Northern Colorado Bears men’s basketball team will travel to the Pacific Northwest and California for two important Big Sky Conference road games this week. The Bears are scheduled to play Portland State at Viking Pavilion in Portland, Oregon on Thursday, January 15, with tipoff set for 8 p.m. MST (7 p.m. PST). Coverage will be available on ESPN+ and Pirate Radio. The road trip continues as Northern Colorado faces Sacramento State at The Nest in Sacramento, California on Saturday, January 17, also tipping off at 8 p.m. MST (7 p.m. PST).
Last week, the Bears split their home stand in Big Sky play. They defeated Idaho State 85-72 after leading for more than 39 minutes and making 16 three-pointers during the game. This win marked head coach Steve Smiley’s 100th career victory at Northern Colorado. Zach Bloch led all scorers with 26 points; Brock Wisne added 17 points; Quinn Denker posted his first career double-double with 10 points and 11 assists.
On Saturday, Northern Colorado lost narrowly to Weber State by a score of 76-71 despite overcoming an early deficit and taking a halftime lead after a strong run late in the first half. Brock Wisne and Quinn Denker each scored 17 points while Ring Nyeri contributed with 16 points and eight rebounds.
Currently, Northern Colorado holds a record of one win and three losses in conference play but maintains an overall record of eleven wins and six losses—one of the best records among Big Sky teams this season.
Statistically, the Bears rank among national leaders in several offensive categories: they are first in the Big Sky—and top-60 nationally—in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.51), effective field goal percentage (.574), field goal percentage (49.1%), scoring offense (84.6 points per game), three-pointers per game (10.4), three-point percentage defense (28.7%), rebound margin (+5.8), and free throw percentage (76%).
Individually, Quinn Denker leads the Big Sky Conference—and is twelfth nationally—in assists per game at 6.7 while ranking twenty-third nationally in total assists with one hundred one this season so far; Zach Bloch ranks fifth nationally in three-point shooting accuracy at forty-eight point seven percent; Brock Wisne is fourth in field-goal percentage within the conference at fifty-seven percent and recently reached his five-hundredth career rebound milestone.
The Bears have led at halftime in three out of four conference games so far this year and have shot forty percent or better from beyond the arc during most league contests.
Portland State presents an efficient offensive challenge averaging over eighty-three points per game with high-percentage shooters like Jaylin Henderson and Terri Miller Jr., who both average nearly nineteen points each while contributing across multiple statistical categories including rebounding.
Sacramento State relies on aggressive guard play led by Mikey Williams alongside key contributions from Prophet Johnson and Jeremiah Cherry inside; Jahni Summers provides perimeter spacing by shooting just under fifty percent from deep.
Looking ahead, Northern Colorado will return home to face Montana State on Monday, January 19 as part of its continued Big Sky schedule.
