FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (January 6, 2026) – To begin a six-game home month at Findlay Toyota Court at the Walkup Skydome, the Northern Arizona men's basketball team hosts Weber State and Idaho State on Thursday and Saturday, respectively, at 6 p.m. MST.
Tickets can be purchased at this
link and the games will be streamed on
ESPN+ with
Mitch Strohman and
James Malamas on the call. The Northern Arizona Healthcare NAU Lumberjack Radio Network pregame show begins at 5:30 p.m. MST.
With the exception of next week's road trip to Sacramento State and Portland State, NAU will play six of its remaining eight games in January on its home floor inside the Walkup Skydome. The Lumberjacks are 6-1 at home this season, including 2-0 in the Dome.
NAU is looking to pick up its first conference win of the season following road losses to Montana, 78-64, and Montana State, 77-68, last week. The two losses dropped the Lumberjacks' overall record to 6-9, while it marked their third 0-2 start to league play in the last four seasons. NAU is hoping to avoid its second 0-3 start to conference play in the last three seasons.
Twice in head coach
Shane Burcar's tenure, the Lumberjacks began league play with two road losses in the opening weekend. Both times, NAU responded with a home victory in 2019-20 and 2022-23. Coincidentally, in Burcar's season as interim head coach in 2019-20, the 'Jacks opened with losses at Montana and Montana State and responded with a win against Weber State in their Big Sky home opener to avoid going 0-3.
To get back in the win column, and even their conference record, the Lumberjacks will need to get the better of two Big Sky rivals who have had their number recently. The Lumberjacks have dropped 10 of the last 11 to Weber State, although they managed a season split last year with each team winning on their home court. Similarly, NAU and Idaho State split last season's meetings, although the teams each won on the road. The Bengals have won six of the last eight head-to-head meetings.
Isaiah Shaw is coming off an 18-point game against Montana State, where he shot a career-best 5-for-6 behind the arc. Shaw is averaging 10.0 points per game this season and shooting 50.0% from the field and 48.8% from 3-point range. Shaw, along with
Brennan Peterson (52.2%),
Arne Osojnik (43.2%) and
Ryan Abelman (38.4%), is a big reason why the Lumberjacks are shooting 38.0% as a team from behind the arc, good for 27th in the country.
Off the bench, the Lumberjacks received a pair of solid performances by
Chris Komin and
Traivar Jackson last week. Komin averaged 9.5 points per game and Jackson averaged 8.5 points and 8.0 rebounds in their first two career Big Sky Conference games.
Weber State earned a split of the first weekend of conference play, rebounding from a 95-90 loss to Portland State to defeat Sacramento State, 95-82. The Wildcats, picked ninth in the Big Sky Preseason Polls, are 7-8 overall although they are only 1-5 away from their home floor.
Averaging 84.7 points per game, Weber State is potent in transition, ranking 11th in the country with 18.3 fastbreak points per game. The Wildcats are the Big Sky's leading rebounding team at 41.1 per game and are outrebounding opponents by a margin of 6.8, with both marks ranking in the top 50 in the nation.
The Wildcats have six players averaging at least 10 points per game, led by Tijan Saine Jr.'s 13.5. Saine Jr. also leads the team with 4.3 assists per game.
Idaho State also split last week, likewise defeating Sacramento State, 97-84, and losing to Portland State in overtime, 93-87. The Bengals, at 8-7, were voted fifth by the Big Sky media in the preseason and eighth by the coaches. Idaho State also has struggled on the road with a 3-5 record in true road and neutral site games.
The Bengals allow the third-fewest points in the league at 72.6 points per game and are 65th nationally in blocks at 4.5 per game. Idaho State receives significant production from its bench, leading the conference and ranking 41st in the country with 32.3 points per game on average.
Caleb Van De Griend is the Bengals' top scorer (14.5) and rebounder (7.3) and plays only 20.5 minutes per game off the bench. Van De Griend appeared in all 15 games in reserve.
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