Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
Idaho
Wildcats close out home schedule Saturday against Idaho
2/24/2023 2:44:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Weber State has just two games remaining before the Big Sky Tournament.
• Weber State hosts its final home game of the regular season Saturday night against the University of Idaho. The Wildcats and Vandals will tipoff at 7 p.m. at the Dee Events Center. The game will be televised on ESPN+ with Tony Parks and former Wildcat head coach Joe Cravens on the call. Steve Klauke and former WSU standout and Big Sky MVP David Patten will have the radio call on 103.1 FM "The Wave".
• Weber State is 15-14 overall and 10-6 in Big Sky play, currently third in the league standings with two games remaining. The Wildcats are coming off an 89-82 loss to league-leading and conference undefeated Eastern Washington Thursday night.
• With two games left, WSU is guaranteed to finish third or fourth in the conference standings and will open the conference tournament on Monday, March 6. With one win, or one Montana loss, the Wildcats will clinch the third seed.
• Idaho is 10-19 overall and 4-12 in Big Sky play, tied for ninth in the league standings. The Vandals are locked into playing the first round of the tournament on Saturday, March 4.
• Once again Dillon Jones led the Wildcats in scoring as he totaled 21 points with nine rebounds and five assists in Thursday's game. Jones has led the Wildcats in scoring 17 times this season and has scored in double figures 23 times and now reached 20 or more points eight times.
He has 17 double-doubles, tied for the fourth-most in the nation this season. He leads the nation in defensive rebounds at 10.1 per game and is seventh in the country in overall rebounds at 10.69 per game. He is eighth in the Big Sky in scoring, second in steals and fourth in assists.
In Thursday's game, he moved past Zach Braxton into fifth on the WSU career rebounds list, now with 787 in 84 career games. He ranks 27th in career scoring, fifth in steals, eighth in field goal percentage and 10th in free throw percentage.
• Sophomore Dyson Koehler had a career-high 16 points in Thursday's game. He was 7 of 11 from the field with two 3-pointers and grabbed five rebounds with two assists. Koehler has started the last 23 games for the Wildcats and is averaging 6.5 points and 3.0 rebounds per game. He is also shooting 50 percent from the field, and 52 percent in Big Sky games.
• Saturday's final regular season home game will be Senior Night as the Wildcats honor the two seniors on this year's team, Zahir Porter and Junior Ballard.
Porter has played in 84 games over his three seasons at Weber State and has started 22 games. He has scored over 600 career points with the Wildcats and has scored in double figures 25 times, including five times this year. He had 14 points in Thursday's game and has scored in double figures in three of the last five games.
Junior Ballard transferred to Weber State this year as a graduate transfer. He previously played at Cal Poly and Fresno State. He has played in all 29 games for the Wildcats this season and is averaging 7.6 points per game with 35 3-pointers. In his five-year college career, Ballard has played in 120 games and has nearly 1,000 career points with 159 3-pointers made.
• With Thursday's loss, the Wildcats will finish third or fourth in the Big Sky standings. The 'Cats will receive a first round bye and will play in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament on Monday, March 6. With one win, or a Montana loss, Weber State will clinch the third seed. Eastern Washington has clinched the outright conference regular season title and Montana State has cliched the second seed. The conference tournament will be held March 4-8 in Boise, Idaho.
• Idaho is locked into playing on Day 1 at the Big Sky Tournament. The Vandals are 4-12 in conference play, currently tied for 9th in the league standings. Idaho has lost seven of its last nine Big Sky games, including a 65-55 loss at Idaho State on Thursday. The Vandals are second in the Big Sky in field goal percentage and free throw percentage and third in scoring offense. Isaac Jones is second in the league in scoring and Divant'e Moffitt is third.
• Weber State defeated Idaho 73-65 on January 26 in Moscow. The 'Cats shot 56.5 percent from the field in the win, the second-highest shooting percentage of the season. WSU led by as many as 21 points early in the second half. Dillon Jones had 21 points, 14 rebounds and four assists to lead the Wildcats.
• WSU is 62-25 all-time against the Idaho Vandals, as both schools are charter members of the Big Sky. Weber State is 10-5 against Idaho since the Vandals returned to the Big Sky in 2015.
The Wildcats have won eight of the last nine games against Idaho. In games in Ogden, Weber State is 36-6 all-time and has won three-straight.
• WSU will close out the regular season Monday night at Northern Arizona before the conference tournament begins March 4 in Boise.
