University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Tuesday, March 8
Reno, NV
1:05 p.m.
University of Northern Colorado
vs
Portland State University
Photo by: Todd Goodrich, UM Communications
@unco_mbb Opens Big Sky Tournament With Portland State
3/7/2016 1:06:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The no. 9 seeded Bears faced the no. 8 seeded Vikings in a 1:05 p.m. (MT) tip at the Reno Events Center in the opening round of the Big Sky Tournament
GREELEY, Colo. – March Madness has officially hit the Big Sky Conference. Northern Colorado (10-20, 7-11 Big Sky) will open the Conference Tournament as the no. 9 seed and face no. 8 seed Portland State (12-17, 8-10 Big Sky) on Tuesday, March 8 at 1:05 p.m. (MT) in Reno, Nevada.
Links: | RoadToReno.com | GameDay Central | Live Audio | Live Video | Live Stats |
Scouting The Bears (Game Notes)
- The Bears ended the regular season on a high note, defeating the no. 2 seeded Montana Grizzlies 78-72 in Missoula.
- Junior guard, Anthony Johnson scored 29 points in the victory, his sixth 20-point game of the season. He was also 12-of-13 from the free throw line in the six point decision.
- Five players also reached double digit points in the loss against PSU on Feb. 27 with Johnson leading the way scoring a game-high 30 points. It was his second 30-point game in the month of February.
- In the win at Montana, The Bears shot a season-best at the charity stripe going 29-of-32 (90.6%). UNC has the second best team average in the Big Sky from the line with 72.8%.
- This is the first meeting against PSU in the Big Sky Conference Tournament and in any postseason setting.
- This was just the second season in head coach B.J. Hill's tenure that the team finished below .500 in conference games.
Scouting The Vikings (Game Notes)
- Portland State ended the regular season on a three-game winning streak, defeating UNC, Northern Arizona and Southern Utah to finish 8-10 in Big Sky play.
- The Vikings bested Northern Colorado in the only meeting between the two teams, 89-86, hitting a last second three-pointer to defeat the Bears in Greeley.
- Five players reached double figures in the win over UNC with Cameron Forte leading the way with 17 points and 5 rebounds. Calaen Robinson chipped in with 14 points and the game-winning shot.
- Forte enters Tuesday's opening round game as the fourth leading scorer in the conference, averaging 18.8 ppg. He's also the team's leading rebounder, hauling in 9.3 boards a game, ranking him second overall in the league in that category.
- PSU is 6-4 overall in the last 10 meetings between the two teams.
Big Sky Tournament
- Northern Colorado last won the Big Sky Tournament in the 2010-11 season after defeating Montana 65-60.
- Last year in the tourney UNC was bounced in the first round by Northern Arizona 63-57.
- Overall, The Bears are 4-4 in the Big Sky Conference Tournament. They are 2-1 in quarterfinal games, 1-3 in semifinal games and 1-0 in the championship game.
- The last time the Bears played in the semifinal game came in the 2013-14 season, falling to Weber State 62-60 in overtime.
- The winner of Tuesday's opening round game between PSU and UNC will play the #1 seeded Weber State Wildcats in the quarterfinals on Thursday, March 10 at 1:05 p.m. (MT).
Johnson Rewarded For Season Performance
- Junior guard, Anthony Johnson earned a spot on the All-Big Sky Honorable Mention team for his efforts this season.
- Johnson is the team's leading scorer and rebounder, averaging 15.8 points a game and 4.4 rebounds a game. His performance at the free throw line has also been short of incredible, averaging 85.9%.
- His free throw percentage ranks fourth in the Big Sky and in the Top 50 in all of the NCAA Division I. He ranks 12th in scoring in the league, 12th in three point field goal percentage and 9th in three pointers made.
- This is the second season in a row the Bears have landed someone on the All-Big Sky Honorable Mention team. Last year former guard, Tevin Svihovec was placed on the HM list.
- Johnson has scored two 30-point games this season and has six games of 20 points or more. He's reached double digits in 27 of the team's 30 games.
Big Sky Breakdown
- Weber State clinched the regular season title and the #1 seed in the tournament. The top four teams in the tourney all received first round byes. Montana came in at the #2 seed after UNC knocked them off at home to deny them a share of the regular season title. Idaho earned the #3 seed and Idaho State rounded out the top teams with the #4 seed.
- North Dakota was pitted at #5 and will face #12 Southern Utah, Eastern Washington finished #6 and will play #11 Northern Arizona on the right side of the bracket.
- The right side opening games feature the Bears and Vikings #8 and #9 matchup and Montana State and Sacramento State are the #7 and #10 game.
- The winner of the UND/SUU game will play Idaho State, the winner of MSU/SSU will face Montana, the EWU/NAU winner will play Idaho and the UNC/PSU victor will face Weber State
Social Media Hub
UNC Basketball Twitter: @unco_mbb
Hashtags: #BearWitness, #GoUNCBears
UNC Basketball Instagram: unco_mbb
UNC Basketball Vine: UNC Men's Basketball
YouTube: YouTube.com/uncbearsathletics
UNC Athletics Twitter: @unc_bears
UNC Athletics Facebook: Facebook.com/UNCBears
Hoops Staff On Twitter
Head Coach B.J. Hill : @CoachBJHill
Asst. Coach Joel Davidson : @Coach_Davidson
Asst. Coach Will Hensley : @CoachHensley
Asst. Coach Eric Murphy : @EMurph123
Dir. of Ops Taylor Green : @Coach_TGreen
Links: | RoadToReno.com | GameDay Central | Live Audio | Live Video | Live Stats |
Scouting The Bears (Game Notes)
- The Bears ended the regular season on a high note, defeating the no. 2 seeded Montana Grizzlies 78-72 in Missoula.
- Junior guard, Anthony Johnson scored 29 points in the victory, his sixth 20-point game of the season. He was also 12-of-13 from the free throw line in the six point decision.
- Five players also reached double digit points in the loss against PSU on Feb. 27 with Johnson leading the way scoring a game-high 30 points. It was his second 30-point game in the month of February.
- In the win at Montana, The Bears shot a season-best at the charity stripe going 29-of-32 (90.6%). UNC has the second best team average in the Big Sky from the line with 72.8%.
- This is the first meeting against PSU in the Big Sky Conference Tournament and in any postseason setting.
- This was just the second season in head coach B.J. Hill's tenure that the team finished below .500 in conference games.
Scouting The Vikings (Game Notes)
- Portland State ended the regular season on a three-game winning streak, defeating UNC, Northern Arizona and Southern Utah to finish 8-10 in Big Sky play.
- The Vikings bested Northern Colorado in the only meeting between the two teams, 89-86, hitting a last second three-pointer to defeat the Bears in Greeley.
- Five players reached double figures in the win over UNC with Cameron Forte leading the way with 17 points and 5 rebounds. Calaen Robinson chipped in with 14 points and the game-winning shot.
- Forte enters Tuesday's opening round game as the fourth leading scorer in the conference, averaging 18.8 ppg. He's also the team's leading rebounder, hauling in 9.3 boards a game, ranking him second overall in the league in that category.
- PSU is 6-4 overall in the last 10 meetings between the two teams.
Big Sky Tournament
- Northern Colorado last won the Big Sky Tournament in the 2010-11 season after defeating Montana 65-60.
- Last year in the tourney UNC was bounced in the first round by Northern Arizona 63-57.
- Overall, The Bears are 4-4 in the Big Sky Conference Tournament. They are 2-1 in quarterfinal games, 1-3 in semifinal games and 1-0 in the championship game.
- The last time the Bears played in the semifinal game came in the 2013-14 season, falling to Weber State 62-60 in overtime.
- The winner of Tuesday's opening round game between PSU and UNC will play the #1 seeded Weber State Wildcats in the quarterfinals on Thursday, March 10 at 1:05 p.m. (MT).
Johnson Rewarded For Season Performance
- Junior guard, Anthony Johnson earned a spot on the All-Big Sky Honorable Mention team for his efforts this season.
- Johnson is the team's leading scorer and rebounder, averaging 15.8 points a game and 4.4 rebounds a game. His performance at the free throw line has also been short of incredible, averaging 85.9%.
- His free throw percentage ranks fourth in the Big Sky and in the Top 50 in all of the NCAA Division I. He ranks 12th in scoring in the league, 12th in three point field goal percentage and 9th in three pointers made.
- This is the second season in a row the Bears have landed someone on the All-Big Sky Honorable Mention team. Last year former guard, Tevin Svihovec was placed on the HM list.
- Johnson has scored two 30-point games this season and has six games of 20 points or more. He's reached double digits in 27 of the team's 30 games.
Big Sky Breakdown
- Weber State clinched the regular season title and the #1 seed in the tournament. The top four teams in the tourney all received first round byes. Montana came in at the #2 seed after UNC knocked them off at home to deny them a share of the regular season title. Idaho earned the #3 seed and Idaho State rounded out the top teams with the #4 seed.
- North Dakota was pitted at #5 and will face #12 Southern Utah, Eastern Washington finished #6 and will play #11 Northern Arizona on the right side of the bracket.
- The right side opening games feature the Bears and Vikings #8 and #9 matchup and Montana State and Sacramento State are the #7 and #10 game.
- The winner of the UND/SUU game will play Idaho State, the winner of MSU/SSU will face Montana, the EWU/NAU winner will play Idaho and the UNC/PSU victor will face Weber State
Social Media Hub
UNC Basketball Twitter: @unco_mbb
Hashtags: #BearWitness, #GoUNCBears
UNC Basketball Instagram: unco_mbb
UNC Basketball Vine: UNC Men's Basketball
YouTube: YouTube.com/uncbearsathletics
UNC Athletics Twitter: @unc_bears
UNC Athletics Facebook: Facebook.com/UNCBears
Hoops Staff On Twitter
Head Coach B.J. Hill : @CoachBJHill
Asst. Coach Joel Davidson : @Coach_Davidson
Asst. Coach Will Hensley : @CoachHensley
Asst. Coach Eric Murphy : @EMurph123
Dir. of Ops Taylor Green : @Coach_TGreen
Players Mentioned
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