Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
Northern Arizona
New Year's Eve afternoon game Saturday against NAU
12/30/2022 11:20:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Wildcats have won four of their last five and close out 2022 Saturday at 2 p.m. against the Lumberjacks.
• Weber State will close out 2022 with a New Year's Eve afternoon game Saturday against Northern Arizona. The Wildcats and Lumberjacks will tipoff at 2 p.m. at the Dee Events Center in Ogden in the second Big Sky game of the season. The game will be televised on ESPN+ with Tony Parks and former Weber State head coach Joe Cravens on the call. WSU radio coverage with Steve Klauke and former Wildcat standout and Big Sky MVP David Patten will be on 103.1 FM "The Wave".
• Saturday's game is the annual Mascot Game at Weber State with several area mascots competing in a game at halftime.
• Weber State is 6-8 overall and has won four of its last five games. The Wildcats are coming off an 81-72 win over Northern Colorado on Thursday night in the Big Sky Conference opener.
• Northern Arizona is 4-10 overall and has lost three-straight and four of it last five, including a 79-53 loss at Idaho State Thursday night in the Big Sky opener.
• In Thursday's win, Weber State sophomore forward Dillon Jones, a preseason All-Big Sky selection, scored a career-high and had his seventh double-double of the season. Jones scored a career-high 26 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. His seven double-doubles ranks as the seventh-most in the nation this season. Jones also had six assists and was 14 of 15 from the free throw line. On the season he ranks ninth in the Big Sky in scoring at 15.3 points per game and is second in rebounding at 9.4. He is also first in the conference in free throw percentage at 87.3 percent and is fifth in assists at 3.7 per game. Jones also became the 14th player in Weber State history to reach 600 career rebounds and now ranks 13th all-time with 605 rebounds in 69 career games. He is second in the nation this season in defensive rebounds at 8.5 per game.
• Steven Verplancken Jr. added 15 points in Thursday's win, his 10th game in double figure scoring this season. Verplancken is second on the team in scoring at 12.2 points per game and is shooting 45 percent from 3-point range and 91.7 percent from the free throw line. Verplancken has scored in double figures in nine of 13 games and has made 30 3-pointers. Thursday's game was his 100th career-game, including Division II Glenville and Southern Illinois, before transferring to Weber State. He is the only player to start all 14 games for the Wildcats this season.
• Sophomore center Alex Tew added 10 points in Thursday's win, his third game in double figures this season. Tew was 4 of 5 from the field and had five rebounds, two blocks and two steals. He is averaging 6.8 points and shooting 67.9 percent from the field this season.
• Weber State has won four of its last five games and over that five-game stretch, the Wildcats are shooting 48 percent from the field, including 42 percent from 3-point range. The Wildcats are also averaging 8.8 3-pointers per game in that stretch and have a +3.6 rebounding margin.
• After leading the nation for much of the year, Weber State currently ranks fifth in the country in free throw percentage at 81 percent. The Wildcats have shot 80 percent or better from the line nine times and have shot 90 percent or better three times.
• Weber State is 5-1 this season when leading in field goal percentage and 1-7 when trailing. The Wildcats are also 5-1 when leading in rebounding and 1-7 when trailing.
• WSU is 6-0 when scoring 70 or more points in a game and 0-8 when scoring less than 70 points.
• Weber State is led by new head coach Eric Duft who was named the 10th head coach in Weber State history in May. Duft replaced Randy Rahe who retired after 16 seasons as the head coach as the Big Sky Conference's all-time leader in career wins and led the Wildcats to five Big Sky titles and three trips to the NCAA Tournament. Duft spent all 16 seasons as an assistant coach under Rahe.
• Northern Arizona has lost four of its last five games heading into Saturday's game. The Lumberjacks ended non-conference play with an overtime loss at Southern Utah on Dec. 17, then didn't play for nearly two weeks until Thursday night's loss at Idaho State. The Lumberjacks lead the Big Sky in assists at 15.9 and in assist to turnover ratio. NAU is also third in the league in rebounding and third in 3-pointers per game.
• Jalen Cone is fourth in the Big Sky in scoring at 17.3 points per game, including a career-high 45 points in the overtime loss at Southern Utah. NAU is coached by Shane Burcar who is in his fourth season with the Lumberjacks.
• This will be the 116th all-time game in the series with Weber State holding an 85-30 series lead. The 85 wins is the second-most for the Wildcats against any opponent. The Wildcats have won five-straight and 12 of the last 13 against the Lumberjacks. In games in Ogden, Weber State is 50-9 all-time and has won eight straight games.
• This will be the seventh all-time game for Weber State on December 31, with all games coming since 2005. The Wildcats are 4-2 all-time on December 31 and are 2-0 in New Year's Eve games at the Dee Events Center. WSU won New Year's Eve games in 2009 and 2011 at home.
• Weber State will begin 2023 with just one game next week, hosting Idaho State on Saturday, January 7. The 'Cats will then travel to Montana and Montana State on Jan. 12 and 14.
