@unco_mbb Puts 3-1 Big Sky Record on the Line at Montana

GREELEY, Colo. – Northern Colorado will take its 3-1 Big Sky record to the Treasure State this week, facing both Montana and Montana State. The Bears will tip it off with a game against the Griz (8-9, 3-1 Big Sky) on Thursday, Jan. 12 at 7:00 p.m. in Dahlberg Arena.

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Scouting Northern Colorado (Game Notes)
- UNC enters the third week of conference play with a 2-0 road record and a 3-1 overall record. The Bears swept Sacramento State and Portland State on the road to open Big Sky play.
- Sophomore guard, Jordan Davis continues to climb the UNC record book. Davis now has 151 career assists, ranking him eighth all-time on the Division I Top 10 list. This season, Davis is averaging a Big Sky-leading 5.7 assists per game, and has notched 85 dishes. The sophomore is just 21 assists away from breaking the Division I single-season record of 106.
- The Bears have a pair of three-point threats in guards, Chaz Glotta and DJ Miles. The duo has combined for 79 made threes on the season, with Miles leading the team with 43 makes. Miles currently ranks 33^rd in the country in three-point field goal percentage, averaging 43.9% on the season.
- There were a plethora of career-highs set last week inside Bank of Colorado Arena. Jordan Davis scored a new career-high 29 points against SUU, while DJ Miles finished with a career-best 36 points against NAU. Ibrahim Sylla also set new highs in blocks (4) and rebounds (10) last Thursday.
- UNC continues to have the best three-point field goal defense in the Big Sky Conference. The Bears are limiting opponents to 32.7% shooting from the perimeter. To go along with that, Northern Colorado is also the best offensive rebounding team in the league, averaging 39.1 o-boards a game.

Scouting Montana
- The Griz enter Thursday's game with a nearly identical record to UNC at 8-9 and 3-1 in the Big Sky Conference after picking up two road wins over Idaho and Eastern Washington last week.
- Montana holds a 4-2 record at home with its only two losses coming to Wyoming (73-72) and Weber State (84-81 OT).
- The Griz are one of the best defensive teams in the conference, holding opponents to 71.6 points per game, as well as averaging 34.6 defensive rebounds.
- UM's offense is led by Ahmaad Rorie, who paces the Griz in scoring, averaging 16.4 ppg, and 19.3 ppg in Big Sky games. Behind Rorie is Walter Wright, who sports an 11.4 ppg average.
- Montana has finished nine games this season by a final margin of fewer than nine points, and are 1-5 in games decided by five points or less.

Bears' Last Time Out
- Junior guard, DJ Miles cashed a UNC Division I record 10 three-pointers en route to a 36-point performance in Northern Colorado's 83-79 win over Northern Arizona last Saturday.
- NAU did not go quietly into the night after trailing by as many as eighteen in the game. The 'Jacks methodically chipped away at their deficit and got it down to just seven (37-30) with less than a minute remaining in the first half, and later three points in the second half.
- Sophomore guard, Jordan Davis was the only other Bear to finish in double figures on the night with 17 points. He also added six rebounds and four assists.
- Northern Colorado went to the free throw line a season-high 35 times, but converted on just 20 of those. They did however, begin the game 12-of-12 from the charity stripe.

Record Breaker
- Junior guard, DJ Miles set a new Division I single-game record with 10 made threes in last Saturday's win against Northern Arizona.
- 30 of his 36 points came from beyond the arc as he shot 47% on the night, finishing 10-of-17.
- The 36 points was one-point shy of the Division I single-game record of 37 points, set last season by Anthony Johnson. It was also the first 30-point performance of any Bear this year.

Remember, Remember
- The last time the Bears and Griz faced off game at the end of the 2015-16 in Missoula. UNC pulled out a 78-72 upset over UM. Northern Colorado was paced by Anthony Johnson's 29 points, who went an impressive 12-of-13 from the free throw line in the win.
- Overall, Montana owns a 19-9 lead in the all-time series against UNC and are 11-4 in games played in Missoula.
- The win at Montana last season was the first time the Bears had won at Dahlberg Arena since the 2013-14 season.
- The two teams first met in the 1970-71 season as UNC traveled to Missoula. The Griz won the series opener 72-63.

Big Sky Starts
- Northern Colorado is once again out to a quick start in Big Sky games with a 3-1 record. This matches the 2014-15 season start as UNC was also 3-1 after the first four conference contests.
- Since joining the league in 2006-07, The Bears are 23-19 all-time after playing four games in the conference.
- The Bears have had a 4-0 record twice in Big Sky history, once in the 2010-11 season and the 2013-14 season. UNC has only began Big Sky play 0-4 one time in program history and that was the 2006-07 season, the first year the Bears entered the conference.

Games on Jan. 12
- Northern Colorado will play its 25th game in program history on Jan. 12 at Montana. The Bears are 10-14 all-time on the date and are currently on a seven-game losing skid when playing on Jan. 12.
- The last time UNC played on the date was against Montana in the 2012-13 season, falling 85-77.
- Northern Colorado's last win on Jan. 12 came in the 1984-85 season, defeating Mankato State 75-70.
- The first ever game in program history on the date came in the 1922-23 season against Colorado State, besting the Rams 35-13 in Greeley.

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