Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
Oral Roberts
Up Next: Wildcats head to Oral Roberts Saturday night
1/5/2024 9:43:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Saturday's game will be televised on CBS Sports Network as part of the Big Sky-Summit League Challenge.
• With a five game winning streak and a win in the first game of the Big Sky-Summit League Challenge, the Weber State men's basketball team hits the road at Oral Roberts Saturday night in Tulsa, Oklahoma in a nationally televised matchup.
• The Wildcats and Golden Eagles will tipoff at 7:00 p.m. Central time (6 p.m. MT) on Saturday from the Mabee Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The game will be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network with Alex Heinert, Missy Heidrick, and Ana Bellinghausen calling the action. Weber State radio coverage with Steve Klauke will be on 103.1 FM "The Wave".
• Weber State is 10-4 on the season and has won five straight games. The Wildcats are coming off a 75-73 win over South Dakota State Wednesday night in Ogden. Oral Roberts is 8-8 overall and opened the challenge with an 82-76 win at Montana State on Wednesday. ORU is tied for the nation's longest home winning streak at 21 straight games.
• Weber State junior standout Dillon Jones scored 23 points and hit the game winner in Wednesday's win over South Dakota State. Jones was 9 of 12 from the field, including 4 of 5 from 3-point range for 23 points and hit the game winner with less than a second to play. He also tied his career-high with nine assists and had six rebounds.
• Jones leads the Big Sky in points, rebounds, and assists. He is the only player in the nation currently leading a conference in all three categories. He is also second in the league in minutes played, third in steals, and fourth in field goal percentage and free throw percentage. He ranks third in the nation in double-doubles with nine in 13 games this season. He is also third in the nation in defensive rebounds and 13th in overall rebounds.
• Jones continues to move up the Weber State record books. He is now 11th in career scoring and ranks third in rebounding, sixth in assists, and eighth in free throws made. He is the only player in WSU history with at least 1,000 career points, 900 rebounds, 300 assists, and 150 steals.
• Jones was the unanimous selection as the Big Sky Preseason MVP. He is a two-time first-team all-conference selection and a two-time all-district selection. He participated in both the G League and NBA Draft combines this summer before returning to school.
• WSU junior transfer Blaise Threatt was one off his season-high as he finished with 17 points and was a perfect 4 of 4 from 3-point range in Wednesday's win. Threatt is third on the Wildcat team in scoring at 10.4 points per game and leads the team in field goal percentage at 59.2 percent. He has scored in double figures in five of the last six games and is averaging 13.8 points per game during that stretch.
• Dyson Koehler also scored in double figures with 15 points and made three 3-pointers in Wednesday's win. In the last five Wildcat wins, Koehler is averaging 13.6 points per game and has scored in double figures in four of the five games. He also has 10 3-pointers in the last five games.
• This week is the first Big Sky-Summit League Challenge, which will feature all 10 Big Sky teams and all nine Summit League teams. Most teams will play two games, Wednesday and Saturday this week. Combined with the women's basketball games, the challenge is tied 11-11 after Wednesday's first day of competition.
• Weber State ranks seventh in the nation in scoring defense, allowing 60.7 points per game. The Wildcats are also 12th in the country in fouls per game, 24th in free throw percentage, and 25th in scoring margin. The Wildcats lead the Big Sky in scoring defense, scoring margin, field goal defense, free throw percentage, and turnover margin. They are second in 3-point percentage, and third 3-point defense and rebounding margin.
• Weber State has all five starters returning from last year and the Wildcats were picked first in the Big Sky Conference preseason media and coaches polls. WSU had two players named to the Big Sky preseason all-conference team in Jones and Verplancken.
• The Wildcats are coached by Eric Duft who returns for his second season as head coach and his 18th season overall at Weber State. He spent 16 seasons as an assistant coach under Randy Rahe before becoming the 10th head coach in WSU history in May 2022. Weber State finished 18-15 overall last season and was third in the Big Sky at 12-6.
• Weber State has one of the most international rosters in the country as the Wildcats have eight players that come from outside of the United States, representing six different countries. Two players are from England (Louie Jordan, Alex Tew), and two from Serbia in cousins Marko and Nemanja Sarenac. WSU also has players from Switzerland (Arnaud Revaz), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Handje Tamba), Finland (Viljami Vartiainen), and the Dominican Republic (Steven Verplancken).
• Oral Roberts is 7-7 overall heading into Saturday's game. The Golden Eagles are coming off an 82-76 win at Montana State on Wednesday night as part of the Big Sky-Summit League Challenge. ORU is coached by Russell Springmann who is in his first season as head coach. The Golden Eagles are 21st in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage at 38.2 percent.
• Oral Roberts is tied for nation's longest home winning streak at 21-straight games. ORU has not lost at home since the last game of the 2021-22 season to South Dakota. The Golden Eagles were 16-0 at home last season.
• ORU was 30-5 overall last season and a perfect 18-0 in Summit League play. The Golden Eagles won the tournament title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. They were picked to finish second in this season's Summit League preseason poll.
• This will be eighth all-time meeting between Weber State and Oral Roberts with the Wildcats holding a 5-2 series lead. WSU has won the last five games, dating back to 1975. The two teams met three times during the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons. The Wildcats won 70-66 at Oral Roberts in February 2013 in the only game in the series in Tulsa. WSU beat the Golden Eagles later that season in Ogden in the CIT Tournament. The last game played was in December 2014, a 62-61 Wildcat win in Ogden.
• After Saturday, Weber State returns to Big Sky play with two road games at Sacramento State on Thursday and Portland State on Saturday.
