Northern Colorado Up Next

[AlumniWSU]

The road ahead is to Greely...are the Wildcats ready to claw the Bears?? Should be a telltale game at this point in the season, the pressure is probably on UNC more so, being at home. Bears clawed SUU by 36 at home. Thursday's game is on Altitude TV for those who didn't know. GO WILDCATS!

 

[oldrunner]

Northern Colorado seems to have gotten better by subtraction. I wondered what was happening when I saw players leaving that program. Now, it looks like they were just removing a little cancer and have survived the operation just fine. Sort of like what happened at NAU and at our place a few years back with Sessions. One or two bad apples can ruin a program. Better to get rid of them, no matter what their talents may be. :wall:

 

[n.ogdencat]

Big early season road trip. I don't really see UND being much of a threat but they have the talent and experience to burn anyone at any moment. The problem for UND is that they don't have any significant size to counter Weber's bigs. Jaron Nash is their best big. Our bigs should have a field day on Saturday. As for UNCO. Well, I think The cubbies are playing the best right now. They share the ball well and their defense is vastly improved. They have some good shooters and talent who can spread the floor. The cubbies have legitimate weapons inside and out.

How well do the Cats match up with the cubbies? They do extremely well. Fact, Weber is far faster, talented, and defensively minded than the cubbies. But the game is on the road. That might be the best advantage for UNCO.

 

[SWWeatherCat]

Thanks, AlumWSU, for the Altitude heads-up.

Weber has a home-heavy schedule through the first eight so this could be a very important road trip to stay in the top of the standings as they continue to 'gel' as a team. They came out fine @UCLA so I hope mentally they're ready to go Thursday & Saturday. I think if Rahe has them focused defensively and they stick to their offensive game plan, they'll find success with their shot.

"The problem for UND is that they don't have any significant size to counter Weber's bigs." I personally don't think our bigs have it figured out yet and that is our number one weakness right now-- offensively, that is. Rebounding is coming around and I think Tres & Hill are holding their own defensively, while Joel is struggling somewhat. We've seen a handful of games this season where Weber's bigs seemingly had advantages with size and/or experience and ability but were less than impressive. The back-court is going to be fine, I hope the front-court will be too.

 

[bigskybears]

Northern Colorado seems to have gotten better by subtraction. I wondered what was happening when I saw players leaving that program. Now, it looks like they were just removing a little cancer and have survived the operation just fine. Sort of like what happened at NAU and at our place a few years back with Sessions. One or two bad apples can ruin a program. Better to get rid of them, no matter what their talents may be. :wall:

Pretty much. We have a big improvement at guard position. Tevin Svihovic is back at his natural position (SG). We got rid of a couple of guys who proved not to be D1 talent. I haven't seen you guys play this year, so I'm not going to make a prediction for Thursdays game. I do think it will be close.

 

[Webergrad02]

Coach Rahe said in the post game that Northern Colorado (the new Gonzaga) was the best team in the conference right now. I agree, it is going to be a tough game. Their scoring was so balanced the last game. I am more confident in our chances than I was a week ago. We need to work it inside first and use our size advantage. We need Berry and JRich to keep draining shots from the outside. It is a winnable game but we will need a complete effort.

 

[hawkssb04]

Big early season road trip. I don't really see UND being much of a threat but they have the talent and experience to burn anyone at any moment. The problem for UND is that they don't have any significant size to counter Weber's bigs. Jaron Nash is their best big. Our bigs should have a field day on Saturday. As for UNCO. Well, I think The cubbies are playing the best right now. They share the ball well and their defense is vastly improved. They have some good shooters and talent who can spread the floor. The cubbies have legitimate weapons inside and out.

How well do the Cats match up with the cubbies? They do extremely well. Fact, Weber is far faster, talented, and defensively minded than the cubbies. But the game is on the road. That might be the best advantage for UNCO.

Yeah, but winning in Greeley is never easy.

 

[SWWeatherCat]

... We need to work it inside first and use our size advantage. We need Berry and JRich to keep draining shots from the outside. It is a winnable game but we will need a complete effort.

Agree, but I think our defensive effort and mental toughness will be the key. They-- no doubt-- will need more of an inside presence and zone-busting three's but I think the offense will come more easily and naturally if their focus is on tough-nosed defense.

 

[maddawg89]

I talked to James after the game Saturday and he said he is playing this week. Lets hope he is cleared and able to play and not just saying he is playing because he wants to so bad!

 

[oldrunner]

James started full practices today. If he plays or not depends on how he does in practice. I would expect that they will bring him in slow. He will be much more important 3 or 4 weeks from now. He will help a lot in foul trouble situations and for defense and rebounding. I've said it before, he really is one of the leaders on the team and will have a calming influence when in the game. Oh, and he can set a he!! of a pick. :thumb: :thumb:

 

[Webergrad02]

Vegas has Northern Colorado as 1.5 point favorites. I personally thought they would be favored by 4 or 5 points. I think that this is a winnable game for us. We need a good start and a solid defensive effort for 40 minutes. Hopefully the Weber basket is towards the bench in the first half and Senglin won't have to turn all of the way around to get the play.

 

[wildkyle]

I think it will be a good game. I think it is winnable but I think home court advantage will give the bears the win.

 

[oldrunner]

Home court advantage is generally thought to be worth 10 points. Vegas must be thinking that we are 8.5 points better than the bears. I take that as a compliment. By the end of the season, we probably will be much better. However, we have just started the process of getting into any sort of a rhythm. I expect a hard fought game. For us to win it needs to be a dog fight. I have been impressed by our freshmen seeming to get tougher every game.

What can I say.... I'm a homer. :clap: :clap: :clap:

WSU 71 - UNCO 69

Weber State, Weber State, GREAT, GREAT, GREAT.

 

[wazzuwildcat03]

Northern Colorado is playing the best right now in the conference. I have thought the last 2 years that they have been one of the more talented teams in the conference, but have not put it together for whatever reason. Last year we just killed them in both games we played. Looking at the matchups I think we have the advantage. Their strengths are our strengths. If the game was in Ogden I think we win by about 10, but on the road will be tough. One thing going for us is they have no fan support. There must be more fun things to do in Greely than watch a good UNC team, because they only average about 1000 per game. That's really sad considering they have a good team. So there wont be that crowd factor. Their best 3 players are Barden, Unruh and probably Huskisson. Svihovic is very solid too and has been coming off the bench. I like the Bolomboy/Barden matchup. As good as Barden is he has about a 4 inch disadvantage to Joel. If Joel has a good game then I really really like our chances. Unruh is the best pure shooter in the conference so we need to contain him. I think putting Gittens on him is a good call. Richaud is longer, faster and more athletic. He can really make it tough for Unruh. Berry/Huskisson is a matchup I like in our favor and Richardson/Svihovic is another one I like for Weber's favor. One more advantage for us is the TRES factor. If he plays well along with Bolomboy then we should win farily easy. UNC is not big or deep down low. Tres really could go off tonight. I really hope he does too. Having said all this, its still going to be a close game. I like where we are going and think we find a way winning 78 72. :rockon:

 

[n.ogdencat]

Other than home court advantage, Weber has the edge or is extremely competitive in all other categories. Barden and Unruh might have advantages based off of their experience over the underclassmen playing for Weber, but Gittens is being replaced by J-Rich, who is one of the best defenders in the league and Royce isn't too far behind defensively. All three are quicker, longer, and more athletic than Unruh. Tate, however, is a lot like Bamforth. He is a scorer and no matter how contained a team thinks he is, he finds ways to score. Barden was straight up owned last year by Mook. His worst games were against Weber. Bolomboy just needs to play tough and use his height and that should be enough to cause an advantage for Weber. But Barden is tough. Tres vs. Osbourne...Tres has the advantage. Senglin vs. Spence or Wilson...Senglin has the advantage. Berry vs. Huskisson...Berry has the advantage. I have always liked Huskisson, but he isn't Berry. Weber's bench is far deeper and athletic. Advantage Weber...and Rahe is the better coach. In all reality Weber should win by 10 tonight, but...playing on the court is a lot different than looking at paper.

 

[weberwildcat]

i hope we can get the win. we have a winning record in greeley and the home crowd won't be a reason for us to lose. they are lookin good. i was impressed with their win at ksu in front of 12,000. theyve beat mostly weaklings like us. they did play nmsu and csu in a 3 day span both away and both close losses. i wonder minus the travel and playing at home if those might have been wins...

Fri, Nov 8 @Kansas State W60-58 1-0 (0-0)
Tue, Nov 12 vsCO Christian W98-74 2-0 (0-0)
Wed, Nov 20 @New Mexico State L67-63 2-1 (0-0)
Fri, Nov 22 @Colorado State L72-65 2-2 (0-0)
Sat, Nov 30 vsBethune-Cookman W65-60 3-2 (0-0)
Sun, Dec 1 vsPrairie View A&M W87-70 4-2 (0-0)
Tue, Dec 10 vsColorado College W96-57 5-2 (0-0)
Mon, Dec 16 vsUC Riverside W63-60 6-2 (0-0)
Sun, Dec 22 @Wyoming L72-59 6-3 (0-0)
Sun, Dec 29 vsNorth Dakota W84-66 7-3 (1-0)
Sat, Jan 4 vsSouthern Utah W91-55 8-3 (2-0)
Thu, Jan 9 vsWeber State 9:05 PM ET

 

[SWeberCat02]

UNC previews tonight's game:

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VXEyKxVOcjo&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DVXEyKxVOcjo" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[3Wildcats]

Does anyone know what's going on with watching the game on the internet? It's not coming on where I am.

 

[wildkyle]

Don't know watching on TV. I used to have that problem but not now.

 

[AlumniWSU]

Not Wildcat's night...da Bears are making the early statement...they're for real with a tough defense & quickness...desire & determination. Ouch! Those Bear claws are sharp! If Northern Colorado didn't prove that they are the best team in the Big Sky right now, they at least proved Weber State is not!