FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (December 28, 2021) – After over a month away from Flagstaff, the Northern Arizona men's basketball team returns home for their first two Big Sky home games starting Thursday versus Idaho at 6 p.m. NAU will then host Eastern Washington on Saturday with a New Year's Day 2 p.m. tip-off versus the defending league tournament champions as both games will be played in the Walkup Skydome and available on ESPN+ and the Lumberjack Radio Network.
Since last playing in Flagstaff on Nov. 24, the Lumberjacks dropped four of five games away from home in the last month. Thursday will be NAU's first game in 10 days since a 95-49 loss to No. 4/4 Gonzaga. NAU will also be playing in the Walkup Skydome for the first time since Feb. 29, 2020 as Thursday will end a 671 day span between games in the Dome.
The Lumberjacks' only win during their month-long road stretch was a 73-70 victory over Idaho State on Dec. 4, which evened their Big Sky record to 1-1. NAU (4-8 overall) is one of four teams to come out of the first weekend of conference play at the beginning of the month with an even 1-1 mark. Despite only averaging 58.5 points per game in their first two Big Sky games, the 'Jacks shot 39.4 percent from behind the arc and outrebounded Weber State and Idaho State by an average margin of 11.0.
Rebounding continues to be one of NAU's hallmarks this season, ranking fourth in the Big Sky with 37.7 rebounds per game and holding a +2.0 rebounding margin. Against Gonzaga, the Lumberjacks outrebounded the Bulldogs by six which was their seventh game in 12 outings this season that NAU has been positive in the rebound column.
NAU's frontcourt trio of redshirt freshman
Carson Towt (9.6), redshirt junior
Nik Mains (5.4) and redshirt sophomore
Ezekiel Richards (4.1) are the Lumberjacks' top three leading rebounders.
Towt collected 11 rebounds versus Gonzaga despite often being matched up by the Bulldogs' potential NBA duo of Drew Timme and Chet Holmgren. The 11 boards marked Towt's fifth double-digit rebounding game of the season as he currently ranks 18th in the country in total rebounds (115) and 24th in rebounds per game.
Scoring-wise, sophomore
Jalen Cone is second on the Big Sky, averaging 17.8 points per game. Over the last four games, Cone is shooting 52.8 percent (19-of-36) from behind the arc, raising his season three-point percentage to 38.8. Through the first 12 games of the season, Cone is 70th in scoring nationally and ranks 57th in total points (213).
NAU swept the season series versus Idaho last season in Moscow, extending its win streak over the Vandals to six games. The six-game winning streak versus Idaho is NAU's longest active streak against a conference opponent.
Idaho is 3-8 this season and is coming off an 84-55 home victory versus SAGU American Indian College on Dec. 18. The Vandals dropped their only league game so far on Dec. 4, but they pushed Southern Utah, the preseason Big Sky favorite, in an 81-75 loss.
In his first season with the Vandals, Mikey Dixon is the Big Sky's fifth-leading scorer with 16.3 points per game. He leads the league in three-point percentage at 48.9 while averaging two threes made per game. Trevante Anderson is not only second on the team in scoring at 13.0, but he leads Idaho in rebounds (5.4) and assists (4.5) per game with the latter placing him third in the Big Sky.
Meanwhile, the Lumberjacks have dropped eight straight to Eastern Washington, including two losses last season. However, in the teams' most recent meeting, NAU pushed Eastern Washington and nearly came away with an upset in the 2021 conference quarterfinal before eventually coming up shy, 66-60.
The defending Big Sky Tournament Champions are 6-6 entering the week with a road game at Portland State on Thursday before making their way to Flagstaff. Like Idaho, Eastern Washington fell to Southern Utah, 89-76, on Dec. 2 in its only conference game of the season at this point.
Eastern Washington has five players averaging double-figures as part of the Big Sky's third-highest scoring offense at 76.8 points per game. Leading the charge is Steele Venters, who ranks third in the conference individually with an average of 17.4. Venters is shooting 49.2 percent overall from the deck and 46.3 percent from deep, which only ranks behind Idaho's Dixon. Linton Acliese III leads the Eagles with 6.8 rebounds per game and is second in scoring at 14.3.
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