Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
Northern Colorado
'Cats continue road trip at Northern Colorado Saturday
1/9/2026 1:57:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Wildcats and Bears will tipoff at 6 p.m. Saturday in Greeley.
• Fresh off the first Big Sky road win on Thursday night, the Weber State men's basketball team will continue its road trip at Northern Colorado on Saturday night.
• The Wildcats and Bears will tipoff at 6 p.m. on Saturday from the Bank of Colorado Arena in Greeley, Colorado. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and the ESPN app.
The Weber State radio broadcast with Carl Arky will be on 103.1 FM.
Live stats and video links are at WeberStateSports.com and the Weber State Wildcats app.
• Weber State is 8-8 overall and 2-1 in Big Sky play and picked up its first road win of the season on Thursday night with a 78-65 win at Northern Arizona in Flagstaff.
The Wildcats knocked down 13 3-pointers, the most against a Division I opponent this season, and also had a season-low five turnovers.
• Northern Colorado is 11-5 overall and 1-2 in Big Sky play. They opened the conference season with road losses at Montana and Montana State last week, but bounced back with a home win over Idaho State on Thursday night.
The game will feature the top two scoring offenses in the Big Sky this season.
• Five Wildcats scored in double figures in Thursday's win, the eighth time this season WSU has had five players reach double figures in a game. The 'Cats are 6-2 in those games.
Weber State has six players averaging in double figures, the only team in the Big Sky, and one of few teams in the nation with six players scoring at least 10 points per game.
• Viljami Vartiainen scored 16 points on Thursday to lead the Wildcats. He knocked down four 3-pointers and also tied a season-high with five rebounds. Vartiainen returned last week after missing six games with a leg injury and scored 20 points with six 3-pointers in Saturday's win over Sacramento State.
In his 10 games played this year, Vartiainen is averaging 12.6 points per game and has made 31 3-pointers. He has scored in double figures in nine of 10 games.
• Tijan Saine Jr. added 15 points with three 3-pointers and four assists in Thursday's win. Saine leads the Wildcats in scoring at 13.6 points per game and has scored in double figures in the last six games. He ranks fifth in the Big Sky in assist to turnover ratio and sixth in assists.
• Weber State's 13 3-pointers made on Thursday were the most against a Division I opponent this season. The Wildcats have made at least seven 3-pointers in each of the last five games. WSU is fourth in the conference in 3-point percentage at 35.8.
• Defensively, the Wildcats are eighth in the country in 3-point field goal defense, allowing opponents to shoot 27.6 percent from 3-point range this season.
WSU is also 14th in the country in fastbreak points, at 17.3 fastbreak points a game.
• Weber State is first in the Big Sky in 3-point field goal defense, rebounding, and rebounding margin. WSU also ranks second in the conference in scoring offense, and scoring margin, and third in steals.
• The Wildcats are 8-1 this season when leading in field goal percentage and 0-7 when trailing. The 'Cats are also 8-2 when leading at halftime and 0-5 when trailing. WSU is 6-0 when holding its opponents under 70 points and 2-8 when the opponent scores 70 or more points.
• Northern Colorado enters Saturday's game at 11-5 overall and 1-2 in Big Sky play. The Bears started the season 9-1 and finished the non-conference season with a win at Colorado. UNC opened Big Sky play with losses at Montana and Montana State before Thursday's home win over Idaho State. The Bears are 5-1 at home this season.
• This season the Bears lead the Big Sky in scoring offense, field goal percentage, 3-point percentage, and assists. They are also second in 3-point defense, 3-pointers made per game, free throw percentage, and rebounding margin.
Northern Colorado is 15th in the country in 3-pointers made per game at 10.9 and also ranks 26th nationally in 3-point percentage at 38 percent. The Bears are 38th in the country in field goal percentage at 49.3 percent.
Quinn Decker ranks fourth in the Big Sky in scoring at 17.4 points per game with Brock Wisne seventh at 16.3. Decker is also first in the conference and 11th in the nation in assists at 6.7. Zach Bloch is third in the country in 3-point percentage at 50 percent and has the 10th most made 3-pointers in the nation with 55. He made six 3-pointers and scored 26 points in Thursday's win over Idaho State.
• The Bears were Big Sky regular season champions last season, posting a 15-3 record and earning the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament. They lost in the championship game of the tournament to Montana and played in the NIT.
UNC was picked third in this year's Big Sky preseason polls.
• Northern Colorado is coached by Steve Smiley who is in his seventh season with the Bears. Thursday's win was the 100th of Smiley's career at Northern Colorado. He has led UNC to three top three finishes in the Big Sky, including first last season.
Smiley is a former assistant coach at Weber State. He was on the staff with the Wildcats from 2014-16 under coach Randy Rahe and worked with then-assistant coach Eric Duft. He was part of WSU's Big Sky Championship team and NCAA Tournament team in 2016.
• Weber State holds a 25-14 all-time series lead over the Bears but Northern Colorado won all three meetings last season, including a win the quarterfinals of the Big Sky Tournament. In games in Greeley, the series is tied 9-9 all-time.
• The Wildcats are coached by Eric Duft who is in 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. He has been on the coaching staff for over 600 games at Weber State, more than anyone in WSU's history.
This summer, NBA superstar and Wildcat legend Damian Lillard was named the General Manager of Weber State Basketball.
• The Wildcats will be back home next week to host Eastern Washington and Idaho.
