University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Saturday, January 2
Missoula, Mont.
5:00 pm
University of Northern Colorado
at
Montana
Photo by: Ryan Pfeifer
Bears head to Missoula to continue Big Sky play
12/31/2020 5:12:00 PM | Men's Basketball
UNC men's basketball starts the new year in Montana
GREELEY, Colo. – With the holidays in the rearview mirror Northern Colorado men's basketball aims to take a step forward in the Big Sky standings with a pair of games against Montana. The Bears and Griz will face each other on January 2 at 5 pm and January 4 at 9 am.
Opening Tip
- Northern Colorado split its opening Big Sky series of the season when they hosted Idaho State before the holidays.
- Bodie Hume scored a career-high 27 points in the 69-64 win over ISU. He averaged 17.5 points and 4.0 rebounds in the two games. Hume is one point away from 900 career points.
- Kur Jockuch recorded his first career double-double against Idaho State with 10 points and 11 rebounds. The 11 boards tied his career-best mark. He averaged 9.0 rebounds against ISU.
- Sam Masten matched his career-best for steals with four in the series final against ISU. He stuffed the stat sheet in the game scoring 10 points to go with six rebounds and two assists on top of the steals.
- The Bears enter this weekend's series with a three-game win streak over the Griz. UNC has won in its past two trips to Missoula.
- Four of the past six games between UNC and UM have been decided by 10 points or less.
- Montana is 0-2 to start the Big Sky season falling in a pair of one-point games to Southern Utah in early December.
- After starting the year 0-4, UM has won three of their past four, including an impressive 66-58 win at Washington.
- Yes, your eyes read that right, Monday's game starts at 9 am! Ease your way back into the office after the holidays with the Bears!
Scouting the Griz
Montana is heating up after a cold start, winning three of their last four games and the one loss was a close one against Arizona. The Griz led at the half against the Wildcats.
Expectations are high, per usual, for UM as they were picked to finish second in the Big Sky this year.
Kyle Owens (13.1) and Michael Steadman (11.0) lead the team in scoring and are cleaning up the boards with 7.4 and 5.1 rebounds per game.
Around the Big Sky
Three teams are undefeated during the early part of Big Sky play in Sacramento State, Southern Utah and Eastern Washington. Sac State and SUU are 2-0 while EWU is 1-0.
Three series have been canceled this week in Idaho State-Weber State, Eastern Washington-Portland State and Southern Utah-Montana State. That leaves only the UNC-UM games and Northern Arizona-Idaho games playing this week
MSU will now not play a conference game until next week when they travel to Greeley to face the Bears.
What's Ahead
UNC returns to Bank of Colorado Arena to take on Montana State on January 7 and 9. Tip between the Bears and Bobcats is set for 6:30 pm and noon, respectively.
To stay up to date on all things UNC Men's Basketball, visit UNCBears.com, follow the team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and download the new UNC Athletics app by clicking here.
Opening Tip
- Northern Colorado split its opening Big Sky series of the season when they hosted Idaho State before the holidays.
- Bodie Hume scored a career-high 27 points in the 69-64 win over ISU. He averaged 17.5 points and 4.0 rebounds in the two games. Hume is one point away from 900 career points.
- Kur Jockuch recorded his first career double-double against Idaho State with 10 points and 11 rebounds. The 11 boards tied his career-best mark. He averaged 9.0 rebounds against ISU.
- Sam Masten matched his career-best for steals with four in the series final against ISU. He stuffed the stat sheet in the game scoring 10 points to go with six rebounds and two assists on top of the steals.
- The Bears enter this weekend's series with a three-game win streak over the Griz. UNC has won in its past two trips to Missoula.
- Four of the past six games between UNC and UM have been decided by 10 points or less.
- Montana is 0-2 to start the Big Sky season falling in a pair of one-point games to Southern Utah in early December.
- After starting the year 0-4, UM has won three of their past four, including an impressive 66-58 win at Washington.
- Yes, your eyes read that right, Monday's game starts at 9 am! Ease your way back into the office after the holidays with the Bears!
Scouting the Griz
Montana is heating up after a cold start, winning three of their last four games and the one loss was a close one against Arizona. The Griz led at the half against the Wildcats.
Expectations are high, per usual, for UM as they were picked to finish second in the Big Sky this year.
Kyle Owens (13.1) and Michael Steadman (11.0) lead the team in scoring and are cleaning up the boards with 7.4 and 5.1 rebounds per game.
Around the Big Sky
Three teams are undefeated during the early part of Big Sky play in Sacramento State, Southern Utah and Eastern Washington. Sac State and SUU are 2-0 while EWU is 1-0.
Three series have been canceled this week in Idaho State-Weber State, Eastern Washington-Portland State and Southern Utah-Montana State. That leaves only the UNC-UM games and Northern Arizona-Idaho games playing this week
MSU will now not play a conference game until next week when they travel to Greeley to face the Bears.
What's Ahead
UNC returns to Bank of Colorado Arena to take on Montana State on January 7 and 9. Tip between the Bears and Bobcats is set for 6:30 pm and noon, respectively.
To stay up to date on all things UNC Men's Basketball, visit UNCBears.com, follow the team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and download the new UNC Athletics app by clicking here.
Players Mentioned
Head Coach Smiley, Jaron Rillie, Zach Bloch, and Isaiah Hawthorne Post Game Press Conference v Idaho
Sunday, February 23
Head Coach Steve Smiley, Jaron Rillie, and Quinn Denker Post Game Press Conference vs E Washington
Friday, February 21
Head Coach Steve Smiley, Quinn Denker, and Jaron Rillie Post Game Press Conference vs Montana State
Sunday, February 09
Langston Reynolds and Quinn Denker Post Game Press Conference vs NAU
Saturday, February 08
