University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Saturday, January 1
Cedar City, Utah
7:00 pm
University of Northern Colorado
at
Southern Utah
Photo by: Dean Popejoy
Battle of Undefeated UNC and SUU to Open 2022
12/31/2021 10:34:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Northern Colorado men's basketball takes on Southern Utah New Year's Day night
GREELEY, Colo. - Northern Colorado men's basketball opens 2022 with a big time matchup against defending Big Sky regular season champion Southern Utah Saturday night. The Bears and Thunderbirds are both undefeated in Big Sky play.
Opening Tip
- Northern Colorado last played on December 21 with a big 90-54 win over Northern New Mexico.
- The Bears connected on a season-high 20 three-pointers against NNMC.
- Dru Kuxhausen led the team with five threes in the game and tied for the lead in scoring with 15 points.Â
- Matt Johnson II also scored 15 points making three shots from behind the arc. He also led the team with four assists.
- Northern Colorado had 19 assists in the win.Â
- Freshman Zach Bloch scored a career-high 11 points and had a career-best three assists in the game.
- Two of the top five offenses in the Big Sky will square off on Saturday. SUU leads the Big Sky with 78.2 points per game while UNC is fifth with 74.5.
- Southern Utah beat Sacramento State on Thursday night 64-51.
- SUU was the team that ended Northern Colorado's 2020-21 season with a 91-83 win in the Big Sky quarterfinals.
Scouting the Thunderbirds
The defending Big Sky regular season champions return the majority of the team from last year including key pieces in John Knight III, Tevian Jones, Dre Martin and Maizen Fausett. All four are averaging double figures scoring led by Knight's 15.5.
SUU is 3-0 in Big Sky play having defeated Sacramento State, Eastern Washington and Idaho.Â
Just like last year, SUU has one of the best offenses in the league. They enter Saturday leading the conference with 78.2 ppg.
Around the Big Sky
Southern Utah and Weber State stayed undefeated in conference play beating Sacramento State and Montana State, respectively. Eastern Washington and Montana also picked up wins on Thursday night.Â
What's Ahead
Northern Colorado returns home for one game next week by hosting Sacramento State on Saturday, January 8 at 2 pm. Tickets for the game can be purchased at UNCBears.com/Tickets.
To stay up to date on all things UNC Men's Basketball, visit UNCBears.com and follow the team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Opening Tip
- Northern Colorado last played on December 21 with a big 90-54 win over Northern New Mexico.
- The Bears connected on a season-high 20 three-pointers against NNMC.
- Dru Kuxhausen led the team with five threes in the game and tied for the lead in scoring with 15 points.Â
- Matt Johnson II also scored 15 points making three shots from behind the arc. He also led the team with four assists.
- Northern Colorado had 19 assists in the win.Â
- Freshman Zach Bloch scored a career-high 11 points and had a career-best three assists in the game.
- Two of the top five offenses in the Big Sky will square off on Saturday. SUU leads the Big Sky with 78.2 points per game while UNC is fifth with 74.5.
- Southern Utah beat Sacramento State on Thursday night 64-51.
- SUU was the team that ended Northern Colorado's 2020-21 season with a 91-83 win in the Big Sky quarterfinals.
Scouting the Thunderbirds
The defending Big Sky regular season champions return the majority of the team from last year including key pieces in John Knight III, Tevian Jones, Dre Martin and Maizen Fausett. All four are averaging double figures scoring led by Knight's 15.5.
SUU is 3-0 in Big Sky play having defeated Sacramento State, Eastern Washington and Idaho.Â
Just like last year, SUU has one of the best offenses in the league. They enter Saturday leading the conference with 78.2 ppg.
Around the Big Sky
Southern Utah and Weber State stayed undefeated in conference play beating Sacramento State and Montana State, respectively. Eastern Washington and Montana also picked up wins on Thursday night.Â
What's Ahead
Northern Colorado returns home for one game next week by hosting Sacramento State on Saturday, January 8 at 2 pm. Tickets for the game can be purchased at UNCBears.com/Tickets.
To stay up to date on all things UNC Men's Basketball, visit UNCBears.com and follow the team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Players Mentioned
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