December 28, 2007

Men's Basketball Set To Begin Conference Play

Dec. 28, 2007

Weekly Release: Sacramento State, at Northern Arizona

Games #12-13

Sacramento State (2-8) at Northern Colorado (5-6)

Friday, Dec. 28 • Greeley, Colo. • Butler-Hancock (2,734) • 7:05 p.m.

Northern Colorado at Northern Arizona (8-5)

Sunday, Dec. 30 • Flagstaff, Ariz. • Walkup Skydome (7,000) • 2:05 p.m. • Altitude Sports

 

The Series.......................... SAC.................. NAU

   Overall Record.................. 1-1................... 1-4

   In Greeley......................... 0-1................... 1-2

   At Opponent...................... 1-0................... 0-2

   At Neutral Sites.................. 0-0................... 0-0

   Last Meeting................... 2006-07............ 2006-07

   Boyle vs........................... 1-1................... 1-1

 

The Coaches

   Northern Colorado.......... Tad Boyle (9-30, 2nd year)

   Sacramento St..... Jerome Jenkins (78-131, 8th year)

   Northern Arizona...... Mike Adras (137-111, 9th year)

 

Radio

   KFKA 1310 AM......... Troy Coverdale, play-by-play

 

Audio Streaming

   KFKA............................................. 1310kfka.com

 

Television

   Northern Arizona.............................. Altitude Sports

 

Video Streaming

                Big Sky    bigskytv.org

 

Conference Play Ready To Begin

Northern Colorado begins Big Sky Conference play on Friday hosting Sacramento State at 7:05 p.m. before traveling for a matchup with Northern Arizona on Sunday afternoon. Last season, the Bears split the regular season meetings with both teams, amounting for the team's two league victories.

 

Series History

Last year's conference games were the first in history for the Bears against Sacramento State and the all-time series is now tied at one game each, with each club winning on the opponent's floor. In Greeley, the Hornets won 74-70, while in Sacramento, the Bears won 84-81. This will be the sixth game in school history against Northern Arizona with the Lumberjacks holding the 4-1 advantage. Last year the Bears defeated NAU in Greeley, 88-86 and closed the season with an 89-77 loss in Flagstaff.

 

Smile For The Cameras

Northern Colorado's game at Northern Arizona will be televised by Altitude Sports & Entertainment, bringing the season total to five televised games. The contest against Weber State on Jan. 6 will also be on Altitude, giving the Bears the most games on national television in school history with six.

 

Quick Recap

Northern Colorado posted an 0-3 record on its most recent road trip, falling 77-57 at #19 Gonzaga, 65-56 at Oregon State and 70-63 at Portland. Junior forward Jabril Banks led the Bears with 14.0 points per game and shot a blistering .682 from the field (15-22). He was also .923 from the free throw line (12-13). Sophomore forward Jefferson Mason led the charge with 7.3 rebounds per game, while senior Sean Taibi returned to the lineup after missing four games with a leg injury to average 8.0 points per game, with four three-pointers. NC shot .393 for the week from the field as well as .770 from the free throw line, but committed 54 turnovers in the three games and averaged 32.3 rebounds per game.

 

Take Two They're Free

Northern Colorado really stepped up its game from the charity stripe on the recent road swing as three of the four top shooting performances of the year came in the Northwest. The Bears shot .770 from the free throw line during the three contests, making 17-22 (.773) at Gonzaga, 14-16 (.875) at Oregon State and 16-23 (.696) at Portland. Prior to the trip, the Bears were hitting .635 of their free throw attempts as a team, and they are now shooting .668 after the trip, an increase of 3.3 percent.

 

Thanasi = Thief

Senior guard Thanasi Panagiotakopoulos notched a season-high four steals at Gonzaga and then followed that up with three steals at Portland, giving him half of his season total in just two games. Panagiotakopoulos in now second on the team with 14 steals this season and has 55 for his career. He has already surpassed his steal totals from his freshman (12) and sophomore (10) years and is just five shy of last year's tally of 19.

 

Welcome Back

Senior guard Sean Taibi returned to the lineup at Gonzaga after missing four games with a leg injury. Taibi played 17 minutes against the Bulldogs, scoring five points. With his return, he moved into ninth in career scoring at Northern Colorado and now has 1,180 points, passing current teammate Kirk Archibeque who has 1,173 and is currently on the shelf with a concussion. He needs just 46 points to tie Sean Nolen (2000-05) for eighth on the all-time charts.  Every three-point attempt and make by Taibi continues to increase his school records in both categories, as he has sunk 220 of his 516 attempts as a Bear.

 

Open For Deposits

With the last four games away from Butler-Hancock, Jabril Banks has made the most of his shot attempts. The junior has made 22-of-29 from the field over the last four contests, for a .759 shooting percentage and he is now shooting .659 for the year. Banks has also been money from the free throw line, making 14-of-16 (.875) during that same stretch.

 

After The Break

In nine of 11 games this season (Denver, Johnson + Wales), Northern Colorado has scored more points after halftime than they did before and in the other two they had large leads after the first 20 minutes. In the first half of games the Bears are averaging 28.5 points, while in the second stanza they are averaging 34.5. Opponents are averaging 31.8 points in the first half and 33.4 in the second half.

 

Closing In

Every victory is more than just "another win" for the Bears' program. Since beginning reclassification to Division I in 2003-04, Northern Colorado has struggled on the hardwood, winning no more than eight games in a single season. With the five victories this year already, NC has tied the total from 2005-06 and surpassed last year's total of four wins. In 2003-04 the Bears were 6-22 and sported an 8-21 record in 2004-05. Of course, the school has faced some of the toughest competition during those seasons, playing schools from the Mountain West (9), Big XII (7), Pacific-10 (5), West Coast (5), Big Ten (3) and Big East (2) during those four years.

 

Lucky Sevens

Twice this season, junior forward Jabril Banks has been perfect from the field when taking seven shots. In the season opener against VMI Banks posted an unblemished night, hitting all seven attempts from the field. He then repeated that performance at Denver. He has also made seven shots from the floor three other times (Denver, Colorado State, Bowling Green State). Banks is shooting .659 from the floor (54-82) this season and has shot under 50 percent in just one contest this year.

 

He Figures In

Sophomore guard Will Figures made 17 three-pointers in 28 games played last season as a freshman. This year through 10 games played, he has already sunk 16. Figures is averaging just under double figures in scoring with 9.1 per game. He makes the most of his three-point attempts as well, connecting on .552 this season, nailing 16 of his 29 tries from beyond the arc.

 

Career Night(s)

Last week, several Bears recorded career highs in one of the three games. Junior forward Robert Palacios made a career-best six field goals at Portland, while senior Thanasi Panagiotakopoulos notched a career-high steals at Gonzaga. Freshman guard Monice Garrett had a career-game at Gonzaga, notching career-highs in scoring (9), field goals made (3) and attempted (7), three-pointers made (1) and attempted (2) and minutes played (23). Freshman forward Neal Kingman posted a career-best 10 points at Portland, while sophomore forward Jefferson Mason tallied a career-high nine rebounds against the Pilots and five assists at Oregon State.

 

Closing In

Sophomore guard Will Figures is 16 points shy of 250 and three assists shy of 50 for his career, while sophomore forward Jefferson Mason needs just eight rebounds for 150. Junior Robert Palacios is now just 28 points shy of 100 for the season, while senior guard Thanasi Panagiotakopoulos needs 25 points for the 300th and 13 rebounds for the 100th of his career and senior guard Sean Taibi is 20 points shy of 1,200

 

Etched

Senior center Kirk Archibeque also has his name firmly entrenched in the career record books at Northern Colorado. Senior guard Sean Taibi and Archibeque rank ninth and 10th in career scoring with 1,180 and 1,173 points, respectively. Archibeque also ranks seventh in career rebounds with 610 and is ninth with 53 blocked shots. He ranks 10th in field goals made with 450, seventh in free throws made with 273 and is fifth in free throws attempted with 422. Career record book is on page six.

 

Carom Catchers By Committee

The entire Northern Colorado roster takes rebounding seriously, as five student-athletes are averaging 4.0 or more rebounds per game. Junior forward Robert Palacios leads the way with 5.7 per game, while junior forward Jabril Banks (5.5), sophomore forward Jefferson Mason (5.0), senior center Kirk Archibeque (4.8) and freshman forward Taylor Montgomery (4.6) and are all averaging better than four per game.

 

Leading The Way - As A Team

In the latest Big Sky Conference statistics, Northern Colorado is second in scoring defense (65.8), field goal percentage defense (.424), steals (7.36) and offensive rebounds (12.64) and ranks third in three-point field goal percentage defense (.348), rebounding offense (36.3), rebounding margin (+3.9) and defensive rebounds (23.64)

 

Leading The Way - Individually

In the Big Sky individual statistics, junior forward Jabril Banks leads the league in field goal percentage (.659), is fourth in free throw percentage (.778), fifth in scoring (13.6) and ninth in rebounding (5.5). Junior forward Robert Palacios is second in steals (2.00) and is eighth in rebounding (5.7). Sophomore guard Will Figures is second in three-point field goal percentage (.552).

 

It's An Honor

Following the action on the court during the Air Force Classic, Northern Colorado had a pair players named to the All-Tournament Team in guards sophomore Will Figures and senior Sean Taibi. Figures averaged 19.5 point per game in the tournament while Taibi chipped in 16 points per game.

 

Postseason Eligible

The Northern Colorado men's basketball team is now eligible to compete in postseason play in 2007 after successfully making the transition to Division I. This year also marks the first year, NC is eligible to win the Big Sky Conference Championship as well as compete in the Big Sky Tournament. The Bears open Big Sky play this week with games against Sacramento State and Northern Arizona, two teams NC defeated last season en route to the two conference wins.

 

Picked Seventh/Eighth

Northern Colorado was chosen seventh by the coaches and eighth by the media in the Big Sky's Preseason Poll. The Bears received 19 points in the coaches poll and 56 in the media poll. The polls were also split with Weber State taking the coaches poll and Montana being chosen as the favorite by the media.

 

Home Sweet Home

Northern Colorado is 235-161 (.593) all-time at Butler-Hancock Sports Pavilion, which opened Feb. 4 1975. Last season, the Bears posted a 3-9 record at home and this season have started 4-0 this season. The contest against Montana State on January 24 will be the 400th men's basketball game in the arena.

 

What A Name

Senior guard Thanasi Panagiotakopoulos has the longest last name (17 letters) of any player in school history. The Phoenix product of Greek ancestry pronounces his name Thanasi (TA-nah-see) Panagiotakopoulos (Pa-na-yo-toe-COE-PO-los). His given first name, however is not Thanasi but Athanassios.

 

Scouting Sacramento State

The Hornets are 2-8 on the season and will also be playing in their Big Sky Conference opener against the Bears on Friday. The teams have had no common opponents this season.

 

Loren Leath leads Sacramento State with 17.2 points per game and he is the only player averaging double figures in scoring. Randy Adams leads the way with 5.3 rebounds per game, while Vinny McGhee is garnering 6.6 assists a contest and Justin Williams leads with 1.6 steals a game and has 14 blocked shots.

 

Sacramento State is averaging 65.7 points, 32.6 rebounds, 12.0 assists, 17.8 turnovers, 3.1 blocks and 9.1 steals per game, while shooting .411 from the field, .356 from the arc and .572 from the free throw line. Opponents are averaging 78.0 points, 39.5 boards, 17.6 assists, 19.0 turnovers, 4.9 blocks and 8.0 steals while shooting .498 from the floor, .392 from the arc and .631 from the stripe.

 

Scouting Northern Arizona

The Lumberjacks are 8-5 on the season and have not played a common opponent with the Bears. They have also won four of their last five games.

 

Kyle Landry leads the team in both scoring (15.2) and rebounding (9.3) and also has a team-best eight blocked shots and 11 steals this year. Josh Wilson is second in scoring (10.6) and leads the way with 76 assists. Nate Geiser is the other Lumberjack in double figures in scoring at 10.1.

 

Northern Arizona is averaging 72.5 points, 38.2 rebounds, 17.3 assists, 16.7 turnovers, 1.8 blocks and 5.5 steals per game, while shooting .472 from the floor, .383 from the arc and .669 from the free throw line. Opponents are averaging 69.0 points, 30.5 rebounds, 14.0 assists, 13.3 turnovers, 4.1 blocks and 7.7 steals while shooting .411 from the floor, .333 from the arc and .710 from the stripe.

 

On The Forefront

The Bears will host Idaho State on Jan. 3 at 7:05 p.m. and Weber State on Jan. 6 at 2:05 p.m. in a game that will be televised live on Altitude Sports & Entertainment. NC then hits the road for a non-conference game at San Diego State on Jan. 9 before traveling back to the Northwest to take on Eastern Washington on Jan. 17 and Portland State on Jan. 19.