Men's Basketball Notes - Dec. 9

12/9/2014 7:04:45 PM

This Week’s Sky Highlights
 
A total of 17 games are on this week’s docket.

Idaho State guns for its first road win of the season on Tuesday night as it travels to Grand Canyon of the WAC.

The Bengals return home on Saturday to face Northwest Nazarene.

Montana looks for its third home win as it plays host to Davidson in a return BacketBusters matchup from 2013. The Grizzlies travel to Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Sunday.

The red-hot Eastern Washington Eagles are at San Francisco on Thursday and at Washington on Sunday for a game that will be televised on the Pac-12 Network.

Sacramento State hopes to end a two-game losing streak at home on Thursday against Cal State Fullerton. The Hornets are home on Sunday against Portland.

The Idaho Vandals look to stretch their winning streak to three games on Thursday on the road at Western Illinois. The Vandals are at South Dakota State on Saturday.

Rivals North Dakota and North Dakota State hook up in Fargo on Saturday night.

Weber State plays host to in-state rival BYU on Saturday.

In another In-state rivalry game, Northern Colorado travels to Colorado on Saturday. That game will be televised on the Pac-12 Network.

Portland State plays host to Cal State Bakersfield on Saturday, while Northern Arizona welcomes Loyola Marymount to the Walkup Skydome.

Montana State is at Wyoming on Sunday. That game will be televised on ROOT SPORTS.

Southern Utah is at Boise State Sunday.
 
   
Tuesday, Dec. 9........................................................................... Time
Idaho State at Grand Canyon...................................................... 7:05
 
Wednesday, Dec. 10.................................................................... Tme
Davidson at Montana.................................................................... 7:05
 
Thursday, Dec. 11......................................................................... Time
^CS Fullerton at Sacramento State............................................ 7:05
E. Washington at San Francisco.................................................. 7:05
Idaho at Western Illinois............................................................... 7:05
 
Saturday, Dec. 13........................................................................ Time
^CS Bakersfield at Portland State................................................ 1:05
^Loyola Marymount at No. Arizona .......................................... 2:05
Northern Colorado at Colorado  (Pac-12 Network)................. 4:05
Idaho at South Dakota State........................................................ 7:05
North Dakota at North Dakota St. (NBC N. Dakota)............... 7:05
BYU at Weber State  (KJZZ)...................................................... 7:05
Northwest Nazarene at Idaho St................................................. 7:05
 
Sunday, Dec. 14........................................................................... Time
Montana State at Wyoming (ROOT SPORTS RM/NW)........ 12:05
Southern Utah at Boise State ..................................................... 4:35
^Portland at Sacramento State ................................................... 5:05
Eastern Washington at Washington (Pac-12 Network)........... 5:05
Montana at Wisconsin-Milwaukee (ESPN3)............................. 5:05
 
Times local to Site/Subject to Change
 
^On Watch Big Sky
 
   
VANDALS NOTCH HISTORIC WIN: Don Verlin’s 100th victory as head coach at Idaho was memorable. His Vandals notched a 77-71 upset of Washington State of the Pac-12 on Dec. 3 in Pullman. It marked Idaho’s fisrt win in Pullman in 25 years, and the first victory over the Cougars since 2012. Idaho held Washington State to .352 percent shooting from the floor. Mike Scott led the Vandals with 19 points and six rebounds. Senior Connor Hill hit five 3-pointers and finished with 19 points. Bira Seck tallied nine points and 11 rebounds. It was the second win by a Big Sky team over a Pac-12 squad this season. Portland State beat USC on the opening weekend of the season. This marks the first time since the 2011-12 season that the Big Sky has won multiple games against the Pac-12. Big Sky teams won three over the Pac-12 in 2011-12. Idaho returned to the floor on Saturday and picked up another big win - downing previously undefeated UC Davis 79-71 at the Cowan Spectrum. Scott scored 19 points. Hill, who was being honored, hit three 3-pointers and finished with 16 points.
 
EAGLES KEEP ROLLING: Eastern Washington hiked its record to 7-1 with an 87-75 road win over Seattle on Saturday. Junior forward Venky Jois tied his career-high with 38 points. Drew Brandon notched an odd double-double with 11 assists and 12 rebounds. Eastern Washington is 7-1 for the first time since 1977 when the Eagles began a 25-4 NAIA campaign with a 15-1 mark. Eastern’s best start as a NCAA Division I member was in 1985-86 when the Eagles started 5-1 en route to a 20-8 season. The Eagles will be tested over the next 10 days with road games at San Francisco, Washington, Sam Houston State and California. Eastern Washington is 1-12 all-time vs. Washington.
 
GARRITY REACHES 1,000: Sacramento State senior guard Dylan Garrity scored his 1,000th career point in the Hornets’ 72-61 loss at Abilene Christian. Garrity became the 12th player school history to reach the milestone. Garrity is second among Big Sky active players with 1,035 career points. He trails only Northern Colorado’s Tevin Svihovec, who has 1,069 points. Svihovec reached 1,000 points earlier this season. Four other Big Sky players are closing in on 1000 career points. Eastern Washington’s Tyler Harvey needs just seven points to reach the number. Sacramento State’s Mikh McKinney has 950 career points. Eastern Washington’s Venky Jois has 933 points in 67 career games. Idaho State’s Chris Hansen has 926 career points. Garrity is the Big Sky’s active leader in assists with 456. Garrity currently ranks 10th in Big Sky history in assists. Former Nevada great Billy Allen is ninth on the list with 468. Sacramento State’s DaShawn Freeman is eighth with 501.
 
RPI REPORT: The first complete RPI report of the 2014-15 season has been released. The Big Sky is currently ranked 21st among Division I conferences, just behind the Big South. Eastern Washington leads the Big Sky teams with a strong RPI of 54. Montana is second at 89, followed by Idaho at 144 and Portland State at 166.  Green Bay currently has the top RPI among Division I teams. Kentucky is No. 2, followed by Duke, Kansas and Gonzaga.
 
EAGLES MOVE UP: Eastern Washington moved up two spots to No. 16 in this week’s CollegeInsider.Com Mid-Major Top 25. The Eagles earned 289 points, and are just behind Valparaiso.  Gonzaga is back at the No. 1 spot, followed by Wichita State and Northern Iowa. Harvard is fourth.
 
NCAA LEADERS: Idaho’s Mike Scott leads the nation in assist/turnover radio at 12.0. Scott has 36 assists and just three turnovers so far. Eastern Washington’s Venky Jois ranks fifth in the nation in field-goal percentage (.683) and is ninth point points per game (21.9). EWU’s Tyler Harvey is eighth in the nation in 3-point field goals per game (3.88), while Weber State’s Joel Bolomboy is ninth in rebounds per game (10.9)...EWU is fourth in the nation in field-goal percentage, seventh in scoring offense, eighth in blocked shots and 10th in 3-pointers per game...Weber State is seventh in free-throw percentage...Northern Colorado is seventh in turnovers per game at just 9.6.
 
Tip-ins: NAU guard Aaseem Dixon made nine 3-pointers and scored a career-high 31 points in a loss to UTSA. Dixon attempted a single-game school record 19 3-pointers. The nine 3-pointers tied for the sixth-most in a Big Sky game...MSU guard Marcus Colbert scored 20 points with seven rebounds and six assists in a win over Utah Valley...UM guard Jordan Gregory scored 23 points with 12 rebounds and five assists in a double OT loss to Cal. Gregory scored 20 on Sunday in a win over NDSU...Quinton Hooker made the game-winning shot with 14 seconds left and scored 16 points in North Dakota’s 63-62 road win over Drake...Fifteen Thunderbirds scored in SUU’s 92-45 win over Saint Katherine’s.