NAU Hoops Opens Big Sky Slate at Skydome Thursday vs. Montana
Men's Basketball / December 28, 2017
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NAU-MONTANA STORY LINES
• Northern Arizona will open the 2017-18 Big Sky Conference schedule on Thursday night vs. Montana at the J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome. Thursday's game will mark the Lumberjacks first home game at the Skydome in 2017-18 after playing their first three home contests at the Rolle Activity Center. The 'Jacks posted a 1-2 record in those contests, dropping games against Embry-Riddle (11/13) and South Dakota (12/14) and posting a victory over San Diego Christian (12/6).
• NAU owns a 22-25 overall record in Big Sky Conference openers entering Thursday's meeting with Montana.
• The Lumberjacks will be looking to snap a three-game skid in Big Sky Conference openers when they tip off against Montana on Thursday evening. NAU dropped a 93-80 decision at home vs. Southern Utah last season, lost in double overtime by a 90-84 margin to Montana in 2015-16 and 78-73 at Sacramento State in 2014-15.
• NAU's last victory in a Big Sky opener came during the 2013-14 campaign when it opened the league portion of the schedule with a 73-65 victory at Montana.
• This marks the second time in the past three seasons that the 'Jacks have opened the conference slate at home vs. the Grizzlies. NAU dropped a 90-84 decision in double overtime on Dec. 31, 2015 in the most recent matchup to start the league schedule.
• Thursday's Big Sky opener at the Skydome will represent the third consecutive season that the Lumberjacks have opened the conference schedule at home.
• NAU trails the all-time series with the Grizzlies 66-33 entering Thursday's clash. The Lumberjacks have dropped each of the last five meetings with Montana with their last victory coming on March 8, 2014 in Flagstaff by a 67-47 margin.
• The 'Jacks own an all-time record of 2-7 against Montana in the
Jack Murphy era, including a 1-3 mark at home.
• Montana enters Thursday's game 7-5 overall and has won two of its last three games overall. The Grizzlies have already posted a signature win this season with a 83-78 overtime road victory at Pittsburgh on Nov. 13.
• Northern Arizona is currently 3-10 overall on the season and has played the 78th-most difficult schedule in the nation (out of 351 teams) entering Thursday's meeting with Montana according to the most recent Sagarin Ratings (12/25).
• In total, the 'Jacks played 10 of their 13 non-conference games away from home.
• Northern Arizona finished the 2016-17 season with a 9-23 overall record and 6-12 mark in Big Sky play (10th place).
• The Lumberjacks have led at halftime four times this season - vs. Embry-Riddle (Nov. 13), UC Irvine (Nov. 24), San Diego Christian (Dec. 6) and at Jacksonville (Dec. 20) and own a 2-2 mark in those contests.
• NAU is a new look squad this season, with nine returners and eight newcomers to the program, including a pair of NCAA Division I transfers in
Gino Littles (UT San Antonio) and
Malcolm Allen (Stanford).
NAU QUICK LOOKS
- Sophomore JoJo Anderson rung up 26 points as the Northern Arizona snapped a three-game skid with an 83-72 road win at Jacksonville on Dec. 20.
- Anderson has registered 25 or more points in two of the last three games overall and has notched a team-best nine double-digit scoring efforts this season, including nine of the last 11 games overall.
- The Lumberjacks led by as many as 23 points (their largest lead in any game this season) in the Dec. 20 win at Jacksonville and shot a season-best 60.8 clip from the field as a season-high four players finished with double-figure points.
- The 60.8 field goal percentage marked the highest by the ' Jacks since notching a 56.6% (30-53) clip at Southern Utah (1-31-15).
- The last time NAU had four or more players reach double-figures in the same game was on March 2, 2017 vs. Idaho when five players accomplished the feat.
- Sophomore Brooks DeBisschop returned to the starting lineup vs. USF after missing the previous three games with a foot injury and posted his first career double-double with career highs in both points (13) and rebounds (13) in the Dec. 18 loss to the Bulls.
- DeBisschop is only the second NAU player this season to post a double-double, joining junior Isaiah Thomas who tallied double-doubles in back-to-back games against CSU Bakersfield and San Diego Christian.
- Sophomore JoJo Anderson erupted for a career-high 30 points, including a 5-of-10 clip from beyond the arc and 11-of-13 from the free throw line in the Dec. 14 loss to South Dakota.
- The 30-point performance by Anderson marked the first 30-plus scoring effort by a Lumberjack since Mike Green notched 31 against Northern Colorado on Jan. 7, 2017.
- The 54 points by NAU in the second half vs. South Dakota on Dec. 14 was most in a half since it totaled 53 vs. North Dakota on Feb. 7, 2015 - a span of 89 games.
- Freshman Carlos Hines notched 10 points vs. South Dakota in just his second game action of the season following a preseason injury.
- NAU is being outscored by its opponents 79.6-65.9 over the first 13 games this season.
- The Lumberjacks' 16-0 run in the second half of its Dec. 6 win over San Diego Christian marked their largest of the season to date.
- The win over San Diego Christian on Dec. 6 allowed the 'Jacks to post back-to-back wins for the first time since it defeated Northern Colorado and North Dakota in consecutive contests on Jan. 26 and 28, 2017.
BIG SKY OPENERS
- The Lumberjacks own a 22-25 all-time record in Big Sky openers entering 2017-18.
- Since the 2000-01 season, NAU has gone 8-9 in conference openers.
LUMBERJACKS ARE ROAD WARRIORS
- Through 13 games away from home this season, NAU Basketball has amassed a total of:
- 13,868 total travel miles
- 2,231 bus miles
- 11,637 air miles
THE DOME IS OUR HOME
- NAU plays its games in the Walkup Skydome and owns a combined mark of 41-27 over the last six seasons entering Thursday's meeting with Montana.
Skydome Over the Last Six Years:
2016-17: 5-7
2015-16: 3-9
2014-15: 14-2
2013-14: 9-4
2012-13: 6-6
2011-12: 4-9
THREE-POINT STREAK
- NAU has connected on at least one 3-pointer in 143 consecutive games.
- The last time NAU did not make a 3-pointer was on Nov. 29, 2013, versus CSU Bakersfield. The Lumberjacks finished that game 0-for-11 from beyond the arc.
GETTING TO THE FREE THROW LINE
- NAU leads the Big Sky Conference in both free throws made (223) and attempts (313) through the first 13 games of the 2017-18 season.
- The 'Jacks also rank 26th nationally in free throw attempts and 27th in made shots from the charity stripe entering Thursday's meeting with Montana.
- Sophomore JoJo Anderson leads the Big Sky and ranks 39th nationally with 85 free throw attempts.
- Anderson also ranks second in the Big Sky in free throws made with 65 connections from the charity stripe. That number ranks 44th nationally.
78th-TOUGHEST SCHEDULE IN NATION
- According to the most recent Sagarin Ratings (as of Dec. 25) the Lumberjacks have played the 78th-toughest schedule in the nation entering Thursday's match up with Montana.
- NAU has faced a total of two teams ranked among Sagarin's top 25 nationally and three in the top 50 (out of 351 teams overall).
AMONG BIG SKY LEADERS
- NAU has forced its opponents into an average of 15.2 turnovers per game this season, which ranks fith-best in the Big Sky Conference.
- The Lumberjacks have pulled down an average of 10.6 offensive rebounds per game, which sits fourth-best among Big Sky leaders.
INJURY REPORT
- Senior Malcolm Allen suffered a broken foot in the Nov. 17 game against Arizona State and is out indefinitely.
- NAU has had six players lose a total of 27 games this season due to injuries.
