SALT LAKE CITY – The 18th-ranked Westminster College men’s basketball team looks to snap a two-game losing streak with two home games this week. Westminster begins a four-game home-stand Thursday when it welcomes Great Falls (Mont.) to town. On Saturday, No. 10 Montana State-Northern makes the annual trip to Salt Lake City. Both games will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Behnken Field House.
Both games will be carried live on Griffins TV and Comcast 6 in Northern Utah.
Westminster begins the week at 13-3 overall this season and 1-2 in Frontier Conference play. The Griffins dropped 11 positions to No. 18 in this week’s NAIA Top 25 Coaches’ Poll after dropping two road games at Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) and Montana Tech over the weekend.
The Griffins have a perfect 5-0 record in the Behnken Field House this season, including an 84-63 win over Montana Western in the Frontier opener on Dec. 1. They have won five of the last six conference games played at home dating back to last season and are 37-4 all-time in Frontier Conference games in the Behnken Field House.
The team is scoring 80.7 points per game and rank second in the league and 23rd in the country in that category. Westminster shoots 46.9 percent from the floor and 36.9 percent from beyond the arc to rank 27th and 26th in the NAIA, respectively. The 1.16 assist-to-turnover ratio is 12th in the country, and the team also makes 7.2 treys per outing.
Westminster is holding its opposition to 63.9 points per game and rank 34th nationally in that category and 29th by holding opponents to 31.3 percent from beyond the arc. The Griffins give up just 33.8 rebounds per game while ranking eighth in the NAIA by taking 11.8 steals per game. The Griffins force 21.6 turnovers per game and lead the country with a turnover margin of 8.67.