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Co-players of the week: Anthony Davis (Kentucky) and Damian Lillard (Weber State) Andy Katz, ESPN.com http://espn.go.com/ncb/notebook/_/page/notebookweeklywatch1209/week-9 2/6/12 Lillard named to Oscar Robertson Trophy watch list Weber State Athletics http://www.weberstatesports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=8600&ATCLID=205375038 2/6/12 Lou Henson Award Player of the Week Honors for Lillard CollegeInsider.com http://www.collegeinsider.com/henson/weekly.html 2/6/12 Lillard Earns 5th Big Sky POTW This Season Big Sky Conference http://www.bigskyconf.com/news/2012/2/6/MBB_0206125648.aspx 2/4/12 Wildcats Now 13-0 at Home Weber St. 93, N. Colorado 81 Associated Press OGDEN, Utah -- NCAA scoring leader Damian Lillard followed a 40-point outing in his last game with 35 more Saturday, and Weber State never trailed in a 93-81 victory over Northern Colorado. Lillard, who came in averaging 25.1 points per game, hit 12 of 18 shots from the field and 5 of 9 from beyond the arc for the Wildcats (18-4, 11-1 Big Sky), who have not lost at home this season and have a 14-game home winning streak dating to last season. Weber State has now beaten every team in the conference at least once. Scott Bamforth added 18 points and Gelaun Wheelwright and Byron Fulton had 11 and 10, respectively, off the bench for the Wildcats, who converted 16 UNC turnovers into 25 points. Tate Unruh had 17 points to lead five players in double figures for the Bears (7-15, 2-7), who suffered their fifth loss in six games. 2/4/12 Game Notes: UNC at Weber State Weber State Athletics https://www.nmnathletics.com//pdf8/822040.pdf?SPSID=39376&SPID=3470&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=8600 2/4/12 Wildcats looking for last year's magic against Bears Roy Burton, Standard-Examiner http://www.standard.net/authors/roy-burton 2/4/12 Wildcats, Bears have reversed roles in 2012 Randy Hollis, Deseret News http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700221931/Weber-State-basketball-Wildcats-Bears-have-reversed-roles-in-2012.html 2/4/12 Wildcats host Northern Colorado Salt Lake Tribune http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/sports/53440095-77/state-points-wsu-weber.html.csp 2/4/12 Recap of Last Year's Win Against Northern Colorado 2/2/12 12-0 at Home! Weber St. 92, Portland St. 79 Associated Press OGDEN, Utah -- Damian Lillard showed why he's the leading scorer in the country, scoring 40 points as Weber State rebounded from its first conference loss of the season for a 92-79 win over Portland State on Thursday night. Lillard made 13 of 18 shots from the field and was 6 of 8 from beyond the arc for Weber State (17-4, 9-1 Big Sky). Lillard had 17 points at the half and scored 15 out of his team's 19 points in a stretch where the Wildcats built up a 16-point advantage after the break. Scott Bamforth added 16 as Weber State won for the 11th time in 12 games and remained perfect at home, where it has won 12 in a row going back to last season. Charles Odum scored 26 points, Chehales Tapscott had 15 and Gary Winston added 14 for Portland State (10-12, 4-6), which lost its third straight. 2/2/12 Banged-up Wildcats hope to bounce back against Vikings Roy Burton, Standard-Examiner http://www.standard.net/stories/2012/02/01/banged-wildcats-hope-bounce-back-against-vikings 2/2/12 Vikings catch Wildcats on the rebound Randy Hollis, Deseret News http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700221246/Weber-State-basketball-Vikings-catch-Wildcats-on-the-rebound.html 2/2/12 Weber State returns home after stinging loss Martin Renzhofer, Salt Lake Tribune http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/sports/53423073-77/state-weber-4-5-game.html.csp 2/2/12 Wildcats back home for Vikings Thursday WSU Athletics http://www.weberstatesports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=39376&SPID=3470&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=205371720&DB_OEM_ID=8600 1/30/12 Weber State, UT-Arlington snag ESPN3 slot for Bracketbusters matchup Roy Burton, Standard-Examiner http://blogs.standard.net/wsu-sports-blog/2012/01/30/weber-state-bracketbusters/ 1/28/12 Idaho St. 64, Weber St. 62 Associated Press POCATELLO, Idaho -- Kenny McGowen hit a 3-pointer from the right corner as the buzzer sounded to lift Idaho State to a 64-62 victory over Weber State on Saturday night. McGowen's 19 points led the Bengals (7-14, 5-4 Big Sky), who won their third game in a row and fourth in their last five. Andre Hatchett added 12 and Chase Grabau 10. Scott Bamforth led the Wildcats (16-4, 8-1) with 17 points. Damian Lillard scored 15, well below his nation-leading average of 24.8, and Kyle Bullinger added 12. The loss broke Weber State's 10-game winning streak. Idaho State led most of the way and had a 54-47 advantage until the Wildcats used a 9-1 run to go ahead 56-55 on Bullinger's 3-pointer with 5:46 remaining. With Weber State up 62-61, Lillard missed a shot, and Grabau rebounded with 14 seconds left. He then fed McGowen for the game-winner. 1/27/12 Damian Lillard drawing NBA attention By Eamonn Brennan, ESPN College Basketball Nation Blog http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/46263/damian-lillard-drawing-nba-attention 1/27/12 Heading To The Potato Barn! Weber State at Idaho State, Saturday Night Big Sky Scoreboard | Radio | Big Sky TV | Live Stats | Twitter Tomorrow night the Wildcats will head up to Potatoville to challenge the unusually Hot Potatoes who have won 2 in-a-row at home and 3-of-4 overall despite the 6-14 record. If ISU is hot then Weber is red hot. The 'Cats are riding a 10 game win streak and haven't lost since mid December. Weber State has only started the season 8-0 two other times in school history and both of those seasons ended with zero losses in the 'L' column. After beating Sac State for the 10th time straight, Weber now has won ten straight overall for the 11th time in WSU history. WSU has won 11 or more seven times. In 2009-10 the 'Cats won 12 in-a-row and in 2003 they won 17 straight. The school record is 18 back in 1980. The Bengal beatdown WSU fans will be hoping for will be the 112th all-time meeting between the two rival railroad towns. Weber leads the series 71-40, 43-9 at home and 28-31 away from Ogden. The 'Cats have beat the Spuds seven straight and nine of the last ten including five in-a-row in Ogden and three straight in Pocatello. All three of those wins in Pocatello are enough reason to drive up to the game for any fans on the fence. Last year the 'Cats held the Bengals to just 39 points which was the third lowest opponent points total in Weber history. The two prior seasons Weber won both games in overtime with the 2009-10 game going to triple overtime. Randy Rahe is 9-2 against ISU. Rahe's Big Sky record is 73-24, 46-6 at home and 27-18 away from the Dee. On December 16th, Idaho State lost in Salt Lake to Utah, 71-59, giving Utah its first DI win. A few days after the game head coach Joe O'Brien resigned and assistant coach Deane Martin was named the interim head coach and will run the team until the next coach is hired. Since Martin has taken over ISU is 4-6 (0-1 vs WSU); with OB the Bengals were 2-8. Injury Update: Frank Otis suffered an MCL knee injury earlier this week in practice and will be out indefinitely. Otis started the first seven games of the season then dislocated his knee at BYU. He missed the next nine games and recently returned for the two games prior to the Sac game. Now is other knee is injured. James Hajek's January 7th knee injury sustained at PSU will keep him off the hardwood for another three to four weeks. School Records: Damian Lillard scored 21 points at Sac State which moves him past Jermaine Boyette as the third all-time scoring leader in the history of WSU with 1,622 points. He needs just three points to pass Jimmy DeGraffenried for the second all-time scorer. He trails Bruce Collins (2019 points), the school record holder by 398 points. Lillard is 28 three pointers away from passing Johnny Hamilton's 241 three's which is the school record. Lillard continues to lead the nation in scoring with 24.8 ppg. He is fifth in free-throw percentage, 91.2%. He is seventh in 3-point field goals per game at 3.4. He ranks 13th in 3-point field goal percentage at 45.5. Lillard leads the Wildcats in points (24.8), rebounds (5.8), assists (3.7) and steals (1.3). He is the front-runner for his second consecutive Big Sky MVP award with no one in his rear-view mirror. The game time for the Northern Colorado game at Weber State on Feb 4th has been moved from 7 p.m. to 5 p.m. and will be televised on the Altitude. 1/26/12 WSU Wins 10th Straight Weber St. 75, Sacramento St. 60 Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Damian Lillard scored 21 points as Weber State and Sacramento kept streaking in opposite directions Thursday night. The Wildcats (16-3, 8-0 Big Sky) won their 10th straight game, beating Sacramento State 75-60 and sending the Hornets (5-14, 0-8) to their ninth straight defeat. Weber State is off to its best start since going 16-1 to open the 1970-80 season. Lillard, who entered the game as the nation's leader in scoring (25.1 points per game), moved past Jermaine Boyette into third place on the school's career scoring list with 1,622 points and needs three more to pass Jimmy Degraffenried for second all-time. Scott Bamforth added 17 points, Darin Mahoney had 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Kyle Tresnak scored 13 for the Wildcats. John Dickson led Sacramento State with 20 points, Jackson Carbajal added 14 and Dylan Garrity had 10 points and nine assists. 1/26/12 Tonight, Weber State at Sac State Big Sky Scoreboard | Radio | Big Sky TV | Live Stats | Twitter Weber State has won nine straight games including seven at home but its time to hit the road. Next up, Sacramento State Hornets at 8 p.m. Sac State has lost eight straight and haven't won a game since before Christmas. Weber has won nine in-a-row against the Hornets and own the series winning 32 of the total 36 games played. WSU is 18-1 at home and 14-3 in Sacramento. Coach Rahe is 10-1 against Sac which is his best record against a conference opponent. Sac's Brian Katz is in his fourth season as head coach of the Hornets with an overall record of 23-81. He is 0-7 against the Wildcats. Damian Lillard still leads the nation in scoring at 25.1 ppg. He is also the 5th best free-throw shooter in the nation shooting 90.9%. UVU's Holton Hunsaker leads the nation at 94.3% and Scott Bamforth's 89.7% ranks 13th. Lillard ranks 4th in WSU history with 1,601 career points. He needs just 13 points to surpass Jermaine Boyette and 25 points to pass up Jimmy DeGraffenried to become the #2 all-time WSU scorer. Bruce Collins' 2,019 points which date back to 1980 might be safe through 2012. Both Collins and DeGraff played four seasons for the Wildcats. In the preseason Big Sky coaches and media polls the Hornets were picked to finish 8th. This is the first year since 2006-07 that Sac wasn't picked last by the coaches. The Potato Harvesters were picked last in both polls this year. Athlon Sports' preseason basketball magazine picked Sac last and Lindy's picked them 8th. Athlon: The two constants in Sacramento State's constantly changing starting lineup last winter were leading scorer Sultan Toles-Bey and John Dickson, and Toles-Bey was among the Hornets' graduation losses. That means fourth-year coach Brian Katz must turn to Dickson, a 6'6" junior forward who averaged 10.2 points and 4.2 rebounds as a sophomore. Lindy's: The Hornets haven't qualified for the Big Sky Tournament in four years. Make that five - unless they can locate some leadership, shooting and better decision making. They do have a piece to build around in forward John Dickson, an anticipated recruit in Dylan Garrity - maybe a four-year starter at the point - and a potential leader in JC guard Jordan Estrada. Losing center Alpha N'Diaye to academics was a blow, but an opportunity for UC Riverside transfer Konner Veteto. But the Hornets' first winning season in two decades in Division I will remain elusive. Keep An Eye On: Dylan Garrity became the first player at Edison High School in Huntington Beach to have his number retired. Injury Update: James Hajek is expected to still be out another 3-4 weeks due to his kneecap dislocation. 1/21/12 Saturday, Jan 21; Big Sky Games Montana 85, Sacramento State 56 Montana State 84, Northern Colorado 72 Portland State 78, Eastern Washington 76 - OT Idaho State 78, Northern Arizona 62 1/21/12 Under-the-radar point guards Yahoo! Sports' Greg Anthony provides some insight into some point guards who will be key heading toward the NCAA Tournament. http://rivals.yahoo.com/video/college-basketball/Under-the-radar-point-guards-1101776;_ylt=Ameg3EbVSCLcIkgzvmfY3fnevbYF 1/19/12 WSU Wins 9th Straight, 11-0 At Home Weber St. 81, N. Arizona 67 Associated Press OGDEN, Utah -- Kyle Tresnak had 16 of his career-high 22 points at halftime and Weber State stretched its winning streak to nine with an 81-67 victory over Northern Arizona Thursday. Damian Lillard, who entered the game as the top scorer in Division I, added 18 points, six rebounds and six assists for Weber State (15-3, 7-0 Big Sky). Tresnak hit 10 of 14 from the field, Frank Otis contributed 12 points in his second game back from a knee injury and Jordan Richardson had 10 as four Wildcats scored in double figures. Michael Dunn had 13 points, and Gabe Rogers and Ephraim Ekanem each added 12 for Northern Arizona (5-14, 1-6), losers of six straight. Weber State and Northern Arizona each shot 63 percent from the floor in the first half, but the Wildcats led 47-37 at the break. 1/18/12 NAU 'Jacks at Weber State, Thursday Night Big Sky Scoreboard | Radio | Big Sky TV | Live Stats | Twitter Tomorrow night at 7 pm the 6-0 Wildcats will attempt their 9th straight win which would also make the 'Cats 11-0 at home in 2011-12. Weber's 14-3 record is the best start after 17 games in 32 seasons since a 16-1 start in 1979-80. The 1980 team finished with a 26-3 record. The 2002-03 team who went 16-0 in Big Sky was 12-5 at this point. The Lumberjacks of Northern Arizona come to the Dee Events Center on a five game skid, they are just 1-7 on the road and Mike Adras, their head coach of 12 plus years "resigned" on December 9th. Adras had patrolled the NAU sidelines since 1999-00 after spending seven years prior as an assistant for the 'Jacks. In his 12+ years as the head coach he compiled an overall record of 193-170. Adras was the second longest tenured coach in Big Sky history. Only MSU's Mick Durham coached longer (16 years, 1990-2006). His 193 wins rank 4th in Big Sky history. His 99 conference victories rank 3rd in Big Sky history. NAU's interim coach is Dave Brown who has been a long-time NAU employee. NAU will search for a permanent replacement for next season. Brown is a member of the NAU Athletics Hall of Fame and former NAU women's basketball head coach. Prior to Adras, the last coach to leave NAU was current UCLA head coach Ben Howland who left NAU for Pitt in 1999. Howland's last game was a loss in the Dee at the conference championship game which sent WSU to the NCAA Tournament. Howland played basketball at Weber and graduated in 1979. Coach Rahe is 9-3 against the Lumberjacks and Weber State is 67-26 all-time against NAU and 42-6 in Ogden. WSU has won the last six games in the series including three in-a-row in Flagstaff. Rahe's first season in 2007 he beat NAU three times. The next season NAU beat Weber three times, since then (2008), NAU has not had a win against Weber. NAU was picked to be a middle of the pack kind of team in the preseason polls. The Big Sky coaches had them 6th, the media 4th. Athlon Sports and Lindy's both picked the 'Jacks 5th. Lindy's also picked Gabe Rogers to finish as a second team all-BSC player. Athlon: The Lumberjacks suffered some big-time graduation losses, including leading scorer Cameron Jones. But longtime coach Mike Adras has put together an outstanding recruiting class that should complement the play of returning starters Gabe Rogers, a junior guard who scored 13.0 points per game; fellow junior Stallon Saldivar; and Durrell Norman, who is the only senior on the roster. NAU won't wow anyone with its size, but look for the Lumberjacks to remain a factor in the Big Sky. Lindy's: For a fourth-place team, NAU certainly has a near-miss quality a year ago - but now comes the retooling, and without school scoring leader Cameron Jones. The typically good-shooting Lumberjacks should be again - Gabe Rogers is one of the nation's best 3-point marksmen - but the question marks are inside, made worse by the dismissal of forward Josh Lepley. Austin Smith is a capable banger - when he's not in foul trouble - and Max Jacobsen was prolific in JC, if in an underwhelming league. Point guard Stallon Saldivar is a solid playmaker, but could stand to be a bigger offensive threat. Keep An Eye On: Austin Smith, the only returning big man, shot 61 percent from the field and should have an expanded role. NAU bio Established: 1899 Students: 21,352 Location Flagstaff, AZ Colors: Blue, Sage, & Gold Nickname: Lumberjacks 1/17/12 It's a wide-open race for the Wooden Award Andy Katz Blog, ESPN.com http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/blog/_/name/katz_andy/id/7471475/wide-open-race-wooden-award Damian Lillard, 6-3, Jr., G, Weber State Stat line: 25.5 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 3.5 apg Chances: He won't win national POY, but he should be in contention for second-team All-American honors. Lillard is having a stellar season for the Wildcats, who are in first place in the Big Sky. He leads the nation in scoring and his stat line is as good as any in the country. The problem is that Weber has been in obscurity so far this season. Lillard will likely not be seen by the masses until March. 1/17/12 Lillard named to Wooden Award midseason list Weber State Athletics http://www.weberstatesports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=8600&ATCLID=205363425 1/17/12 The Mid-Major Power 15 Myron Medcalf, ESPN.com http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/7469545/middle-tennessee-state-passes-chemistry-test-college-basketball 1/15/12 Hollis Asks Lillard If He Will Forgo Senior Season 5 Questions: Weber State's Damian Lillard Randy Hollis, Deseret News http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700215513/5-questions-Weber-States-Damian-Lillard.html 1/15/12 Weber at full strength a scary proposition Missoulian Blog http://www.grizbasketball.com/?p=272 1/14/12 The 10-0 At Home Wildcats have won 8 Straight Weber St. 80, Montana 64 Associated Press OGDEN, Utah -- Damian Lillard scored 21 points and Weber State extended its winning streak to eight games by outlasting Montana 80-64 Saturday night in a battle of unbeaten Big Sky teams. Scott Bamforth added 15 points for the Wildcats (13-3, 5-0 Big Sky), Kyle Tresnak scored 12 and Darin Mahoney had eight points and nine rebounds. Will Cherry scored 15 points for Montana (11-6, 4-1), which had its six-game win streak snapped. Kareem Jamar added 11 points and Mathias Ward had eight points and 12 rebounds. The Grizzlies cut a 23-point lead to eight on Mike Weisner's 3-pointer with just over 8 minutes to go, but Bamforth answered with a 3 and another pair of baskets to keep Weber State in control of the game and alone atop the league standings. Lillard, the nation's leading scorer, passed Willie Sojourner with his first basket to move into fourth place on Weber State's all-time scoring list. 1/14/12 Da Griz In Ogden, Tonight at 7 Big Sky Scoreboard | Radio | Big Sky TV | Live Stats | Twitter The Montana Griz are in town for what Wildcat fans hope will be Montana's annual loss in Ogden that they have come accustomed to. Weber is 9-0 at home and have won seven straight games. The Griz haven't beat Weber in Ogden in a regular season Big Sky game since 2003-04. Tonight's game is Weber's 113th all-time meeting with Montana. No other school in the nation has played Weber more times than da Griz. The 'Cats are 65-47 overall in the series, 40-14 at home and 25-32 in Missoula. UM's winning percentage of .419 is the best of any 'Sky school against Weber. Randy Rahe is 7-5 against Montana and 44-6 in home league games. In the Big Sky preseason polls Montana was picked to finish second by the coaches and media. Montana also received one out of nine possible first place votes by the coaches. Weber received the other eight and a coach can't vote for his own team. Athlon Sports and Lindy's both picked the Griz to finish in second place. Athlon also had Weber's Lillard, Bamforth and Bullinger and UM's Will Cherry as 1st team players. Lindy's 1st team selections included Lillard, Bamforth and Bullinger from Weber and Cherry and Derek Selvig from Montana. Lindy's picked Cherry to be the defensive player of the year. Lillard vs Cherry will be the most anticipated Big Sky matchup of the year. Arguably the two best guards in the conference and they are both from Oakland and played against each other in high school. Lillard played for Oakland High and graduated in 2008 and Cherry graduated from McClymonds in 2009 which means he was a teammate of Frank Otis (McClymonds 2008). Athlon:Sixth-year head coach Wayne Tinkle, who looked into a job opening at Fresno State during the offseason before deciding to stay at his alma mater, returns 11 players off last year's roster, including junior All-Big Sky point guard Will Cherry, who averaged 14.1 points and a team-best 4.3 assists as a sophomore. The graduaton loss of last year's top scorer and rebounder, Brian Qvale, will hurt, but 7'0" senior center Derek Selvig is back after averaging 10.1 points and 5.2 rebounds. Among Tinkle's other returning players are senior guards Jordan Wood and Shawn Stockton, senior forward Art Steward and sophomore wing Kareem Jamar. Lindy's:Where do the Grizzlies go without the Sky's best big man? Brian Qvale wasn't always dominant, but he was a 6-11 security blanket and his record shot blocking made Montana the league's top defensive team. The focus will now be on Will Cherry, as dynamic a talent as the Sky has, and Derek Selvig, the best-passing 7-footer in the West - though anything but a strongman inside. Mathias Ward and one of the young big men will have to assume that role, and newcomers Jordan Gregory and Kevin Henderson need to provide the consistent 3-point threat the Grizzlies lacked last year. Keep An Eye On: Kareem Jamar closed out his freshman year with a 22-point CBI effort against Duquesne. UM Bio Established: 1893 Location: Missoula, MT Students: 15,642 Nickname: Grizzlies Colors: Maroon & Silver Stadium: Dahlberg Arena (7,500) Injury Update: Bullinger is back! He played ten minutes on Thursday against Montana State after missing nine games due to an elbow dislocation. Frank Otis is listed as questionable for tonight's game and James Hajek will be out 4-6 weeks with a dislocated knee. 1/12/12 7 Straight Wins For The Wildcats! Weber St. 63, Montana St. 49 Associated Press OGDEN, Utah -- Scott Bamforth scored 20 points to maintain his hot start in Big Sky Conference play and Weber State won its seventh straight game with a 63-49 victory over Montana State Thursday. Damian Lillard added 17 points and Byron Fulton contributed 11 points and 13 rebounds off the bench as Weber State (13-3, 5-0 Big Sky) remained perfect in conference play and set up a battle of Big Sky unbeatens at home against Montana on Saturday. Lillard, who entered the game as the nation's leading scorer (26.3 ppg), moved into Weber State's top five career scoring list, passing Jimmie Watts. Jeff Budinich and Michael Dison led Montana State (7-8, 2-2) with 12 and 11 points, respectively, as the Bobcats' two-game winning streak ended. Wildcats senior Kyle Bullinger, an all-Big Sky Conference first-teamer, saw his first action since injuring his elbow Dec. 3. Bullinger played 10 minutes and did not score. 1/12/12 Free Tickets For Public Safety Officials For MSU/UM Public Safety Officials night at Weber State basketball Weber State Athletics Weber State Athletics has partnered with Swire Coca-Cola of Ogden to offer complimentary tickets to all public safety officials and their families to this week's Weber State men's basketball home games. All public safety officials with a valid ID will receive up to four complimentary tickets to Thursday night's game against Montana State and Saturday's night game with Montana. Both games begin at 7:00 p.m. at the Dee Events Center. Present a valid ID at the Ticket Office at the Dee Events Center. Thursday's game is Mascot Night with local area mascots entertaining the fans throughout the game and at halftime. On Saturday the halftime performance will feature Jean's Golden Girls, one of the most popular halftime shows of the season. Plus the first 1,000 fans will receive a Weber State hat, courtesy of Petersen, Inc. 1/11/12 Montana State at Weber State, Thursday Night Big Sky Scoreboard | Radio | Big Sky TV | Live Stats | Twitter Tomorrow night at 7 p.m. begins a 3-game home stand in the friendly confines of the Dee Events Center in Ogden. WSU takes on the Bobcats of Montana State in the 108th all-time meeting between the 2 schools. Only Idaho State and Montana have played Weber more times than the Bobcats or any other school in the nation. Weber's all-time record against Montana State is 72-35 overall, 45-11 in Ogden, and 27-24 at MSU. Randy Rahe is 8-4 against MSU and 69-24 overall in Big Sky games. His home record at Weber is 68-11 and 43-6 against the Big Sky. Preseason Polls In the Big Sky preseason polls Montana State was picked to finish 7th by the coaches and media. To qualify for the Big Sky Tournament a team needs to finish in the top six. The last year MSU did not qualify was in 2003-04. Athlon Sports picked Montana State to take 4th and Lindy's had them 7th. Athlon:The Bobcats lost their top two scorers, Erik Rush and Bobby Howard, from last year's team that failed to live up to some lofty preseason expectations. But sixth-year coach Brad Huse appears to have retooled nicely by adding a trio of junior college transfers, including Southern California Junior College Player of the Year Antonio Biglow, to his backcourt. Biglow averaged 22.4 points per game as a sophomore at Mt. San Antonio (Calif) College and will battle fellow juco transfers Xavier Johnson-Blount and Jamie Stewart for playing time alongside senior point guard Rod Singleton, MSU's leading returning scorer. Lindy's:With just one winning season in five - no real improvement on what he inherited - coach Brad Huse understands the urgency for gains. This team doesn't seem likely to make any, having lost more scoring and rebounding production than any school in the Sky. That leaves major opportunity for three JC scorers - Antonio Biglow, Jamie Stewart and Xavier Johnson-Blount - and big man Mohammed Fall. But just as necessary is a jump from what remains of a big freshman class Huse recruited a year ago, the best of whom, forward Shawn Reid, showed flashes with a couple of 20-point nights. Keep An Eye On: Biglow was the Southern California JC Player of the Year at Mt. SAC, averaging 22.4 points per game. Montana State Bio Established: 1893 Students: 14,153 Location: Bozeman, MT Nickname: Bobcats Colors: Blue & Gold Stadium: Worthington Arena (6,378) 1/11/12 Could Bull & Mook Be Back This Week? Reinforcements coming for Wildcats Roy Burton, Standard-Examiner http://www.standard.net/stories/2012/01/11/reinforcements-coming-wildcats 1/11/12 Jamie Stewart no longer a member of Montana State basketball team Gidal Kaiser, Bozeman Chronicle http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/sports/article_4d6fa352-3bfc-11e1-9dfd-0019bb2963f4.html#.Tw4QF4HAKuk.twitter 1/11/12 Big Sky's Q&A With Darin Mahoney Big Sky Conference http://www.bigskyconf.com/news/2012/1/10/MBB_0110125638.aspx 1/10/12 Weber State's Lillard Is Oscar Robertson National Player Of The Week U.S. Basketball Writers Association http://www.sportswriters.net/usbwa/news/2012/oscar120110.html 1/10/12 Lillard's 4th Big Sky Player Of The Week Of 2011-12 WSU's Lillard Claims POTW http://www.bigskyconf.com/news/2012/1/9/MBB_0109125747.aspx 1/8/12 The Fly Guy & WSU Flying Through The Record Books The season is half over and Weber State is 12-3 and conference is just getting underway and the 'Cats are off to a 4-0 start, their best start since 2002-03. Damian Lillard leads the nation in scoring with 26.3 ppg. Creighton's Doug McDermott is in 2nd averaging 25.2 ppg. Of the top five scorers in the country, all but one attempt more shots per game than the Fly Guy. Lillard is also ranked 13th nationally in free-throw percentage shooting 91%. Scott Bamforth is ranked 24th shooting 89%. As a team WSU is ranked 3rd with just a tenth of a percent seperating WSU from being #1. WSU is ranked #7 in three-point field goal percentage, 42%. Weber's 9.7 3's per game is 2nd best in the nation. Florida is #1 making 11.0 per game. Weber averages 80.1 ppg which is 16th best. In the Weber State record books just about every game Lillard is moving up in some statistical category. Just this past game he scored 38 points which is the 5th most points scored in a single game in WSU history. He already scored 42 points in a game last month which is 2nd best in school history (#11 Big Sky) with the record being 45 points by Stan Mayhew in 1977. Lillard has also scored 36 points twice which is 7th best at WSU. Lillard has the 6th most career points in Weber history at 1,545. He is nine points away from moving past Jimmy Watts (1,553) and 10 more points beyond that would move him past #4 Willie Sojourner's 1,563 points (#22 Big Sky). Jermaine Boyette has 1,613 points (#17 Big Sky) at #3 and Jimmy DeGraffenried's 1,624 points (#15 Big Sky) took 4 years to obtain. The school record is Bruce Collins' 2,019 points (#2 Big Sky) which also took four years. The WSU single season points record is 713 in 1998-99 by Harold Arceneaux (#7 Big Sky). Lillard already has the 8th most points in school history with 617 his sophomore year. Currently, Lillard has 395 points and averages 26.3 ppg. The school record for points average for a season is Stan Rose's 23.2 in 1992-93 (#12 Big Sky). The record for career points average is Harold Arceneaux at 22.6 ppg from 1998-00 (#6 Big Sky). Right now Lillard averages 18.18 ppg which would be #19 in Big Sky history. Before the season started he was averaging 16.2 for his career. Against Sac State Lillard hit two 3's which moved him past Jimmy DeGraffenried's 196 career 3-pointers which was #2 in school history (#13 Big Sky). The WSU record is Johnny Hamilton with 241 (#5 Big Sky). Both Hamilton and DeGraff played four seasons. Lillard could break the Hamilton record this season and Bamforth is also on track to catch it. The single season 3-pointers record is 84 in 2009-10 by Lillard (#11 Big Sky), #2 is Eddie Gill with 83 in 1998-99 and #3 is Bamforth's 78 last season as a soph. At the midpoint in the season right now, Dame has 55 3's and Bam has 42. The 84 could be beat by two players this year. The single game 3's record took place in 1987-88 when Greg Boyd hit nine of them in a game. Second best is eight 3's which Lillard did last night at PSU hitting 8-of-14 from beyond the arc. Lillard had never hit more than six in a game in his three years at WSU. Third best at Weber is seven 3's by Bamforth in 2010-11 and 2011-12. Jordan Richardson also has seven 3's which he hit against Mayville State on Dec 19th. Nick Hansen, class of 2010, also had a night of seven from downtown. This year's team broke the school record for single game 3's hitting 18 treys against Mayville State. Richardson had 7, Lillard 4, Mike Brown and Bamforth each had 3 and Gelaun Wheelwright hit one. The previous school record was 17 which the team hit against Northern New Mexico in November. Prior to that the record was 15 in 2009 which took 15 years to beat 14 threes. Don't miss any action at the Dee this year. We have just seven home games left including the ESPNU BracketBusters game on Feb 18th. Rahe has the two best 3-point shooters in WSU history on the same squad! WSU starts a three game home stand on Jan 12th against Montana State. Weber is 8-0 at home this season. Also, all Big Sky games can be seen online free at BigSkyTV.org. 1/8/12 Injury Update Kyle Bullinger should be back in about a week and Frank Otis could still be out another two weeks. James Hajek dislocated his kneecap at Portland State and should be out at least a few weeks. 1/7/12 6 Straight Wins For The Wildcats! Weber St. 88, Portland St. 81 Associated Press PORTLAND, Ore. -- Damian Lillard scored 38 points to lead Weber State to an 88-81 victory over Portland State on Saturday night. Lillard, the nation's leading scorer, hit 8-of-14 from the 3-point line for the Wildcats (12-3, 4-0 Big Sky). Teammate Scott Bamforth added 21 points. Chehales Tapscott led Portland State (7-9, 1-3) with 26 points and Nate Lozeau had 13 points. Weber State battled back from a 15-point first half deficit and tied the score at 71 after Lillard hit his eighth 3-pointer of the night with 8:27 left to play. The Wildcats went up 78-75 on a runner by Jordan Richardson with 4:35 remaining, then closed out the Vikings by holding them to just one field goal in the final four minutes. Weber State shot 53 percent from the field and Portland State shot 50 percent. 1/7/12 Weber State at Portland State, Tonight Big Sky Scoreboard | Radio | Big Sky TV | Live Stats | Twitter Tonight at 8 p.m. in Portland, Oregon, Weber State will take on the Portland State Vikings at the Stott Center. Weber State is 3-0 in league play and 1-0 on the road after having won at EWU on Thursday. The last time Weber made the Northwest sweep was in 2008-09. Weber has lost its last two in Portland but has a 9-10 record at PSU. Coach Rahe is 25-18 away from the Dee in Big Sky games. Last season during Lillard's medical redshirt, WSU went 4-4 on the road. With Lillard playing, Weber is 14-3 in Big Sky away games. WSU is 27-11 all-time against PSU, 18-1 in Ogden and 9-10 in Portland. PSU head coach Tyler Geving is in his third season at the helm after Ken Bone left for Washington State. Geving was a Bone assistant at PSU for four seasons prior and Geving is 2-3 against Weber and 34-43 overall as a head coach. Preseason Polls The Big Sky preseason polls had PSU tabbed as the 5th place finisher and Athlon Sports picked PSU 3rd and Lindy's had the Viks at 6th. PSU's APR issues appear to be gone as they are eligible this season for the Big Sky tournament unlike last season. Athlon: After being ruled ineligible for postseason play because of APR deficiencies, the Vikings are back in contention for the Big Sky title thanks to the solid foundation that has been poured by third-year coach Tyler Geving. The Vikings return three starters, including senior guard and second-team All-BSC pick Charles Odum, who averaged 14.0 points and 2.8 assists last winter to lead his team in both categories. Also back is senior forward Chehales Tapscott, who averaged 11.8 points and a team-high 8.1 rebounds as a junior. In addition, Geving added a couple of early impact junior college transfers in Michael Harvey, an athletic 6'5" wing who can get to the foul line, and Lateef McMullan, a 5'11" point guard and splended decision-maker. Lindy's: Welcome to Second Chance U. No fewer than 10 Vikings started their careers at JC or other four-year schools, and only four are holdovers, so coach Tyler Geving had better be an able chemist. At least PSU has a postseason carrot now that it's out of APR jail. Guard Chris Harriel's transfer is a big loss, but holdovers Charles Odum and Chehales Tapscott will try to be the glue for a glut of newcomers - notable among them Washington State sharpshooter Mike Harthun and Gary Winston. But aside from Tapscott, the Vikings were helpless on the glass last year. PSU Bio Established: 1946 Undergraduates: 27,972 Location: Portland, OR Colors: Forest Green & White Home Court: Stott Center, capacity 1,500 Injury Update: Bullinger and Otis are both expected to be out at least another week and James Hajek suffered no injury at EWU when he took a poke to the eye. 1/7/12 Vikings Prepare For Nation's Top Scorer, Big Sky's Best Team Portland State Athletics http://goviks.com/news/2012/1/6/MBB_0106123435.aspx 1/5/12 Weber State A Cinderella? CBSSports.com Midseason Awards and Predictions http://www.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/26283066/34202786 1/5/12 WSU Gets 4th Straight Win @ EWU Weber St. 76, E. Washington 69 Associated Press CHENEY, Wash. -- Damian Lillard scored 12 of his game-high 30 points in the final 7:34, carrying Weber State to a 76-69 victory over Eastern Washington on Thursday night. Scott Bamforth added 19 points for the Wildcats (11-3, 3-0 Big Sky). Cliff Ederaine scored 20 points and Cliff Colimon had 18 for the Eagles (7-8, 1-2). After a Jeffrey Forbes basket pulled Eastern Washington within 60-58 with 6:30 left, Weber State answered with four quick points, including a 3-pointer by Lillard -- the NCAA Division I scoring leader at 25.2 points per game -- that pushed the Wildcats' lead back to six. Eastern Washington never got closer than five the rest of the way. Behind Lillard, who made his first five shots, Weber State raced to a 27-10 lead midway through the first half. Eastern Washington rallied for a 39-38 advantage on Laron Griffin's three-point play with 17:45 left in the game. 1/4/12 Weber State at Eastern Washington, Thursday Night Big Sky Scoreboard | Radio | Big Sky TV | Live Stats | Twitter At 7 p.m. in Cheney, WA, WSU will take on the Eagles of Eastern Washington Thursday night. The game will be the 60th all-time meeting between the two conference foes. Weber is 39-20 against EWU, 26-4 in Ogden, 13-16 in Cheney. WSU has won three straight at EWU. The last time the 'Cats lost at EWU was on Feb 14, 2008. Randy Rahe is 8-3 against EWU. Rahe's Big Sky record is 67-24, 43-6 at home and 24-18 on the road. This year's EWU team finished 6-6 in the OOC which included wins over Hawaii, Idaho and UC Davis. The Eags went 3-7 on the road in 10 games so far this season which includes two conference games. They went to the Montanas and split; they beat the Bobs 82-66 and lost to the Griz 79-71. EWU has only played four home games but they are 4-0. Preseason Polls The Big Sky preseason coaches poll had EWU picked to finish third and the media had EWU at sixth. Athlon Sports picked picked the Eagles 7th and Lindy's had them 4th. Clearly no one has a clue what to expect from EWU going into the season with first year head coach Jim Hayford. EWU hired Hayford last spring after firing Kirk Earlywine (former Weber assistant, 2000-06). Hayford spent the previous ten seasons as head coach at DIII Whitworth in Spokane where he compiled a 217-57 career record. He also spent two years as head coach at Sioux Falls. Former NBA player Craig Ehlo is in his first season as an assistant coach for Eastern. Athlon Sports: First-year coach Jim Hayford got an early punch to the stomach when last year's leading scorer Glen Dean decided to transfer. The Eagles still have a trio of tested and talented guards in senior Cliff Colimon and juniors Jeffrey Forbes and Kevin Winford, who combined to average just over 30 points per game last winter. Hayford needs help inside, where a pair of athletic but undersized seniors, Cliff Ederaine and Tremayne Johnson, will man the low blocks. Lindy's: Time ran out on coach Kirk Earlywine despite the Eagles reaching the Big Sky Tournament for the first time under his watch. Eastern Washington has turned to Jim Hayford, a Division III success at Whitworth. He inherits a mostly full cupboard - all-league guard Glen Dean transferred to Utah, but 81 percent of the scoring returns, though more is needed up front from Tremayne Johnson, who rarely cracked the starting lineup in his first year. JC transfer Collin Chiverton, originally a Saint Mary's signee, will be in the Newcomer of the Year picture, and redshirt Willie Hankins could snag minutes on the undersized back line. Keep an eye on: Transfer Jordan Hickert, a 6-9 Australian whose father played at Kansas State, was a 43 percent 3-point shooter in JC. EWU Bio Established: 1882 Students: 10,750 Location: Cheney, WA Colors: Red & White Home Court: Reese Court, capacity 6,000 Injury Update: Bullinger and Otis are still expected to be out for another one to two weeks. 1/4/12 Basketball Hall of Fame Announces 20 Finalists for 2012 Bob Cousy Award CousyAward.com http://www.cousyaward.com/docs/2012CousyAward-Final20.pdf 1/4/12 Lillard named a finalist for Bob Cousy Award Weber State Athletics http://www.weberstatesports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=8600&ATCLID=205356247#.TwTV8ovVx-I.twitter 1/4/12 Eastern Hosts League Favorite & NCAA Leading Scorer on Thursday Eastern Washington Athletics http://goeags.com/sports/m-baskbl/2011-12/Releases/12mbJan1WeberState 12/31/11 WSU Beats Sac To Improve To 8-0 At Home Weber St. 74, Sacramento St. 63 Associated Press OGDEN, Utah -- Damian Lillard led the way with 22 points as Weber State won its fourth consecutive game and ninth in a row over Sacramento State 74-63 on Saturday. Scott Bamforth added 19 points and Kyle Tresnak had 18 points for the Wildcats (10-3, 2-0 Big Sky), who outscored the Hornets 32-14 in the paint despite being outrebounded 37-29. John Dickson scored 20 points, Joe Eberhard had 15 points and seven rebounds and Heath Hoffman added 12 points and seven rebounds for Sacramento State (5-8, 0-2 Big Sky), which dropped its third straight game. Lillard, who entered the game as the top scorer in the country at 25.4 points per game, had his streak of made free throws snapped at 23 but hit 10 of 11 from the line and had nine rebounds. The Wildcats are 18-1 all-time against the Hornets in games played in Ogden and lead the series 32-4. 12/30/11 New Year's Eve 2 PM Game vs Sacramento State Big Sky Scoreboard | Radio | Big Sky TV | Live Stats | Twitter At 2 pm on New Year's Eve Weber State will host the Hornets of Sacramento State. Weber is coming off of a 78-64 win over Idaho State and are 1-0 in league play. The victory over ISU was win number 900 all-time in WSU history. The 9-3 'Cats are 7-0 at home while Sac is 1-5 on the road. WSU has won three straight games and Sac last lost 2 in-a-row. Weber has won eight straight and 10 of the last 11 against the Hornets. Weber dominates Sac with a 31-4 record, 17-1 in Ogden and 14-3 in Sacramento. Coach Rahe is 9-1 against Sac which is his best record against a conference opponent. Sac's Brian Katz is in his fourth season as head coach of the Hornets with an overall record of 23-75. He is 0-6 against the Wildcats. Damian Lillard continues to lead the nation in scoring at 25.4 ppg. He is also the 22nd best free-throw shooter in the nation shooting 90.1% and has made his last 20 attempts. Lillard scored 26 against ISU which was his ninth time in 12 games this year to score 20 or more points. Lillard surpassed Al Hamilton and moved into sixth place on the Weber State career scoring list now with 1,455 career points. He needs just three three-pointers to pass up Jimmy Degraffenried's 196 career three's (13th in Big Sky history) which is second best in WSU history. The school record is Johnny Hamilton's 241 three's. Scott Bamforth had 21 points in the Potato victory, the second time this season he has scored 20 or more points in a game. Bamforth's three three's against the Bengals was his sixth time in 12 games to knock in at least three treys from downtown. Bamforth was also 6-6 from the free-throw line Thursday and now leads the Big Sky and is 20th in the nation in free-throw percentage at 90.4 percent. Weber State is the second best free-throw shooting team in the nation shooting (213-265) 80.4%. In the past seven games the 'Cats are shooting 87%. Lord Byron "Lord of the Rims" Fulton scored a season-high 15 points in Thursday?s "dub". Fulton was 5-6 from the field, including a perfect 3-3 from three-point land, just two off his career-high. On the season Fulton is averaging 7.0 ppg and 4.8 rpg but is averaging 9.2 points and 5.8 rebounds in the last five games. He has scored in double figures in three of the last five games. Hornet Bio Established: 1947 Students: 29,241 Location: Sacramento, CA Colors: Green & Gold Home Court: Hornets Nest, capacity 1,200 12/30/11 Rahe expects better effort from Wildcats against Hornets By Jim Burton, Standard-Examiner http://www.standard.net/stories/2011/12/30/rahe-expects-better-effort-wildcats-against-hornets 12/30/11 Wildcats unsatisfied in win over Idaho State By Randy Hollis, Deseret News http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700211119/Weber-State-basketball-Wildcats-unsatisfied-in-win-over-Idaho-State.html 12/30/11 Wildcats 'loose' in home victory By Jim Burton, Standard-Examiner http://www.standard.net/stories/2011/12/29/wildcats-loose-home-victory 12/30/11 Weber State opens Big Sky Conference season with 78-64 win over Idaho State By Martin Renzhofer, Salt Lake Tribune http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/sports/53203230-77/state-weber-season-wsu.html.csp 12/30/11 900th Win In Weber State History! Weber St. 78, Idaho St. 64 OGDEN, Utah -- Damian Lillard scored 26 points and Scott Bamforth added 21 as Weber State beat Idaho State 78-64 Thursday night to kick off Big Sky Conference play. Weber State (10-2, 1-0) led by as many as 20 points in the first half, but Idaho State (2-10, 0-1) rallied with a full-court press and cut the led to 61-49 with 10:59 remaining. Idaho State's Chase Grabau scored a game-high 31 points, 26 of his points coming in the second half. No other Bengal reached double figures. Both teams were cold shooting the ball at the start of the game, combining to go 2 for 12 over the first 3:05. The Bengals owned a brief 11-9 lead at the 12:48 mark, but Lillard responded with a basket to start a 9-2 run and the Wildcats never trailed again. Idaho State dropped its fifth game in a row and seventh in eight games. 12/28/11 It's Potatoes Eve! Idaho State at Weber State, Thursday Night Big Sky Scoreboard | Radio | Big Sky TV | Live Stats | Twitter It isn't quite January yet but Big Sky play is here anyway. Weber State hosts Idaho State Thursday night at 7 p.m. at the Dee Events Center. WSU is 29-29 in Big Sky openers, 22-6 when BSC openers are at home. WSU & ISU haven't met in a home opener since 1993. Weber State is off to its best start in 12 years with a non-conference record of 8-3. The 1999-00 team also started out 8-3 and the 2002-03 team who finished 16-0 started out 10-5 in OOC (out of conference) games. This year's squad still has one more OOC game with the BracketBusters game coming in late February. WSU's 6-0 record in the Dee is the best home start in nine years. The 2003 team finished the season 13-0 at home. Including last season the 'Cats have actually won seven straight in the Dee and 14 of their last 15. With 15 home games on the schedule this year, breaking the 2003 record is possible. Tomorrow night will be the 111th all-time meeting between the two rival railroad towns. Weber leads the series 70-40 and have a 42-9 record at home against the Bengals. The 110 games is the 2nd longest series in WSU history just three short of the number of times the 'Cats have faced the Griz. The 'Cats have beat the Bengals six straight and eight of the last nine including four in-a-row in Ogden. Randy Rahe is 8-2 against ISU. Rahe's Big Sky record is 65-24, 41-6 at home and 65-11 in all home games. This year's Idaho State team went 2-9 in OOC games with wins over Colorado Christian and North Dakota. UND was its only Division I win. On December 16th, Idaho State lost in Salt Lake to Utah, 71-59, giving Utah its first DI win. A few days after the game head coach Joe O'Brien resigned and interim head coach Deane Martin has takin over. O'Brien patrolled the Bengal sideline for nearly six seasons and compiled an overall record of 56-105 and 33-46 in Big Sky play. Martin was a first year assistant in Pocatello. Prior to ISU, Martin was an assistant coach at UNLV, Tennessee-Martin, St. Louis and in the NBA D-League. This has been a strange year in the Big Sky and there hasn't even been a single 'Sky game played. Two of the nine head coaches have resigned. NAU's Mike Adras a few weeks ago resigned after 12+ years with the Lumberjacks. Preseason Polls The Big Sky preseason coaches/media polls both had ISU 9th; the last two seasons the Bengals finished in 8th. Athlon Sports picked picked ISU 8th and Lindy's had them 9th. Athlon Sports: The Bengals lost last year's top two scorers, Broderick Gilchrist and Deividas Busma, to graduation. That leaves senior guard Kenny McGowen (9.3 ppg) as sixth-year coach Joe O'Brien's leading returning scorer. Optimism arrives with transfer Melvin Morgan, who averaged 15.9 points and 3.4 assists at Itawamb (Miss.) Community College last winter Lindy's: The Big Sky's worst shooting team (39.5 percent in league play, and just 28 percent on 3-pointers) will get an infusion from the JC ranks in Aussie Dejan Kostur and Melvin Morgan, called by coach Joe O'Brien "the best true point guard we've recruited." But the Bengals lost their only two reliable scorers and unless the group of undistinguished holdovers - led by seniors Chase Grabau and Kenny McGowen - take a jump, the clock could be ticking on the O'Brien era. Getting Sherrod Baldwin back after an injury redshirt year may help. Keep an eye on: It will be hard to miss 7-4 Jakub Kusmieruk, a Central Florida transfer and a project in the post. Bengal Bio Established: 1901 Students: 15,553 Location: Pocatello, ID Colors: Black & Orange Home Court: Holt Arena, capacity 8,000 Mascot: Benny the Bengal Injury Update: Bullinger and Otis are still expected to be out for another two to three weeks. The game time for Saturday's new year's eve game against Sacramento State has been changed from 4 p.m. to 2 p.m. 12/27/11 After Destroying Utah, Weber Wins The Old Oquirrh Bucket! For the first time since 1999-00, Weber State has been crowned the in-state champion of Division I basketball in the state of Utah. Even though it was announced on November 15, 2010, that the Oquirrh Bucket would be retired, Weber can still claim in-state supremacy for the 2011-12 season. Weber beat Utah, Utah State, SUU and lost to BYU to finish with a 3-1 record. This year was the first time the Wildcats beat both Utah and USU in the same season since 2000. WSU and USU tied with at 3-1, but Weber wins the tie breaker since the 'Cats beat the Aggies 73-63. BYU may have beaten WSU, but their loss to USU, and the fact that they only played 3 games, ensures a 3rd place finish because of a lower winning percentage. Utah, UVU and SUU combined for zero wins and five losses. 1. Weber State, 3-1 2. Utah State, 3-1 3. Brigham Young, 2-1 4. Utah Valley, 0-1 5. Southern Utah, 0-2 5. Utah, 0-2 The Old Oquirrh Bucket (1974-2010), though now retired, was once the symbol of in-state basketball supremacy for the state of Utah. Each year, the trophy was awarded to the team that had the best win-loss record against the other in-state competition. The trophy was named after the Oquirrh Mountains to the west of Salt Lake City. Originally, the trophy was started in 1974. Yet, at that time, there wasn't an actual trophy that could be awarded to the winner. Not until 1977, that is, when Weber State won the bucket for the first time. A creative Weber State fan fashioned a trophy out of an old pioneer bucket by attaching a plaque, which showed a map of the state of Utah, with the names of the four original schools involved in the competition- BYU, Utah, Utah State & Weber State College (since SUU and UVU have been included)- Weber didn't become a university until 1991. With their win over the Utes, this year would have been WSU's 5th bucket after winning it in 1977, 1986, 1993 and 2000. Last year, the Standard-Examiner printed this article about how the Utah schools decided to retire the trophy. The article states that the trophy was retired due to recent changes in conference affiliation among schools in the state of Utah, and the now differing schedules between those in-state schools. Unofficially, it has been said that the blame belongs to the Utes with their move to the Pac-12, and their wanting to play less in-state games. Utah announced on October 7, 2010, that they would discontinue the home-and-home series with Weber State, and that any future games, with USU, have yet to be determined. Utah did not play the Aggies this year, a streak dating back to the 1944-45 season, and they also might not play BYU next year, which would end one of the longest and, most heated, rivalries in the United States. Utah was Weber's 6th oldest rivalry which dates back to the 1973 season. In all reality, Utah would be WSU's fifth oldest rivalry, since the 'Cats have played UM and ISU since 1963, MSU since 1964, NAU since 1970 and USU since 1971. In that first game, Weber won, in Salt Lake, 81-70. After Weber's surprise victory, the two didn't play again until 1976. The rivalry was then played every year except for 1993, when Rick Majerus refused to play in Ogden, but then resumed from 1994 until 2011-12, after an agreement was worked out. After two straight losses at the Dee Events Center, it might be a valid reason why Utah may be too afraid to come back. Sadly, last Thursday's game might be the last one ever played in Ogden, at least, for the foreseeable future, and it is unknown when the next game in Salt Lake will be played 12/27/11 Lillard again named Big Sky player of the week Standard-Examiner http://www.standard.net/stories/2011/12/26/lillard-again-named-big-sky-player-week 12/26/11 Weber State's Lillard doesn't shy away from leadership role By Roy Burton, Standard-Examiner http://www.standard.net/stories/2011/12/25/weber-states-lillard-doesnt-shy-away-leadership-role 12/26/11 Weber State's Rahe now voting in coaches' Top 25 poll By Roy Burton, Standard-Examiner http://blogs.standard.net/wsu-sports-blog/2011/12/18/rahe-coaches-top25-poll/ 12/23/11 Weber State stomps Utah at the Dee By Roy Burton, Standard-Examiner http://www.standard.net/stories/2011/12/22/weber-state-stomps-utah-dee 12/23/11 Good start doesn't lead to win for Utes By Dirk Facer, Deseret News http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705396305/Utah-Utes-basketball-Good-start-doesnt-lead-to-win-for-Utes.html 12/23/11 Wildcats send Utes home in style By Randy Hollis, Deseret News http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700209488/Utah-Utes-Weber-State-basketball-Wildcats-send-Utes-home-in-style.html 12/23/11 Weber State crushes Utah 80-51 By Martin Renzhofer, Salt Lake Tribune http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/sports/53172752-77/utah-weber-wildcats-lillard.html.csp 12/23/11 Utes Lose Their Last 2 In Ogden And Won't Come Back Weber St. 80, Utah 51 Associated Press OGDEN, Utah -- Damian Lillard scored 22 points Thursday night as Weber State defeated Utah 80-51 -- the Wildcats' largest margin of victory ever in this intrastate series. Scott Bamforth, Kyle Tresnak and James Hajek added 10 points each for the Wildcats (8-3), who also held Utah to its fewest points in a game in the rivalry series. The Utes (3-9) had won nine of the previous 10 meetings between the schools. Lillard, who entered the game leading the nation with 25.7 points per game, topped 20 points for the eighth time in 11 games. Dijon Farr led Utah with 14 points and Josh Watkins added 10. Weber State shot 54 percent from the field and outrebounded Utah 32-21 while holding the Utes to just 3 of 15 shooting from 3-point range. 12/19/11 The Last Utah Game In Ogden, Thursday Night At 7 Big Sky Scoreboard | Radio | TV: Altitude | Big Sky TV | Live Stats | Twitter The 2011-12 season marks Utah's 104th season of men's basketball and Weber's 50th. Tomorrow night's game will be the 40th meeting between the two schools dating back to 1973. The game will also be the last trip the Utes will take to Ogden according the University of Utah which already stopped playing Utah State this year. Utah only has two in-state games this year, BYU (once) and Weber. It hasn't been announced if the rivarly will continue next year, the 40th year. Coach Rahe has mentioned in the media that WSU would likely play in Salt Lake and keep the rivalry going. It is just a short bus ride and playing a Pac 12 is considered a money game. Coach Rahe was an assistant for the Utes under Ray Giacoletti from 2004-2006. Rahe is 1-4 vs Utah as a head coach. Utah's former coach Jim Boylen is 3-1 against Weber State and first year head coach Larry Krystkowiak is 3-2 against Weber State but all five games were when he was Montana's coach (2004-05,2005-06). Weber State is 13-26 all-time against Utah and 10-8 at home. Weber will attempt its second win in-a-row against the Utes at home after winning two year's ago 83-76. WSU's last win in Salt Lake was a 79-77 victory in 2000-01. Last year's game in Salt Lake was an ugly event, the 90-75 loss saw a combined 55 fouls called, 32 on Weber, and the 3 hour+ game seemed to never end. The nightmare in Salt Lake officiated by Ruben Ramos, Michael Borgelt and Jimmy Casas, had a combined 36 turnovers and just 17 assists, Utah actually had more free throw attempts (45) than field goal tries (42). Utah scored 40 of its 90 points from the charity stripe. The pleasant aromas of familiar home cooking the Utes are used to will not be meandering throughout the Dee Events Center Thursday night. This year's Utes are 3-8 overall and are on track to be one of the wost Utah teams in history. They only have three wins but they bring a two game win streak to Ogden. Has Utah turned the corner? Utah beat Idaho State and Portland this past week and ISU's coach resigned after the Utah loss. ISU and Portland combine for three DI wins and 17 losses. Utah's other win was over non-DI San Diego Christian, 58-55. Their eight losses were to Boise State (80-59), Montana State (70-64), Harvard (75-47), UMass (89-75), UNC Asheville (87-65), Fresno State (82-52), CS Fullerton (81-50), and BYU (61-42). Utah has played 11 games so far but only two were road games. They are 0-5 away from the Huntsman Center including an 0-2 road record and 0-3 in neutrals. Utah Bio Established: 1850 Undergraduates: 23,371 Postgraduates: 7,448 Colors: Red & White Conference: Pac 12 10 highest winning % in NCAA Div I history 1998 NCAA champion runner-up 1944 NCAA National Champion Krystkowiak Bio From Missoula, MT, played for the Griz from 1982-86 and is the only player in Big Sky history to be named Big Sky MVP three times. He might even be the only person to play on an opposing team and lead two different opposing colleges all in the Dee. It's possible he even played in the Dee in a Utah Jazz preseason game when he played for the Jazz from 1992-1993. His 2,017 career points are the third most in BSC history. He was drafted by the Bulls in the 2nd round and throughout his career he played for the Spurs, Bucks, Jazz, Magic, Bulls and Lakers. He coached the Griz for 2 seasons, '05 and '06, then left for the Milwaukee Bucks where he was an assistant for one year then head coach the next season. Then took a couple years off before joining the Nets as an assistant for one year before going to Utah last April. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
