2020-21 Men's Basketball Notebook (Week 3)

COMING UP: at Utah State, Tuesday, 7 p.m.

COMPLETE MEDIA GAME NOTES

NO FANS TO START THE SEASON: The J.A. Albertson Activities Center is arguably one of the toughest venues in all of NAIA Basketball, as the Coyotes have posted a staggering 110-12 overall record on their home floor since the start of the 2013-14 season – including an 18-1 record at home last season – averaging over 1,450 fans per game, tops among all small college teams in the Northwest. Since the Activities Center opened in 1991, the Yotes have recorded a 326-95 all-time record – with the mark ballooning to 442-104 when accounting the previous decade at O'Connor Fieldhouse. The feeling will not be the same in 2020-21, as due to precautions surrounding COVID-19, fans will be prohibited from the Activities Center until further notice.
 
BROADCAST INFORMATION: Fans will be able to follow Coyote Basketball this season online – with all home games carried live on C of I's new Yotes Digital Network. The broadcasts will feature an enhanced look and feel of a traditional television broadcast, with features, graphics, commercials and insight on the Yotes. Mike Safford and Sven Alskog will have the play-by-play beginning 15 minutes prior to tip-off for all home games. Tuesday's game at Utah State will be carried live on the Mountain West Digital Network.
 
SCHEDULE CHANGES: The Yotes schedule changed late last week, as Dickinson State was forced to postpone their trip to Idaho due to COVID-19 concerns, with C of I picking up a pair of Division I contests – meeting Boise State last Friday and traveling Tuesday to Utah State. In addition, the home dates vs. Montana Western set for Thursday and Friday have been postponed due to COVID-19 concerns with the Western program.
 
COYOTES TO PLAY MULTIPLE DIVISION I TEAMS: Tuesday's game at Utah State will mark the fourth-straight season the Coyotes have played two NCAA Division I opponents – though it is the first time since the 2003-04 season that C of I will play multiple counting games against the top division. In 2017-18, C of I tangled with Boise State and Gonzaga, in 2018-19, the Yotes played both Utah and Montana, while last season, the team traveled to Utah State and Utah Valley – all exhibition games. C of I also played two D-I teams in 2002-03 (Idaho State, Boise State) and 2004-05 (Boise State, Weber State), while in 2003-04, played games at Nevada, Weber State and Boise State.
 
AGAINST DIVISION I TEAMS: From 2004-20, the Yotes played 14 exhibition games against Division I squads, posting a 1-13 record – including an 87-66 win over Boise State in 2004. Outside of the 14 exhibition games, C of I has played 150 counting games against current NCAA Division I teams, posting an all-time record of 55-95 against the current D-I members (including multiple wins over Boise State, Sacramento State, Idaho State, Nevada, Seattle U. and Weber State). Friday's loss at BSU marked C of I's first counting game against a Division I opponent since 2004 (69-54 loss at Weber State).
 
THE LAST TWO D-I WINS: C of I's first-ever exhibition game was arguably their biggest, as the Yotes dominated a Boise State team that featured future professional players in Coby Karl, Jermaine Blackburn and Jason Ellis, winning 87-66 in the 2004-05 season opener. Dan McFaul led the Coyotes with 24 points, as the NAIA squad led by as many as 37 points in the second half against a Broncos team that was coming off a quarterfinal appearance in the NIT. C of I's most recent counting victory against a Division I opponent was during the 2002-03 season, defeating Idaho State in the Bengals season opener, 72-68 – which was played at a neutral site at American Falls High. Eric Hare led the Yotes with 15 points, with C of I making 7-of-8 free throws in the final two minutes to complete the stunner. The 2002-03 team won the CCC Tournament title and advanced to the second-round of the NAIA Championships, while the 2004-05 squad reached the CCC finals and qualified for the NAIA Championships.
 
MEET UTAH STATE: The Yotes travel to Logan, Utah, and the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, to meet Utah State in a counting game for the first time since 1939. The Aggies (1-3) are coming off a 26-8 record a season ago, claiming their second-straight Mountain West Conference tournament title – but have to replace guard Sam Merrill, who was the MWC Player of the Year and a second-round draft pick of the Milwaukee Bucks. USU has played a tough preseason – losing games to Virginia Commonwealth (85-69), South Dakota State (83-59) and Brigham Young (67-64), while earning a victory over Northern Iowa (82-71). The squad is paced by preseason All-MWC pick, Neemias Queta (15.5 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 2.0 bpg), a 7-foot center, along with fellow post Justin Bean (9.8 ppg, 7.3 rpg) – a tandem that has outscored their opponents frontcourt in all four games this season. Virginia transfer Marco Anthony (13.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg) and freshman guard Rollie Worster (12.8 ppg, 3.0 rpg) have been stellar in early games. It is the third counting game between the schools – all in Logan, with USU picking up a 66-16 victory in 1926-27 and a 60-35 win over the Coyotes in 1939-40 – with the Aggies defeating C of I, 103-66 in an exhibition game last year.
 
AGAINST UTAH TEAMS: C of I has played games against five of the seven 4-year schools in Utah (have not played BYU or Dixie State), recording a 21-28 mark (in counting games) against squads from the Beehive State. The Yotes have a 19-22 mark against former NAIA rival (and now Division II) Westminster, have a 2-3 record against Weber State, a 0-2 mark (not including an exhibition loss) vs. Utah State, an 0-1 record vs. Utah (not including three exhibition losses) and an exhibition loss at Utah Valley.
 
AGAINST THE MOUNTAIN WEST: Utah State is the third current Mountain West Conference opponent the Coyotes have played in program history – joining both Boise State and Nevada. C of I has a 2-9 all-time mark vs. Nevada, while posting a 29-35 all-time record vs. BSU.
 
WIN STREAKS END: Friday's loss at Boise State was the first by the Coyotes in over a calendar year, ending a school and Cascade Conference record win streak at 26 games. C of I went 371 days between losses (a November 2019 loss at The Masters), with the win streak breaking the Yotes previous mark of 18-games (set by the Elgin Baylor-R.C. Owens led 1954-55 Coyote team) and the CCC mark of 22-games, set by Oregon Tech in 2002-03. The loss also snapped a 10-game road win streak, also the top mark in school history.
 
LOOKING BACK AT THE STREAK: The 26-game win streak had some close calls and some blowouts – as three of the victories were by 5-or-fewer points (58-56 win over Northwest, 73-72 over Southern Oregon, 82-77 over Oregon Tech), while two of the wins were by 40-or-more points (105-59 over Evergreen and 100-58 at Northwest Christian). The Yotes had 12 wins by 10-to-19 points and five additional wins by 20-29 points. C of I rallied from a halftime deficit seven times during the win streak, while the Yotes canned 10-or-more 3-pointers 11 different times during the year-long run.
 
STREAKS ALIVE: Three streaks still continue for C of I, as the Coyotes hold a 14-game home win streak, a 20-game CCC win streak and a 26-game win streak against NAIA competition.
 
LESS THAN 24 HOURS TO PREPARE: The chaotic 2020-21 season scheduling was on full display late last week, as the Coyotes met Treasure Valley foe Boise State – less than 24 hours after the contract was signed. BSU was originally set to open conference play vs. New Mexico, but the games were scrapped due to UNM's lack of practice time due to the pandemic – with the Broncos then lining up a game vs. Montana Western. When Western was not able to clear BSU's testing protocols (which also led to the postponement of Thursday and Friday's games), the Division I school called on the Yotes – who stepped up to the plate for the Friday night matchup – allowing the 10 Idaho student-athletes on the team a chance to play in the biggest arena in the Gem State.
 
TIME HAS BIG NIGHT IN BOISE: The Coyotes were led by guard Ricardo Time, as the senior scored a game-high 17 points in the road loss. Time made 7-of-12 field goals, including a pair of 3-pointers, while adding four boards. It was the 23rd time in his C of I career that Time has made 2-or-more 3-pointers in a game.
 
GALLOWAY CONTINUES HOT START: After leading the Yotes in scoring in the season opener at Montana Tech, Jalen Galloway backed it up with an outstanding effort at Boise State. The forward scored 15 points, connecting on 6-of-12 field goals on the night. Galloway made his first 3-pointer of the game, extending a string of 3-point makes to five, before a first half miss. For the year, Galloway leads the Yotes in field goal percentage, making 14-of-23 field goals and 6-of-9 from 3-point range.
 
WILSON CONTINUES BLOCK PARTY: Redshirt freshman Paul Wilson recorded a pair of blocked shots at BSU, his second-straight game with multiple blocks. The 7-footer is one of 19 players in the NAIA averaging 2-or-more blocks in a game, with Indiana Wesleyan post Seth Maxwell leading the association with 4.09 blocks per game (45 total).
 
COLLEGE DEBUTS: Friday's game saw the first playing action for redshirt freshman Jake O'Neil and Connor Cooper – with O'Neil recording three rebounds and a block and Cooper adding a rebound. Two freshmen also scored their first collegiate points, as Tyler Robinett canned a 20-foot second half jumper and Paul Wilson made a pair of free throws.
 
RARE UNDER 50 POINT GAME: The 49 points scored by the Yotes at Boise State marked just the 14th time in the shot clock era that C of I has failed to score 50 points in a game. It was the first time since a 55-45 home loss to Metro State that the squad had failed to hit the 50-point barrier. Of the 14 games, C of I is 1-13 in such games (defeating Western Oregon, 45-44 in 1997), with four of the losses coming at the hands of Division I teams.
 
RECORD BOOK: Three Yotes rank among the Top-50 in C of I's career record book, as Connor Desaulniers is No. 9 in blocked shots (79) and No. 28 in rebounds (473); Ricardo Time is No. 40 in 3-pointers made (80) and No. 48 in 3-point attempts (178); with Ivory Miles-Williams No. 34 in games played (94).
 
ELSEWHERE IN THE CCC: The conference dropped to nine basketball schools for the 2020-21 season, as Southern Oregon announced it was opting out from competition for the year due to COVID-19. Lewis-Clark State made their season debut at home, recording a pair of lopsided victories over Yellowstone Christian, behind the play of guard Damek Mitchell, while Northwest was idle, prepping for a pair of Division I exhibition games this week at Portland State and Seattle. The remaining six CCC teams (Warner Pacific, Multnomah, Eastern Oregon, Corban, Bushnell, Oregon Tech) are still unable to have contact practices due to an Oregon state mandate.
 
AROUND THE NAIA: A total of 169 of the 231 men's basketball playing schools in the NAIA have begun their 2020-21 season, with some teams already completing 13 games. A total of 27 teams are currently undefeated, including No. 2 Mid America Christian (4-0) and No. 3 Indiana Wesleyan (11-0), while top-ranked Georgetown lost for the first time, falling at No. 15 Cumberlands. In the Top-10 national stat rankings, the Yotes sit at No. 10 in free throw percentage (.793), hitting 23-of-29 free throws on the season.
 
A NEW LOOK NAIA: The new season also marks the first time since 1991 that the NAIA will operate with just one division in basketball – combining the Division I and Division II leagues. The association will operate with an eight scholarship maximum (three less than the Division I used previously, but two more than the Division II allowed). The change will also affect the NAIA Championships, as the field will grow from 32 teams to 64, starting with 16 4-team Opening Round sites, with each of the 16 winners earning a trip to the Final Site in Kansas City. The J.A. Albertson Activities Center has been certified as a potential venue for the NAIA Opening Round, with the decision made by the national office in February.
 
PRESEASON POLLS: Last season, the Coyotes became the first-ever team in CCC history to complete a perfect league schedule – going 20-0 – winning their fourth conference title in the last seven years. However, the plaudits did not give C of I the nod in the 2020-21 Preseason Coaches' Poll, as CCC newcomer, Lewis-Clark State – the 2020 Frontier Conference champs, earned the honor. LC State earned 139 voter points, just five points ahead of C of I, with Oregon Tech, Southern Oregon and Eastern Oregon rounding out the Top-5. Both Idaho schools found themselves in the Top-10 of the Preseason NAIA Top-25 – with LCSC at No. 5 and the Yotes at No. 8 – the 29th-straight week C of I has been ranked in the national poll.
 
3-POINT STREAK: Since college basketball adopted the 3-point line at the start of the 1986-87 season, the Coyotes have made a 3-pointer in every game but one – a loss to Idaho State during the U.S. Bank Tip-Off Tournament at Boise State on Dec. 2, 1988. Since then, C of I has run a string of games with a trey to 1,040 – one of five programs (UNLV – 1,108, CCC rival, Duke – 1,095, Corban – 1,090, Arkansas – 1,049 and Western Kentucky – 1,047) which have made a 3-pointer in over 1,040-or-more straight games.
 
UNDER 60 POINTS / OVER 95 POINTS: C of I currently has a 48-game win streak in games where opponents fail to reach 60 points – and a dominating 205-12 mark in such games over the last 40 years. During the same stretch, the Coyotes are 58-2 when opponents fail to score 50. In addition, the Yotes have won 47 of their last 48 contests (dating back to 2006) when scoring 95 points per game.