Weber State basketball readies for ‘dogfight’ schedule in continued Big Sky play
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- Weber State guard Trevor Hennig smiles while talking to teammate Nigel Burris during a Northern Colorado free-throw attempt on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Greeley, Colo.
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- Weber State guard ArDarius Grayson, left, defends Northern Arizona guard Brennan Peterson on Thursday Jan. 8, 2026, in Flagstaff, Ariz.
The Northern Arizona-Northern Colorado basketball road trip is fairly new to the Big Sky Conference. But given the locations, including additional bus trips and for longer distances than most of the league pairings, it’s not the easiest weekend in Big Sky hoops.
So the Weber State men were plenty happy to sweep the two contests last week, especially closing with a Saturday victory at 11-win Northern Colorado.
But that’s the past now and the league schedule churns into mid-January with Eastern Washington and Idaho prepped to visit the Wildcats in the Dee Events Center — that after each dealt Montana and Montana State their first league defeats Saturday.
WSU has won three straight for the first time this season, is 9-8 overall and 3-1 in league play, and is No. 163 in NCAA NET.
“We’ve got to keep them humble. We don’t want them to get a big head … too much ego,” WSU head coach Eric Duft said after Saturday’s win. “We’ve got to keep them balanced, but we’ll rely on their competitive character and just how tight and connected they are.”
Portland State beating Sacramento State 96-69 was the first in 18 Big Sky games this season to be decided by 20 or more points. With six of those 18 games decided by three points or less, or in overtime, the Big Sky is No. 2 nationally for staging the most close games, per Ken Pomeroy.
“Every night in this league … there’s no bad teams in our league. Eastern Washington, their record’s bad but they played so many guarantee games against high-majors, so that doesn’t matter,” Duft said. “It’s going to be a dogfight. It’s going to be about competitive spirit and team connectivity, and we have a lot of that. So I like this group a lot.”
Eastern Washington (3-13, 1-2, 267 NET) played seven nonconference road games against teams rated higher in Ken Pomeroy’s list than the best-rated Big Sky team (Portland State, 152). Sixth-year senior guard Isaiah Moses, a UC Riverside transfer, leads EWU in scoring at 17.5 points per game, No. 5 in the league.
Former Idaho State forward Kiree Huie adds 12.2 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, and junior forward Alton Hamilton IV, a former NAIA All-American, pitches in 11.6 points and 5.8 rebounds. Former Layton Christian Academy forward Alan Gballou is a freshman for the Eagles but has not appeared in any games.
EWU can shoot the ball and rebound the offensive glass well enough to be in most games, though is prone to settling for midrange shots. Per Ken Pomeroy, Weber State is favored by seven points at 74% probability.
Saturday brings Idaho (10-6, 2-1, 165 NET) to Ogden. The Vandals shoot more 3-pointers in league games than anyone and more than all but 15 teams in the country, and excel in nearly all offensive categories, including low turnovers.
Defensively, Idaho allows an above-average shooting clip for its opponents and causes a below-average rate of turnovers. The Vandals were stellar at rebounding in nonconference play but, through two weeks, is last in conference games in defensive rebounding percentage.
Sophomore shooting guard Kolton Mitchell leads Idaho by scoring 15.1 points per game. Freshman forward Jackson Rasmussen has boosted the Vandals with the injury loss of guard Kristian Gonzalez by averaging 13.8 points and 4.6 rebounds per game.
Isaiah Brickner scores 9.1 points per game while shooting 48.8% from the 3-point line. Center Brody Rowbury, an Idaho native transferred from Southeastern Louisiana, pitches in 9.3 points and 6.0 rebounds while shooting 46.2% from 3.
Per Ken Pomeroy, Weber State is favored by four points at 64% probability.
Both games tip at 7 p.m. America First Credit Union is offering up to four free tickets to Saturday’s matchup with Idaho by using code AFCU at WeberStateTickets.com.
