| Northern Arizona Men's Basketball |
| GAME 18 |
Northern Arizona at Portland State (Thursday, Jan. 12 | 8 p.m. MST) |
|
Video | Live Stats | Listen | Game Notes (PDF) |
| LOCATION |
Portland, Ore. | Viking Pavilion |
| TV |
ESPN+ | Plus.ESPN.com |
| GAME 19 |
Northern Arizona at Sacramento State (Saturday, Jan. 14 | 3 p.m. MST) |
|
Video | Live Stats | Listen | Game Notes |
| LOCATION |
Sacramento, Calif. | The Nest
|
| TV |
ESPN+ | Plus.ESPN.com |
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (January 10, 2023) – After splitting a pair of games at home, the Northern Arizona University men's basketball team heads back out onto the road to continue Big Sky Conference play this week.
The Lumberjacks take on Portland State on Thursday, Jan. 12, at 8 p.m. Mountain Standard time at Viking Pavilion. NAU then clashes with Sacramento State on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. MST. Both games will be broadcast on ESPN+.
Last week, Northern Arizona beat Montana for the second consecutive time in overtime (75-74) before poor shooting doomed the Lumberjacks against defending Big Sky Champions, Montana State. The Lumberjacks sit at 5-12 overall and 1-3 in conference action.
Both Portland State (7-9, 1-2) and Sacramento State (9-7, 2-1) lost to Eastern Washington but beat Idaho on the road last week.
Two players average double figures for the Lumberjacks, led by
Jalen Cone with 17.4 points per game, which is third in the conference, and
Xavier Fuller who averages 10.4.
Cone has scored in double figures in eight-straight games and 12 overall. He has scored at least 20 points five times, including two games with over 35. The junior leads the Big Sky in three-point percentage, draining 44 of his 115 attempts for 38.3 percent. His 2.6 three-pointers per game leads the conference, and he is also 10
th in field goal percentage (41.6%), and fourth in free throw percentage (83.3%).
Fuller has been averaging 12.5 points per game during conference play and led NAU with a career-high 23 points and three steals against Montana State. He is shooting 42.2 percent from the field and is the team leader in steals with 1.1 per game.
Carson Towt continues to lead the conference in offensive rebounds with 3.3 per game, averaging 7.8 overall. He is also sixth in the league and first on the team with 3.5 assists per game.
Nik Mains has a chance to make history this week as he is 13 points away from 1,000 in his career, looking to become the 31
st member of NAU's 1,000-point club. He also needs three more three-point field goals to move into sixth all-time NAU's career three-point list.
The Lumberjacks score 71.2 points per game, shooting 41.7 percent from the field. They lead the conference and rank 86
th nationally with 14.9 assists per game and are 78
th in all of Division I in assist to turnover ratio with 1.20.
Portland State was picked to finish tied for seventh with NAU in the Big Sky Preseason Poll and seventh, just ahead of Northern Arizona, in the media poll. The Vikings have played 12 of their 16 games on the road so far this season, going 3-1 at home. PSU leads the Big Sky with 78.5 points per game. Offensively, the Vikings are led by Jorell Saterfield who ranks 10
th in the conference with 15.4 points per contest, while Cameron Parker is close behind in 12
th with 14.4 points per game.
Thursday night will be a show between the conference's two best three-point shooters, as Saterfield averages 2.5 three-pointers per game and shoots at a 37.4 percent clip from three-point range.
PSU protects the basketball, ranking 17
th in the nation with a 4.6 turnover margin, forcing 17.56 per contest to rank 16
th. It is also 52
nd in steals per game with 6.4. Parker is 23
rd in the nation with 5.4 assists per game.
Portland State leads the all-time series, 30-26, with a 20-7 overall record against NAU at home. The Vikings have won two-straight, including a 97-76 victory in Flagstaff last year and a 68-67 win in Portland two weeks later. The last win over the Vikings for NAU came in the first round of the Big Sky Championships in 2021. The Lumberjacks have not won in Portland since Jan. 3, 2015, in a 73-60 victory. Portland State has claimed seven out of the last three victories and NAU is 2-3 all-time against the Vikings under head coach
Shane Burcar.
The Hornets are an unblemished 5-0 at home this year and have won three out of their last five games. Two players average double figures for Sacramento State in Zach Chappell (16.1) and Callum McRae (12.3). McRae is also 13
th nationally with 159 total rebounds, and his defensive rebounding averaging of 7.12 is 15
th. He pulls down 9.9 per contest to rank 16
th. McRae is also a sharp shooter, as he ranks second in the conference with a field goal percentage of 53.4.
Sacramento State averages 69.2 points per game. It averages 7.7 three-pointers per game while shooting at a league best 36.8 percent from behind the arc. It also holds opponents to 32.7 percent from a distance. The Hornets are second in the league with 36.5 rebounds per game, out-rebounding opponents by 4.6 per game.
Northern Arizona owns the all-time series, 42-17, and are 19-10 against the Hornets on the road. The Lumberjacks have won three-straight over Sacramento State, including a 70-65 win in Flagstaff and a 62-61 victory in Sacramento last season. NAU has won six out of the last 10 contest with three of them coming on the road. Under Burcar, the Lumberjacks are 3-1 against the Hornets.
The Lumberjacks are back at home next week to host Idaho on Thursday, Jan. 19, at 6 p.m. MST and Eastern Washington on Saturday, Jan. 21, at 2 p.m. on ESPN+.
