2017–18 Northern Colorado Bears men's basketball team

The 2017–18 Northern Colorado Bears men's basketball team represented the University of Northern Colorado during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bears were led by second-year head coach Jeff Linder and played their home games at Bank of Colorado Arena in Greeley, Colorado as members of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 26–12, 11–7 in Big Sky play to finish in fifth place. They defeated Northern Arizona and Weber State to advance to the semifinals of the Big Sky tournament to Montana. They were invited to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they defeated Drake, San Diego, Sam Houston State and UIC to become CIT champions.

2017–18 Northern Colorado Bears men's basketball
CIT Champions
ConferenceBig Sky Conference
Record26–12 (11–7 Big Sky)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Steve Smiley
  • Ken DeWeese
  • Vinnie McGhee
Home arenaBank of Colorado Arena
Seasons
2017–18 Big Sky men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Montana 16 2   .889 26 8   .765
Idaho 14 4   .778 22 9   .710
Weber State 13 5   .722 20 11   .645
Eastern Washington 13 5   .722 20 15   .571
Northern Colorado 11 7   .611 26 12   .684
Idaho State 9 9   .500 14 16   .467
Portland State 9 9   .500 20 14   .588
Montana State 6 12   .333 13 19   .406
North Dakota 6 12   .333 12 20   .375
Southern Utah 5 13   .278 13 19   .406
Sacramento State 4 14   .222 7 25   .219
Northern Arizona 2 16   .111 5 27   .156
Conference tournament winner

Previous season

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The Bears finished the 2016–17 season 11–18, 7–11 in Big Sky play to finish in a tie for eighth place. On October 8, 2016, the school self-imposed a postseason ban amid an ongoing NCAA investigation.[1]

Departures

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Gerad Davis 1 G 6'3" 195 Junior Las Vegas, NV Transferred to pursue football[2]
Kyle Carey 2 G 6'6" 190 Freshman London, England Transferred to Barry
D. J. Miles 3 G 6'6" 195 Junior Lakewood, CO Graduate transferred to Fort Lewis
Mike Ranson 5 G 6'2" 185 Freshman Pueblo, CO Transferred to Fort Lewis
Jon'te Dotson 30 G 6'3" 185 Senior Denver, CO Walk-on; graduated
Jeremy Verhagen 33 F 6'10" 220 RS Junior Florence, AZ Graduate transferred to Nicholls State

2017 incoming recruits

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US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Matej Drgon
PF
Slovakia Get Better Academy 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) N/A  
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: NR
Johnatan Reyes
PG
San Antonio, TX Clark High School 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) N/A  
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: NR
Jalen Sanders
SF
Highlands Ranch, CO Valor Christian High School 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg)  
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 18, 2017.

Roster

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2017–18 Northern Colorado Bears men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Jordan Davis 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr Canyon Springs Las Vegas, NV
G 2 Matt Johnson (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 150 lb (68 kg) Fr Rangeview Aurora, CO
G 4 Tyler Loose (W) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) RS Sr Laramie
Casper College
Laramie, WY
F 10 Ibrahim Sylla 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) RS Jr South Denver, CO
G 11 Andre Spight 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 170 lb (77 kg) RS Sr Burbank
Arizona State
Burbank, CA
G 12 Jonah Radebaugh 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 165 lb (75 kg) RS So Northglenn Thornton, CO
G 13 Chaz Glotta 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) RS Jr Fort Zumwalt North
Southern Illinois
O'Fallon, MO
F 20 Tanner Morgan 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) RS Sr Sprague
Casper College
Salem, OR
F 21 Roberto Vercellino 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So Liceo Scientifco A.B. Sabin Turin, Italy
F 22 Jalen Sanders 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Valor Christian Denver, CO
F 23 Matej Drgon 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Fr GBA Academy Hamuliakovo, Slovak Republic
G 24 Anthony Johnson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS Sr Decatur Central Indianapolis, IN
F 25 Kai Edwards 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) So Canarias Basketball Academy Amsterdam, Netherlands
G 33 Johnatan Reyes 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Tom C. Clark San Antonio, TX
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

Roster

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
Nov 2, 2017*
7:00 pm
Johnson & Wales W 106–51 
Bank of Colorado Arena 
Greeley, CO
Nov 5, 2017*
5:00 pm
at Colorado State
Puerto Rico relief fund exhibition game
L 79–83 
Moby Arena (1,079)
Fort Collins, CO
Non-conference regular season
Nov 10, 2017*
7:00 pm, P12N
at Colorado L 51–66  0–1
Coors Events Center (7,740)
Boulder, CO
Nov 13, 2017*
7:00 pm
UC Davis L 59–74  0–2
Bank of Colorado Arena (895)
Greeley, CO
Nov 17, 2017*
8:00 pm
at Pepperdine W 84–82  1–2
Firestone Fieldhouse (805)
Malibu, CA
Nov 21, 2017*
7:00 pm
Northern New Mexico
Sanford Pentagon Showcase
W 99–60  2–2
Bank of Colorado Arena (857)
Greeley, CO
Nov 24, 2017*
7:00 pm
vs. Youngstown State
Sanford Pentagon Showcase
W 80–67  3–2
Sanford Pentagon (1,105)
Sioux Falls, SD
Nov 25, 2017*
5:30 pm
vs. South Dakota
Sanford Pentagon Showcase
W 63–62  4–2
Sanford Pentagon (1,248)
Sioux Falls, SD
Nov 26, 2017*
10:30 am
vs. Southern Miss
Sanford Pentagon Showcase
W 77–63  5–2
Sanford Pentagon (101)
Sioux Falls, SD
Nov 29, 2017*
8:00 pm
at UC Davis L 51–56  5–3
The Pavilion (1,779)
Davis, CA
Dec 3, 2017*
5:00 pm
Western State W 87–75  6–3
Bank of Colorado Arena (1,069)
Greeley, CO
Dec 10, 2017*
5:00 pm
Oklahoma Panhandle State W 104–53  7–3
Bank of Colorado Arena (797)
Greeley, CO
Dec 13, 2017*
5:00 pm, CET
Denver W 83–63  8–3
Bank of Colorado Arena (1,153)
Greeley, CO
Dec 19, 2017*
7:00 pm
at Wyoming W 91–84  9–3
Arena-Auditorium (4,289)
Laramie, WY
Dec 22, 2017*
8:00 pm
at UNLV L 91–94  9–4
Thomas & Mack Center (9,192)
Paradise, NV
Big Sky regular season
Dec 29, 2017
7:00 pm
Eastern Washington W 88–75  10–4
(1–0)
Bank of Colorado Arena (1,047)
Greeley, CO
Dec 31, 2017
2:00 pm
Idaho W 81–77  11–4
(2–0)
Bank of Colorado Arena (960)
Greeley, CO
Jan 4, 2018
7:00 pm
at Montana State L 64–76  11–5
(2–1)
Brick Breeden Fieldhouse (2,542)
Bozeman, MT
Jan 6, 2018
7:00 pm
at Montana L 80–89  11–6
(2–2)
Dahlberg Arena (4,119)
Missoula, MT
Jan 11, 2018
7:00 pm, CET
Weber State L 74–78  11–7
(2–3)
Bank of Colorado Arena (1,792)
Greeley, CO
Jan 13, 2018
2:00 pm
Idaho State W 94–80  12–7
(3–3)
Bank of Colorado Arena (1,165)
Greeley, CO
Jan 20, 2018
7:00 pm, ELVN
North Dakota W 94–91 OT 13–7
(4–3)
Bank of Colorado Arena (2,059)
Greeley, CO
Jan 25, 2018
8:00 pm
at Idaho W 80–63  14–7
(5–3)
Cowan Spectrum (1,122)
Moscow, ID
Jan 27, 2018
3:00 pm
at Eastern Washington L 65–67  14–8
(5–4)
Reese Court (1,674)
Cheney, WA
Feb 1, 2018
7:00 pm
Montana L 79–88  14–9
(5–5)
Bank of Colorado Arena (1,413)
Greeley, CO
Feb 3, 2018
2:00 pm, CET
Montana State W 86–63  15–9
(6–5)
Bank of Colorado Arena (1,617)
Greeley, CO
Feb 8, 2018
7:00 pm
at Idaho State W 85–82  16–9
(7–5)
Holt Arena (1,336)
Pocatello, ID
Feb 10, 2018
7:00 pm
at Weber State L 66–71 OT 16–10
(7–6)
Dee Events Center (6,909)
Ogden, UT
Feb 15, 2018
7:00 pm, CET
Northern Arizona W 95–60  17–10
(8–6)
Bank of Colorado Arena (1,524)
Greeley, CO
Feb 17, 2018
7:00 pm, CET
Southern Utah W 97–80  18–10
(9–6)
Bank of Colorado Arena (1,683)
Greeley, CO
Feb 24, 2018
2:00 pm
at North Dakota W 79–66  19–10
(10–6)
Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (1,895)
Grand Forks, ND
Mar 1, 2018
9:00 pm
at Portland State W 85–78  20–10
(11–6)
Pamplin Sports Center (644)
Portland, OR
Mar 3, 2018
8:05 pm
at Sacramento State L 77–88  20–11
(11–7)
Hornets Nest (686)
Sacramento, CA
Big Sky tournament
Mar 6, 2018
2:30 pm, Pluto TV
(5) vs. (12) Northern Arizona
First round
W 82–59  21–11
Reno Events Center (986)
Reno, NV
Mar 8, 2018
2:30 pm, ELVN
(5) vs. (4) Weber State
Quarterfinals
W 80–55  22–11
Reno Events Center (1,110)
Reno, NV
Mar 9, 2018
5:30 pm, ELVN
(5) vs. (1) Montana
Semifinals
L 89–91  22–12
Reno Events Center (1,236)
Reno, NV
CIT
Mar 18, 2018*
3:00 pm
Drake
Second round
W 81–72  23–12
Bank of Colorado Arena (1,074)
Greeley, CO
Mar 21, 2018*
8:00 pm
at San Diego
Quarterfinals
W 86–75  24–12
Jenny Craig Pavilion (1,053)
San Diego, CA
Mar 28, 2018*
7:00 pm, CBSSN
Sam Houston State
Semifinals
W 99–80  25–12
Bank of Colorado Arena (2,019)
Greeley, CO
Mar 30, 2018*
5:00 pm, CBSSN
UIC
Championship
W 76–71  26–12
Bank of Colorado Arena (3,198)
Greeley, CO
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Mountain Time.

References

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  1. ^ "University of Northern Colorado imposed penalties on itself over NCAA violations". Associated Press. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
  2. ^ "Gerad Davis leaves UNC hoops for football". Greeley Tribune. Retrieved February 26, 2017.