Men's Basketball | 2/20/2023 4:20:00 PM
JUST WIN BABY: With 27-straight wins, College of Idaho has moved ahead of NCAA Division III Saint Joseph (Conn.) for the longest active winning streak in college men's basketball. A pair of women's basketball programs - South Carolina (NCAA Division I) and Ashland (NCAA Division II) are both 27-0.
25-WIN SEASONS: The win over Bushnell 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 five 30-win seasons (1996, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022).
CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS: With the win over Eastern Oregon on February 7, the Coyotes clinched the 2023 Cascade Conference regular-season championship – their 11th 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, 2020 and 2022.
NATIONAL BERTH: The regular-season title also clinched the Yotes an automatic bid to the NAIA National Championships – with C of I one of 64 teams who will begin play at 16 Opening Round sites on March 13. It is the Coyotes 25th all-time trip to Nationals – 10 to the NAIA Tournament and 15 trips to the NAIA Division II Tournament. The Yotes have advanced to the national quarterfinals six times (1988, 1989, 1993, 2001, 2015, 2022), the national semifinals twice (2018, 2019) and won the 1996 NAIA Division II National Championships.
PLAYOFF BASKETBALL: Tuesday marks the start of the Cascade Conference Championships – as eight teams will compete for the league's second automatic bid to the NAIA Championships. It is the 25th-straight season the Yotes have advanced to the playoffs and their 40th postseason appearance in 41 years. C of I has an 95-55 all-time playoff record, including a 38-17 mark in the CCC Championships. C of I has played 66 all-time postseason games at home (between Kirkpatrick Gym, O'Connor Fieldhouse and the Activities Center), posting a 56-10 all-time record. The Yotes have an 18-9 record in the CCC quarterfinals – including a 15-4 mark in the Activities Center.
UNDEFEATED IN CCC PLAY: With back-to-back wins over Northwest and Evergreen, the Yotes completed Cascade Collegiate Conference regular season play with a 22-0 mark. College of Idaho is the only school to have a team go through CCC play undefeated as the 2019-20 Yotes squad went through CCC play without a loss.
DEFENSE: The last two seasons, College of Idaho has led the CCC in scoring defense in allowing an average of 63.4 points per game. 13 times in 2022-23, the Yotes have held their opponents to under 40% shooting from the field and nine times, they have held an opponent under 60 points.
UNSELFISH SCORING: When
Johnny Radford led the Yotes in scoring in back-to-back games against Northwest (Fri., Feb. 17) and Evergreen (Sat., Feb. 18), it was the first time that the same player led College of Idaho in scoring in back-to-back games. On eight occasions, Radford has been the top scorer for the Yotes, followed by seven efforts by
Drew Wyman. College of Idaho has had eight-different players lead the team in scoring.
BOARD WORK: With 1,200 rebounds – 384 offensive in the first 28 games, College of Idaho is closing in on 400 offensive rebounds for the fifth time in six seasons. The 2020-21 season was cut short due to CoVID and College of Idaho grabbed 230 offensive rebounds. The school record for offensive rebounds in a season is 501 which is held by the 2014-15 squad.
SERIES HISTORY: College of Idaho has won the last seven meetings against Bushnell, formerly known as Northwest Christian. With the Beacons posting a 84-80 win on Dec. 16, 2018 in Eugene. The Yotes hold a 26-9 advantage in the all-time series that dates back to 1980-81.
SUCCESS IN THE CCC: The Yotes have won its last 27 games on the season and 32 Cascade Collegiate Conference regular season games; College of Idaho has won its last 33 home games, including the last 22 against CCC foes; the Yotes have won its last 14 games away from Caldwell - including 13 straight against CCC opponents.
STIFLING DEFENSE: Many of the Cascade Collegiate Conference teams have had some of their lowest scoring outputs against College of Idaho in 2022-23. Among the eight, Northwest (35 pts.), Southern Oregon (54 pts.) and Warner Pacific (42 pts.) were held to their lowest output of the season.
FAN FAVORITES: The Yotes lead the nation in NAIA attendance list with an average of 1,367 fans and a total attendance of 20,502.
