Friday, January 2
5:00 pm
UC Riverside
at
Northern Illinois
Photo by: Carlos Puma
Men's Basketball Opens 2015 On Road At Northern Illinois, Grand Canyon
1/1/2015 11:19:00 AM | Men's Basketball
| Highlanders In Week EIGHT | |
| at No. Illinois | at Grand Canyon |
| Jan. 2, 5 pm PT | Jan. 4, 3 pm PT |
| Live Stats | Live Stats |
| Watch Live | Watch Live |
| Listen Live | Listen Live |
| Purchase Tickets | Purchase Tickets |
| Game Notes | Game Program |
Riverside—At 7-5, the UC Riverside Men's Basketball Team hits the road for the New Year armed with its best start to a season since the 2008-09 campaign. That was the year the Highlanders finished with their first winning record as a Division I program at 17-13.
UCR's travels this weekend take it to Northern Illinois on Friday, January 2 for a 5 pm PT tip at the NIU Convention Center, and to Phoenix, Arizona for a Sunday, January 4 meeting with Grand Canyon at 3 pm.
The Highlanders erased a 17-point first-half deficit Tuesday evening to pick up a 68-63 win over visiting Morgan State (box score/recap). Taylor Johns scored a career-high tying 31 points and grabbed 13 points in the victory.
Johns is UC Riverside's leading scorer at 16.9 points per game, and he and Jaylen Brand (14.1) are threatening the program's Division I era record for highest scoring duo. That distinction is currently held by Nate Carter (15.3) and Vili Morton (12.3) who combined to average 27.6 points per game during the 2003-04 campaign.
As a team, the Highlanders are also challenging D-I records for scoring average (68.2), field goal percentage (.442), three-point field goal percentage (.354) and free throw percentage (.711).
Northern Illinois is 5-5 entering 2015 following an 83-51 win over Hampton on December 29. The Huskies boast two double-figure scorers in Darrell Bowie (13.1) and Aaron Armstead (10.8). Jordan Threloff nearly averages a double-double at 9.2 points and 8.5 rebounds per game.
Offensively, NIU is making its living at the free throw line and on the boards this year. The Huskies have taken 92 more free throws than their opponents, making 69 more (6.9 per game), and they grab nearly 15 offensive rebounds per game compared to fewer than 10 by the opposition.
The Highlanders and Huskies first met on December 22, 2013 with Northern Illinois topping UC Riverside, 71-64, at the SRC Arena (box score/recap).
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UCR Student-Athletes cheer on our students.
Friday, May 01
UCR Athletics Director Introductory Full Press Conference
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Athletics Director Greg Paules Introductory Presentation Recap
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