2022–23 Northern Colorado Bears men's basketball team

2022–23 Northern Colorado Bears men's basketball
ConferenceBig Sky Conference
Record12–20 (6–12 Big Sky)
Head coach
Associate head coachCory Fehringer
Assistant coaches
  • Dorian Green
  • Houston Reed
Home arenaBank of Colorado Arena
Seasons
2022–23 Big Sky men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Eastern Washington 16 2   .889 23 11   .676
Montana State 15 3   .833 25 10   .714
Weber State 12 6   .667 18 15   .545
Montana 10 7   .588 17 14   .548
Idaho State 8 10   .444 11 21   .344
Sacramento State 7 11   .389 14 18   .438
Portland State 6 11   .353 12 19   .387
Northern Colorado 6 12   .333 12 20   .375
Northern Arizona 5 13   .278 12 23   .343
Idaho 4 14   .222 10 22   .313
Conference tournament winner

The 2022–23 Northern Colorado Bears men's basketball team represented the University of Northern Colorado in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bears, led by third-year head coach Steve Smiley, played their home games at Bank of Colorado Arena in Greeley, Colorado as members of the Big Sky Conference.

Previous season

[edit]

The Bears finished the 2021–22 season 22–16, 13–7 in Big Sky play, to finish in a tie for third place. In the Big Sky tournament, they defeated Eastern Washington[1] and Portland State,[2] before falling to Montana State in the championship game.[3] They received an invite to the CBI, where they defeated Florida Atlantic[4] and UNC Asheville,[5] before falling to UNC Wilmington in the semifinals.[6]

Roster

[edit]
2022–23 Northern Colorado Bears men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 1 Daylen Kountz 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) GS Colorado Denver, CO
G 2 Matt Johnson II 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) GS Rangeview High School Aurora, CO
G 3 Langston Reynolds 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Colorado Prep Denver, CO
G 4 Dawson Mohr 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS Fr IMG Academy Scottsbluff, NE
G 5 Dalton Knecht 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr Northeastern Junior College Thornton, CO
F 10 Jamel Melvin 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr Potomac School Upper Marlboro, MD
G 11 Zach Bloch 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So Colorado Prep Lawrence, KS
G 12 Connor Creech 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS So Hastings High School Hastings, NE
F 14 Brock Wisne 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Fr Colorado Prep Thornton, CO
F 15 Juju Ramirez 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Fr New Hampton High School Lawrence, KS
F 21 Bryce Kennedy 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr Allen High School Allen, TX
F 22 Riley Abercrombie 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) GS Rice Wollongong, Australia
G 25 Jalen Page 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) RS So Fairview High School Boulder, CO
G 30 Caleb Shaw 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Valley Christian High School Phoenix, AZ
C 32 Theo Hughes 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 260 lb (118 kg) Jr Barking Abbey School Brentwood, England
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: December 15, 2022

Schedule and results

[edit]
Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 7, 2022*
6:00 pm, ESPN+
at No. 3 Houston L 36–83  0–1
Fertitta Center (7,042)
Houston, TX
November 11, 2022*
6:00 pm, ESPN+
Texas A&M–Commerce W 80–77  1–1
Bank of Colorado Arena (1,319)
Greeley, CO
November 14, 2022*
6:00 pm, ESPN+
at No. 5 Baylor L 62–95  1–2
Ferrell Center (8,548)
Waco, TX
November 19, 2022*
2:00 pm, ESPN+
San Jose State L 69–80  1–3
Bank of Colorado Arena (1,065)
Greeley, CO
November 22, 2022*
6:00 pm, ESPN+
Colorado Christian L 69–70  1–4
Bank of Colorado Arena (1,057)
Greeley, CO
November 25, 2022*
7:30 pm
vs. North Dakota State
Lobo Classic
W 80–70  2–4
The Pit (9,033)
Albuquerque, NM
November 26, 2022*
7:30 pm
vs. Jacksonville State
Lobo Classic
W 86–82 OT 3–4
The Pit (8,715)
Albuquerque, NM
November 27, 2022*
5:30 pm, MN Network
at New Mexico
Lobo Classic
L 74–98  3–5
The Pit (8,434)
Albuquerque, NM
December 3, 2022*
2:30 pm, MW Network
at Colorado State W 88–83  4–5
Moby Arena (5,439)
Fort Collins, CO
December 10, 2022*
8:00 pm, ESPN+
at Cal State Northridge W 70–63  5–5
Premier America Credit Union Arena (453)
Northridge, CA
December 18, 2022*
3:00 pm, P12N
at Colorado L 77–88  5–6
CU Events Center (6,015)
Boulder, CO
December 20, 2022*
6:00 pm, ESPN+
Air Force L 65–67  5–7
Bank of Colorado Arena (1,601)
Greeley, CO
Big Sky regular season
December 29, 2022
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Weber State L 72–81  5–8
(0–1)
Dee Events Center (4,861)
Ogden, UT
December 31, 2022
6:00 pm, ESPN+
at Idaho State L 83–90 OT 5–9
(0–2)
Reed Gym (933)
Pocatello, ID
January 5, 2023
6:00 pm, ESPN+
Montana State L 56–77  5–10
(0–3)
Bank of Colorado Arena (1,121)
Greeley, CO
January 7, 2023
6:00 pm, ESPN+
Montana L 74–79  5–11
(0–4)
Bank of Colorado Arena (1,221)
Greeley, CO
January 12, 2023
8:00 pm, ESPN+
at Sacramento State L 64–72  5–12
(0–5)
Hornets Nest (613)
Sacramento, CA
January 14, 2023
8:00 pm, ESPN+
at Portland State W 69–67  6–12
(1–5)
Viking Pavilion (1,129)
Portland, OR
January 19, 2023
6:00 pm, ESPN+
Eastern Washington L 75–83  6–13
(1–6)
Bank of Colorado Arena (1,295)
Greeley, CO
January 21, 2023
6:00 pm, ESPN+
Idaho W 73–67  7–13
(2–6)
Bank of Colorado Arena (1,214)
Greeley, CO
January 28, 2023
2:00 pm, ESPN+
at Northern Arizona L 73–83  7–14
(2–7)
Findlay Toyota Court (1,617)
Flagstaff, AZ
February 2, 2023
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Montana L 67–69  7–15
(2–8)
Dahlberg Arena (2,990)
Missoula, MT
February 4, 2023
4:00 pm, ESPN+
at Montana State L 62–75  7–16
(2–9)
Worthington Arena (3,863)
Bozeman, MT
February 6, 2023
9:00 pm, ESPN+
Weber State W 88–54  8–16
(3–9)
Bank of Colorado Arena (1,503)
Greeley, CO
February 9, 2023
6:00 pm, ESPN+
Portland State W 88–79  9–16
(4–9)
Bank of Colorado Arena (1,542)
Greeley, CO
February 11, 2023
6:00 pm, ESPN+
Sacramento State W 70–54  10–16
(5–9)
Bank of Colorado Arena (1,265)
Greeley, CO
February 16, 2023
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Idaho L 82–84  10–17
(5–10)
ICCU Arena 
Moscow, ID
February 18, 2023
2:00 pm, ESPN+
at Eastern Washington L 77–89  10–18
(5–11)
Reese Court (2,754)
Cheney, WA
February 25, 2023
1:00 pm, ESPN+
Northern Arizona L 82–85  10–19
(5–12)
Bank of Colorado Arena (1,734)
Greeley, CO
February 27, 2023
6:00 pm, ESPN+
Idaho State W 87–72  11–19
(6–12)
Bank of Colorado Arena (1,436)
Greeley, CO
Big Sky tournament
March 4, 2023
8:00 pm, ESPN+
(8) vs. (7) Portland State
First round
W 84–80  12–19
Idaho Central Arena 
Boise, ID
March 5, 2023
8:00 pm, ESPN+
(8) vs. (2) Montana State
Quarterfinals
L 73–84  12–20
Idaho Central Arena 
Boise, ID
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Mountain.

Sources[7][8]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Pfeifer, Ryan (March 10, 2022). "Bears Survive and Advance to Big Sky Semifinals". University of Northern Colorado Athletics. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  2. ^ Pfeifer, Ryan (March 11, 2022). "Kountz Career Night leads Bears to Title Game". University of Northern Colorado Athletics. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  3. ^ Birnbrauer, Kyle (March 12, 2022). "Bobcats Win 2022 Big Sky Men's Basketball Tournament Championship For First Time Since 1996". Big Sky Conference. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  4. ^ Watson-Fisher, Jadyn (March 20, 2022). "No. 12 Northern Colorado upsets No. 5 Florida Atlantic, 74-71, to advance in CBI". The Denver Post. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  5. ^ "UNC Asheville Edged by Northern Colorado in CBI Quarterfinals, 87-84". Big South Conference. March 21, 2022. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  6. ^ "UNC Wilmington beats Northern Colorado in CBI semifinals". AP News. March 23, 2022. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  7. ^ "2022-23 Men's Basketball Schedule". University of Northern Colorado Athletics. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  8. ^ "2022-23 Northern Colorado Bears Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved December 15, 2022.