Greeley, CO—The UC Riverside Men's Basketball Team packs its cold-weather gear this week as the Highlanders return to the road for games at Northern Colorado on Tuesday December 20 (5 pm PT) and at Denver on Thursday, December 22 (6 pm).
UC Riverside is looking to snap a four-game losing streak following a 71-63 loss to Montana Saturday evening (
box score/
recap). The Highlanders are connecting on 36.7 percent of their shots from the field this season, and have been held below 40 percent in each of their six losses.
Secean Johnson and Chance Murray lead UCR's scoring efforts with each averaging 11.3 points per game. They are also both shooting under 40 percent from the floor, and under 30 percent from three-point range. Alex Larsson is the team's top rebounder at 5.7 boards per game, and freshman Dikymbe Martin leads the Big West and ranks among the top 50 in the nation in steals per game (2.14).
Defensively, the Highlanders are allowing opponents to connect on 46.0 percent of their field goal attempts, and 35.0 percent from long distance. UCR does, however, lead the Big West with 7.2 steals per game.
Northern Colorado is coming off of a 73-70 loss to Denver on Saturday which dropped the Bears record to 3-7 on the season. Earlier in the year, UNC dropped an 88-72 decision on the road at Santa Clara. The Highlanders lost to the Broncos, 73-55, on December 10.
Jordan Davis leads the Bears in scoring and assists, averaging 20.7 points and 5.6 assists per game. He also connects on 48.1 percent of his field goal attempts, and leads the squad with 12 steals and five blocked shots. Chaz Glotta is Northern Colorado's other double-figure scorer at 12.2 points per game.
The Bears are making 43.9 percent of their shots as a team, and scoring 71.4 points per game. Defensively, however, they are allowing teams to make 45.5 percent of their field goals and 35.2 percent from three-point range, en route to giving up 76.9 points per game.
UC Riverside is 2-1 all-time against Northern Colorado, and won the most recent meeting between the clubs back on December 3, 2015 by a score of 77-66 (
box score/
recap).
Denver is now 6-5 on the season after the team's three-point win over Northern Colorado over the weekend. That was the third win in a row for the Pioneers who rank 34th in the nation in three-point field goal percentage (40.0), while making 46.7 percent of their shots from the field overall. However, Denver has turned the ball over 50 more times than their opponents on the season, and scored 59 fewer points from the charity stripe.
Joe Rosga is averaging 16.0 points per game, making 46.3 percent of his field goal attempts, 47.1 percent from long distance, and 79.5 percent from the free throw line. Amigo Daniel and C.J. Bobbitt are also averaging double figures in scoring for the Pioneers at 14.0 and 10.5 points per game respectively.
The Highlanders are 2-1 all-time against Denver, and won the most recent meeting between the clubs, 63-54, on December 22, 2015 (
box score/
recap).
