2022–23 Northern Colorado Bears men's basketball team

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.

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

Previous season

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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

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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

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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

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  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.