Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
Utah
Up next: Wildcats hit the road at Utah on Saturday
11/6/2025 11:16:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Wildcats and Utes meet Saturday at 5:00 p.m. in Salt Lake City. The game will be on ESPN+. It's WSU's first trip to the Huntsman Center in 15 years.
• After a record-setting home win to start the season, the Weber State men's basketball team hits the road for the first of three straight games as the 'Cats take on in-state rival Utah on Saturday afternoon in Salt Lake City.
• Saturday's game will tipoff at 5 p.m. from the John M. Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City. The game will be televised live on ESPN+ and on the ESPN app with Chris Sylvester and former Weber State head coach Joe Cravens calling the action.
There will be no Weber State radio broadcast of the game but live stats are available at WeberStateSports.com and the Weber State Wildcats app.
• Weber State is coming off a dominating 130-38 home win over non-NCAA West Coast Baptist on Monday night in the season opener. The Wildcats set several records in the victory.
• The 130 points scored tied the school record for points in a game and the 92-point victory is the largest in WSU and Big Sky Conference history. Weber State also had 78 rebounds, the fourth most in a game in school history and the most team rebounds in a game since 1971. The Wildcats had 32 assists, the fourth-most ever in a game, and made 18 3-pointers, tied for the fourth-most ever in a game. Six different Wildcats scored in double figures in the win, and all 12 Wildcats that played in the game scored at least two points.
• Weber State begins the season with four players that played last year returning and added eight new players, including four transfers. Gone from last season is first-team All-Big Sky member Blaise Threatt, and four other seniors players.
• The Wildcats return four players who played last season: senior Nigel Burris, junior Viljami Vartiainen, and sophomores Declan Cutler and Trevor Hennig. Also returning is David Hansen, who red shirted last season.
• Hennig led Weber State with 20 points in Monday's win. In his first collegiate game, Hansen had 15 points and made five 3-pointers. Burris added 14 points and seven rebounds and Cutler pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds.
• Weber State added eight new scholarship players, including four transfers. The Wildcats added Division I transfers of junior center Malek Gomma from Seattle University and junior guard Jace Whiting from UNLV and Boise State.
• Whiting had 19 points and made three 3-pointers, to go along with five assists in the win on Monday night. Gomma had six points and pulled down 12 rebounds.
• WSU also added Division II transfer guard Tijan Saine Jr., a transfer from Western Washington, and Edwin Suarez Jr., a Junior College All-American transfer from Arizona Western. Saine had nine points in his Wildcat debut on Monday. Suarez missed the game due to an ankle injury.
• Weber State added four high school players in ArDarius Grayson, Anthony Moore, Duce Paschal, and Bourgeois Tshilobo. Grayson had nine points, eight assists, and seven rebounds in his debut on Monday. Tshilobo had 12 points and six rebounds and Paschal added seven points and eight rebounds.
• The Wildcats are coached by Eric Duft who returns for his fourth season as head coach and his 20th 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. Monday's game was the 100th game for coach Duft as the head coach. He has been on the coaching staff for over 600 games at Weber State, more than anyone in WSU's history.
• Associate Head Coach Dan Russell returns along with assistant coaches Jorge Ruiz and Luke Spring. WSU added Shaun Vandiver as an assistant coach.
• This summer, NBA superstar and Wildcat legend Damian Lillard was officially named the General Manager of the Weber State program. As General Manager, Lillard will work closely with the coaching staff and athletic department leadership to provide insight, mentorship, and guidance, using his experience at the collegiate and professional levels to elevate the program.
• Nigel Burris is the only senior on this year's Wildcat team. Weber State is one of 22 schools in the nation with one or fewer seniors on the roster this season.
• Utah opened the season with a 85-74 win over San Jose State at home on Monday night. Four Utes scored in double figures and Utah knocked down 10 3-pointers.
The Utes were 16-17 last season and finished 11th in the Big 12 at 8-12. Utah was picked to finish 13th in the league in the preseason poll.
• Utah is coached by first-year head coach Andy Jensen, a former standout Ute player under Rick Majerus from 1995-00. Jensen spent the last 15 years coaching in the NBA with the Utah Jazz and Dallas Mavericks.
• A member of Jensen's staff at Utah is Eric Daniels who is in his first season as an assistant coach at Utah. Daniels spent five seasons (2019-24) an assistant coach at Weber State under Randy Rahe and Eric Duft. He was also an assistant at Utah State last season.
• This will be the 42nd all-time meeting between Weber State and Utah but the first in six years and only the second in the last 14 years. The two schools first met in 1972 and played nearly every year until 2011.
Utah holds a 27-14 series lead over Weber State. The last meeting between the two teams was in December 2019 at the Beehive Classic at the then Vivint SmartHome Arena, a 60-49 Utah win.
Prior to that, the last game played was in 2011 at the Dee Events Center, a 80-51 Weber State win, led by Damian Lillard with 22 points.
This will be Weber State's first game at the Huntsman Center in 15 years. The last game played at Utah was in November 2010, a 90-75 Ute victory. Utah is 17-3 at home all-time against the Wildcats
Weber State's last win in the Huntsman Center was in December 2000. Jermaine Boyette led the Wildcats with 27 points as head coach Joe Cravens and Weber State won 79-77. The Utes were ranked 22nd in the nation at the time and the loss snapped Utah's 54-game home winning streak, the longest in the nation at the time.
• Saturday's game is the first of three straight road games as Weber State will play at Utah State on Wednesday in Logan and at UC Irvine next Saturday.
This game is also the first of four in-state games for the Wildcats this season. Weber State will also play at Utah State next Wednesday and at Utah Valley in December. The 'Cats host Utah Tech on December 20.
• Weber State's next home game will be on November 19, the first game of the new Junction City Jam Tournament, hosted by Weber State. The Wildcats will play Campbell on November 19, and host UT Arlington on November 22. The Junction City Jam is the first preseason home tournament Weber State has hosted since 1991.
