set the bar high. He took the a team which was 10-17 the year previous and molded them into a 20-12 team in 2006-07.. The Wildcats were picked to finish 6th in the Big Sky Conference pre-season coaches and media polls, but Rahe and the Wildcats rose to the top to finish league play 11-5 and tied with Northern Arizona for the regular season crown. But the Wildcats won the tie-breaker by virtue of their in-season sweep of the Lumberjacks. The 'Cats went on to beat NAU in the finals of the Conference Tournament and earned the automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. ... For those efforts, Rahe was named BIG SKY CONFERENCE COACH OF THE YEAR and the USBWA DISTRICT VIII COACH OF THE YEAR. ... Rahe is now 36-25 (.590) overall at Weber State and as a head coach and 21-10 (.677) in Big Sky Conference regular season games.. ... COACH RAHE IS A PERFECT 3-0 in Big Sky Conference Tournament play having won a first round game (vs. Montana State: 07-08), a semifinal game (vs. Portland State: 06-07) and a championship game (VS. NORTHERN ARIZONA: 06-07) ... Rahe is 3-2 lifetime vs. NORTHERN ARIZONA; 4-1 vs. Portland State and 2-2 vs. Idaho State while at Weber State.
RADIO /T V
Tuesday's game will be carried LIVE on radio station KLO (1430 AM) with CARL ARKY and DUTCH BELNAP calling the action. ... The Pre-Game Show begins at 6:00 p.m. (MDT).
The game vs. NORTHERN ARIZONA is being broadcast on ALTITUDE TV with BILL RILEY and former WSU head coach JOE CRAVENS calling the action. The game will be joined in progress LIVE following the completion of the COLORADO AVALANCHE. ... The game will air LIVE in its entirety on ALTITUDE 2, DISH NETWORK CHANNEL 9411. ... FOX COLLEGE SPORTS PACIFIC will also carry the game LIVE outside of ALTITUDE'S 10-state coverage.
WEDNESDAY's CHAMPIONSHIP GAME will be televised LIVE on ESPN2 beginning at 7:00 p.m. (MDT)
A QUICK WSU HISTORY LESSON
The Wildcats are in their 46th season as a four-year institution on the NCAA Division I level and their 45th season as a member of the Big Sky Conference. ... In 1962-63 Weber became the first junior college in the country to moved from the juco ranks directly into NCAA Division I basketball. ... Since then, the Wildcats have won 17 Big Sky Conference titles and made 15 appearances in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.
ALL-TIME RECORD
Weber State's all-time record in Division I basketball stands at 832-484 (.6322). ... In 45 years of hoop action the Wildcats have had just EIGHT LOSING SEASONS and in 21 of those 45 seasons have posted 20 WINS OR BETTER!.
HOME SWEET HOME
THE DEE EVENTS CENTER CELEBRATES ITS 30TH YEAR
The 2007-08 season marks the 30th season of playing in the 12,000 seat Dee Events Center. .... Opened on Nov. 1, 2007, the first regular season basketball game was played on November 29 against Long Beach State with the Wildcats prevailing 99-96 in overtime. .... The 'Cats have enjoyed tremendous success over the years at the DEC. They have an overall record of 342-93 (.7862) under the dome including a 13-2 record last season and 11-2 in 2007-08. ... Weber State's overall home court record, counting the 15 seasons in old Swenson Gym is a solid 522-111 (.8246). ... The Wildcats were a staggering 180-18 (.909) in Swenson Gym! ... The Wildcats had a 10 game HOME WIN STREAK snapped on Nov. 28 with a 52-72 loss to the University of Utah, then followed it up with a modest six-game home win streak until losing 56-69 on Jan. 25 to Northern Arizona. ... THE WILDCATS HAVE A CURRENT FOUR-GAME HOME COURT WIN STREAK.
WILDCATS GARNER CONFERENCE HONORS
Three Weber State Wildcats were accorded All-Big Sky Conference honors. ... ARTURAS VALEIKA (6-9, 225 Sr. Forward / Vilnius, Lithuania) was named FIRST TEAM ALL-BIG SKY. ... DEZMON HARRIS (6-1, 175 Sr. Guard / Fort Worth, Texas) was named to the SECOND TEAM and DAVIIN DAVIS (6-4, 205 Jr. Forward / Midland, Texas) was HONORABLE MENTION.
WEBER STATE BIG SKY TOURNEY HISTORY
This is the 32ND BIG SKY POST-SEASON TOURNAMENT. ... It is the second oldest conference post-season tournament behind the ACC.
The first tournament was held in 1976-76 in Ogden. Boise State defeated Weber State 77--70 in double overtime. ... Weber State has appeared in 30 of the 32 tournaments missing only in 1980-81 and in 2005-06. ... The Wildcats are 34-22 (.607) overall when competing in the Big Sky post-season tournament. That is the most wins by any team.
FIRST ROUND GAMES
The Big Sky Conference has gone through many variations of its post-season tournament. ... The first eight seasons it was just a four-team affair hosted by the regular season champion. ... In 1983-84 all eight teams played with top four teams hosting the bottom four teams in first round action games, but for only one season. Beginning in 1984-85, the team which won the league championship the previous season earned the right to host the tournament the next season. That played out through 1989-90. In 1990-91, it reverted back to the current regular season champion hosting all eight teams. ... In 2002-03, the current format was adopted where teams finishing 3rd and 4th in the regular season would host the 5th and 6th place teams in an on-campus quarterfinal. The two winners advance to the semifinals and finals hosted by the regular season champion.
In Wildcats have played in 19 FIRST ROUND GAMES throughout the years where they are 14-5 (.736). The ?Cat haven't lost a first round game since the 1999-2000 season when they dropped a 68-73 contest to Cal State Northridge in Missoula, Montana.
Under the current format, the Wildcats are 3-0 in first round games. Two wins came on the road @Sacramento State. In 2003-04 as the #6 seed the Wildcats won 68-62. The next season as the #5 seed, WSU won 74-71. The last one was the 65-49 home court win last Saturday vs. Montana State. ... The only other time WSU hosted a First Round game came during the 1983-84 season defeating Idaho 67-58 coming back from a 20-point half time deficit.
SEMIFINAL GAMES
The Wildcats are 12-13 (.480) when playing in the SEMIFINALS. ... WSU has won each of its last two semifinal games defeating PORTLAND STATE (77-74) last year in Ogden and defeating PORTLAND STATE (71-61) in Portland during the 2004-05 tournament. ... WSU is 1-0 VS. NORTHERN ARIZONA in semifinal action. That game came in the very first Big Sky Tournament in 1975-76. The Wildcats won 63-58 in Ogden.
CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES
Weber State is 8-4 in Big Sky tournament CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES. Below is WSU's championship game history.
1975-76 Boise State Ogden, UT 70-77 L (2 OTs)
1976-77 Idaho State Pocatello, ID 55-61 L
1977-78 Montana Missoula, MT 62-56 W (OT)
1978-79 Northern Arizona Ogden, UT 92-70 W
1979-80 Montana Ogden, UT 50-42 W
1982-83 Nevada Reno, NV 87-78 W
1994-95 Montana Ogden, UT 84-62 W
1995-96 Montana State Bozeman, MT 70-81 L
1998-99 Northern Arizona Ogden, UT 81-75 W
2002-03 Eastern Washington Ogden, UT 60-57 W
2004-05 Montana Portland, OR 61-63 L
2006-07 Northern Arizona Ogden, UT 88-80 W
OPPONENTS IN
CONFERENCE POST-SEASON TOURNAMENT
Of all the teams which have played in the Big Sky, IDAHO STATE has been WSU's most played opponent in the post-season tournament. The Wildcats and Bengals have met eight times with WSU holding a 5-3 advantage.
Boise State - 2-4
Cal State Northridge - 0-2
Eastern Washington - 1-3
Gonzaga - 1-0
Idaho - 1-2
Idaho State - 5-3
Montana - 5-2
Montana State - 4-2
Nevada - 4-3
Northern Arizona - 4-0
Portland State - 3-0
Sacramento State - 3-0
THE MOST AND THE LEAST
The MOST POINTS scored by a Weber State team in the Big Sky Conference tournament was 106 in 1986-87 in Flagstaff, Arizona. The Wildcats defeated MONTANA STATE 106-101 in the First Round. WSU was the #8 seed and MSU the #1 seed. The 101 points by MSU is also the MOST POINTS GIVEN UP by the Wildcats in a conference tournament game. ... The FEWEST POINTS scored by the Wildcats in a tournament game came in the championship game of the 1979-80 tournament in Ogden, Utah. The ?Cats defeated Montana 50-42. The 42 points by Montana is still the FEWEST POINTS ALLOWED by a Wildcat team in tournament play as well. . . . Weber State's LARGEST MARGIN OF VICTORY and DEFEAT in the tournament have both come against the Montana Grizzlies. In 1978-79 the Wildcats won by 27 points (98-71) in the semifinal game in Ogden. In 1996-97 in Flagstaff, Arizona the Grizzlies clawed the Wildcats by 25 points (81-56) in the semifinals.
OVERTIME GAMES IN THE TOURNAMENT
The Wildcats have had three games go into OVERTIME in tournament action. ...
1975-76: Weber State loses to Boise State 77-70 in double overtime in the championship game of the first every conference tournament. The game was played in the old Swenson Gym at Weber State.
1977-78: The Wildcats defeat Montana 62- 56 in overtime to win the conference tournament in Missoula, Montana.
1987-88: Greg Boyd hits 9-13 three-pointers as the Wildcats defeat Nevada 96-90 in the opening round
MOST VALUABLE PLAYERS
Weber State has had SIX PLAYERS earn Tournament MVP honors. They are:
JIMMIE WATTS (6-7, 210 Forward)
...MVP of the first ever tournament in 1975-76 held at Weber State. .. He is still the only MVP to come from the team which did not win the championship game.
BRUCE COLLINS (6-5, 210 G/F)
...MVP of THREE STRAIGHT tournaments in 1978, 1979 and 1980. ... Is still the only three-time tournament MVP.
RUBEN NEMBHARD 96-3, 215 Guard)
...MVP of the 1994-95 tournament hosted by Weber State.
EDDIE GILL (6-0, 190 Guard)
...Was the bright star of the 1998-99 tournament hosted by Weber State, over shadowing season MVP and teammate Harold "The Show" Arceneaux.
JERMAINE BOYETTE (6-2, 190 Guard)
...Scored 29 points in the championship game vs. Eastern Washington to garner MVP honors in 2002-03 as the Wildcats went 14-0 in the Big Sky regular season.
DAVID PATTEN (6-8, 230 Forward)
...The 2006-07 regular season MVP didn't disappoints scoring 22 in the semifinal game vs. Portland State and 14 points / 8 rebounds in the championship game vs. Northern Arizona.
CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARDS : ARTURAS VALEIKA
Weber State forward ARTURAS VALEIKA (6-9, 225 Sr.) has become a rebounding demon the last of February and early March. In WSU's last five games VALEIKA has averaged 14.8 rebounds per contest. In two of those last five games he pulled down a season and career high 20 at home vs. Montana and on the road vs. Sacramento State. ... Coming into Tuesday's game with Northern Arizona, VALEIKA has scored 542 career points (8.9 ppg) and grabbed 499 rebounds (8.2 rpg) in 61 contests. ... VALEIKA has played AND started in all 60 possible games in his career at WSU after transferring from Midland (TX) JC. ... He needs ONE MORE REBOUND to become the 21st player in WSU men's hoop history to have 500 or more career boards and only the 6th player in WSU history to accomplish that feat over a TWO-YEAR PERIOD.
HRUST NO ONE OVER 30
Weber State has not had a player score 30 or more points in a game this season. DEZMON HARRIS has the highest scoring game of the season with 27 @Montana State. ... On the flip side, the Wildcats have not allowed an opponent to score 30 or more this season. MONTANA STATE'S CARLOS TAYLOR and Illinois guard Trent Meacham each scored 26 against the Wildcats this season for the best individual effort by an opponent. . . . Only TWO opponents have had double figure REBOUNDS against the Wildcats this season. BYU's Trent Plaisted had 15 and Idaho State's Logan Kinghorn grabbed 11 vs. the Wildcats in ISU's 63-59 win in Pocatello.
WILDCATS VS. NORTHERN ARIZONA THIS SEASON
Northern Arizona SWEPT the regular season games beating the Wildcats 69-56 in Ogden on Jan,. 25 and 74-71 on Feb. 28 in Flagstaff. .. KELLEN McCOY was WSU's leading scorer vs. Northern Arizona this season at 13.5 ppg. He's the only Wildcat who has average doubled figure scoring vs. the Lumberjacks this season. ... NAU held Wildcat forward ARTURAS VALEIKA to just 1-5 shooting from the field, 0-2 from the line for a total of two points (1.0) and 13 total rebounds (6.5 rpg) in the two contest. ... Below are the combined stats for the two games. .
CATEGORY NAU WSU
FG % .456 .420
3-PT FG % .355 .333
FT % .794 .736
Rebound Average 30.5 28.0
Assist Average 14.5 10.5
Turnover Average 13.0 18.5
Blocked Shot Averag 3.0 5.0
Steals Average 6.0 2.5
WILDCATS VS. PORTLAND STATE THIS SEASON
Weber State and Portland State split the season series. Weber State won 73-68 in Ogden on Jan. 10. Portland State won 76-73 in Portland on Feb. 16. ... DAVIIN DAVIS averaged 21.5 points per game vs. Portland State this season. His career high scoring game of 23 points came at home (Jan.10) vs. the Vikings. DAVIS was 19-21 (.905) from the free throw vs. PSU this season. ... DEZMON HARRIS averaged 12.5 ppg and KELLEN McCOY averaged 12.0. ... VALEIKA averaged 7.5 points and 8.5 rebounds. ... Below are the combined team stats for the two games.
CATEGORY PSU WSU
FG % .434 .453
3-PT FG% .319 .333
FT% .705 .823
Rebound Average 31.0 34.5
Assist Average 16.5 11.0
Turnover Average 14.0 16.5
Blocked Shot Average 2.0 3.5
Steals Average 7.5 6.0
WILDCATS VS. IDAHO STATE THIS SEASON
Weber State and Idaho State split the regular season series which saw the two teams face each other twice within a 48 hour period. ... Weber State won 59-57 in Ogden on Jan. 31. Idaho State won 63-59 in Pocatello on Feb. 2. ... ARTURAS VALEIKA was WSU's top player against the Bengals this season. He averaged 13.5 points and 9.5 rebounds and was a perfect 10-10 from the line vs. ISU this season. .. KELLEN McCOY averaged 11.5 points a game vs. the Bengals. ... DEZMON HARRIS, WSU's leading scorer, struggled against ISU this year averaging just 6.5 points and shooting 4-14 (.286) from the field and 0-3 from the three-point line. ... Below is the combined two games stats vs. ISU this season.
CATEGORY ISU WSU
FG % .451 .386
3-PT FG% .324 .308
FT% .711 .808
Rebound Average 33.0 25.0
Assist Average 14.0 10.5
Turnover Average 15.5 11.0
Blocked Shot Average 4.0 3.5
Steals Average 5.0 6.0
WILDCAT HOOP ODDS ?N ENDS
The 49 points yielded by Weber State last Saturday night in the quarterfinal round vs. Montana State is the lowest point total by a Big Sky team against the Wildcats this season and the second lowest point total by a WSU opponent this season. (WSU beat Cal State Bakersfield 74-43 at home on Dec. 18). . . . In Weber State's last NINE GAMES, the only team which has shot 45 PERCENT OR BETTER from the field against the Wildcat defense has been NORTHERN ARIZONA which was 20-44 (.455) against the Wildcats on Feb. 28 in Flagstaff. . . . The Wildcats are 14-2 when shooting a better field goal percentage than its opponent and. ... The Wildcats are 10-2 when they shoot 50 PERCENT OR BETTER from the floor and 10-2 when holding opponents UNDER 45 PERCENT. . . . The Wildcats are 13-1 WHEN LEADING AT HALF TIME; 3-11 when TRAILING AT HALF and 0-2 when TIED AT HALF. The game WSU won when trailing at half came in the opening game of the year at home vs. UTAH STATE when the ?Cats overcame a 37-33 half time deficit to win 78-71. . . . Weber State has played at least ONE GAME on each day of the week this season. WSU has won FIVE on Saturday and FOUR on Thursday. They are 1-1 in TUESDAY games and 1-2 on WEDNESDAY's. . . . The Wildcats HAVE NOT PLAYED in an OVERTIME GAME this season. They were 1-2 in OT games last in Randy Rahe's first season. . . . The current starting line up of VALEIKA-DAVIS-PANOS-HARRIS-VAN BROCKLIN has been steady for the last 15 games. They are 10-5 in that stretch.
RANDY RAHE QUOTES
ON NORTHERN ARIZONA: "Obviously we've had some trouble with them this season and there's a reason. They are good! Kyle Landry is a tremendous front line player. Josh Wilson has to be considered one of the two best points guards in the league. NAU's may have the strongest bench play in the league. They have four or five player who can come in and change the out come in a heart beat."
ON WEBER STATE: "I was really pleased with the way we came out last Saturday night and forced the tempo on both ends of the court. MSU is a dangerous team and I knew we couldn't let them get any kind of momentum. Now we have to duplicate that effort times two. The intensity really goes up in the semifinals. That may be the toughest game to win in any tournament."
