Men's Basketball | 11/8/2023 5:12:00 PM
BY THE NUMBERS:
• 37-game winning streak
- College of Idaho ended the 2022-23 season on a program-best 36-game winning streak after losing its first game of the season.
- With 37-straight wins, College of Idaho has the longest active winning streak in college basketball.
• 38 home game winning streak
- College of Idaho won all 20 games in 2022-23 season and its last 18 games of 2021-22. The last loss was on November 17, 2021 against NNU by an 80-70 margin.
• Familiar starting five:
- 67-consecutive starts for Tyler Robinett, 65 for Caden Handran, 46 for Drew Wyman and 37 for Jake O'Neil
• 1,124-consecutive games with a 3-pointer
- Just four programs in college basketball have a streak at or longer than the Yotes. UNLV has made a 3-pointer in 1,192 games; followed by Duke (1,190) and Western Kentucky (1,131). East Tennessee State, like the Yotes, have made a 3-pointer in 1,124 consecutive games.
• 31-straight wins when they score first and 36-straight when they lead at half.
HISTORY IN THE MAYORS' CUP: The United Heritage Insurance Mayors' Cup match-up marks the 14th-straight year that the Canyon County schools will meet in a home-and-home series (not including the 2020-21 season that was shortened due to COVID). The two teams met seven times at the Idaho Center before the rivalry game was moved to campus sites in 2009, with the Yotes picking up wins in 2000 (73-59), 2001 (99-86), 2005 (78-71), 2006 (88-80), and 2007 (60-54), while NNU notched wins in 2004 (78-75) and 2008 (76- 71). C of I holds an 9-4 record in Caldwell since the home-and-home series restarted in 2009, including wins in 7-straight games in the Activities Center, while NNU has a 9-2 record in Nampa. The 60-47 win in Caldwell, last season brought the Mayors Cup Trophy back to Caldwell for the first time since 2014-15.
STIFLING DEFENSE: In holding Providence to 53 points in the season opener, it was the Argos lowest output in a game since February 21, 2018 in a 63-51 loss to Montana State-Northern.
UNDER 60 POINTS / OVER 95 POINTS: C of I has a dominating 217-14 mark when holding teams under 60 points over the last 40+ years. During the stretch, the Coyotes are 54-1 when opponents fail to score 50. In addition, the Yotes have won 60 of their last 61 contests (dating back to 2006) when scoring 95 points per game.
BLAINE SUCCESS: Colby Blaine became the first coach in program history to be named the Cascade Collegiate Conference Men's Basketball Coach of the Year on three occasions. He has led College of Idaho to 30 wins in the last five seasons with the exception of the CoVID season of 2020-21.
POLL CHATTER: For the second-straight poll, College of Idaho finds itself at the top of the poll for the eighth time in program history. The eight weeks at No. 1 ranks 24th among NAIA programs and among CCC teams, it is second to Oregon Tech, who has spent 15 weeks at the top spot. The Yotes have spent the last 18 weeks ranked in the top 25 which is the fourth-longest active streak in the NAIA. C of I moved into fourth after William Penn (Iowa) dropped out of this week's poll after three-straight losses.
HOME COURT EDGE: The J.A. Albertson Activities Center is arguably one of the toughest venues in all of NAIA Basketball, as the Coyotes posted a perfect 20-0 mark in 2022-23 and have posted a staggering 153-16 overall record on their home floor since the start of the 2013-14 season. The 20 home wins were just one win shy of a new school record held by the 2021-22 team. Since the Activities Center opened in 1991, the Yotes have recorded a 368-99 all-time record – with the mark ballooning to 485-108 when accounting the previous decade at O'Connor Fieldhouse.
HOME OPENERS: College of Idaho has won its last 10 home openers including two against NNU in the 2018-19 contest, 86-82 in double overtime and 2013-14 by a 93-83 margin over the Nighthawks. C of I is 72-28 all-time in home opening games (the Yotes did not play "home" games during the 1921-22, 1922-23, 1931-32 and 1935-36 seasons).
25-WIN SEASONS: The win over Bushnell last season on Feb. 11 secured the Coyotes their 14th 25-win season in program history. C of I has recorded 28 20-win season in program history and the eighth 20-win season in the last decade, while recording six 30-win seasons (1996, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022 and 2023).
JAM THE JAAC: College of Idaho led the NAIA with an average of a program best 1,494 fans at its home games in 2022-23. Since 2013-14, with the exception of the CoVID year of 2020-21, College of Idaho has averaged over 1,000 fans per home game.
HOME SWEET HOME: Since the start of the 2013-14 season, College of Idaho has posted a 143-16 record. Last season, the Yotes posted a 20-1 mark at home surpassing 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 360-99 all-time record – with the mark ballooning to 477-108 when accounting the previous decade at O'Connor Fieldhouse.
IS THERE AN AREA CODE? Senior guard
Johnny Radford heads into tonight's contest with 173 3-pointers which ranks eighth in program history. Last season, Radford was just the fourth Yote to have made 100 3-pointers in a season (others: Neal Robertson - 124; Ben Riley - 106; Kade Wilson - 105).
