Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
Montana
Wildcats return home to host Montana Thursday night
1/14/2025 5:13:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Weber State will play six of the next eight games at home starting Thursday night.
• After the first three games in conference play on the road, Weber State finally returns home for another conference rival showdown as the Wildcats host Montana on Thursday night.
• The Wildcats and Grizzlies will tipoff at 7 p.m. on Thursday night from the Dee Events Center. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and the ESPN app with Tony Parks and former Weber State head coach Joe Cravens on the call. The Weber State radio broadcast will be on 103.1 FM "The Wave" with Carl Arky and former Weber State standout and Big Sky MVP David Patten on the call. Live stats are available at WeberStateSports.com and the Weber State Wildcats app.
• Weber State is 7-10 overall and 1-2 in conference play and coming off a 77-69 win at Idaho State on Saturday night. WSU played its last four games on the road and last played a home game on December 21, a stretch of 26 days between home games. The Wildcats were the only team in the Big Sky to open conference play with three straight road games and the six home games so far is tied for the fewest of any team in the Big Sky.
However, starting Thursday, the Wildcats will play six of their next eight games at home.
• In Saturday's win at Idaho State, the Wildcats were led by senior Dyson Koehler who finished with 21 points and tied his career-high with six 3-pointers. Koehler was 7 of 11 from the field, including 6 of 8 from 3-point range in the win. He was a perfect 5 of 5 on 3-pointers in the first half.
For his performance, Koehler was honored as the Big Sky Conference Player of the Week.
This season, Koehler has scored in double figures seven times and is averaging a team-best 16.7 points per game in the three Big Sky games. He ranks third in the Big Sky in 3-pointers per game at 2.1.
• Weber State shot a 58.8 percent from the field in Saturday's win at Idaho State, the best field goal percentage against a Division I team this season. The Wildcats shot 62 percent in the second half and finished the game 30 of 51 from the field.
WSU is 7-2 this season and 37-4 in the three years under coach Duft when leading in field goal percentage. The 'Cats are also 4-1 this season and 24-3 under Duft when shooting 50 percent or higher from the field.
The 'Cats are 0-8 this season when trailing in field goal percentage.
• In last Saturday's game Wildcat senior transfer, Vasilije Vucinic, continued his strong play as he finished with 17 points on 8 of 11 shooting. He also had four rebounds, two assists, and two blocked shots.
In the three Big Sky games, Vucinic is averaging 15.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per game and shooting 69.2 percent from the field.
On the season he has started the last seven games and is averaging 8.8 points per game. He is shooting a team-best 65.6 percent from the field.
• Blaise Threatt also added 17 points and pulled down seven rebounds in the win at Idaho State. Threatt was 7 of 10 from the field and also had three steals and two assists. He has scored in double figures in all 17 games for the Wildcats and is third in the Big Sky in scoring at 16.9 points per game. He also leads the conference in steals at 2.4 per game, and is fourth in minutes played, fifth in assists, fifth in assist to turnover ratio, and eighth in field goal percentage.
• Montana enters Thursday's game at 10-7 overall and is in second place in the Big Sky at 3-1. The Grizzlies won their first three Big Sky games beating Eastern Washington and Idaho on the road and a win over Northern Arizona. They are coming off an 81-57 home loss to Northern Colorado on Saturday.
The Grizzlies are led by Money Williams who is 10th in the Big Sky in scoring at 14.2 points per game. Joe Pridgen is third in the league in rebounding and ranks ninth in the country in field goal percentage at 64.8 percent.
• Montana was selected as the Big Sky preseason favorite in the preseason coaches and media polls. The Grizzlies were 24-12 overall last season and finished in a tie for second in the Big Sky at 12-6. Montana lost to Montana State in the championship game of the Big Sky Tournament. They then advanced to the quarterfinals of the CBI Tournament.
• Travis Decuire, a former Montana player, is in his 11th season as head coach of the Grizzlies. He has a career record of 211-131 overall and is 128-62 in Big Sky games. He has led Montana to three Big Sky titles and two trips to the NCAA Tournament.
• This will be the 143rd all-time meeting between Weber State and Montana, and the Wildcats have played the Grizzlies more than any opponent in their history. The two rivals are charter members of the Big Sky Conference and have meet 17 times in the Big Sky Tournament, including eight times in the tournament championship.
• Weber State holds a 76-66 all-time series lead over Montana, but the Grizzlies have won four of the last six meetings. The two teams split the series last year with Weber State winning 93-63 at home, then losing 77-62 in Missoula.
In games in Ogden, Weber State leads 48-18 all-time and have won three of the last four games played.
• 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. Weber State won 20 games last season that included Big Sky MVP Dillon Jones who led the conference in points, rebounds, and assists. Jones was the 26th pick 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.
• 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.
• The 'Cats are right back at home again Saturday night to host another conference rival in Montana State. At that game, Weber State will honor the 1995 Wildcat men's basketball team on the 30th anniversary of their historic season. The Wildcats won the Big Sky title, Big Sky Tournament, and beat Michigan State in the NCAA Tournament in 1995. Several players and coaches from that team will be in attendance at the January 18 game.
