Northern Colorado Basketball

B.J. Hill is the head men's basketball coach at the University of Northern Colorado, the 15th seed in the NCAA tournament's West Region. The Bears face No. 2 San Diego State on Thursday.

To be honest, my guys and I are relishing the chance that’s in front of us this week in Tucson.

We know we have a huge battle on our hands—San Diego State is a great program, and I’ve got all the respect in the world for what coach Steve Fisher and his staff have done there—but if there is one word that describes Northern Colorado basketball, it would be “underdog.”

When we step foot on the court Thursday afternoon, we’ll be continuing what we started five years ago. We won’t be embarking into uncharted territory, as many probably think.

Let me explain.

We’re a team full of guys with chips on their shoulders, and that starts at the bottom of our program’s roster and continues on up to its head coach, me. To a man, we’ve always had to prove ourselves and fight and claw for everything we’ve earned.

Take senior guard Devon Beitzel, for example. He was one of the best scorers in Colorado high school history in Lafayette, but when it came time to make a decision about playing college ball, his options were slim. He got a couple sniffs from some schools back east, but nothing serious. For the most part the college basketball world took one look at Devon’s tiny frame and perceived slow shot and turned the other cheek.

So he decided to join our program when it was in its infancy—his true freshman year was our first at the Division I level—and he quickly found himself a duck out of water. He even considered transferring after he sat as a redshirt during his first year on campus.

But he fought and worked hard and forged himself into one of the best players in the country. That’s not a misprint. As I write this, he’s 12th in the country in scoring at 21.4 points a game, and he’s the nation’s ninth-best free-throw shooter.

He’s also one of 10 finalists for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award, mostly for his stellar GPA in Greeley and for the amazing and inspiring story of his upbringing.

Devon is a great example of what Northern Colorado basketball is all about. Many thought he had no business on an NCAA Division I basketball court—just like many across the country are probably laughing at “little old UNC” as they fill out their brackets—but here he is, the leader of a team with as legitimate a chance as any of becoming just the fifth No. 15 seed to knock off a No. 2 seed in NCAA tournament history.

And Devon is just one of the members of our program who elicited an “Is that all you got?” from college basketball scouts across the country.

Senior Neal Kingman? He was 6'5", 180 pounds soaking wet coming out of Greeley West High School, and he had to listen to classmates and friends make fun of him as he decided to join the lowly Bears across town instead of heading off to a bigger and better school.

How about senior Chris Kaba? He starred on the same AAU team as Luke Harangody, but all the attention was on the future Notre Dame star when scouts came to their neighborhood.

And then there’s me.

I’ll be honest. A lot of people in the country thought I wasn’t even good enough to be a low-level junior-college coach when I was making my way across the Midwest’s JUCO circuit. I tried and tried to get some head coaching spots in Iowa and Kansas but couldn’t even get a sniff.

These were not great positions I was trying to snag.

But I fought and clawed and dug deep and finally saw the hard work pay off last spring when my good friend and mentor Tad Boyle earned a chance to coach at Colorado.

So when we tip it up against San Diego State on Thursday, we’re just taking the next step—the next step for a program that has been fighting for respect since it decided to reclassify to Division I in 2003. We’ve taken our lumps along the way—and maybe we’ll take one Thursday—but we love being the underdog.

It’s fueled me and my assistant coaches, given fire to our players and allowed us to get to where we are now. It hasn’t been easy, but if it had been, we wouldn’t be here.

We’d be watching the Madness this week instead of getting a chance to see how we match up against one of the nation’s best teams. We know we belong here. We’re ready to prove it.

The University of Northern Colorado Bears won the Big Sky tournament last night, defeating the University of Montana Grizzlies, 65-60.

With that win the university will be getting its first automatic invitation to the NCAA tournament. No doubt this was the biggest win the school's basketball team has ever had.

It's quite remarkable that the university has been able to have success so quickly. The university only started competing in Division I athletics in 2007. The future is definitely looking bright in Greeley.

Previously, the Bears competed in Division II, where the school won the 1997 and 1998 national championships in football. That was really the only athletic success the school has had, up until now, that is.

UNC is in the midst of an amazing season, going 21-10 overall with a 13-3 Big Sky record. Being in the tournament will only have upside, considering that the university almost never gets any national TV exposure.

Congratulations to Northern Colorado, its fans and alumni.

It's probably a bit unrealistic to have too many expectations for the Bears, as they will probably have a low seed, but you never know, they could become the next Cinderella.

Hopefully, the Bears won't be the only Colorado team in the tournament. If the Buffaloes can sneak in, it would make for a very happy March Madness around the state.

Can't wait to see those Dancing Bears.

Last season the Utah State Aggies were dangerously close to the ultimate snub.  It would have been akin to the hot cheerleader getting stood up at the prom.  Personally, I didn’t see why the NCAA Committee was in such a fuss.  After all, the Aggies had won nineteen in a row.  They were 24-1 and ranked at one point.  Had a good inside-outside combo with Jared Quayle and Gary Wilkinson.  A very underrated coach in Stew Morrill. 

OK, so they lost to Boise State.  Everybody’s due for a bad night.  But those folks at the RPI made some of those committee nervous.  What if they don’t win the WAC tournament?  Do all of those wins against the likes of Cal-Irvine and Houston Baptist mean anything?  Wouldn’t the people rather see a seventh-place team from a Power Six conference that is rich in athletic funds take the floor? 

Well, this year the committee doesn’t have to worry about Utah State.  I ranked the Aggies in my BP Top 40 in the preseason.  I was subsequently smacked back to reality following their losses to Utah and Northeastern.  This year the Aggies have to win the WAC tourney to return to the Dance.

No, this year the committee may be wringing their hands over a team that has only spent five previous seasons in D-1 and has never had an RPI above 273.

I

’m talking about the Northern Colorado Bears.

The who?  

C’mon, nobody’s heard about the guys from Greeley?  They currently sit at 7-0 and all of those victories came on the road until last night’s home debut against Colorado State.  They weren’t even on the radar to win the Big Sky conference but have to be considered the favorite.  The only name team on their schedule for the rest of the year is Oklahoma, which is another team the Bald Prophet is guilty of overranking this season (but I wasn’t the only one, admit it).

Therein lies the problem.  I’m not going to spew forth crazy talk about the Bears going undefeated but they could have a very similar season to Utah State.  Right now, their RPI sits at 58.  That may rise a bit if they keep winning but I can’t see it getting above the 40s, especially when you consider the Big Sky is the 18^th-ranked conference in RPI-land (and that will likely drop). 

So what happens if the scenario plays out?  Bears win the regular season title?  Face Idaho State or Eastern Washington in the first round of the Big Sky tournament?  They all wish they were skiing instead?  Fumble?

Look at this way, fellas.  The NIT’s a step in the right direction.