FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Smiley era starts Wednesday, men’s basketball adds game to schedule
UNC men’s basketball opens the 2020-21 season against Colorado Christian Wednesday and add another to its schedule
By Ryan Pfeifer, UNCBears.com
Game Notes Attached
GREELEY, Colo. – It’s the season of giving and UNC men’s basketball has a pair of presents for it’s fans as the Steve Smiley era of Northern Colorado tips off on Wednesday and have added another game to their schedule! The Bears will host Regis on Friday, November 11 inside Bank of Colorado Arena at 6:30 pm.
Opening Tip
– Northern Colorado Head Coach Steve Smiley makes his debut as the 20th head coach in program history. He spent the past four years with the program as the Associate Head Coach.
– Northern Colorado has been tabbed by the Big Sky media to finish third and coaches fifth this year.
– Junior Bodie Hume is the team’s leading returning scoring after averaging 13.9 points in 2019-20. He enters the 2020-21 season as a member of the Big Sky’s All-Preseason team. He was a second team All-Big Sky selection last year.
– UNC returns three from its starting five in 2020-21 in Bodie Hume, Matt Johnson II and Kur Jockuch. Sam Masten also started half of the team’s games in 2019-20.
– UNC welcomes seven newcomers in 2020-21 and a pair of redshirts.
– The Bears had their best NET and KenPom rating in program history when the 2019-20 season. They ranked 77th in KenPom and 102nd in the NET.
– The December 9th opening game is one of the latest in 60 years for the Bears. UNC is also the last Big Sky team to play their first game this season.
– UNC is 5-0 against Colorado Christian since becoming a Division I member.
– Northern Colorado had its first three games of the season canceled due to COVID-19 Protocols.
Scouting the Cougars
Colorado Christian opened its season over the weekend with a pair of RMAC games at Colorado Mesa and Westminster (UT). The Cougars went 0-2 in the road games.
Outside of Ross Williams and Andy Stafford, who averaged 20.0 and 19.0 points per game, respectively, CCU struggled to score averaging 65.5 points. The duo combined to make 17 three-pointers and the team averages 13.0 makes per game.
Around the Big Sky
As the 2020-21 season gets ready to tip-off, defending regular season champion Eastern Washington enters the season as the favorite to win the league again. A reason for that is the return of Big Sky Preseason MVP selection Jacob Davidson.
What’s Ahead
With the addition of the Regis game UNC will now host a pair of games to open the season before hitting the road next week to face in-state foes Colorado (Dec. 14) and Denver (Dec. 16).
To stay up to date on all things UNC Men’s Basketball, visit UNCBears.com, follow the team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and download the new UNC Athletics app by clicking here.
Ryan Pfeifer
Director of Strategic Communication
O: 970-351-3645 | C: 720-290-8886
#Bears Strong | @Rpfeifer82
