NAU MBB GAME NOTES (PDF)
2018 BIG SKY MEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP BRACKET (PDF)
WATCH ON PLUTO.TV (Channel 231)
WATCH BIG SKY.COM
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (March 5, 2018) – The Northern Arizona men's basketball team will open postseason action at the 2018 Big Sky Championship on Tuesday, March 6 against No. 5 seed Northern Colorado in a 3:35 p.m. MST tip.
The Lumberjacks enter the Big Sky Championship as the No. 12 seed and will advance to face No. 4 seed Weber State on Thursday, March 8 at 3:35 p.m. with a win Tuesday over the Bears.
The 2018 Big Sky Championship will be held at the Reno Events Center in Reno Nevada.
NAU's game on Tuesday against Northern Colorado will be aired on PlutoTV (Channel 231) and the Lumberjack Radio Network beginning with the pregame show 30 minutes prior to tipoff with the voice of the 'Jacks Mitch Strohman on the call.
BIG SKY ROUND ONE STORYLINES
- NAU is 15-23 all-time in Big Sky Tournament Games and 1-5 under head coach Jack Murphy.
- The Lumberjacks have lost each of its last three games in the Big Sky Tournament with the last win coming against Northern Colorado by a 63-57 margin in 2015.
- The Jacks are 1-2 all-time against Northern Colorado in Big Sky Tournament action and will be facing the Bears in the postseason event for the third time in the last six seasons.
- NAU has made eight appearances in the Big Sky Championship game and own a 2-6 mark in those previous title games appearances, the last coming in 2008.
- NAU enters the 2018 Big Sky Championship as the No. 12 overall seed.
- This will mark the last season the Big Sky Tournament will be held in Reno with the event shifting to Boise, Idaho beginning in 2019.
BIG SKY ROUND 1
- Northern Arizona opens the 2018 Big Sky Tournament on a three-game losing streak following losses to Portland State at home and road losses at Idaho and Eastern Washington in its most recent action.
- No. 12 seed NAU will be meeting No. 5 seed Northern Colorado for the third time in the last six seasons in Big Sky postseason action when the teams square off at 3:35 p.m. MST on Tuesday afternoon at the Reno Events Center.
ALL-TIMES SERIES VS. NORTHERN COLORADO
- The Lumberjacks trails the all-time series with the Bears 17-11 entering Tuesday's Big Sky Conference opener.
- NAU dropped a 95-60 decision to the Bears on the road in the lone previous meeting between the programs on Feb. 15 in Greeley. Three players scored 21 points or more for UNC in the victory, led by Andre Spight who finished with a game-high 25.
- The two teams split a pair of games during the 2016-17 season with Northern Colorado collecting a 83-79 win on its home floor on Jan. 7, 2017 behind 36 points from DJ Miles, who graduated after last season. NAU rebounded with a 63-50 victory in Flagstaff on Jan. 26, 2017 behind 19 points from Jordyn Martin.
- The 'Jacks own a 1-2 overall mark against Northern Colorado in games played in the Big Sky Tournament.
- NAU is 4-10 all-time vs. the Bears in the Jack Murphy era.
LAST TIME OUT
- Northern Arizona suffered a 85-68 defeat at Eastern Washington in its regular-season finale on Saturday.
- The Eagles hit on a season-best 16 treys to propel them to the victory.
- Junior Corey Brown paced the 'Jacks in the loss with a career-best 22 points on 9-of-10 shooting from the field.
- The 22-point effort by Brown marked the highest scoring effort by a NAU post player this season.
- The 'Jacks lost despite dominating the points in the paint battle 44-26 and outscoring the Eagles in second-chance points 16-6.
CLOSE CALLS
- Eight of NAU's 16 losses in conference play have been decided by six points or less.
GETTING TO THE FREE THROW LINE
- NAU ranks second in the Big Sky Conference in free throws made (517) and second in attempts (733) entering the 2018 Big Sky Championship.
- The 'Jacks also rank 23rd nationally in free throw attempts and 25th in made shots from the charity stripe through the completion of the regular season.
- 25.3 percent of NAU's points this season have come from the charity stripe, which ranks as the most nationally among NCAA Division I teams (351 total).
- Sophomore JoJo Anderson ranks third in the Big Sky and 138th nationally with 158 free throw attempts.
- Anderson also ranks sixth in the Big Sky in free throws made with 128 connections from the charity stripe. That number ranks 109th nationally.
LET'S HIT 45 PERCENT
- NAU is 4-3 when it shoots 45 percent or better from the field and 1-23 when it shoots less than that number.
- The 'Jacks only three losses when it shoots over 45 percent from the field was an 81-76 setback vs. Eastern Washington on Jan. 18, an 86-81 overtime loss at North Dakota on Feb. 17 and another loss to Eastern Washington by a 85-68 margin on March 3.
KEEP THEM UNDER 80
- NAU is 0-15 this season when its opponents score 80 points or more.
- On the flipside, the 'Jacks are 5-10 when limiting their opponents to less than 80 on the scoreboard.
AMONG BIG SKY LEADERS
- NAU has forced its opponents into an average of 13.5 turnovers per game this season, which ranks fourth-best in the Big Sky Conference.
- The Lumberjacks have pulled down an average of 10.2 offensive rebounds per game, which sits fourth-best among Big Sky leaders.
- The 'Jacks have snagged 174 steals which sits as the fifth-best total in the conference.
- NAU ranks seventh among Big Sky leaders with 97 blocks.
- Junior Isaiah Thomas sits fifth among conference leaders with 35 blocks.
- Brooks DeBisschop ranks fourth in the Big Sky with an average of 7.5 rebounds per contest. He is also fourth in the conference with an average of 2.2 offensive boards per contest.
SHOOTING WOES
- NAU ranks 345th nationally (out of 351) with a season field goal percentage of 38.7 percent.
- The Lumberjacks have also struggled setting up shots with an average of 9.8 assists per game, which ranks 348th in the nation.
POSTING DOUBLE-FIGURES
- NAU has had four players register double-figure points in six of the last 26 games overall after not having a single contest over the first 12 games this season that saw it total four players with double-figure scoring efforts.
- Sophomore JoJo Anderson has notched a team-best 16 double-digit scoring efforts this season, including 16 of the last 26 games he as played.
- NAU most recently had four players notch double-figure points at North Dakota on Feb. 20.
QUICK HITS
- Three of NAU's five wins this season have come in true road games.
- NAU'S most recent victory on Feb. 22 over the Sacramento State snapped a seven-game skid for the 'Jacks and marked its first win at home against an NCAA Division I opponent this season.
- The win over Sacramento State marked NAU's first this season in a game that saw it shoot less than 40 percent from the field (0-19 previously) and first victory when scoring less than 60 points (0-7 prior).
- NAU has won three games this season when it has trailed at the half.
- The Lumberjacks have not won a single game this season when they made more three-point field goals then their opponent (0-5).
- Both the NAU men's and women's teams posted victories on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018 over Sacramento State. It marked the first time both have posted wins on the same day since Feb. 23, 2017, when each also defeated Sacramento State.
HARRIS HAVING MEMORABLE ROOKIE CAMPAIGN
- Freshman Karl Harris has tallied double-figure points in eight of the last 11 games overall and is averaging 11.5 points over that span.
- Harris also ranks sixth among NAU's all-time freshman scoring leaders with 250 points over the first 31 games this season.
462 DeWayne Russell (2012-13)
394 Kelly Golob (2002-03)
341 James Douglas (2011-12)
309 Kris Yanku (2013-14)
270
Torry Johnson (2015-16)
250 Karl Harris (2017-18)
NAU All-Time Big Sky Tournament
Results By Year
1976 Weber State 63, Northern Arizona 58
1979 Northern Arizona 90, Idaho State 76
1979 Weber State 92, Northern Arizona 70
1984 Montana 69, Northern Arizona 54
1985 Northern Arizona 69, Montana State 62
1985 Idaho State 89, Northern Arizona 86
1986 Montana State 80, Northern Arizona 74
1987 Nevada 82, Northern Arizona 80
1988 Montana 77, Northern Arizona 72
1997 CSUN 93, Northern Arizona 84
1998 Northern Arizona 86, CSUN 79
1998 Northern Arizona 77, Montana State 50*
1999 Northern Arizona73, Portland State 56
1999 Weber State 82, Northern Arizona 75*
2000 Northern Arizona 77, Portland State 75
2000 Northern Arizona 82, E. Washington 65
2000 Northern Arizona 85, CSUN 81(ot)*
2001 Northern Arizona 65, Montana State 62
E. Washington 58, Northern Arizona 53
2002 Montana 82, Northern Arizona 64
2003 Idaho State 85, Northern Arizona 74
2004 Northern Arizona 91, Idaho State 72
2004 E. Washington 71, Northern Arizona 59*
2006 Northern Arizona 98, E. Washington 83
2006 Montana 73, Northern Arizona 60*
2007 Northern Arizona 78, Montana 71
2008 Northern Arizona 75, Weber State 70
2008 Portland State 67, Northern Arizona 51*
2010 Montana 81, Northern Arizona 60
2011 Northern Arizona 65, Montana State 62
2011 Northern Colorado 73, Northern Arizona 70
2013 Weber State 84, Northern Arizona 58
2014 Norther Colorado 62, Northern Arizona 60
2015 Northern Arizona 63, Northern Colorado 57
2015 Montana 61, Northern Arizona 59
2016 E. Washington 74, Northern Arizona 52
2017 Portland State 80, Northern Arizona 67
* Denotes Championship Game
Championship Game Facts
Championship Game Appearances 8
Championship Game Record 2-6
NAU All-Time Big Sky Tournament Results
By Opponent
CSUN^ 2-1
Eastern Washington 2-3
Idaho 0-0
Idaho State 2-2
Montana 1-7
Montana State 4-0
Nevada^ 0-1
North Dakota 0-0
Northern Colorado 1-2
Portland State 2-2
Sacramento State 0-0
Southern Utah 0-0
Weber State 1-5
Overall Record 15-23
^ Denotes schools no longer in the Big Sky
