| Northern Arizona Men's Basketball |
| GAME 28 |
Northern Arizona at Northern Colorado (Saturday, Feb. 15 | 1 p.m. MST) |
|
Video | Live Stats | Listen | Game Notes |
| LOCATION |
Greeley, Colo. | Bank of Colorado Arena |
| TV |
ESPN+ | Plus.ESPN.com |
| GAME 29 |
Northern Arizona vs. Weber State (Monday, Feb. 27 | 6 p.m. MST) |
|
Video | Live Stats | Listen | Tickets | Game Notes |
| LOCATION |
Flagstaff, Ariz. | Findlay Toyota Court
|
| TV |
ESPN+ | Plus.ESPN.com |
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (February 22, 2023) – The final week of the regular season has arrived, and with the Big Sky Conference Championships looming, the Northern Arizona University men's basketball team wraps things up with its final regular season contests this week.
First up, the Lumberjacks play in the final road contest of the year on Saturday, Feb. 25, at Northern Colorado with tip-off set for 1 p.m. Mountain Standard time. It's then a quick turnaround, as NAU plays at Findlay Toyota Court one more time this season on Monday, Feb. 27, at 6 p.m. MST against Weber State.
Once the regular season concludes, Northern Arizona will head to Boise, Idaho, from March 4-8 for the Big Sky Championships at the ICCU Arena. With an overall record of 8-21 and a 4-12 mark in conference action, the Lumberjacks are locked in to play in the opening day of the tournament on March 4 at either 5:30 p.m. or 8 p.m. MST as the No. 7, 8, 9 or 10 seed. For more information on the conference tournament, including tickets, hotels, and the bracket, click HERE.
The Lumberjacks are coming off of a 72-50 win over Idaho on the road last week, avenging an 88-83 loss to the Vandals in January. The win was the first road victory of conference play and the first since Dec. 6. Northern Arizona put together its most complete victory of the season, shooting 52.6 percent from the field for a season-high. Defensively, it was the least amount of points allowed to an opponent all season long and was a complete team effort, as all 10 Lumberjacks who checked found the scoring column.
On Saturday, Northern Arizona will look to make it two-straight road victories and go for a season sweep of the Bears. NAU defeated Northern Colorado 83-73 on Jan. 28 in Flagstaff where four Lumberjacks scored in double figures, led by
Xavier Fuller's career-high 25 points and the 'Jacks shot 50.9 percent from the field.
The Bears are 10-18 overall and 5-11 in conference play, winning three out of their last five but dropping two-straight last week to Idaho and Eastern Washington. Northern Colorado boasts the Big Sky's scoring leader in conference-only games in Dalton Knect at 21.5 points per contest. UNC's Daylen Kountz is eighth with 15.9. Knect and Kountz scored 27 and 15, respectively, the last time they played NAU.
Saturday will be another three-point battle between Knect and
Jalen Cone, as the pair rank in the top-three in the conference in three-point percentage and three-pointers per game. In conference-only contests, Northern Colorado averages 8.2 three-pointers per game, shooting at a 36.3 percent clip and holding opponents to 31.3 percent to lead the conference. Northern Arizona averages 7.5 triples per game at a 37.6 percent clip, allowing opponents to shoot 36.0 percent.
Northern Colorado leads the all-time series, 22-15, and NAU is just 4-13 on the road in Greeley. The last victory on the road for the Lumberjacks against UNC came on Jan. 18, 2020. Northern Arizona has claimed four out of the last 10 matchups. Last season in Greeley, NAU lost 82-60 after falling 74-71 in Flagstaff earlier in the season.
The Lumberjacks are playing Weber State for the first time since the conference-opening weekend on Dec. 31, falling 76-60 in Ogden, Utah. The Wildcats are third in the Big Sky with a 15-13 overall record and 10-5 in league play. Weber State still has two more games before they turn their focus to NAU, hosting Eastern Washington and Idaho this week.
Weber State is led by Dillon Jones, who has won Big Sky Player of the Week honors four times this season. Jones is averaging a double-double in league play, leading the conference with 10.9 rebounds per game and adding 16.0 points per game. He leads the nation with 10.15 defensive rebounds per game.
As a team, the Wildcats are solid defensively, too, allowing just 66.9 points per game during conference play.
Weber State leads the all-time series with NAU, 87-29, and are 33-20 against the Lumberjacks in Flagstaff. The Wildcats have won six-straight over NAU, with Northern Arizona's last win coming on Jan. 4, 2020 in Flagstaff.
For NAU, both Cone (16.6) and Fuller (12.4) average double figures in conference play. Cone leads the conference with 2.9 three pointers per game, a mark that ranks 57
th in the nation.
Carson Towt is the team's leader in rebounds per game, ranking 34
th in the country with 3.21 offensive rebounds per game.
The Lumberjacks take care of the basketball, only turning the ball over 11 times per game and rank 51
st nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio and 99
th with 14.2 assists per game.
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