Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
UC Irvine
Wildcats return home to host Anteaters Friday night
11/21/2024 10:10:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Weber State and UC Irvine will tipoff at 7 p.m. at the Dee Events Center.
• After three straight games on the road, the Weber State men's basketball team returns home to host UC Irvine Friday night at the Dee Events Center.
• The Wildcats and Anteaters will tipoff at 7 p.m. Friday night at the Dee Events Center. The game will be televised on ESPN+ and the ESPN app with Tony Parks and former Weber State player Brett Cox calling the action.
Weber State radio broadcast will be on 103.1 FM "The Wave" with Carl Arky and former Weber State player and Big Sky MVP David Patten on the call.
Live stats are available at WeberStateSports.com and the Weber State Wildcats app.
• This will be the first meeting between the Wildcats and Anteaters since 2012.
• Weber State is 1-3 on the early season. The 'Cats opened the year with a dominating 118-35 win over Northwest Indian College on November 4 in Ogden.
Since then, the 'Cats have played their last three games on the road. WSU lost 76-48 at Oregon State, 88-58 at Nevada, and are coming off a 73-68 overtime loss at Hawai'i last Sunday.
• In Sunday's game at Hawai'i, Weber State senior Blasie Threatt had a career night. Threatt finished with a career-high 27 points on 11 of 18 shooting and a perfect 5 of 5 from the free throw line. He also added nine rebounds, five steals, and three assists.
• Through the first four games of the season, Threatt ranks second in the Big Sky in scoring at 17 points per game, and is fourth in assists, fourth in steals, fourth in free throw percentage, fourth in minutes per game, and sixth in field goal percentage.
• Threatt is one of three starters returning from last year's team and is the leading returning scorer from last season. Seniors Dyson Koehler and Alex Tew also return from last season.
• Koehler is third on the team in scoring at 9.3 points per game and leads the team in rebounding at 6.0 per game. This Friday's game against UC Irvine will be the 100th game for Koehler at Weber State. He has scored over 650 points and grabbed nearly 300 rebounds with nearly 100 3-pointers in his 99 games at Weber State. He also played one season (2020-21) at Cal Poly before coming to Weber State.
• Weber State won 20 games last season and has five players returning that played last season. Gone from last year's team is Big Sky MVP Dillon Jones who was drafted in the first round of the NBA Draft by the Oklahoma City Thunder. Jones joins Damian Lillard as the only two Wildcats ever drafted in the first round of the NBA Draft. He finished his career as Weber State's all-time leader in steals, and ranks second in assists, third in rebounding and fifth in scoring.
• New Wildcat senior transfer Miguel Tomley is second on the WSU team in scoring at 9.5 points per game and has nine 3-pointers in the first four games. Tomley transferred to Weber State after two years at Idaho State and also played two seasons at Santa Clara. He earned Big Sky All-Tournament honors at ISU.
• The Wildcats are coached by Eric Duft who returns for his third season as head coach and his 19th 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. Duft is 39-29 overall at Weber State and 23-13 in Big Sky play.
• Weber State was picked third in the Big Sky preseason media poll and fourth in the coaches poll.
• Weber State has nine players coming from six different countries on this year's roster. The 'Cats have three players from Canada, two from Serbia, and one each from England, Finland, Montenegro, and Japan.
• UC Irvine enters Friday's game with a perfect 4-0 record. The Anteaters opened the year with a home win over Chapman, then had road wins at LMU and Northern Iowa. They are coming off an 80-60 win over Pepperdine last Saturday.
• After four games, UC Irvine is averaging 77 points per game and ranks 15th in the country in scoring defense at 56.3 points per game allowed. They are also 10th in the country in free throw percentage at 81.6 percent.
• The Anteaters were picked to win the Big West in the preseason coaches poll. UC Irvine was 24-10 last season and won the Big West regular season title with a 17-3 record. They advanced to the NIT where they lost at Utah in the first round.
• Russell Turner is in his 15th season as head coach at UC Irvine. Turner has a career record of 293-180. He is a four-time Big West Coach of the Year and has led the Anteaters to eight post-season appearances including two NCAA Tournament appearances.
• This will be the just fourth ever meeting between the Wildcats and Anteaters with Weber State 3-0 all-time. The team teams met in Salt Lake City in 1983, then played twice in 2011 and 2012, all Wildcat wins.
In the game at Irvine in 2011, Damian Lillard led Weber State with 27 points, along with eight rebounds and four assists in an 80-72 WSU win. In 2012 in Ogden, the Wildcats won 65-51 behind 16 points from Kyle Tresnak. Joel Bolomboy added 11 rebounds and three blocked shots.
• Weber State has a rich basketball tradition and boasts the 26th best winning percentage in college basketball history. WSU has won 22 Big Sky Championships and advanced to the NCAA Tournament 16 times. The 'Cats have six tournament wins, including a win over North Carolina in 1999. Weber State also boasts several players professionally, including NBA superstar Damian Lillard who played four years at Weber State from 2008-12, and Jones who was drafted this year.
• After Friday, the Wildcats are right back home against Monday night to host Justice College. After that, WSU will head to the Arizona Tipoff November 29-30 in Tempe, Arizona. The 'Cats will take on Bowling Green in the first game, then play either Pepperdine or New Mexico State in the second game.
