@unco_mbb Hosts Portland State In Final Home Game of the Season

Saturday, February 27

Greeley, CO

7:00 p.m.

University of Northern Colorado

Portland State University

Tickets

Photo by: Dean Popejoy

2/26/2016 4:07:00 PM | Men's Basketball

The Bears and the Vikings meet in a 7:00 p.m. showdown in what could be a preview of the Big Sky Tournament game.

By: UNCBears.com

GREELEY, Colo. – There's one last opportunity to see Northern Colorado (9-18, 6-9 Big Sky) in action at Bank of Colorado this season. The Bears play host to Portland State (9-17, 5-10 Big Sky) this Saturday, Feb. 27 in a 7:00 p.m. tip off.

For all other information regarding the game please visit our GAMEDAY CENTRAL.

Scouting The Bears (Game Notes)
- UNC snapped its five-game losing streak on Thursday, defeating Sacramento State, 72-67. The Bears trailed by as much as 12 points in the game, before making a late second half rally to earn the win.
- It was another well rounded team-effort. Freshman guard, Jordan Davis led the way with 15 points in the win. Jeremy Verhagen, Antony Johnson and Dallas Anglin all pitched in with 11 points each.
- The Bears are 5-5 in their last 10 meetings with Portland State. UNC has only swept the season series twice, once in 2010-11 and 2012-13. This is the first time they have only played PSU once during the regular season since joining the Big Sky Conference.
- The series began in the 1974-75 season with Northern Colorado traveling to Portland State. The Viks took the first ever meeting between the two teams, 107-76.
- With a Montana State loss and a UNC win on Saturday, The Bears can move into a tie for 7th place in the league standings at 7-9.
- UNC will need to win out the remainder of its games to finish the season .500 in Big Sky play. Under Hill, The Bears have only finished under .500 once in league action during his tenure.

Scouting The Vikings (Game Notes)
- Portland State heads to Greeley after a three point loss (80-77) at North Dakota on Thursday night. The Vikings are now just 2-8 in their last 10 outings.
- PSU is 3-11 on the year in road games, with two of those wins coming during conference play at Montana State and Sacramento State.
- Cameron Forte has been a do-it-all player for the Viks during league games. Forte is currently averaging a double-double in Big Sky play, with 20.0 ppg and 10.4 rebounds. His season averages are 18.6 ppg and 9.4 rpg.
- Portland State has two other players in double figures on the year in Isaiah Pineiro (11.7 ppg) and Bryce White (11.5 ppg).
- PSU has the best passing team in the league, averaging 17.2 assists per game. The next closest team is Sacramento State averaging 14.3 ppg.

Thursday Recap
- Northern Colorado trailed by as many as 12 points to Sacramento State on Thursday night, but a late second half effort lifted the Bears to a 72-67 win over the Hornets inside Bank of Colorado Arena.
- UNC finished the game 21-of-50 (42.0%) from the floor and 6-of-16 (37.5%) from beyond the arc. Sac State outshot the Bears, ending the game 24-of-53 (45.3%) on field goals and 7-of-20 (35.0%) from three point land.
- Redshirt sophomore forward, Jeremy Verhagen finished the night 2-of-3 from downtown with his second make from beyond the arc pushing the Bears to a two point lead (65-63) with just 1:23 to play.
- Northern Colorado scored 12 points off of 14 Sacramento State turnovers in the win.

A Total Team Effort
- It may be late in the season, but UNC may have finally found themselves, playing very sound team-ball over the last two games.
- In the last two games combined, six players have reached double figures and six players have finished with 9 points.
- UNC had 7 players see 20 minutes over more of court time on Thursday and one player finish with 19 minutes. It's the first time all season Hill has had that balanced of a rotation.
- The Bears have also outrebounded their opponents in back-to-back games winning the rebound battle against both UND and Sac State by seven.
- It was just the third time all season that Northern Colorado picked up a victory after trailing at the half. The Bears were down 42-36 on Thursday against Sac State and came back to claim a five-point win. UNC is 3-16 on the year when trailing intermission.

Big Sky Tourney Preview
- Northern Colorado has sole possession of the 8th seed heading into Saturday's game against Portland State.
- Should Portland State defeat the Bears, they would then go back to a tie for the 8th seed. Either way, there is a strong possibility that the Bears will play either Portland State or Sacramento State in Reno at the Conference Tournament.
- If Montana State loses on Saturday and UNC downs PSU, then the Bears slide into a tie for the 7th seed with two games to go.
- Northern Colorado ends the regular season on the road at Montana State and Montana next Thursday and Saturday.

Why Would You Not Be There?
- Single game Portland State tickets are on sale now. It's your last chance to see the Bears in action, so don't miss out! To purchase single game tickets head over to our Ticket Central.

#RoadtoReno
- New this year the Big Sky Conference will be headed to Reno, Nevada for both the men's and women's tournament. The #RoadToReno will begin on New Year's Eve and take place over March 7-13 for the women's tournament.

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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