MBB Notes - CIT Championship Edition
PDF of Notes
This Week’s Sky Highlights
For the first time in league history, a conference team will play for the championship in a national postseason tournament. On Tuesday night, Weber State plays host to East Carolina of Conference-USA in the championship game of the College Insider Tournament. Tip is at 6 p.m. The game will air live nationally on the CBS Sports Network. Weber State brings a 30-6 record to the championship game. The Wildcats have beaten Cal Poly, Air Force, Oral Roberts and Northern Iowa to reach the championship. East Carolina (22-12) has topped Savannah State, Rider, Loyola-Maryland and Evansville en route to the championship game. Weber State is 17-1 at the Dee Events Center this season, and has won 14 straight at home.
Weber State is playing host to the CIT Championship game on Tuesday night at the Dee Events Center. The game will be televised nationally on the CBS Sports Network. The CBS Sports Network is available on DirecTV Channel 613 and Dish Network Channel 158. It is also available on through many cable providers. Dave Baker will handle the play-by-play duties with former Kentucky great Kyle Macy on color commentary.
This marks the second straight season the CIT Championship is being played in Utah. Last season, Mercer beat Utah State in Logan 70-67. The attendance was 6,194.
Weber State is the first men’s basketball Big Sky Conference team to play in the championship of a national postseason tournament. Idaho State advanced to the Elite Eight of the 1977 NCAA Tournament. Northern Colorado advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2010 CIT Tournament.
Weber State’s Scott Bamforth has made 19 3-pointers in the CIT. He’s making .525 percent from 3-point range in the four games, and he’s averaging a team-high 19 points per game.
Weber State junior center Kyle Tresnak is averaging 17 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in the CIT. He’s made 29-of-37 from the field for a percentage of .784.
In the CIT, Weber State’s Davion Berry is averaging 15.3 points, 5.3 assists, five rebounds and one steal per game.
During Weber State’s run to the CIT Championship, the Wildcats have beaten teams from the Big West, Mountain West, Southland, and Missouri Valley Conferences.
Weber State is one of 12 Division I basketball teams still playing. Wichita State, Louisville, Syracuse and Michigan are in the NCAA Final Four. BYU, Baylor, Maryland and Iowa are still alive in the NIT. Santa Clara and George Mason are playing a three-game series to determine the CBI champion.
Weber State’s Scott Bamforth enters the game ranked fifth in Big Sky history in free-throw percentage. He’s made 258 of 297 career free throws for a percentage of .869.
The Wildcats lead the nation in field-goal percentage (.505), 3-point field-goal percentage (.416) and 3-point field-goal percentage defense (.279). The Wildcats are the only team in the nation to lead the country in three categories. WSU also ranks fifth in the nation in scoring margin (14.7), sixth in winning percentage (.833), 17th in rebounding margin (+6.5), 22nd in scoring offense (75.7), 45th in scoring defense (61.1) and 44th in field-goal percentage defense (.397).
Weber State is one of nine teams in the nation with at least 30 wins. The others: Louisville (33), Gonzaga (32), Memphis (31), Kansas (31), Duke (30), Michigan (30), Syracuse (30) and Wichita State (30).