With two home conference wins over the weekend, Weber State men’s basketball ran its overall record to 8-0 which continues the second-best start to a season in program history.

The Wildcats dispatched Northern Arizona 67-44 in what was the best defensive effort by a Weber State team against a Division I opponent in the last 21 years as measured by opponent’s offensive efficiency, according to Ken Pomeroy’s database.

WSU got caught in a tougher battle against Portland State but never led by less than 10 after halftime on the way to an 80-69 win.

In this week’s new coaches poll, Weber State received three votes. That’s the first time in nine seasons that WSU has received votes in the coaches poll; the Wildcats garnered one point in the final poll of the 2012-13 season after finishing 30-7.

The NCAA also released its first NET rankings of the season, which is the primary tool the selection committee uses select and seed NCAA Tournament teams. The NET, more volatile to each data point, puts Weber State at No. 46 in its first iteration.

Ken Pomeroy’s data is somewhat informed by last season’s results in the early going to offset such massive fluctuations with every result, something that wanes and then disappears later in the season. Pomeroy’s ratings put Weber State at No. 96.

All of that comes to a head this week as the Wildcats enter what will by far be the toughest stretch of games this season. Weber State travels to face Washington State on Wednesday in a game that tips off at 8 p.m. MST and will air on the Pac-12 Network.

“What I want my teams to be is defensive-minded, tough and together, and I feel like these guys are really starting to get that and embrace that part of it,” WSU head coach Randy Rahe said after defeating Portland State on Saturday. “We don’t need to be playing our best basketball right now, and we’re not, but we’ve got a pretty high ceiling. We’ve just got to take it one day at a time.

“We just want to get better every day and then win our next game. We’ll come back, get better, and play a good Washington State team.”

Washington State is considered to be a darkhorse candidate to win the Pac-12 under head coach Kyle Smith. The Cougars are 6-2, recently with a home loss to No. 20 USC in which they led late before giving up a three-point play on a dunk in the final minute.

“I think it’s always hard to play a Pac-12 team on the road, but we went to an A-10 school, Duquesne, and we beat them,” sophomore guard Seikou Sisoho Jawara said. “We’re capable. We’ve just got to get there with the mentality like we’re coming here to win. We’re 8-0 right now and it has to be 9-0. And it’s a really good team, probably going to have a lot of fans. We’ve got to stay locked in.”

The Cougars are rated No. 47 in Pomeroy’s data and 61 in the NCAA’s NET. Pomeroy’s numbers predict an eight-point Wazzu win at 75% probability. The two WSU’s have only met once, a 10-point Wazzu win in the first round of the 1983 NCAA Tournament in Boise.

Washington State has a surprise home loss to Eastern Washington, but without starters Noah Williams and Efe Abogidi.

Williams is the team’s leading scorer. The 6-foot-5 junior averages 13.6 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.4 assists and one steal per game. His season-high so far is 19 points in a home win over Winthrop and he scored 40 points in a triple-overtime win against Stanford last season. Williams typically draws a high number of fouls each game.

Senior guard Michael Flowers, a transfer from South Alabama, scores 13 points per game and UC San Diego transfer guard Tyrell Roberts scores 11.3 points per outing. Williams is 4 of 17 from deep, while Flowers and Roberts combined are 36 of 98 (36.7%) from the 3-point line and 44 of 48 (91.7%) from the foul line.

Abogidi, Dishon Jackson and DJ Rodman (yes, if he’s rebounding well and his name is Rodman, he’s related) are all active on the offensive glass and make the Cougars a tough box-out, which has been a weakness in the first halves of games for Weber State.

Weber State is averaging 80 points per game so far this season. Only one opponent has scored more than 67 against Washington State, and that was when the Cougars beat Winthrop 92-86 after Winthrop guard Patrick Good shot 11 of 19 from the 3-point line.

After Wednesday, Weber State returns to Ogden for home games against Maine Fort Kent (Dec. 11), Utah State (Dec. 15), BYU (Dec. 18) and Fresno State (Dec. 23) to close nonconference play.

JONES PLAYER OF WEEK

WSU freshman forward Dillon Jones was named the Big Sky player of the week for the second time this season after his performances in the two conference wins. Jones totaled 18 points, 12 rebounds and five steals in the win over NAU, and 12 points, 14 rebounds and four assists to beat PSU. He is currently sixth in the country at 11.6 rebounds per game.

WSU WOMEN FACE CSU

After a conference weekend split that saw a close loss to NAU and a blowout win over PSU, the Weber State women’s basketball team (3-4) travels to face Colorado State at 6 p.m. Wednesday.

The WSU women return home for a game against Tarleton State on Dec. 11 that starts a matinee doubleheader at the Dee Events Center. The women tip that game off at noon, and the men play Maine Fort Kent at 2:30 p.m.

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