# 2022–23 Northern Colorado Bears men's basketball team

The 2022–23 Northern Colorado Bears men's basketball team represented the University of Northern Colorado in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bears, led by third-year head coach Steve Smiley, played their home games at Bank of Colorado Arena in Greeley, Colorado as members of the Big Sky Conference.

## Previous season

The Bears finished the 2021–22 season 22–16, 13–7 in Big Sky play, to finish in a tie for third place. In the Big Sky tournament, they defeated Eastern Washington and Portland State, before falling to Montana State in the championship game. They received an invite to the CBI, where they defeated Florida Atlantic and UNC Asheville, before falling to UNC Wilmington in the semifinals.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 7, 2022* 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at No. 3 Houston | L 36–83 | 0–1 | Fertitta Center (7,042) Houston, TX |
| November 11, 2022* 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Texas A&M–Commerce | W 80–77 | 1–1 | Bank of Colorado Arena (1,319) Greeley, CO |
| November 14, 2022* 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at No. 5 Baylor | L 62–95 | 1–2 | Ferrell Center (8,548) Waco, TX |
| November 19, 2022* 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | San Jose State | L 69–80 | 1–3 | Bank of Colorado Arena (1,065) Greeley, CO |
| November 22, 2022* 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Colorado Christian | L 69–70 | 1–4 | Bank of Colorado Arena (1,057) Greeley, CO |
| November 25, 2022* 7:30 pm | | vs. North Dakota State Lobo Classic | W 80–70 | 2–4 | The Pit (9,033) Albuquerque, NM |
| November 26, 2022* 7:30 pm | | vs. Jacksonville State Lobo Classic | W 86–82 $^{OT}$ | 3–4 | The Pit (8,715) Albuquerque, NM |
| November 27, 2022* 5:30 pm, MN Network | | at New Mexico Lobo Classic | L 74–98 | 3–5 | The Pit (8,434) Albuquerque, NM |
| December 3, 2022* 2:30 pm, MW Network | | at Colorado State | W 88–83 | 4–5 | Moby Arena (5,439) Fort Collins, CO |
| December 10, 2022* 8:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Cal State Northridge | W 70–63 | 5–5 | Premier America Credit Union Arena (453) Northridge, CA |
| December 18, 2022* 3:00 pm, P12N | | at Colorado | L 77–88 | 5–6 | CU Events Center (6,015) Boulder, CO |
| December 20, 2022* 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Air Force | L 65–67 | 5–7 | Bank of Colorado Arena (1,601) Greeley, CO |
| Big Sky regular season ||||||
| December 29, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Weber State | L 72–81 | 5–8 (0–1) | Dee Events Center (4,861) Ogden, UT |
| December 31, 2022 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Idaho State | L 83–90 $^{OT}$ | 5–9 (0–2) | Reed Gym (933) Pocatello, ID |
| January 5, 2023 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Montana State | L 56–77 | 5–10 (0–3) | Bank of Colorado Arena (1,121) Greeley, CO |
| January 7, 2023 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Montana | L 74–79 | 5–11 (0–4) | Bank of Colorado Arena (1,221) Greeley, CO |
| January 12, 2023 8:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Sacramento State | L 64–72 | 5–12 (0–5) | Hornets Nest (613) Sacramento, CA |
| January 14, 2023 8:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Portland State | W 69–67 | 6–12 (1–5) | Viking Pavilion (1,129) Portland, OR |
| January 19, 2023 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Eastern Washington | L 75–83 | 6–13 (1–6) | Bank of Colorado Arena (1,295) Greeley, CO |
| January 21, 2023 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Idaho | W 73–67 | 7–13 (2–6) | Bank of Colorado Arena (1,214) Greeley, CO |
| January 28, 2023 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Northern Arizona | L 73–83 | 7–14 (2–7) | Findlay Toyota Court (1,617) Flagstaff, AZ |
| February 2, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Montana | L 67–69 | 7–15 (2–8) | Dahlberg Arena (2,990) Missoula, MT |
| February 4, 2023 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Montana State | L 62–75 | 7–16 (2–9) | Worthington Arena (3,863) Bozeman, MT |
| February 6, 2023 9:00 pm, ESPNU | | Weber State | W 88–54 | 8–16 (3–9) | Bank of Colorado Arena (1,503) Greeley, CO |
| February 9, 2023 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Portland State | W 88–79 | 9–16 (4–9) | Bank of Colorado Arena (1,542) Greeley, CO |
| February 11, 2023 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Sacramento State | W 70–54 | 10–16 (5–9) | Bank of Colorado Arena (1,265) Greeley, CO |
| February 16, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Idaho | L 82–84 | 10–17 (5–10) | ICCU Arena Moscow, ID |
| February 18, 2023 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Eastern Washington | L 77–89 | 10–18 (5–11) | Reese Court (2,754) Cheney, WA |
| February 25, 2023 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Northern Arizona | L 82–85 | 10–19 (5–12) | Bank of Colorado Arena (1,734) Greeley, CO |
| February 27, 2023 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Idaho State | W 87–72 | 11–19 (6–12) | Bank of Colorado Arena (1,436) Greeley, CO |
| Big Sky tournament ||||||
| March 4, 2023 8:00 pm, ESPN+ | (8) | vs. (7) Portland State First round | W 84–80 | 12–19 | Idaho Central Arena Boise, ID |
| March 5, 2023 8:00 pm, ESPN+ | (8) | vs. (2) Montana State Quarterfinals | L 73–84 | 12–20 | Idaho Central Arena Boise, ID |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Mountain. ||||||
Sources