Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
Eastern Washington
'Cats close out first half of Big Sky play at league-leading Eastern Washington Saturday
1/27/2023 11:47:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Weber State is 6-2 in Big Sky play. Eastern Washington is 9-0 and has won 11-straight games.
• Weber State concludes the first half of the Big Sky regular season when the Wildcats take on league-leading Eastern Washington Saturday afternoon. The Wildcats and Eagles will tipoff at 2 p.m. Pacific time (3 p.m. Mountain time) from Reese Court in Cheney, Washington. The game will be televised on ESPN+ with WSU radio coverage with Steve Klauke on 103.1 FM "The Wave". Live stats at WeberStateSports.com and the Weber State Wildcats app.
• Weber State improved to 11-10 overall and 6-2 in Big Sky play with its third-straight win Thursday night as the Wildcats beat Idaho 73-65 in Moscow. Weber State never trailed in the game and led by as many as 21 points before holding on for the win. The Wildcats shot 56 percent from the field, including 53 percent from 3-point range and outrebounded the Vandals 33-20.
• Eastern Washington is on top of the Big Sky standings with a 9-0 conference record midway through the regular season. The Eagles have won 11-straight games, the third longest active winning streak in the nation. EWU is 15-7 overall and has won 13-straight home games.
The 11-straight wins is tied for the longest winning streak in Eastern Washington's Division I history. The 13-straight home wins is the longest in its Division I history.
• The reigning Big Sky Player of the Week Dillon Jones continued his hot play with another double-double in Thursday's win at Idaho. He had 21 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for his 12th double-double of the season. He also was 12 of 15 from the free throw line and dished out four assists.
The 12 double-doubles is now tied for the fourth-most in the country this season. Jones has had a double-double in five of the last six games. He leads the nation in defensive rebounds at 10.3 per game and is fifth in the nation in overall rebounds at 11.1 per game.
Jones is averaging 15.4 points per game and leads the Wildcats in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals. He is seventh in the league in scoring, third in steals at 1.6 per game and fourth in assists at 3.9 per game. He has scored in double figures 16 times, including 14 of the last 15 games. He also has had 10 or more rebounds in seven of the last eight games and has led the Wildcats in rebounding in 12-straight games and 15 of the last 16 games. .In Thursday's win, he became the ninth player in Weber State history to reach 700 career rebounds. He is now ninth with 705 rebounds in 76 career games.
• KJ Cunningham scored a career-high 12 points in Thursday's win and didn't miss a shot. He was 5 of 5 from the field, including 2 of 2 from 3-point range to score the career-high. Cunningham has started the last 10 games and WSU is 7-3 in that stretch. He is averaging 6.5 points and 1.4 assists per game on the season, while shooting 47 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3-point range.
• Steven Verplancken scored in double figures for the 17th time in 21 games this season, including 11 of the last 12 games as he finished with 17 points in Thursday's win. He was 7 of 12 from the field and knocked down two 3-pointers.
Verplancken is the only player that has started all 21 games this season and is second on the team in scoring at 12.9 points per game. He is shooting 42.6 percent from 3-point range and lead the Wildcats with 43 3-pointers on the year.
• The Wildcats outrebounded Idaho 33-20 in Thursday's win. The 20 rebounds is the fewest by a Wildcat opponent since Tarleton State had 20 in January 2021.
This season, Weber State is 9-1 when leading its opponent in rebounding and just 2-9 when trailing in rebounding.
• Weber State scored 73 points in Thursday's win at Idaho and improved to 9-0 this season when scoring 70 or more points in a game. The Wildcats are 2-10 when scoring less than 70 in a game.
WSU is also 9-1 when leading in field goal percentage and 2-9 when trailing. The 'Cats are 7-0 when leading in 3-point field goal percentage.
• 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.
• Eastern Washington was picked fifth in the Big Sky preseason media and coaches polls, but the Eagles are on top of the league at the midway point of the regular season with a perfect 9-0 record. EWU has won 11-straight games, the third longest winning streak in the nation and has won 13-straight home games. Eastern Washington started the season 4-7 before the 11-game winning streak.
• The Eagles are coached by David Riley who is in his second season as head coach. Eastern Washington leads the Big Sky in field goal defense, rebounding, blocks and assists. EWU is also 28th in the country in free throw percentage and 30th in field goal percentage.
• Weber State holds a 50-28 all-time series lead over Eastern Washington but the Eagles have won four of the last five games and five of the last seven against the Wildcats. The two teams split last season, with both winning at home.
Overall in games in Cheney, the series is tied 18-18 all-time but Eastern Washington has won three of the last four games.
• Weber State continues its road trip with two games next weekend. The Wildcats will play at Idaho State on Saturday, February 4 and at Northern Colorado on Monday, February 6, before returning home for two games February 9 and 11.
