COMING UP: Host Cascade Conference Championships, presented by U.S. Bank – championship game vs. Southern Oregon, Tuesday, 7 p.m.
COMPLETE WEEKLY MEDIA NOTEBOOK
TICKET / FAN PROTOCOLS: For the Cascade Conference Championships, masks are required over the mouth and nose at all times for games tournament games – per the updated Cascade Conference Return to Play Protocols. Tickets to Tuesday's championship game are available online through the
C of I Ticket Portal – with reserved tickets ($20), general admission tickets ($15) available 90 minutes prior to tip-off. Fans are to be reminded that season-ticket packages and parent ticket packages do not include postseason games.
LIVE LINKS: Tuesday's CCC championship game will be carried live on the
Yotes Digital Network ($10 per game, $50 season pass), with Mike Safford calling the action – as Safford is in his 21st and final year as the Voice of the Yotes. In addition, Live Stats will be available through
C of I's SIDEARM Sports Portal.
25-WIN SEASONS: The Feb. 18 win at Warner Pacific secured the Coyotes their 13th 25-win season in program history. C of I has logged 27 20-win season in program history and the seventh 20-win season in the last decade, while recording five 30-win seasons (1996, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2020).
BEST ALL-TIME STARTS: C of I heads into the championship game with a 28-4 overall record – their third-best 32-game record in program history. The current team trails only the 1995-96 and 2019-20 teams opened the year with a 29-3 mark, both finishing the season at 31-3.
WIN STREAKS: With victories in the first two rounds of the CCC Championships, the Coyotes have extended their win streak to 10 games and have won 21 of their last 22 games. C of I will take a 16-game home win streak into the title match-up and have won 11-straight CCC Tournament games (not including last season's Best-of-3 series with LC State), dating back to the 2016-17 season.
HOME COURT EDGE: The J.A. Albertson Activities Center is arguably one of the toughest venues in all of NAIA Basketball, as the Coyotes are 18-1 this season and have posted a staggering 132-16 overall record on their home floor since the start of the 2013-14 season. The 18 home wins equal a school record, joining the 2019-20 team that finished 18-1 at home, with both the 2013-14 and 2014-15 teams finishing 17-0. Since the Activities Center opened in 1991, the Yotes have recorded a 348-99 all-time record – with the mark ballooning to 464-108 when accounting the previous decade at O'Connor Fieldhouse. Despite COVID restrictions this season, C of I ranks No. 2 in the NAIA in basketball attendance (behind Indiana Wesleyan), averaging 1,212 fans per game – more than Idaho State (1,152) and just under the total for Idaho (1,282) – and higher than any Division II or Division III program in the Northwest.
REGULAR-SEASON CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS: C of I finished the Cascade Conference season at 20-2, clinching the 2022 regular-season championship – their tenth title in program history. C of I won the Northwest Conference title in 1947, 1955 and 1956 and have claimed CCC crowns in 1996, 2004, 2014, 2015, 2018 and 2020.
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME STAPLE: The Yotes have advanced to their fourth-straight CCC championship game and are searching for their tenth all-time CCC Tournament crown – having won the event in 1996, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019 and 2020.
HISTORY IN TITLE GAMES: Tuesday marks the 24th all-time conference/district championship game that the Coyotes have played in – their 11th CCC title game. C of I has a 9-1 all-time record in the CCC championship game, a 6-1 mark in the NAIA District 2 championship game and a 2-4 mark in the NAIA District 5 title game.
SOUTHERN OREGON HEADS TO CALDWELL: The Coyotes will meet the No. 5 seed in the tournament, as Southern Oregon looks to become the third team seeded No. 5 or lower to win the CCC tournament title (joining the 2003 C of I team that won as a No. 5 seed and the 2017 Corban team that won as a No. 8 seed). The Raiders (18-14) rebounded after a tough regular-season ending road trip (losses at LC State and Walla Walla) to knock off Corban in Salem and earn a buzzer-beater win at LCSC in the semifinals. SOU has a solid defensive team, allowing just 70 points a game, holding foes to just 44-percent shooting and 32-percent shooting from 3-point range. The Raiders average 71 points a game, but have been limited to just 48 points per game and 32-percent shooting from the floor in 66-49 and 97-47 losses to C of I. Forward Josh Meyer (14.5 ppg, 8.9 rpg) leads the squad in scoring, with guards Atmar Mundu (11.8 ppg, 2.7 rpg) and Tez Allen (10.8 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 3.6 apg) tough match-ups. The two teams have met 83 times, with C of I holding a 58-25 series edge, dating back to 1960.
PLAYOFF HISTORY WITH SOUTHERN: Tuesday's game is the eighth postseason meeting between the Coyotes and Raiders, with C of I holding a 5-2 series edge. The Yotes earned wins over SOU in 1987 (87-79 in the District 2 Tournament), 2006 (63-47 in Ashland in the CCC quarterfinals), 2015 (86-79 in the CCC championship), 2018 (67-50 in the CCC quarterfinals) and 2019 (70-55 in the CCC championship). Southern earned a 103-101 double-overtime win at C of I in the 2002 CCC quarterfinals, while topping the Yotes 50-47 in Ashland in the 2005 CCC championship game.
MORE PLAYOFF BASKETBALL IN CALDWELL: The regular-season title clinched the Yotes an automatic bid to the NAIA National Championships – with C of I one of 64 teams who will begin play on March 11. It is the Coyotes 24th all-time trip to Nationals – nine to the NAIA Tournament and 15 trips to the NAIA Division II Tournament. The Yotes have advanced to the national quarterfinals five times (1988, 1989, 1993, 2001, 2015), the national semifinals twice (2018, 2019) and won the 1996 NAIA Division II National Championships. C of I earned one 16 Opening Round host sites, as the winner of the 16 four-team tournaments advancing to the final site of the National Championship.
QUALIFIERS FOR OPENING ROUND: A total of 39 automatic bids (including a host bid) will be determined from the 21 NAIA conferences, with the remaining 25 berths to the tournament awarded by the NAIA Men's Basketball Tournament selection committee on March 3. Teams having punched their ticket to the tournament through Sunday night include Montreat (N.C.), Union (Ky.), College of Idaho, Olivet Nazarene, IU-South Bend, Florida College, Washington Adventist (Md.), Indiana Wesleyan, OUAZ, Arizona Christian, Briar Cliff (Iowa), William Penn (Iowa), Oklahoma Wesleyan, Thomas More (Ky.), Georgetown (Ky.), Bellevue (Neb.), Science & Arts (Okla.), Loyola (La.), Talladega (Ala.), Florida Memorial and Indiana Tech.
RUN AND GUN: The Coyote offense has found a new gear during their 10-game win streak, as the same squad that averaged 68 points per game over their first 10 games of the season is averaging 86.6 points during the current run. C of I has scored 90-or-more points in each of their last three games – the first such run since the 2015-16 season – and have posted 10 games this season of 90-or-more points.
DOMINANT WINS: Since their overtime win over Corban on Jan. 28 – the Coyotes have rattled off 9-straight victories by at least 12-or-more points – one game shy of their streak of 10-straight wins by 12-or-more points in 2019-20. The past five wins have been by a margin of 28-or-more points – joining the legendary 1954-55 C of I team led by Elgin Baylor and R.C. Owens as the only teams to achieve the feat (67 years ago, the Yotes won five-straight February games by 28-or-more points).
3-POINTERS KEY: The uptick in scoring has been helped by the 3-point shot, as the Coyotes have connected on 10-or-more triples in 5-straight games. During the 10-game win streak, C of I is averaging 9.6 3-pointers made per game – making 38-percent of their long range attempts. It marks the first time the Yotes have made 10-or-more 3's in 5-straight games since November of 2018.
LOCKING IT DOWN: The Yotes defense continues to pave the way to victory – as C of I has held each of their last eight opponents to 65 points or less. For the season, opponents are averaging 63.5 points per game – the No. 9 mark in the NAIA, with the Coyotes holding foes to a 40-percent shooting percentage from the field and a 31-percent clip from 3-point range. The school-record for scoring defense is 63.3 points per game, set in 1959.
DOUBLE-DIGIT BOARDS: C of I continued their dominance on the glass, posting a combined 31 more rebounds than their opponents in the two playoff victories. The Yotes have recorded seven-straight games with a rebound margin of 10-or-more, with their 10.2 rebound margin on the season ranking No. 1 in the CCC and No. 2 in the entire NAIA.
TIME CLOSING IN: Leading scorer
Ricardo Time was in a zone on Saturday, scoring 13 of the Yotes first 17 points, finishing the night with a game-high 23 points in the win over Warner Pacific. The senior upped his season scoring average to 12.7 points and is now connecting on 37-percent of his 3-point attempts. With at least two more games remaining, Time needs just 46 points to become the 29th C of I player to record 1,000 points for a career.
ELZIE HAS HUGE WEEK: The Coyotes got a huge boost from point-guard
Charles Elzie, who posted back-to-back monster games. The third-year player scored a career-high 19 points in the Wednesday win, while following it up with 11 points, seven assists and tying a career-high with seven steals against Warner Pacific. Elzie joins
Johnny Radford as Coyotes this season to record seven steals in a game and become the first tandem to each record seven steals in a game in the same season in program history.
WYMAN AMONG FRESHMEN ELITE: Forward
Drew Wyman continued his big season, scoring 15 points against Multnomah and adding nine points against Warner Pacific. Wyman has scored 339 points this season – the most by a C of I true freshman since Chuck Blackhurst scored 352 points in 1983. The first-year Coyote ranks No. 5 on the all-time freshman scoring list – trailing Blackhurst, Bob Moreno (479 points in 1959), R.C. Owens (557 points in 1953) and Elgin Baylor (854 points in 1955).
OFF THE BENCH: The Coyote reserves outscored their two playoff opponents by a combined 105-21, showcasing C of I's depth.
Johnny Radford had two big games, averaging 14 points in the victories – recording his 11th and 12th double-digit scoring games of the season.
Jake O'Neil continued to dominate the glass, posting 13 rebounds against Multnomah, his sixth game with 10-or-more rebounds this season – averaging 10 points and 10 rebounds in the playoff wins.
Paul Wilson was key against Warner Pacific, logging nine rebounds and two blocks – connecting on 3-of-4 field goal attempts in the two games.
RECORD BOOK: Six C of I players are ranked in the Top-50 of the career record book – as
Ricardo Time ranks No. 8 in 3-pointers made (166) and attempted (428), No. 29 in points scored (954), No. 32 in field goal attempts (754), No. 37 in field goals made (331), No. 50 in assists (144) and ranking just outside the Top-50 in rebounds (388).
Derek Wadsworth is No. 19 in games played (111), No. 14 in 3-point attempts (357), No. 26 in 3-pointers made (118) and No. 42 in assists (158);
Ivory Miles-Williams is No. 5 in games played (124), No. 40 in rebounds (439) and just outside the Top-50 in assists (139) and field goals made (292);
Paul Wilson is No. 14 in blocked shots (52);
Charles Elzie is No. 28 in assists (191) and No. 29 in steals (88); with
Johnny Radford No. 49 in 3-pointers made (64) and just outside the Top-50 in 3-point attempts (163). Wilson is also No. 17 on the single-season blocked shots list (38), with Time No. 37 in 3-point attempts (164) and No. 39 in 3-pointers made (61).
