Preview: @UNCO_MBB Look For Sixth Straight on the Road

Monday, November 13

Greeley, Colo.

7pm

University of Northern Colorado

University of California Davis

Sanders first start was against UC Davis

Photo by: Dean Popejoy

11/28/2017 7:12:00 PM | Men's Basketball

By: Kurt Maddox, UNCBears.com

Greeley, Colo.—The Northern Colorado men's basketball team continues to rack up the frequent flyer miles this week, taking to the road for a rematch against the UC Davis Aggies. The Bears have won five straight, with their last loss coming to these same Aggies.

Tip-off is scheduled for 8 pm MT at the Pavilion in Davis, California.

Fans can tune into 1310 KFKA to listen to the call live by the voice of the Bears, Troy Coverdale, or follow live stats at UCDavisAggies.com.

Opening Tip

Northern Colorado is riding a Big Sky-best five game winning streak.
The Bears have averaged 80.6 points per game during their winning streak.
Head Coach Jeff Linder found the right combination for his starting lineup, starting the same five for six of the seven games.

Can't Be GUARDed
Guard play has been crucial for the Bears thus far. UNC averages 73.3ppg and guards account for 65.9 per game.The top five leading scorers on the Bears are guards.Andre Spight sits at the top, averaging 18.3 per contest with Jordan Davis at 15.1 and Anthony Johnson rounding out the top three at 11.0.

Go To the Bench
Anthony Johnson started the first game of the season but has since played the role of the spark off the bench. Of the possible 280 minutes, Johnson has played 153 and has scored almost two points per minute played.

Sitting High in the Sky
The Bears are atop of the Big Sky Standings at 5-2, tied with Portland State. UNC is trending high in several conference statistical categories defensively, including blocks (1^st, 5.29 per game), defensive rebounds (1^s, 29.9), 3-point defense (2^nd, .300) and scoring defense (3^rd, 67.4).

Awards & Honors
UNC student-athletes picked up a few awards of their own this past week. Spight earned MVP honors at the Sanford Pentagon Showcase and Jordan Davis, who reached the 1,000-point mark for his UNC career in the win over Southern Miss, was named the Madness Big Sky Men's Basketball Player of the Week by CollegeSportsMadness.com. Davis averaged 17.7 points and 3.2 boards while shooting 53.1% from the field as the Bears went 4-0 last week.

Scouting UC Davis

UC Davis has gone 2-2 since their win at Bank of Colorado Arena. They've won at Pacific and beat Big Sky member Sacramento State at home while dropping road games at Utah Valley, whose only losses are to top-ten ranked Kentucky and Duke and own two wins over BSC opponents, and PAC 12 member Washington.
Chima Moneke, who dropped 28 on the Bears in their first matchup at Bank of Colorado Arena November 13th, averages 22.8pts.
The Aggies are holding their opponents to 64.2 points a game and force an average of 17 turnovers per game.
The Aggies like to jump out early, outscoring opponents 176-149 in the first half. On the flip side, the Aggies have been outpaced in the second half, 172-163.

What's Next
The Bears return to Bank of Colorado Arena for a three-game stretch starting Sunday, December 3, when the Bears host Head Coach Jeff Linder's alma mater, Western State Colorado, at 5 pm following a UNC women's game versus Pacific. UNC has another doubleheader Sunday, December 10^th when the women welcome in-state foe Colorado State at 2 pm and the men play host to Oklahoma Panhandle State at 5 pm. Single game tickets for both of the Sunday men's games are just $3 each in advance at UNCBears.com. The men then conclude their homestand against University of Denver on December 13th with a 7 pm tip.