Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
Idaho State
Wildcats are back home for the Bengals Saturday night
1/5/2023 9:51:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Weber State has won five of its last six games and hosts Idaho State Saturday at 7 p.m.
• Riding a two-game winning streak, the Weber State men's basketball team will open 2023 with another home game this Saturday against longtime rival Idaho State. The Wildcats and Bengals will tipoff Saturday, January 7 at 7 p.m. from the Dee Events Center. The game will be televised on ESPN+ with Steve Brown 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". Live stats at WeberStateSports.com and the Weber State Wildcats app.
• Weber State is 7-8 overall and 2-0 in Big Sky play and the Wildcats have won five of their last six games heading in to Saturday's contest. Weber State picked up home wins over Northern Colorado and Northern Arizona last weekend at home in the conference opening weekend.
• Idaho State is 5-10 overall but is also 2-0 in Big Sky play. The Bengals also won home games last week over Northern Arizona and Northern Colorado.
• After two strong performances in leading Weber State to a pair of wins to open conference play, Dillon Jones has been named the Big Sky Conference Player of the Week. Jones was also named the Collegeinsider.com Lou Henson Award Mid-Major National Player of the Week.
Jones averaged 17.5 points, 14 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 2.0 steals per game in leading Weber State to two wins in the opening week of Big Sky play. He scored a career-high 26 points in Thursday's win over Northern Colorado and grabbed 13 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season. He also had six assists and was 14 of 15 from the free throw line. He followed that up with nine points, a season-high 15 rebounds, seven assists and four steals in Saturday's win over Northern Arizona. In the two games he was also 17 of 18 from the free throw line.
On the season, the sophomore from Columbia, South Carolina, leads the Wildcats and is 10th in the Big Sky in scoring at 14.9 points per game. He is also second in the conference and 16th in the nation in rebounding at 9.8 per game.
Jones is first in the country in defensive rebounds per game at 8.9. He is also first in the Big Sky in free throw percentage at 87.8 percent, and ranks second in the league in steals and fourth in assists. He has scored in double figures 10 times in 14 games this season and has seven double-doubles, which is tied for the eighth-most in the nation. Jones has played in 70 career games at Weber State. He is currently 13th in school history in career rebounds with 620.
• Steven Verplancken scored in double figures for the 11th time in Saturday's win over Northern Arizona. He finished with 14 points on 7 of 14 shooting. Verplancken is second on the Wildcat team in scoring at 12.3 points per game. He also leads the team at 43 percent shooting from 3-point range and has knocked down 31 3-pointers this season. Verplancken is the only player to start all 15 games for the Wildcats this season.
• Senior transfer Junior Ballard scored 16 points in Saturday's win over Northern Arizona and tied his season-high with four 3-pointers. Ballard has scored in double figures eight times this season and is second on the Wildcat team with 24 3-pointers. He has played in 106 career games over his career, including two seasons each at Cal Poly and Fresno State.
• Weber State shot a season-best 58 percent from the field in Saturday's win. The Wildcats are 4-1 when shooting 50 percent or better from the field. WSU is also 6-1 this season when leading in field goal percentage and 1-7 when trailing. The Wildcats are also 6-1 when leading in rebounding and 1-7 when trailing.
• WSU is 7-0 when scoring 70 or more points in a game and 0-8 when scoring less than 70 points.
• After leading the nation for much of the year, Weber State currently ranks fourth in the country in free throw percentage at 81 percent. The Wildcats have shot 80 percent or better from the line 10 times and have shot 90 percent or better three times.
• 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.
• Idaho State is 5-10 overall and like Weber State, is 2-0 in Big Sky play. The Bengals beat Northern Arizona 79-53, then defeated Northern Colorado 90-83 at home last weekend to begin conference play.
• ISU is second in the Big Sky in 3-pointers made per game at 8.7 and also ranks second in 3-point defense at 29.9 percent. The Bengals are also third in the conference in blocks and third in steals.
• The two longtime rivals have met 130 times since Weber State became a Division I school. The Wildcats hold an 84-46 all-time series lead over Idaho State, including two wins last season and seven of the last 10 matchups. In games in Ogden, Weber State is 50-13 all-time.
• After three-straight home games, Weber State hits the road for the Montana road trip next week, playing at Montana on Thursday, January 12 and at Montana State on Saturday, January 14.
