Men's basketball opens Big Sky Tournament against Sacramento State

Wednesday, March 10

Boise, Idaho

9 am

University of Northern Colorado

Sacramento State

Photo by: Dean Popejoy

3/9/2021 10:03:00 AM | Men's Basketball

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UNC men's basketball faces Sacramento State Wednesday Morning

By: By Ryan Pfeifer, UNCBears.com

BOISE, Idaho – In a year of twists and turns and uncertainty Northern Colorado men's basketball will face Sacramento State for the first time on the season in the first round of the Big Sky Tournament Wednesday morning. The Bears and Hornets tip-off at 9 am.

Opening Tip
- Northern Colorado enters the 2021 Big Sky Tournament as the 8-seed. It is the first time UNC has been the eighth seed in the tournament.
- The Bears played at Weber State to close out the regular season falling in the last seconds 60-59 before Saturday's game was canceled due to COVID protocols.
- UNC's Bodie Hume and Matt Johnson II each made third team All-Big Sky announced by the conference on Monday.
- Kur Jockuch recorded his fourth straight double-double to close out the regular season with a 15 points, 15 rebounds effort. It was the second time in two weeks he has grabbed 15 boards.
- Daylen Kountz had another strong scoring day with 14 points in 38 minutes of play on 5-of-9 shooting.
- When the Bears tip-off on Wednesday it will be their first Big Sky Tournament game since 2019. UNC never played a game in last year's tournament before it was canceled.
- Wednesday's game will be the second 9 am tip of the Year for UNC. They also started at 9 am at Montana on January 4.
- This will be the first game between Northern Colorado and Sacramento State this year. Their series was canceled during the regular season due to COVID protocols.

Scouting the Hornets
Sacramento State ended a five-game losing streak to close out the 2020-21 regular season by defeating Montana State in Bozeman, 74-73.

The Hornets are lead by second team All-Big Sky selection Ethan Esposito who averages a team-leading 18.3 points and 7.6 rebounds. He is one of four Sacramento State players to average double figures scoring.

What's Ahead
With a win Northern Colorado advances to play regular season champion and top-seed Southern Utah on Thursday, March 11 at 11 am.

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.