2023–24 Northern Colorado Bears men's basketball team

2023–24 Northern Colorado Bears men's basketball
2023–24 Northern Colorado Bears men's basketball
CBI, First Round
Conference	Big Sky Conference
Record	19–14 (12–6 Big Sky)
Head coach	Steve Smiley (4th season);
Assistant coaches	Dorian Green; Houston Reed; Brett Cloepfil;
Home arena	Bank of Colorado Arena
	Seasons ← 2022–23 2024–25 →

2023–24 Big Sky men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Eastern Washington	15	–	3	.833	21	–	11	.656
Northern Colorado	12	–	6	.667	19	–	14	.576
Montana	12	–	6	.667	24	–	12	.667
Weber State	11	–	7	.611	20	–	12	.625
Montana State †	9	–	9	.500	17	–	18	.486
Portland State	8	–	10	.444	17	–	15	.531
Northern Arizona	7	–	11	.389	14	–	19	.424
Idaho State	7	–	11	.389	14	–	20	.412
Idaho	5	–	13	.278	11	–	21	.344
Sacramento State	4	–	14	.222	10	–	24	.294

† 2024 Big Sky tournament winner

The 2023–24 Northern Colorado Bears men's basketball team represented University of Northern Colorado in the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by fourth-year head coach Steve Smiley and played their home games at the Bank of Colorado Arena as members of the Big Sky Conference.

Previous season[edit]

The Bears finished the season 12–20, 6–12 in conference play to finish in eighth place. In the Big Sky tournament, the Bears defeated the Portland State in their first-round game, before losing against Montana State in the quarterfinals to end their season.^[1]^[2]

Roster[edit]

2023–24 Northern Colorado Bears men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown
F	0	Saint Thomas	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Jr	Omaha, Nebraska
G	1	Mekhi Cameron	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Jr	Atlanta, Georgia
G	2	Dejour Reaves	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Jr	Syracuse, New York
G	3	Langston Reynolds	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	So	Denver, Colorado
G	9	Jaron Rillie	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Sr	Sydney, Australia
G	10	Radek Homer	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Fr	Highlands Ranch, Colorado
G	11	Zach Bloch	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Jr	Lawrence, Kansas
G	12	Connor Creech	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	RS Jr	Hastings, Nebraska
F	14	Brock Wisne	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	So	Thornton, Colorado
F	15	Juju Ramirez	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	So	Lawrence, Kansas
F	20	Marcell McCreary	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	219 lb (99 kg)	So	Fort Worth, Texas
F	22	Riley Abercrombie	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	GS	Wollongong, Australia
F	25	Jalen Page	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	RS Jr	Boulder, Colorado
F	32	Theo Hughes	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	260 lb (118 kg)	Sr	Brentwood, England
F	33	Egan Shields	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Fr	Ashland, Oregon

Head coach

Steve Smiley (Northern State)

Assistant coach(es)

Dorian Green (Colorado State)
Houston Reed (Northern State)
Brett Cloepfil (CSU Pueblo)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: November 8, 2023

Schedule and results[edit]

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
October 27, 2023* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		Midland	W 99–65		18 – Reaves	10 – Thomas	6 – Thomas	Bank of Colorado Arena (–) Greeley, CO
Regular season
November 6, 2023* 7:30 p.m., ESPN+		Colorado College	W 87–58	1–0	13 – Wisne	8 – Abercrombie	2 – Tied	Bank of Colorado Arena (986) Greeley, CO
November 8, 2023* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		Northern New Mexico	W 81–60	2–0	20 – Thomas	12 – Thomas	6 – Thomas	Bank of Colorado Arena (917) Greeley, CO
November 14, 2023* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		Colorado State	L 64–83	2–1	20 – Reaves	15 – Thomas	3 – Thomas	Bank of Colorado Arena (2,181) Greeley, CO
November 18, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at New Mexico State Cancún Challenge campus game	L 71–76	2–2	16 – Reaves	13 – Thomas	3 – Thomas	Pan American Center (5,656) Las Cruces, NM
November 21, 2023* 1:00 p.m., FloSports		vs. Chicago State Cancún Challenge Mayan Division semi-final	W 78–77 ^OT	3–2	24 – Reaves	10 – Thomas	4 – Reaves	Hard Rock Hotel (200) Riviera Maya, Mexico
November 22, 2023* 1:15 p.m., FloSports		vs. Radford Cancún Challenge Mayan Division championship	L 68–79	3–3	19 – Thomas	7 – Wisne	5 – Rillie	Hard Rock Hotel (–) Riviera Maya, Mexico
November 29, 2023* 8:00 p.m., ESPN+		at San Diego	L 72–74	3–4	17 – Abercrombie	8 – Tied	6 – Thomas	Jenny Craig Pavilion (603) San Diego, California
December 2, 2023* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		Cal State Northridge	W 75–71	4–4	31 – Thomas	9 – Wisne	4 – Thomas	Bank of Colorado Arena (899) Greeley, CO
December 11, 2023* 10:00 a.m., ESPN+		at Texas A&M-Commerce	L 99–101 ^2OT	4–5	30 – Reaves	17 – Thomas	8 – Rillie	The Field House (1,873) Commerce, TX
December 15, 2023* 6:00 p.m., P12N		at Colorado	L 68–90	4–6	27 – Thomas	9 – Thomas	6 – Rillie	CU Events Center (7,177) Boulder, CO
December 21, 2023* 2:00 p.m., Mountain West Network		at Air Force	W 83–79	5–6	24 – Thomas	10 – Thomas	6 – Rillie	Clune Arena (1,827) Colorado Springs, CO
December 30, 2023 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		Northern Arizona	W 92–77	6–6 (1–0)	18 – Rillie	5 – Tied	5 – Reynolds	Bank of Colorado Arena (1,090) Greeley, CO
January 3, 2024* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at North Dakota Big Sky-Summit League Challenge	W 97–87	7–6	30 – Rillie	12 – Thomas	4 – Rillie	Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (1,365) Grand Forks, ND
January 6, 2024* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		Denver Big Sky-Summit League Challenge	W 86–82	8–6	23 – Thomas	8 – Rillie	10 – Rillie	Bank of Colorado Arena (1,403) Greeley, CO
January 11, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Montana	W 98–92 ^OT	9–6 (2–0)	37 – Thomas	14 – Thomas	5 – Rillie	Dahlberg Arena (2,362) Missoula, MT
January 13, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Montana State	L 81–90	9–7 (2–1)	27 – Thomas	8 – Thomas	8 – Rillie	Worthington Arena (2,093) Bozeman, MT
January 18, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		Sacramento State	W 77–75	10–7 (3–1)	20 – Thomas	9 – Thomas	6 – Rillie	Bank of Colorado Arena (1,004) Greeley, CO
January 20, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		Portland State	W 90–61	11–7 (4–1)	20 – Thomas	13 – Thomas	5 – Thomas	Bank of Colorado Arena (1,254) Greeley, CO
January 25, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Eastern Washington	L 74–77	11–8 (4–2)	26 – Rillie	10 – Thomas	4 – Rillie	Reese Court (1,519) Cheney, WA
January 27, 2024 3:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Idaho	W 89–68	12–8 (5–2)	20 – Thomas	13 – Thomas	8 – Thomas	ICCU Arena (1,754) Moscow, ID
February 1, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		Idaho State	W 91–86 ^2OT	13–8 (6–2)	18 – Thomas	10 – Thomas	6 – Rillie	Bank of Colorado Arena (1,209) Greeley, CO
February 3, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		Weber State	L 63–82	13–9 (6–3)	29 – Thomas	10 – Thomas	3 – Tied	Bank of Colorado Arena (1,507) Greeley, CO
February 8, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		Montana State	W 73–70	14–9 (7–3)	21 – Reaves	8 – Hughes	5 – Thomas	Bank of Colorado Arena (1,055) Greeley, CO
February 10, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		Montana	W 87–71	15–9 (8–3)	25 – Reaves	12 – Thomas	7 – Rillie	Bank of Colorado Arena (1,119) Greeley, CO
February 15, 2024 8:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Portland State	L 72–82 ^OT	15–10 (8–4)	27 – Reaves	14 – Thomas	7 – Rillie	Viking Pavilion (643) Portland, OR
February 17, 2024 3:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Sacramento State	W 80–75	16–10 (9–4)	24 – Reaves	9 – Thomas	5 – Thomas	Hornets Nest (651) Sacramento, CA
February 22, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		Idaho	W 76–62	17–10 (10–4)	20 – Thomas	7 – Rillie	8 – Thomas	Bank of Colorado Arena (1,253) Greeley, CO
February 24, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		Eastern Washington	L 76–85	17–11 (10–5)	21 – Reaves	9 – Thomas	4 – Rillie	Bank of Colorado Arena (1,893) Greeley, CO
February 29, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Weber State	L 81–85 ^OT	17–12 (10–6)	23 – Rillie	12 – Thomas	7 – Thomas	Dee Events Center (6,018) Ogden, UT
March 2, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Idaho State	W 81–79	18–12 (11–6)	28 – Thomas	12 – Thomas	8 – Thomas	Reed Gym (1,522) Pocatello, ID
March 4, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Northern Arizona	W 82–74	19–12 (12–6)	20 – Thomas	10 – Thomas	6 – Tied	Findlay Toyota Court (1,066) Flagstaff, AZ
Big Sky tournament
March 10, 2024 8:00 pm, ESPN+	(2)	vs. (8) Idaho State Quarter-finals	L 76–83	19–13	19 – Reaves	8 – Wisne	9 – Thomas	Idaho Central Arena Boise, ID
CBI
March 24, 2024 9:00 am, FloHoops	(8)	vs. (9) Cleveland State First round	L 49–51	19–14	14 – Reynolds	8 – Reynolds	3 – Reynolds	Ocean Center Daytona Beach, FL
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Mountain Time.

Source^[3]

References[edit]

^ "Northern Colorado 73–84 Montana State (Mar 5, 2023) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
^ "Northern Colorado 84–80 Portland State (Mar 4, 2023) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
^ "2023–24 Men's Basketball Schedule". uncbears.com. Retrieved November 8, 2023.

[1] "Northern Colorado 73–84 Montana State (Mar 5, 2023) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved November 9, 2023.

[2] "Northern Colorado 84–80 Portland State (Mar 4, 2023) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved November 9, 2023.

[3] "2023–24 Men's Basketball Schedule". uncbears.com. Retrieved November 8, 2023.

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e Northern Colorado Bears men's basketball
Venues	Bank of Colorado Arena (1975–present)
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24