Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
Northern Colorado
'Cats play late-night national TV game at Northern Colorado Monday
2/5/2023 2:52:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Wildcats and Bears will tipoff at 9 p.m. Monday night in Greeley and will be televised nationally on ESPNU. The game will NOT be carried on ESPN+.
• After a thrilling double-overtime win on Saturday, Weber State concludes its four-game road trip with a late-night national TV Big Sky showdown Monday night at Northern Colorado. The Wildcats and Bears will tipoff at 9 p.m. Monday night from the Bank of Colorado Arena in Greeley. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN with Steve Quis and Richie Schueler calling the action. The game will not be available on ESPN+, only to ESPNU subscribers on ESPNU TV.
WSU radio coverage with Steve Klauke will be on 103.1 FM "The Wave".
• Weber State is 12-11 overall and 7-3 in Big Sky play following Saturday's dramatic 72-71 double overtime win at Idaho State. It was WSU's first double overtime game in more than seven years.
• Northern Colorado is 7-16 overall and 2-9 in Big Sky play. The Bears have lost three-straight games, including road games at Montana and Montana State last week.
• Wildcat sophomore forward Dillon Jones had his 13th double-double of the season in Saturday's thrilling win, and scored the game winning layup with two seconds left in the second overtime. Jones leads Weber State in points, rebounds, assists and steals. He is first in the nation in defensive rebounds at 10.1 per game and ranks ninth in the country in overall rebounds at 10.9 per game. His 13 double-doubles this season is tied for the sixth most in the nation. He has scored in double figures 18 times this season and ranks eighth in the Big Sky in scoring at 15.5 points per game. He has reached double figures in eight-straight and 16 of the last 17 games.
He also has had 10 or more rebounds in eight of the last 10 games and has led the Wildcats in rebounding in 14-straight games and 17 of the last 18 games. He ranks fourth in the Big Sky in assists at 3.8 per game, is third in steals at 1.5 per game, and is second in the league in free throw percentage at 84.2 percent.
Jones is ninth in school history in career rebounds with 722 rebounds in 77 career games. Saturday, he moved past NBA superstar Damian Lillard into sixth in WSU history in career steals with 130.
• Junior Ballard scored a season-high 20 points in Saturday's win. He was 6 of 9 from the field with two 3-pointers and was 6 of 8 from the line. Ballard, a transfer from Cal Poly and Fresno State, has played in all 23 games for the Wildcats this season and is averaging 9.3 points per game. He has scored in double figures 12 games this season.
• Dyson Koehler also had a season-high as he added 13 points, a career-high seven rebounds, and tied his career-high with three 3-pointers in the win. Koehler has started 17 games and is averaging 5.9 points per game. He missed the summer and fall practice and the early portion of the season with a blood clot in his spleen.
• Weber State improved to 10-1 this season when scoring 70 or more points in a game. The 'Cats are 2-10 when scoring less than 70. WSU is also 10-1 when leading in rebounding and 2-10 when trailing, and 10-1 when leading in field goal percentage and 2-10 when trailing.
• 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 Colorado is coached by Steve Smiley who is in his third season as head coach at Northern Colorado. He is 40-43 overall and 21-24 in Big Sky games.
Smiley spent two seasons (2014-16) as an assistant coach at Weber State, alongside Eric Duft, under Randy Rahe and helped lead the Wildcats to the 2016 Big Sky Championship and a trip to the NCAA Tournament.
• UNC has the top scorer in the Big Sky in Dalton Knecht who is averaging 20.1 points per game. Monday's game will have the top scorer (Knecht) and the top rebounder (Jones) in the Big Sky and the top four players in minutes played.
• The Wildcats beat the Bears 81-72 in Ogden on December 29, in the Big Sky Conference opening game for both teams. Weber State shot 46 percent from the field and outrebounded the Bears 39-31. WSU was also 22 of 26 from the free throw line. Dillon Jones scored a career-high 26 points in the win and had 13 rebounds. He was 14 of 15 from the free throw line.
• Weber State holds a 43-10 all-time series lead, including the win earlier this season, and the Wildcats have won three of the last four games.
In games in Greeley, Weber State is 8-7 all-time, including an 85-786 win last year.
• After the four game road trip, the 'Cats will return home for two games against longtime rivals later this week, hosting Montana State on Thursday and Montana on Saturday.
