2023–24 Northern Colorado Bears men's basketball team

2023–24 Northern Colorado Bears men's basketball
CBI, First Round
ConferenceBig Sky Conference
Record19–14 (12–6 Big Sky)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Dorian Green
  • Houston Reed
  • Brett Cloepfil
Home arenaBank of Colorado Arena
Seasons
2023–24 Big Sky men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Eastern Washington 15 3   .833 21 11   .656
Northern Colorado 12 6   .667 19 14   .576
Montana 12 6   .667 24 12   .667
Weber State 11 7   .611 20 12   .625
Montana State 9 9   .500 17 18   .486
Portland State 8 10   .444 17 15   .531
Northern Arizona 7 11   .389 14 19   .424
Idaho State 7 11   .389 14 20   .412
Idaho 5 13   .278 11 21   .344
Sacramento State 4 14   .222 10 24   .294
2024 Big Sky tournament winner

The 2023–24 Northern Colorado Bears men's basketball team represented University of Northern Colorado in the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by fourth-year head coach Steve Smiley and played their home games at the Bank of Colorado Arena as members of the Big Sky Conference.

Previous season[edit]

The Bears finished the season 12–20, 6–12 in conference play to finish in eighth place. In the Big Sky tournament, the Bears defeated the Portland State in their first-round game, before losing against Montana State in the quarterfinals to end their season.[1][2]

Roster[edit]

2023–24 Northern Colorado Bears men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
F 0 Saint Thomas 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Omaha, Nebraska
G 1 Mekhi Cameron 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Atlanta, Georgia
G 2 Dejour Reaves 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Jr Syracuse, New York
G 3 Langston Reynolds 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So Denver, Colorado
G 9 Jaron Rillie 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr Sydney, Australia
G 10 Radek Homer 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr Highlands Ranch, Colorado
G 11 Zach Bloch 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr Lawrence, Kansas
G 12 Connor Creech 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS Jr Hastings, Nebraska
F 14 Brock Wisne 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) So Thornton, Colorado
F 15 Juju Ramirez 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) So Lawrence, Kansas
F 20 Marcell McCreary 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 219 lb (99 kg) So Fort Worth, Texas
F 22 Riley Abercrombie 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) GS Wollongong, Australia
F 25 Jalen Page 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) RS Jr Boulder, Colorado
F 32 Theo Hughes 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 260 lb (118 kg) Sr Brentwood, England
F 33 Egan Shields 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr Ashland, Oregon
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

Roster
Last update: November 8, 2023

Schedule and results[edit]

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
October 27, 2023*
6:00 p.m., ESPN+
Midland W 99–65 
 18  Reaves   10  Thomas   6  Thomas  Bank of Colorado Arena (–)
Greeley, CO
Regular season
November 6, 2023*
7:30 p.m., ESPN+
Colorado College W 87–58  1–0
 13  Wisne   8  Abercrombie   2  Tied  Bank of Colorado Arena (986)
Greeley, CO
November 8, 2023*
6:00 p.m., ESPN+
Northern New Mexico W 81–60  2–0
 20  Thomas   12  Thomas   6  Thomas  Bank of Colorado Arena (917)
Greeley, CO
November 14, 2023*
6:00 p.m., ESPN+
Colorado State L 64–83  2–1
 20  Reaves   15  Thomas   3  Thomas  Bank of Colorado Arena (2,181)
Greeley, CO
November 18, 2023*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
at New Mexico State
Cancún Challenge campus game
L 71–76  2–2
 16  Reaves   13  Thomas   3  Thomas  Pan American Center (5,656)
Las Cruces, NM
November 21, 2023*
1:00 p.m., FloSports
vs. Chicago State
Cancún Challenge Mayan Division semi-final
W 78–77 OT 3–2
 24  Reaves   10  Thomas   4  Reaves  Hard Rock Hotel (200)
Riviera Maya, Mexico
November 22, 2023*
1:15 p.m., FloSports
vs. Radford
Cancún Challenge Mayan Division championship
L 68–79  3–3
 19  Thomas   7  Wisne   5  Rillie  Hard Rock Hotel (–)
Riviera Maya, Mexico
November 29, 2023*
8:00 p.m., ESPN+
at San Diego L 72–74  3–4
 17  Abercrombie   8  Tied   6  Thomas  Jenny Craig Pavilion (603)
San Diego, California
December 2, 2023*
2:00 p.m., ESPN+
Cal State Northridge W 75–71  4–4
 31  Thomas   9  Wisne   4  Thomas  Bank of Colorado Arena (899)
Greeley, CO
December 11, 2023*
10:00 a.m., ESPN+
at Texas A&M-Commerce L 99–101 2OT 4–5
 30  Reaves   17  Thomas   8  Rillie  The Field House (1,873)
Commerce, TX
December 15, 2023*
6:00 p.m., P12N
at Colorado L 68–90  4–6
 27  Thomas   9  Thomas   6  Rillie  CU Events Center (7,177)
Boulder, CO
December 21, 2023*
2:00 p.m., Mountain West Network
at Air Force W 83–79  5–6
 24  Thomas   10  Thomas   6  Rillie  Clune Arena (1,827)
Colorado Springs, CO
December 30, 2023
2:00 p.m., ESPN+
Northern Arizona W 92–77  6–6
(1–0)
 18  Rillie   5  Tied   5  Reynolds  Bank of Colorado Arena (1,090)
Greeley, CO
January 3, 2024*
6:00 p.m., ESPN+
at North Dakota
Big Sky-Summit League Challenge
W 97–87  7–6
 30  Rillie   12  Thomas   4  Rillie  Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (1,365)
Grand Forks, ND
January 6, 2024*
6:00 p.m., ESPN+
Denver
Big Sky-Summit League Challenge
W 86–82  8–6
 23  Thomas   8  Rillie   10  Rillie  Bank of Colorado Arena (1,403)
Greeley, CO
January 11, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Montana W 98–92 OT 9–6
(2–0)
 37  Thomas   14  Thomas   5  Rillie  Dahlberg Arena (2,362)
Missoula, MT
January 13, 2024
6:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Montana State L 81–90  9–7
(2–1)
 27  Thomas   8  Thomas   8  Rillie  Worthington Arena (2,093)
Bozeman, MT
January 18, 2024
6:00 p.m., ESPN+
Sacramento State W 77–75  10–7
(3–1)
 20  Thomas   9  Thomas   6  Rillie  Bank of Colorado Arena (1,004)
Greeley, CO
January 20, 2024
6:00 p.m., ESPN+
Portland State W 90–61  11–7
(4–1)
 20  Thomas   13  Thomas   5  Thomas  Bank of Colorado Arena (1,254)
Greeley, CO
January 25, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Eastern Washington L 74–77  11–8
(4–2)
 26  Rillie   10  Thomas   4  Rillie  Reese Court (1,519)
Cheney, WA
January 27, 2024
3:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Idaho W 89–68  12–8
(5–2)
 20  Thomas   13  Thomas   8  Thomas  ICCU Arena (1,754)
Moscow, ID
February 1, 2024
6:00 p.m., ESPN+
Idaho State W 91–86 2OT 13–8
(6–2)
 18  Thomas   10  Thomas   6  Rillie  Bank of Colorado Arena (1,209)
Greeley, CO
February 3, 2024
6:00 p.m., ESPN+
Weber State L 63–82  13–9
(6–3)
 29  Thomas   10  Thomas   3  Tied  Bank of Colorado Arena (1,507)
Greeley, CO
February 8, 2024
6:00 p.m., ESPN+
Montana State W 73–70  14–9
(7–3)
 21  Reaves   8  Hughes   5  Thomas  Bank of Colorado Arena (1,055)
Greeley, CO
February 10, 2024
2:00 p.m., ESPN+
Montana W 87–71  15–9
(8–3)
 25  Reaves   12  Thomas   7  Rillie  Bank of Colorado Arena (1,119)
Greeley, CO
February 15, 2024
8:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Portland State L 72–82 OT 15–10
(8–4)
 27  Reaves   14  Thomas   7  Rillie  Viking Pavilion (643)
Portland, OR
February 17, 2024
3:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Sacramento State W 80–75  16–10
(9–4)
 24  Reaves   9  Thomas   5  Thomas  Hornets Nest (651)
Sacramento, CA
February 22, 2024
6:00 p.m., ESPN+
Idaho W 76–62  17–10
(10–4)
 20  Thomas   7  Rillie   8  Thomas  Bank of Colorado Arena (1,253)
Greeley, CO
February 24, 2024
6:00 p.m., ESPN+
Eastern Washington L 76–85  17–11
(10–5)
 21  Reaves   9  Thomas   4  Rillie  Bank of Colorado Arena (1,893)
Greeley, CO
February 29, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Weber State L 81–85 OT 17–12
(10–6)
 23  Rillie   12  Thomas   7  Thomas  Dee Events Center (6,018)
Ogden, UT
March 2, 2024
6:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Idaho State W 81–79  18–12
(11–6)
 28  Thomas   12  Thomas   8  Thomas  Reed Gym (1,522)
Pocatello, ID
March 4, 2024
6:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Northern Arizona W 82–74  19–12
(12–6)
 20  Thomas   10  Thomas   6  Tied  Findlay Toyota Court (1,066)
Flagstaff, AZ
Big Sky tournament
March 10, 2024
8:00 pm, ESPN+
(2) vs. (8) Idaho State
Quarter-finals
L 76–83  19–13
 19  Reaves   8  Wisne   9  Thomas  Idaho Central Arena 
Boise, ID
CBI
March 24, 2024
9:00 am, FloHoops
(8) vs. (9) Cleveland State
First round
L 49–51  19–14
 14  Reynolds   8  Reynolds   3  Reynolds  Ocean Center 
Daytona Beach, FL
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Mountain Time.

Source[3]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Northern Colorado 73–84 Montana State (Mar 5, 2023) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  2. ^ "Northern Colorado 84–80 Portland State (Mar 4, 2023) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  3. ^ "2023–24 Men's Basketball Schedule". uncbears.com. Retrieved November 8, 2023.