OGDEN -- Round 1 went to the Bears in a 65-46 pummeling of the Wildcats a week ago in Greeley. Now Weber State has to pick itself up off the mat and answer the bell for Round 2 against Northern Colorado tonight.
The Bears (11-7, 7-0 Big Sky) are winners of seven in a row and undefeated in conference play, but this time the venue is more favorable for WSU. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. at the Dee Events Center.
The Wildcats are 5-1 at home but just 3-7 on the road.
"Hopefully we're a lot better than we were last Saturday night, because we were tired, we were beat up. It looked to me like being on the road for three of the last four weeks caught up to us," Weber State coach Randy Rahe said. "Our kids' hearts were exactly in the right place; our hearts and minds said do something and our bodies said no."
The Bears weren't in a merciful mood, storming out to a 27-point first-half lead.
"They were just playing harder than us and that's been our focus, playing as hard as we can every possession and trying to be the aggressor. That's what they did," junior center Trevor Morris said. "They came out and embarrassed us, took us out of a lot of things we wanted to do. We're looking forward to the challenge again."
Northern Colorado is holding teams to a league-low 37.2 percent from the field and 29.9 percent from 3-point range. Weber State (9-9, 3-4) could only manage 26.1 percent from the field in the first half and 34.1 percent for the game.
Layton Christian product B.J. Porter said he doesn't mind the Wildcats having a chance to measure themselves again against the Bears in back-to-back contests.
"This gives us another shot," the sophomore forward said. "Not taking anything from Northern Colorado, but we know we can play better. We can show them what type of team we are, give them a better fight."
WSU outscored UNC 26-22 in an improved second half, but the damage was done.
"Northern Colorado played as good of basketball as I've seen a team play against us in the first half," Rahe said. "They played terrific, we weren't ourselves and that's the reason for the way it turned out. We obviously have nowhere to go but up from that game and to get better."
With a week between games, Weber State took a few days off from practice to rest.
Morris said the Wildcats will be ready for the first of four consecutive home games.
"Nobody's in panic mode around here, so I wouldn't say that we're restarting," he said. "We'll be in front of our own fans and we're going to bring a lot more energy when we're at home and try to get things going."
Despite the blowout win, Northern Colorado guard Devon Beitzel managed only five points, while Weber State's leading scorer, senior guard Lindsey Hughey, was limited to two points.
Beitzel, the second-leading scorer in the conference, averages 18.6 points per game.
"I hope Lindsey plays well and Beitzel plays the same," Rahe joked. "But we can't expect that. Beitzel is too good. We know he's going to come out and be very aggressive."
Rahe expects a different showing from each of them.
"Lindsey, when he's had a tough game, he's always bounced back and played really well. I suspect that he will," Rahe said. "I would think you would probably see both of those kids perform better."
Hughey averages 12.4 ppg but 14.3 ppg in conference play.
"Lindsey's going to play well. He's had a good season. Everybody goes through a tough stretch," Rahe said. "He'll bounce back. I have total trust and total faith in him."
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