@UNC_BearsMBB starts BSC play on the West Coast

Saturday, December 29

Sacramento, Calif.

8 pm

University of Northern Colorado

Sacramento State

Trent Harris is averaging 11 points a game coming off the bench for the Bears this season.

12/28/2018 1:04:00 PM | Men's Basketball

By: Ryan Ronan

It was an eventful non-conference schedule for UNC basketball. The Bears re-wrote the record books six different times.
-    Jordan Davis became the new all-time Division I scoring leader.
-    Trent Harris set the single-game record for three-pointers made.
-    Bodie Hume set the single-game record for blocks.
-    The new school record for the largest win.
-    First ever non-conference team to win at Wyoming's Arena-Auditorium in back-to-back seasons.
-    First, win at Magness Arena in Denver since 2008.

Also, they came within one bucket of setting a new single-game scoring record. But, all of that is behind them now as they set out to show the conference poll voters that they are better than the third-best team in the Big Sky.

While it wasn't the ending to the non-conference that UNC wanted, they still enter the BSC season with the second most wins of any conference team and boast the leading scorer in the league with Jordan Davis at 24 points per game.

The 'second season' gets underway on the road, because with only three home games so far this season why wouldn't it, at Sacramento State who has rebounded nicely from a rocky 2017-18 season.

SACRAMENTO STATE SIDENOTES
-    Last season the Hornets won just seven games, they have already won six this season.
-    Marcus Graves, who missed all of last season due to back surgery, is leading the Hornets averaging 15 points per game.
-    Junior Joshua Patton is close behind at 14.3 points per.
-    Sac. State earns their wins on the defensive end allowing a league-low 62 points per game.
-    UNC is second in the BSC in three-point percentage, While Sac. State leads the league in three-point percentage defense.

SERIES HISTORY
-    The Hornets won last season on their home court to break a three-game losing streak to UNC.
-    The Bears and Hornets will play twice this season after only playing once last season and in 2015-16 as well.
-    Overall, UNC holds a 15-7 series lead against Sacramento State and Jeff Linder is 2-1 as a head coach vs. the Hornets.

Following their second game in California this season, the Bears will head up the coast to Portland to take on the Vikings on Monday. This will be the first Big Sky game in the new Viking Pavilion.

PSU POINTS
-    The Vikings will have been off for 11 days when they tip off against UNC.
-    PSU enters Big Sky play with a 5-6 record.
-    Portland State is one of just three BSC teams averaging at least 80 points per game. UNC and Weber State are the others.
-    They are helped out offensively by leading the league in rebounding at 46 a game. Nearly half of those, 20, come on the offensive end.
-    UNC leads the conference in defensive rebounding.
-    Micheal Nuga and Holland Woods are ninth and 10th in the conference in scoring at 14.5 and 14.3 points per game.
Portland State and Northern Colorado only played once last season with the Bears coming away victorious.

SERIES HISTORY
-    The Bears have won three-straight vs. the Vikings since losing to them twice in 2015-16.
-    Linder is 3-0 vs. Portland State.
-    Despite the recent success, UNC trails the all-time series 5-13.
-    PSU will come to Greeley on Feb. 7.

Saturday's game against Sacramento State will tip at 8 p.m. Mountain Time and Portland State and UNC get underway at 3 p.m. on New Year's Eve. Both games will be streamed live on Pluto TV.