Preview: @UNCO_MBB Welcome Red-Hot @MontanaGrizBB to the Den

Greeley, Colo.—The Northern Colorado men have won three of their last four overall and eight of 10 at home but they have a tough task Thursday in Bank of Colorado Arena. UNC (14-8, 5-4) has the opportunity to hand the first loss of the conference season to the Montana Grizzlies (16-5, 9-0).

Tipoff is set for 7 pm and will be broadcast locally on CET. The game will also be on Pluto TV channel 241 and aired live on 1310 KFKA. Follow stats at UNCBears.com.

Opening Tip
Montana and Northern Colorado first met in 1970 when the Grizzlies handed the Bears a 72-63 loss in Missoula. UM is ahead in the all-time series 21-9 and won the two teams' last matchup 89-80 at Montana.

Balance of Power
The Bears have been a complete and well-balanced team over the last few games. UNC has four players who averaged double-digits in points in the last two games, let by Andre Spight with his 13.5 ppg followed by Jalen Sanders (12.0 ppg), Tanner Morgan (11.5 ppg) and Chaz Glotta (10.0 ppg). Spight, Sanders and Morgan have averaged over six rebounds in the last two games but Jonah Radebaugh has been cleaning the glass better than the rest by pulling down 16 rebounds for an average of eight.

Record-Book Watch
Jordan Davis is quickly approaching Will Figures (2006-2010) for ninth all-time in UNC history for points. JD now was 1,243 and sits solidly in 10^th place in the history of men's basketball at Northern Colorado. Figures has 1,287 so Davis will surpass him in three games at his current average. The Las Vegas native is only two assists behind Troy Graefe (1983-85) (299) for seventh in UNC history.

Last Time Out
Northern Colorado continued its balanced attack as four Bears finished with double-digits but Eastern Washington hit its free throws late to pull out the win over the Bears 67-65. UNC saw EWU shoot 10 more free throws and score six more points from the foul stripe in the second half to end the Bears three-game winning streak.

Last Time vs Montana
Despite shooting 53.8 percent from beyond the arc, Northern Colorado's comeback fell short as they dropped one to Big Sky-leading Montana in Missoula, 89-80. UNC made a strong comeback effort in the second half and got as close as six points late in the game.

Bear Tracks

With nine games left in the regular season, Andre Spight is already sixth for points in a single season. Spight currently has 432 points and at the pace, he is at, he would finish the regular season with 608 points which would be second only behind Devon Beitzel (2006-11) who had 687 points in the 2010-2011 season.
UNC places third in the Big Sky for average points scored at 79.1 ppg and only trails Weber State for second by 0.1 points per game overall and the Bears also sit third in just conference games with 80 points per contest.
Northern Colorado continues to be one of the best rebounding teams in the Big Sky. They are first in the conference in total rebounds at 818. UNC is third in defensive and fifth in offensive rebounds. It is an all-around team effort as the leading rebounder on the team, Jonah Radebaugh, average 5.8 per game and places 12th in the conference and his teammate Tanner Morgan is 13th with a 5.7 rpg average.
The blue and gold have hit the most 3s in the conference season with 82 made triples. UNC is second in treys made for the overall season.The Bears have scored 1,740 points this season and 600 of them are from deep as UNC has hit 200 3s on the season. Spight has hit 68 of the 200.

Scouting Montana

Now entering the fourth season at his alma mater, Travis DeCuire (73-46 overall and 48-15 in Big Sky) is once again poised to put the Grizzlies back on the road to a 20-win campaign. In his first two seasons as the University of Montana's 27th men's head basketball coach, DeCuire accomplished something no other coach in UM history had: he posted two 20-win seasons.
The Grizzlies have been on a tear since conference season started and have not lost a game in the Big Sky. They sit alone atop the league at 16-5, 9-0.
Montana has three players who average more than 13 points a game and they are led by Ahmaad Rorie with 18.2 ppg followed by Michael Oguine (15.9 ppg) and Jamar Akoh (13.7 ppg). UNC fans might remember Akoh as he put a whopping 34 points on the Bears up in Missoula.
UM is the top dog in 10 of the possible 21 stat categories since the conference season started.
In the last matchup, Montana outrebounded UNC 40-25 and Akoh led the way with eight of those boards. This is not a surprise as Akoh leads the league with 2.5 offensive boards per game and 6.8 overall.
UNC better keep its eye on the ball as the Grizzlies have four players in the top 13 in steals for the conference. Oguine is at the top for UM with 1.9 steals per game during the Big Sky season.
In their nine-game winning streak, the Griz have been scoring 83.8 on average but only giving up 66.1ppg. The 17.7 scoring margin is best in the league by over eight points per game.

What's Next
The Bears conclude the homestand against Montana State at Bank of Colorado Arena at 2 pm Saturday.

Saturday's game marks Kids Day brought to you by Banner NCMC and the Greeley Stampede! Use promo code MBBKids18 for a special ticket price - $3 for youth (plus fees). Doors open at noon with lots of activities for our young Bear fans including a bounce house, face painting, photo booth and poster station. Stick around after the game for post-game autographs with your favorite Bears. Get tickets at uncbears.com/tickets or call 970-351-4849.

After the game, you can use your ticket stub from the men's game to purchase $3 tickets for the UNC wrestling meet. The wrestling team faces West Virginia at 7 pm in Bank of Colorado Arena.

UNC then will head back out on the road to face Idaho State February 8 in Pocatello and Weber State February 10. Both games start at 7 pm Mountain Time.