University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Thursday, March 10
Boise, Idaho
8:00 pm
University of Northern Colorado
vs
Eastern Washington
Photo by: Robert Dunlap
Men's Basketball Opens Big Sky Tournament Against Eastern Washington
3/10/2022 8:38:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Third seed UNC faces, sixth seed Eastern Washington Thursday night
BOISE, Idaho – It's back to 0-0, three days in March is all that matters now. Northern Colorado men's basketball starts its journey at the Big Sky Tournament Thursday night when they face Eastern Washington at 8 pm.
Opening Tip
- Northern Colorado earned the No. 3 seed in the Big Sky tournament with a 13-7 record.
- Two Bears earned All-Big Sky honors in Daylen Kountz and Matt Johnson II. Kountz was a unanimous first team selection while Johnson II earned third team honors for the seconds traight season.
- Kountz earned the Big Sky's scoring title with his 647 points, 442 of them in conference play. He is averaging 20.9 points per game and ranking 12th in the nation. In Big Sky play he averaged 21.9 ppg. He has 20 20-plus points per game.
- Matt Johnson II has cracked the NCAA rankings for scorers with his 14.0 ppg to rank 336th in the NCAA. His 3.8 assists and 1.76 assists-to-turnover ration is 164th and 155th, respectively.
- Dru Kuxhausen leads the Big Sky for three's per game (3.03) and second for three-point field goal percentage (43.1%). That ranks him in the top 25 nationally as well.
- The Bears are averaging 78.7 points per game to rank second in the Big Sky and 26th in the nation.
- Northern Colorado leads the Big Sky in both field goal percentage (48.1%) and three-point field goal shooting (38.5%). They rank in the top 30 in both categories in the nation.
- The Bears and Eagles split their series in 2022 each winning on the others home court.
Scouting the Eagles
Eastern Washington survived and advanced to reach the quarterfinals of the Big Sky Tournament. The sixth seeded Eagles defeated the No. 11 seed Northern Arizona 78-75.
EWU can fill the basket with the best of them averaging 77.3 points per game and having five guys averaging double figures scoring. The inside out presence of Steele Venters and Linton Acliese leads the way with 16.5 and 16.3 ppg.
Eastern Washington has struggled at times on the defensive end allowing 74.5 points per game.
Around the Big Sky
Portland State took care of Idaho State 66-52 while Sacramento State and Eastern Washington went to the final buzzer against Idaho and Northern Arizona, respectively. Sac St won 57-54 and EWU 78-75.
What's Ahead
With a win Northern Colorado would face the winner of the Southern Utah-Portland State game in the semifinals of the Big Sky Tournament on Friday, March 11 at 8 pm.
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 earned the No. 3 seed in the Big Sky tournament with a 13-7 record.
- Two Bears earned All-Big Sky honors in Daylen Kountz and Matt Johnson II. Kountz was a unanimous first team selection while Johnson II earned third team honors for the seconds traight season.
- Kountz earned the Big Sky's scoring title with his 647 points, 442 of them in conference play. He is averaging 20.9 points per game and ranking 12th in the nation. In Big Sky play he averaged 21.9 ppg. He has 20 20-plus points per game.
- Matt Johnson II has cracked the NCAA rankings for scorers with his 14.0 ppg to rank 336th in the NCAA. His 3.8 assists and 1.76 assists-to-turnover ration is 164th and 155th, respectively.
- Dru Kuxhausen leads the Big Sky for three's per game (3.03) and second for three-point field goal percentage (43.1%). That ranks him in the top 25 nationally as well.
- The Bears are averaging 78.7 points per game to rank second in the Big Sky and 26th in the nation.
- Northern Colorado leads the Big Sky in both field goal percentage (48.1%) and three-point field goal shooting (38.5%). They rank in the top 30 in both categories in the nation.
- The Bears and Eagles split their series in 2022 each winning on the others home court.
Scouting the Eagles
Eastern Washington survived and advanced to reach the quarterfinals of the Big Sky Tournament. The sixth seeded Eagles defeated the No. 11 seed Northern Arizona 78-75.
EWU can fill the basket with the best of them averaging 77.3 points per game and having five guys averaging double figures scoring. The inside out presence of Steele Venters and Linton Acliese leads the way with 16.5 and 16.3 ppg.
Eastern Washington has struggled at times on the defensive end allowing 74.5 points per game.
Around the Big Sky
Portland State took care of Idaho State 66-52 while Sacramento State and Eastern Washington went to the final buzzer against Idaho and Northern Arizona, respectively. Sac St won 57-54 and EWU 78-75.
What's Ahead
With a win Northern Colorado would face the winner of the Southern Utah-Portland State game in the semifinals of the Big Sky Tournament on Friday, March 11 at 8 pm.
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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