Weber St. men's basketball: Wildcats travel to take on surprising Bears' club

GREELEY, Colo. — Northern Colorado has been the surprise team of the Big Sky this season, compiling a 13-3 overall record with nonconference wins over Colorado State, Air Force, TCU and San Jose State.

With their hot start, the Bears aren't going to sneak up on anyone any more and they have the full attention of first-place Weber State. The Wildcats, who lead Northern Colorado by one game in the Big Sky standings, face the Bears in a key conference road contest tonight.

"We have our hands full," said Weber State guard Nick Hansen. "They're stacked. They're strong at every single position. We're definitely going to have the right mindset going into the game. We're going to have to."

Northern Colorado is led by a solid one-two punch of guards Devon Beitzel and Will Figures. Beitzel, who has been named the Big Sky Player of the Week the last two weeks, averages 14.8 points per game and has made 41 3-pointers. Figures leads the Bears in scoring at 16.1 points per game.

Northern Colorado is a balanced team, as it is second in the Big Sky in both scoring offense and scoring defense. The Bears are the only Big Sky team ranked in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25, where they're 16th this week.

"They look aggressive," said Weber State forward Franklin Session. "We're going to have a big challenge coming up."

The Wildcats have been up to facing big challenges lately, as they've won eight of their last 10 games. Weber State has won 15 straight regular season conference games and 10 consecutive conference road games. Despite their quality play as of late and being on top of the Big Sky standings, the Wildcats received no votes in the Mid-Major Top 25 this week.

That could change with a win over Northern Colorado, which qualified for the Big Sky Tournament for the first time last season. The Bears were picked to finish sixth in the conference this season by both the coaches and media, but have greatly exceeded expectations so far.

The Wildcats are simply hoping to steal one from the Bears on their home floor.

"Anytime you go on the road and if you can get out of there with a win, it's a steal," Hansen said. "We have our work cut out for us and we have to bring our 'A' game for sure."

Wildcats on the air

Weber State (9-6, 3-0 Big Sky) at Northern Colorado (13-3, 2-1)

Tonight, 7 p.m.

TV: None Radio: 1430 AM

e-mail: aaragon@desnews.com