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Weber State players, from left, Nigel Burris, Trevor Hennig, Jace Whiting and Tijan Saine Jr. huddle during a game against Idaho on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.

Robert Casey, Weber State Athletics

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Weber State forward Edwin Suarez Jr., center, has his shot blocked by Idaho's Brody Rowbury, right. on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.

Robert Casey, Weber State Athletics

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With a Thursday off while the rest of the Big Sky flattened the standings by one game, Weber State men’s basketball prepares for four games in eight days which begins with a 1 p.m. Saturday bout with Idaho State.

The Wildcats (10-11, 4-4 Big Sky) have an extra beat to fine-tune things without junior guard Jace Whiting, who’s likely out another seven games or so with a foot injury.

Junior point guard Tijan Saine Jr. is averaging 20.3 points and 4.4 assists per game in Big Sky games while shooting 46.2% from the 3-point line. Junior shooting guard Viljami Vartiainen scores 13.1 points per game and shoots 45.6% from 3 in league games.

Both have hit a stride in conference play. In efficiency, Weber State rates as the league’s No. 3 offense and No. 4 defense. Excellence in both is often a recipe for success; it’s rare that a team like Portland State’s last-place offense but first-place defense would find itself in first place as league play approaches its halfway point.

WSU creates the most turnovers in Big Sky play, is No. 1 at getting to the free-throw line and No. 2 in 3-point shooting. All that makes you wonder, why is WSU just 4-4?

Losing both in the Montana-MSU road trip is one thing, but home losses to PSU and Idaho probably hurt more, and the nitty-gritty reveals places Weber State needs to sure up if it wants to rise into contention down the home stretch.

WSU gets to the line but is last in the Big Sky in free-throw percentage (71.4% in league games). Saine’s ability to draw fouls (and make free throws at 87%) is undone by how good Edwin Suarez and Malek Gomma are at drawing fouls but how poorly they shoot at the line (50.7% combined).

Weber has been great at defending the 3-point line, but that’s undone in two ways. WSU’s two-point percentage is low (48.4%, ninth in Big Sky) despite being 35th nationally in average two-point distance; WSU gets to the rim. How that hurts is in blocked shots; Weber is bottom 50 nationally and worst in the Big Sky in getting shots blocked (11.1% of shots are blocked in Big Sky games).

When you watch the Wildcats, you see why: a blocked shot often puts WSU opponents into transition for easy baskets.

So that, and half-court defense, are part of how WSU is also bottom 50 nationally and last in the Big Sky in defensive two-point percentage (55.9% in Big Sky games).

Those strengths and weaknesses help illuminate how WSU could go on a 22-6 run over just 6:35 of game time on the road against the league’s second-place team, but having been in a big enough hole that it provided just a brief, two-point lead.

Those are the fine points WSU needs to figure out, and the schedule provides an opportunity for the Wildcats to get right if they want to be in contention. All four of the opponents in the upcoming eight-day stretch are below Weber in the league standings.

Idaho State (10-11, 3-5) comes to Ogden with a slow but efficient offense, good at every metric except turnovers. ISU’s most important player comes off the bench: 6-foot-8 senior Caleb Van De Griend, the former D2 rebounding champ, averages 12.6 points and 6.8 rebounds per game and is top 20 nationally in both offensive and defensive rebounding percentage. He pairs with 6-foot-7 senior Connor Hollenbeck (13.0 ppg) form a formidable front court.

Weber State then goes Monday to Sacramento State (7-13, 3-5). The Hornets rate poorly in many ways but are 3-0 in Big Sky home games after beating Montana State on Thursday, its first league win with Mikey Williams on the court. Williams (23) and Prophet Johnson (27) combined for 50 points in that win.

The Wildcats return home Thursday to host Northern Colorado (12-10, 2-7), who broke a five-game losing streak by beating Idaho 91-83. The Bears can get going offensively; Quinn Denker totaled 35 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds in that game.

The stretch concludes Saturday, Feb. 7, when Northern Arizona (8-14, 2-7) comes to Ogden. NAU is fighting several injuries but is currently on a two-game winning streak after shooting 12 of 20 from 3 to score 92 points against Eastern Washington.

Elsewhere, Montana won Thursday at Portland State to hand the Vikings their first league loss.

The Weber State women face the same stretch at opposite sites looking to get in the win column and dig out of an 0-8 hole. Sacramento State on Monday night is WSU’s lone home game in the four; Weber lost 60-39 at Sac State one month prior.