East Carolina at Weber State

 
RECORDS: Weber State enters the CIT Championship with a 30-6 record. Weber State’s 30 victories are the most in school history and the most in Big Sky single-season history. The Wildcats have won home games over Cal Poly, Air Force and Oral Roberts in the CIT. Weber State beat Northern Iowa on the road in the CIT semifinals. Weber State went 18-2 in Big Sky play, finishing second to Montana. The Wildcats lost in the Big Sky Championship game to Montana.…East Carolina of Conference USA enters with a 22-12 overall record. The Pirates went 9-7 in Conference USA. ECU is 5-7 on the road this season. ECU beat Savannah State, Rider, Loyola-Maryland and Evansville to reach the CIT Championship.
 
Coaches: Weber State’s Randy Rahe is 150-74 in his seventh season with the Wildcats. He has led the Wildcats to the NCAA Tournament (2007), the NIT (2009 and 2010), the CBI (2011) and the CIT (2012 and 2013). Rahe has been named Big Sky Coach of the Year three times…East Carolina’s Jeff Lebo is in his third season with the Pirates. He is 54-43. Lebo has also been the head coach at Tennessee Tech, Chattanooga and Auburn. The former North Carolina star player is 264-198 in 15 seasons at the Division I level.
 
Series history: This is the first meeting between East Carolina and Weber State. A Big Sky team has not played a Conference USA team since the 2009-10 season. The Big Sky’s last win over a Conference USA team came on Nov. 15, 2008 when Portland State beat Rice. Weber State has not played a member of Conference USA since falling at Tulsa in overtime 81-79 on Dec. 16, 2010.  Weber State is 1-2 all-time against current members of Conference USA. The lone victory was a 1999 win over Rice…This will be East Carolina’s third ever game against a Big Sky team. East Carolina played Northern Arizona twice, beating the Lumberjacks on Dec. 20, 1994 in Honolulu, and falling to the Lumberjacks on Dec. 21, 1979 in Reno, Nev.
 
Common Opponents: There are no common opponents between the teams.
 
Notes: Weber State is 17-1 at home this season and has won 14 straight at the Dee Events Center. WSU’s only home loss came to BYU, which is playing in the NIT semifinals on Tuesday night…WSU has won 34 of its last 35 home games…East Carolina went 5-7 away from home this season…WSU senior Scott Bamforth has made a school-record 99 3-pointers this season. The 99 3-pointers rank fourth in single-season conference history. He’s four away from tying third place and six away from tying second place…Bamforth has made 254 career 3-pointers, which is fifth in Big Sky history...East Carolina is located in Greenville, N.C...Both teams are playing in the CIT for the second time. Weber State is 5-1 all-time in the CIT. ECU is 4-1 in the CIT...East Carolina junior forward Robert Sampson is the son of legendary Virginia All-American Ralph Sampson. Sampson’s college career ended in the Dee Events Center in 1983 as his team lost to North Carolina State in the West Regional Final...Senior Maurice Kemp leads the Pirates, averaging 18.8 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. Junior Akeem Richmond has hit 103 3-pointers this season...This is the first time a Big Sky team has played in the championship of a national postseason tournament...Weber State has scored 2,726 points this season, a Big Sky single-season record...The Wildcats’ 36 total games are the most ever played in a season by a Big Sky team...Weber State has outscored its CIT opponents 305-230...Bamforth is averaging 19 points per game and shooting .528 from 3-point range in the CIT...WSU’s Randy Rahe ranks third in school history in career wins. He’s two behind Ron Abegglen and 50 behind leader Neil McCarthy...Weber State has won 17 of its last 18 games...Weber State is 92-12 under Rahe at the Dee Events Center...Weber State enters with an RPI of 62. East Carolina is 88...Weber won 11 road games this season, tying the school record...WSU freshman Joel Bolomboy suffered a shoulder separation at Northern Iowa. Bolomboy is listed as questionable...