COMING UP: vs. Multnomah, Friday, 7 p.m.; vs. Multnomah, Saturday, 7 p.m.
COMPLETE MEDIA GAME NOTES
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 Jr. and
Sven Alskog will have the play-by-play beginning 15 minutes prior to tip-off (the pay-per-view broadcast costs $9.99, with a season-pass for all men's and women's games for $39.99). Live Stats of all men's home games will be available through C of I's
SIDEARM Sports Portal.
STRANGE WITHOUT THE YOTE FAM: The J.A. Albertson Activities Center is arguably one of the toughest venues in all of NAIA Basketball – but have been silent this season, as fans have been prohibited due to precautions surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the start of the 2013-14, season, the Coyotes have posted a staggering 110-12 overall record on their home floor – 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 328-97 all-time record – with the mark ballooning to 444-106 when accounting the previous decade at O'Connor Fieldhouse.
SCHEDULE UPDATES: The best-of-three Cascade Conference Championships are set, with the Yotes traveling on Thursday to Lewiston for the series opener, with the two teams returning to Caldwell next Sunday for Game 2.
COVID CANCELLATIONS: To say that the 2020-21 season has been a work in progress for the Coyotes would be an understatement – as C of I played one game in November, five games in December and six games in January. The virus has plagued the Yotes schedule – as 13 games have been canceled due to COVID – as C of I has yet to play in February.
FEWEST GAMES IN A SEASON: The Coyotes have played 12 games so far this season and if they are able to play the two final regular-season games on the docket – would finish with 14 contests prior to the modified Cascade Conference Championships. The fewest games played by a C of I team since the end of World War II was in 1945-46, when the Yotes played 19 games (going 2-17). The Coyotes played a total of 10 games combined from 1943-45, while from 1919-36, C of I never played more than 15 countable games – though the team added multiple games against local "town" teams (American Legion, Police Departments and Fire Departments)
LONGEST STRETCH WITH JUST TWO GAMES: With the loss of games vs. LC State and Northwest Nazarene, C of I will have played just two games (Jan. 22-23 vs. Simpson) in a 36-day stretch (between the Jan. 7 win at Whitworth and Friday's date with Multnomah) – the longest in program history. It marks the longest 2-game stretch by a Coyote team since the 1962-63 season, when C of I played just two games between Dec. 1 and Jan. 3 – a stretch of 33 days.
NEW LOOK MULTNOMAH: The Yotes will welcome their first Cascade Conference opponent to Caldwell, as Multnomah University makes a tour of the State of Idaho – playing two games in Lewiston at LC State before meeting C of I. MU has a completely different look from last season's team that finished 14-16 and missed out of the CCC Tournament by one game. Gone is the NAIA's leading scorer, Justin Martin, who averaged a CCC-record 34.5 points per game, along with guards Trey Fountain (10.6 ppg) and Jaeden Ingram (10.3 ppg) and post Stepan Zavydovskyy (7.4 ppg), the CCC's leader in blocked shots.
ABOUT THE LIONS: MU made their debut on Wednesday night, losing a 124-75 decision at LCSC. Guard Zach Richardson (15.8 ppg, .424 3FG%) led the team with 21 points, making 5-of-13 3-pointers, while Caldwell native Forrest Smith (12.0 ppg, 5.7 rpg) had 13 points and six rebounds. The Lions were outrebounded 54-25 by the No. 4 ranked Warriors and committed 20 turnovers – but made 16-of-48 3-point baskets.
GALLOWAY HAS HUGE WEEKEND VS. SIMPSON: Two weeks ago,
Jalen Galloway led the Yotes in the weekend series against Simpson, posting a season-high 26 points and 10 rebounds in the opening win, adding 19 points in a Saturday loss. The junior, who ranks No. 2 in the CCC in scoring average, is averaging 19.8 points per game over his last four outings, making 64-percent (32-of-50) of his field goal attempts. Galloway's double-double was the second of his career, with the five made 3-pointers in the contest a new career-best.
TIME COMPLETES STELLAR JANUARY: Ricardo Time capped an outstanding month of January by posting games of 14 points and 13 points against Simpson. The senior scored in double-figures in all six January games, averaging 17.7 points per game during the stretch, improving his season scoring average to 14.6 points per game – third-best in the CCC. Time made five 3-pointers during the weekend, becoming the 30th player in program history to make 100 3-pointers in a career.
ELZIE KEY ON "D": Point-guard
Charles Elzie has been a factor in the Yotes zone defense – recording at least one steal in each of the last six games. The sophomore is averaging nearly six points per game and leads the team in free throw percentage (.842).
ON THE GLASS: Redshirt freshman
Jake O'Neil posted his second double-double and third game with double-digit rebounds on the season against Simpson, logging 10 points and 10 boards in the Game 1 win. The forward is averaging 10.2 rebounds per game over his last six games and ranks second in the CCC in rebound average (7.4).
FORCING THE 3: Teams have turned to the 3-point shot against C of I's zone defense – as Coyote opponents have attempted 30-or-more 3-pointers in five of the last six games.
YOTES WIN TURNOVER BATTLE: For the first time this season, the Yotes recorded fewer turnovers than their opponent in back-to-back games. C of I committed just 20 turnovers combined in the two games vs. Simpson – with the Coyote defense forced 27 miscues.
RECORD BOOK: Four Yotes rank among the Top-50 in C of I's career record book, as
Connor Desaulniers is No. 9 in blocked shots (84) and No. 24 in rebounds (502);
Ricardo Time is No. 30 in 3-pointers made (101) and No. 33 in 3-point attempts (246);
Derek Wadsworth is No. 43 in 3-pointers made (69) and No. 44 in 3-pointers attempted (209); with
Ivory Miles-Williams No. 34 in games played (94).
PLAYOFF FORMAT UNVEILED: The Cascade Conference released its revised postseason format for the 2020-21 season, as C of I and Lewis-Clark State will competing in a new-look Cascade Conference Championships to determine a single berth to the NAIA National Championships. The two teams will play in a best-of-three series in late February, with the winner earning the automatic bid. Game 1 of the tournament will be on Feb. 18 – hosted by Lewis-Clark State, as the Warriors are the highest ranked team in the Feb. 10 NAIA Top-25 poll – with Game 2 set for Feb. 21 in Caldwell, the lower ranked foe among the two teams. If a third game is needed to determine the champion, a coin flip, immediately after Game 2, will determine the site of the championship game, set for Feb. 27.
CCC TEAMS RETURN: C of I and Lewis-Clark State have held the banner of the CCC throughout the winter, but two teams are returning to the court in limited fashion before the league's spring season begins in late March. Northwest University played an exhibition game on Saturday at Idaho State and will play this week at Seattle Pacific, while Multnomah will make their season debut this week, playing games at both Lewis-Clark State and C of I.
NAIA CHANGES NATIONAL TOURNAMENT STRUCTURE DUE TO COVID: The 2020-21 season 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). However, the original plans for the NAIA Championships have been scrapped due to COVID-19, as the original field has been downsized from 64 to 48 teams – with 34 automatic bids and 14 at-large bids available. The size of the field at the Final Site in Kansas City will remain at 16, however, instead of 16 Opening Round venues with four teams each, there will be eight Opening Round venues with two 3-team pods at each. The 3-team pods will feature two games – the No. 2 seed meeting the No. 3 seed, with the winner playing the No. 1 seed to determine the national bid. Four sites have been selected for the Opening Round – Wichita (Kan.) (two sites), Omaha (Neb.) and Alexandria (La.) – with four sites still to be determined.
YOTES FALL OUT OF TOP-25: For the first time since the close of the 2015-16 season, the Coyotes dropped out of the NAIA Top-25 poll, ending a string of 35-consecutive weeks ranked or receiving votes in the poll.
AROUND THE NAIA: A total of 201 of the 231 men's basketball playing schools in the NAIA have begun their 2020-21 season, with only two leagues – the CCC and the California Pacific – deciding against playing a conference schedule. Every team currently playing has lost at least one game – with top-ranked Indiana Wesleyan leading the way with a 26-1 record, while second-ranked LSU Shreveport (13-1) dropped their first game of the season on Monday at LSU Alexandria. Four teams have won 20-or-more games – Indiana Wesleyan (26-1), Shawnee State (22-2), Talladega (20-2) and Morningside (20-3).
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 1,050 – one of six programs (UNLV – 1,119, Duke – 1,107, CCC rival, Corban – 1,090, Arkansas – 1,065 and Western Kentucky – 1,058) which have made a 3-pointer in over 1,050-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 41 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.
