Battle for Top of the Big Sky set for Men's Basketball Senior Day

Saturday, February 29

Greeley, Colo.

7 pm

University of Northern Colorado

Eastern Washington

Tickets

2/28/2020 3:17:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Northern Colorado Notes Eastern Washington Notes

UNC basketball hosts Eastern Washington in a battle for first place in the Big Sky

By: By Ryan Pfeifer, UNCBears.com

GAME INFO
Who: Northern Colorado (20-8, 13-4 Big Sky) vs Eastern Washington (20-8, 13-4 Big Sky)
When: Feb. 29, 7 pm
Where: Greeley, Colo., Bank of Colorado
How to Follow: Pluto TV Ch. 541 | 1310 KFKA | Live Stats | @UNC_BearsM BB | Tickets

Opening Tip
• Northern Colorado picked up it's biggest win since joining the Big Sky Conference with a 93-49 win over Idaho.
• The win was the Bears 20th of the year, making it three straight seasons with 20-plus wins.
• UNC also clinched a bye in the Big Sky Tournament in two weeks.
• Jonah Radebaugh recorded his fourth double-double in eight games with 13 points and 10 assists. He also recorded a career-high five steals.
• Northern Colorado, Eastern Washington and Montana are in a three-way tie for first place in the Big Sky at 13-4.
• Northern Colorado is the top-rated Big Sky school in the NET (100) and KenPom (77).
• UNC is shooting 57.1 percent over this five-game win streak.
• EWU came away with an 89-84 overtime win in Cheney earlier this year over the Bears.
• Prior to Saturday's game UNC will honor its three seniors Jonah Radebaugh, Kai Edwards and Trent Harris.

Last Time Out
The Bears left no doubt with a 93-49 win over Idaho Thursday night inside Bank of Colorado Arena. The 44-point win is the largest in the program's Big Sky history. With the win and Montana's loss to Northern Arizona, the Bears are in a three-way time for first place with UM and Eastern Washington. The win also clinched the Bears a bye in the Big Sky Tournament in two weeks in Boise.

Big Sky MVP candidate Jonah Radebaugh led the Bears with his fourth double-double in eight games with 13 points and 10 assists to go with five rebounds and five steals.

Scouting the Eagles
Eastern Washington comes in as one of the top offensive teams in the Big Sky averaging 80.8 points per game this year and scoring 75.2 ppg in conference play.

The Eagles use good ball movement to get easy baskets averaging 17.6 assists per game to rank fourth in the nation.

EWU has a three-headed monster in Mason Peatling, Jacob Davison and Kim Aiken. They are scoring 18.8, 17.8 and 12.5 points a game in Big Sky play. Peatling is also grabbing 104 per contest during the conference season.

History Against Eastern Washington
Since Northern Colorado joined the Big Sky in the 2006-07 season, Eastern Washington holds a slight 13-12 advantage. The Eagles won the only other match up between the schools before then in 1971. UNC is 9-4 when hosting EWU.

On This Date
For only the fifth time in program history UNC is playing on Leap Day. It is the first time since 1992 that the Bears play on the date in which they are 2-2 on. The other occurrences came in 1932, 1952 and 1964.

Around the Big Sky
There's now a three-way tie for first place in the Big Sky. The Bears, Montana and Eastern Washington are all 13-4 in the conference with three games to play. UM lost to Northern Arizona 57-56 while EWU beat Southern Utah 69-51 Thursday. The Griz travel to Sacramento State while the Bear and Eagles square off in Greeley Saturday.

20 Win Season
Northern Colorado won its 20th game of the season on February 27 with a 93-49 win over Idaho. It is the programs third straight 20-plus win season and sixth overall.
The Bears won a program record 26 games in 2017-18 on its way to the CIT Championship and followed it up with 21 in 2018-19.

What's Ahead
The Bears close the 2019-20 regular season on the road with a trip to Montana on Thursday, March 5 and Montana State, Saturday, March 7.

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