Big Battle Between the Bears and Griz on Saturday

Calendar

Nov 3

7:30 p.m. MT

Men's Basketball

vs Colorado College

Nov 7

6 p.m. MT

Men's Basketball

vs Colorado Christian

Nov 15

TBA

Men's Basketball

at Pepperdine

Nov 21

5:30 p.m. MT | 4:30 PT

Men's Basketball

vs St. Thomas

Nov 22

6 p.m. MT | 5 p.m. PT

Men's Basketball

at Portland

Nov 23

12:30 p.m. MT | 11:30 a.m. PT

Men's Basketball

vs California State - Fullerton

Nov 26

TBA

Men's Basketball

at Air Force

Nov 29

6 p.m. MT

Men's Basketball

vs Regis

Dec 3

TBA

Men's Basketball

at Omaha

GAME INFO
Who: Northern Colorado (8-5, 1-1 Big Sky) vs Montana (7-7, 3-0 Big Sky)
When: Jan. 4, 7 pm MST
Where: Greeley, Colo., Bank of Colorado Arena
How to Follow: Eleven Sports | Pluto TV Ch. 5 41 | 1310 KFKA | Live Stats | @UNC_BearsM BB | Tickets

Opening Tip
• Northern Colorado improved to 5-0 at home and 1-1 in Big Sky play with a 68-59 win over Montana State on Thursday.
• The Bears took care of the ball with only five turnovers against MSU.
• Three players finished in double figures scoring led by Jonah Radebaugh's 17 points. He added in four rebounds, four assists and two steals to his stat line.
• Radebaugh enters Saturday's game two assists away from cracking the program's top 10 for career assists.
• With eight more rebounds Kai Edwards will have 500 for his career.
• Montana is one of two teams still undefeated in the Big Sky improving to 3-0 with a 60-58 win over Southern Utah on Thursday.
• Jared Samelson led Montana with 21 points in their win over SUU.
• The Griz faced a challenging non-conference schedule playing against four power five schools including No. 4 Oregon.

Last Time Out
Northern Colorado men's basketball used an 11-0 run in the first half to separate themselves from Montana State and then made winning plays in the final five minutes to earn their first Big Sky win of the season. The Bears defeated MSU 68-59 to improve to 8-5 overall and 1-1 in conference play.

Three Bears finished the night in double-figures scoring led by the 17 points of Jonah Radebaugh. He finished with a stat sheet stuffing line of 17 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Scouting the Griz
Montana is led by senior guard Sayeed Pridgett and his 19.3 and 7.9 rebounds per game. The 2018-19 first team All-Big Sky selection leads a revamped Griz roster this season.

UM currently sits in first place in the Big Sky at 3-0 including back-to-back two-point victories. After facing a challenging non-conference schedule, Montana is averaging 63.7 ppg in conference play.

Their defense has held opponents to 39.4 percent shooting in conference play.

The Griz were picked to win the Big Sky again by the media and second by the coaches coming into the season.

History against Montana
Northern Colorado snapped a four-game losing streak to Montana at the end of last season going into Missoula and defeating the Griz 74-72. Overall Montana leads the all-time series 15-6. UNC is now aiming to end Montana's four-game win streak in Greeley.

On This Date
UNC aims to go over .500 when playing on January 4 at home on Saturday. The team is 7-7 when playing in Greeley on the date and 9-14 overall.

What's Ahead?
Northern Colorado returns to the road next week for one game at Weber State on Thursday, January 9 at 7 pm.

UNC's next home game is on January 16 against Sacramento State at 7 pm. Tickets for the game and all UNC men's basketball games can be purchased at UNCBears.com/Tickets, by calling 970-351-4849 or visiting the UNC Ticket Office located in the Campus Commons, (M-F, 10 am - 5 pm). All ticket purchases may include fees.

To stay up to date on all things UNC men's basketball, visit UNCBears.com and follow the team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.