Northern Arizona freshman James Douglas and the Lumberjacks are at home against Montana on Thursday and Montana State on Saturday.
MBB Notes - Jan. 9
PDF of Notes
This Week’s Sky Highlights
A potential matchup between the two undefeated teams left in Big Sky Conference men’s basketball play looms on Saturday in Ogden, Utah. Both Montana and Weber State, however, must first take care of business on Thursday to make the undefeated showdown happen…Weber State, 4-0 in conference and winners of six straight, play host to Montana State on Thursday in Ogden…Montana, 3-0 in conference and winners of five straight, is at Northern Arizona on Thursday…Montana and Weber State meet on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Dee Events Center…Portland State hits the road on Thursday, seeking its first road win of the season with the Vikings take on defending Big Sky champion Northern Colorado at 7 p.m. Also on Thursday, Eastern Washington is at Sacramento State… …On Saturday, Eastern Washington and Northern Colorado square off in Greeley on the Altitude Game of the Week. The start time has been moved to 4 p.m. Mountain to avoid a conflict with the Denver Broncos playoff game…Also on Saturday, Montana State is at Northern Arizona, and Idaho State is at Sacramento State…Idaho State also plays a non-conference game on Monday at Wyoming…All eight Big Sky Conference games can be viewed for free on Big Sky TV.
This Week’s Sky Schedule
Monday, Jan. 9 Time
Idaho State at Wyoming 7:05
Thursday, Jan. 12 Time
*Montana at Northern Arizona (Big Sky TV)(FCS) 6:35
*Montana State at Weber State (Big Sky TV) 7:05
*Portland State at Northern Colorado (Big Sky TV) 7:05
*Eastern Washington at Sacramento State (Big Sky TV) 7:05
Saturday, Jan. 14 Time
*Eastern Washington at No. Colorado (Altitude)(Big Sky TV) 4:05
*Montana State at Northern Arizona (Big Sky TV)(FCS) 6:35
*Montana at Weber State (Big Sky TV) 7:05
*Idaho State at Sacramento State (Big Sky TV) 7:05
Game Times Local to Site/Subject to Change
*Big Sky Conference Game
Around the Big Sky
LILLARD 25TH, RISING: Weber State’s Damian Lillard scored his 1,500th career point during his 30-point performance against Eastern Washington on Thursday, becoming the 31st player in Big Sky history to reach the milestone. Lillard scored 38 on Saturday against Portland State, giving him 1,545 points for his career. Lillard now ranks 25th all-time in Big Sky history in scoring. He is just 55 points away from becoming the 19th player in Big Sky history to score 1,600 points. Former Boise State and NBA guard Chris Childs is 18th on the all-time scoring list with 1,602 points. Lillard has 395 points this season. Weber State will play a minimum of 14 more games this season. If Lillard maintains his current pace, he’ll finish the season with roughly 760 points, which would rank third in Big Sky single-season history. At that pace, he’d finish this season with 1,911 career points, which would put him seventh all-time in Big Sky history. Over the weekend, Lillard made 12 3-pointers, giving him 207 for his career. Lillard currently ranks 12th in Big Sky history.
ROAD TEAMS ROAR: Road teams won six of the eight conference games last week. The opening week of the conference season, road teams won just one of eight games. Idaho State opened the week by beating Northern Colorado 57-55 in Greeley. It snapped Northern Colorado’s 14-game home winning streak against Big Sky teams. Idaho State had lost nine straight on the road dating back to last season. Weber State beat Eastern Washington and Portland State on the road, handing both squads their first home losses of the season. EWU was 4-0 at home before the 79-71 loss to the Wildcats. PSU was 5-0 at home prior to the 88-81 loss to Weber State. Montana and Montana State both earned road wins over Idaho State. Northern Colorado also notched a road win, downing Sacramento State 61-53 at The Nest. Eastern Washington and Portland State were the only teams to win at home. The Vikings beat Northern Arizona on Saturday, while the Eagles beat the Lumberjacks on Saturday. PSU is the only team without a road win this season. The Vikings are 0-8 in road games.
RPI REPORT: Weber State leads the Big Sky with an RPI of 86 this week, up 17 spots from last week. Eastern Washington is second at 143, followed by Montana at 146, and Northern Colorado at 200. Syracuse is the No. 1 team, followed by Duke, Seton Hall, Baylor and Michigan State. The Big Sky is now 26th among Division I conferences, just behind the Big South and just ahead of the Northeast. The Big Ten is first, followed by the Big East and Big 12. Northern Colorado leads the Big Sky in strength of schedule and is ranked as the 93rd toughest.
EWU, NC ON ALTITUDE: Eastern Washington will square off against defending Big Sky champion Northern Arizona on Altitude on Saturday. Tip at Butler-Hancock Sports Pavilion has been changed to 4 p.m. Mountain to avoid a conflict with the Denver Broncos NFL playoff game against New England. Jerry Schemmel will handle the play-by-play duties, while Mark Randall will serve as his analyst and Maya Starks will report from the sidelines.
NCAA RANKINGS: Weber State’s Damian Lillard continues to lead the nation in scoring with an average of 26.3 points per game. Creighton’s Doug McDermott is second with an average of 25.2 points per game. Lillard is also fourth in 3-point field-goal per game (3.7), 14th in free-throw percentage (90.9 percent) and 12th in 3-point field-goal percentage (47.4 percent). Weber State ranks third in the nation in free-throw percentage (80.6) percent. Davidson is first at 81.1 percent. The Wildcats are second in 3-point field-goals per game (9.7), 13th in turnovers per game (11.1) seventh in 3-point field-goal percentage (44.9 percent), and 16th in scoring offense (80.1 points per game). Northern Colorado is third in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage (44.9 percent). Eastern Washington is fourth in the nation in 3-point field goals per game (9.6).
Tip-ins: Weber State has won six straight games. Montana has won five in a row...PSU’s Chehalas Tapscott scored 39 points - including 26 against Weber State - with 16 rebounds, six steals and four assists last week...MSU’s Shawn reid hit 5-of-7 3-pointers and finished with 23 points in a 79-69 win over Idaho State. MSU made 10-of-16 from 3-point range against the Bengals..MSU’s Christian Moon is averaging 17.8 points per game and has made 18-of-30 3-pointers over his last four games...EWU’s Cliff Ederaine scored 20 points with nine rebounds, five steals and five assists in the Eagles’ 79-71 loss to Weber State...All five Montana starters scored in double figures in the Grizzlies’ 68-44 win over Idaho State. Will Cherry led the team with 15...Montana’s Will Cherry has 174 career steals, which is tied for 13th on the Big Sky’s all-time list with former Cal State Northridge start Markus Carr. Cherry is five steals away from moving past former Weber State start Eddie Gill...Northern Colorado’s Mike Proctor had 16 points and 10 rebounds in a loss to Idaho State, his second double-double of the season...NAU interim coach Dave Brown did not coach the Lumberjacks last Thursday against Portland State because he fell ill prior to the game. He returned to the bench on Saturday against Eastern Washington...Weber State’s Damian Lillard has scored in double figures in all 15 games. He’s scored at least 20 in six straight games, and 12 times this season...Lillard and Scott Bamforth combined for 108 of Weber State’s 167 points last week, 64.6 percent of the team’s output...Northern Colorado’s Tevin Svihovec scored 16 points with four steals in a 61-53 win over Sacramento State...Sacramento State’s Josh McCarver had 11 rebounds in the loss...PSU shot 66.7 percent from the floor in the first half of its loss to Weber State, and 34.6 percent in the second half...Freshman James Douglas scored 17 points in NAU’s loss to EWU...Cliff Colimon scored 22 points with six assists in EWU’s win over NAU...Big Sky Teams are 41-21 at home, 16-49 on the road, and 5-3 in neutral court games...Weber State is the only team in the league without a home loss. The Wildcats are 8-0 at home, and 19-3 at the Dee Events Center over the past two seasons.