Riverside, CA—The UC Riverside Men's Basketball Team is off to its best six-game start in its Division I history, and the Highlanders look to improve to 5-2 this Thursday, December 3 with a 7 pm PT tip against Northern Colorado.
UCR moved to two games over .500 last weekend with a 74-69 road win at Lamar (
box score/
recap). It was the Highlanders first victory away from the SRC Arena this season.
Jaylen Bland scored a season-high 25 points against the Cardinals, and now ranks third in the nation in made three-point field goals per game at 4.17. As a team, UCR is 17th in the nation in that category making 10.15 threes per contest. The Highlanders are also 20th in the nation in three-point field goal percentage (.417) and 29th in fewest turnovers per game (10.5).
Defensively, UCR boasts the second best three-point field goal defense in the nation as opponents are connecting on just 22.0-percent of their shots from long range.
Northern Colorado (1-5) has dropped four straight games entering the week after splitting its first two games of the 2015-16 season. The Bears are averaging just under 74 points per game, led by Anthony Johnson's 17.3 per contest. They are particularly effective from long distance, making 34.5 percent of their attempts, and the free throw line, where they make 77.1 percent as a team.
UNC's Achilles Heal is its defense which is allowing just under 90 points per game. Bears opponents are making 50.3 percent of their shots from the field, including 41.4 percent from long range.
UC Riverside and Northern Colorado split their first two meetings in the all-time series (
view results) with each team winning on its home court.
Loyola Marymount had a three-game winning streak snapped Wednesday evening at Oregon State as the Lions fell to the Beavers 79-72. LMU has already played three other Big West institutions this season beating Cal State Fullerton (79-74) and CSUN (82-80 in OT) at home, but losing to UC Irvine (77-53) on the road.
Adom Jacko leads the Lions in scoring averaging 14.3 points per game, while connecting on 53.3 percent of his field goal attempts and making 76.9 percent of his free throws. Brandon Brown is also averaging double figures for LMU at 13.9 points per game while pacing the squad in assist at 5.9 per game.
The Highlanders are 4-4 all-time against the Lions (
view results), but LMU has won each of the last two meetings including a 66-62 decision last season (
box score/
recap).
