Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
Southern Utah
Final home game Saturday as Wildcats host SUU
3/4/2022 10:41:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Purple Out with all fans encouraged to wear purple. WSU will honor five seniors for Senior Night and legendary coach Dick Motta
• Weber State closes out the regular season and plays the final conference game against an in-state foe when the Wildcats welcome Southern Utah to Ogden Saturday night. The Wildcats and Thunderbirds will tipoff at 6 p.m. at the Dee Events Center in the final home game of the season. The game will be televised on ESPN+ and the ESPN app with Tony Parks and former Wildcat coach Joe Cravens on the call. Steve Klauke for former WSU standout and Big Sky MVP David Patten will have the call on the WSU radio broadcast on 103.1 FM "The Wave". Live stats at WeberStateSports.com.
• The Wildcats are 20-10 overall and 13-6 in Big Sky play with one final game remaining. Weber State is coming off a 73-49 win at Northern Arizona on Saturday for the 20th win of the season.
• WSU has clinched a bye into the Big Sky Tournament, which will be held March 9-12 in Boise, Idaho. The Wildcats are in a three-way tie for second in the league standings with Southern Utah and Northern Colorado and Weber State can still finish anywhere from second to fourth in the conference standings.
• If Weber State wins and Northern Colorado losses Saturday at regular season champion Montana State, the Wildcats would be the No. 2 seed. If WSU wins and UNC wins, the 'Cats would claim the No. 3 seed. With a loss to Southern Utah, Weber State would be the No. 4 seed in the conference tournament.
• Southern Utah is 19-10 overall and 13-6 in Big Sky play. The Thunderbirds are wrapping up a very busy week. They lost at Montana State on Tuesday before a 79-71 win at Idaho State on Thursday night.
• Saturday's night's game will be Senior Night for five Wildcat players in their final home games at Weber State. Dontay Bassett, Michal Kozak, Donatas Kupsas, Koby McEwen and JJ Overton will also be honored prior to the game. It will also be a Purple Out with all fans encouraged to wear purple.
• WSU will also be honoring legendary coach Dick Motta with a banner retirement at halftime. Motta coached at Weber State from 1960-1968 and transitioned the school from the junior college ranks to NCAA Division I. He led the Wildcats to three Big Sky titles and the school's first trip to the NCAA Tournament. A banner with the number 164 will be unveiled in honor of coach Motta, representing his number of wins at Weber State. Following his Wildcat career, he coached 25 years in the NBA. He was the NBA Coach of the Year in 1971 with the Chicago Bulls and won the 1978 NBA title with the Washington Bullets. He still ranks 13th in NBA history in career wins with 935.
• WSU senior Koby McEwen continues to lead the Wildcats as he scored 20 points and tied his career-high with five 3-pointers in Saturday's win at NAU. It was his 13th game this season scoring 20 or more points, including each of the last five games. McEwen is now tied for second in the Big Sky in scoring at 18.3 points per game and is averaging 19.3 per game in conference games, second-best in the league. McEwen now has 548 points this season and has 2,029 career points in 147 career games. He played two seasons at Utah State and two seasons at Marquette before coming to Weber State. He has the 20th most career points of any active player in the country.
• Dillon Jones recorded his 16th double-double of the season in Saturday's win at Northern Arizona, as he finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds. He is now tied for the ninth-most double-doubles of any player in the country. He leads the Big Sky and is seventh in the nation in rebounding at 10.8 per game. Jones has had double figures in rebounding in 23 games, including the last 12. His 324 rebounds this season rank as the ninth most in a season in school history. Jones is also third in the league in steals and sixth in minutes played.
• In Saturday's game, senior Michal Kozak played in his 133rd career game, which is now the most in school history. Kozak passed Jordan Richardson (2010-14) for the most career games played in Weber State history. He is also fifth in school history in career blocks 17th in career rebounds.
• The win at Northern Arizona gave Weber State 20 wins on the season, the eighth time in 16 years under Randy Rahe the Weber State has won at least 20 games in a season, and the first since 2017-18.
• Southern Utah leads the Big Sky and is 27th in the nation in scoring offense, averaging 78.8 points per game. The Thunderbirds are also first in the conference in rebounding at 37.9 and rank second in rebounding margin and third in scoring margin, field goal defense and 3-point defense.
• This will be the final Big Sky game between the two schools as Southern Utah will leave the conference this summer. Weber State holds a 36-11 all-time series lead over the Thunderbirds, including earlier this season. In games in Ogden, Weber State is 23-4 all-time and has won five of the last six meetings.
• Weber State beat Southern Utah 92-84 on January 24 in Cedar City. The Wildcats shot 52 percent from the field and made a season-high 13 3-pointers. The 'Cats also forced 17 SUU turnovers. Four Wildcats scored in double figures led by Seikou Sisoho Jawara with 25 points and Koby McEwen with 21.
• The 2022 Big Sky Tournament will be Wednesday-Saturday, March 9-12 at Idaho Central Arena in Boise. The Wildcats will play Thursday in the quarterfinals.
