UNC expected to finish in the middle of league
The Big Sky released the preseason polls for the men’s and women’s programs this week. Both UNC squads landed in the middle.
The Northern Colorado men’s team came in at No. 5 on both polls with all five starters returning for coach Steve Smiley’s second season.
Senior Bodie Hume led the team in scoring last season, recording nearly 16 points per game and ending the year with backto-back 30-point performances.
Fellow senior Matt Johnson logged 13 points per game and topped the program in 3-point shooting (44.7%) and assists (2.9). Both were All-conference selections.
Additionally, the Bears return Daylen Kountz, Kur Jongkuch and Tre’shon Smoots. Kountz was the second-leading scorer with 14.1 points per contest, and Jongkuch finished the year with six consecutive double-doubles. Smoots, the only junior in the starting lineup, earned his spot halfway through the 202021 season, contributing 6.5 points and 2.3 assists each outing.
Smiley added several newcomers, including transfers Dru Kuxhausen and Dalton Knecht.
The Bears finished last season with an 11-11 overall record and went 6-8 in the Big Sky for Smiley’s first season.
UNC will start its season on a trip to Hawaii, playing Pacific on Nov. 10. Its home opener is set for 6 p.m. Nov. 15 against Colorado College.
The women’s basketball team was picked No. 6 in the media poll and No. 7 in the coaches poll for its first season under head coach Kristen Mattio.
Mattio took over the program in May after the sudden departure of Jenny Huth. She spent the majority of her career at West Texas A&M where she was one of the top coaches in program history, earning multiple conference titles and Division II NCAA Tournament appearances.
The program returns seven players, including starters Hannah Simental, Alexis Chapman and Micayla Isenbart. Simental was third in the nation from 3-point range (53%) and also third on the team for scoring, averaging 8.8 points per game. Chapman remains with the program and looks to improve on her 5.5-point and 3.1-rebound average last year. Finally, Isenbart was a leader for UNC last season and averaged 7.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. She was fourth on the team in scoring average and second for rebounding.
Several players transferred from the program, including Big Sky MVP Alisha Davis, but Mattio has replenished the roster.
Sophomore Sydney Stensgard joins the Northern Colorado program after spending her freshman year at Big Sky rival Montana State. Juniors Delaney Callie Boyles (Tarleton State), Delaynie Byrne (UNLV) and Sabine Lipe (UTEP) come from Division I programs, too.
The women’s team will start its season with an exhibition at 6 p.m. Nov. 4 against Regis, before opening on the road against Arizona State on Nov. 9. The home opener is scheduled for 6 p.m Nov. 16 versus the University of Texas-rio Grande Valley.