Thursday, January 12
Ogden, UT
7:00 PM
Montana State University
at
at WEBER STATE
Christian Moon leads the Bobcats into action at Weber State on Thursday
Photo by: R. Dean Hendrickson
Bobcats Visit League-Leading Weber State Thursday
1/12/2012 3:44:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MSU faces hot Wildcats, hotter Damian Lillard
Damian Lillard would be hard enough to deal with if here were the main piece to Weber State's puzzle.
MSU Game Notes vs. Weber State
The problem is, says Montana State men's basketball coach Brad Huse, he's not. “They have the great player (in Lillard), and a lot of good players around him, so they don't have weaknesses,” Huse said of dealing with the Big Sky-leading Wildcats, who Montana State faces Thursday at 7 pm in Ogden's Dee Event Center. “We're playing a team that has confidence and one that has a lot of veterans, guys that have been through the battles and have a good idea how to win.”
Winning is something the Wildcats have become accustomed to in 2011-12. Weber State is 12-3 on the season, and off to a sterling 4-0 start in Big Sky play. And while Lillard, the team's all-everything guard who has drawn as much attention from NBA scouts (Weber State officials expect at least a dozen on Thursday) as from opposing defenses, stands at or near the top of the Big Sky in most statistical categories, he's not alone.
Scott Bamforth enters Thursday's game fifth in the Big Sky in scoring (15.6 ppg) and seventh in three-point shooting (44.2%). Kyle Tresnak is one of the top players in the league in shooting, while Darin Mahoney has been a presence inside rebounding and blocking shots.
But it all starts with Lillard. The league's top player as a sophomore, he missed last season with a knee injury. But the junior from the Oakland area is back at full strength, leading all of Division I with 26.3 points per game and topping the Big Sky in three other statistical categories.
Huse said it will take more than one man to help contain Weber State's current superstar. “It takes teamwork. We're not putting it on any one guy to go and shut down another guy. They have a lot of good pieces, and we'll have to make it a collective effort.”
Montana State's sixth-year head coach likes how his team is playing as it continues along the Big Sky road this weekend. “We're definitely gelling,” he said. “We played good basketball the last two games, we've played with a lot more confidence, our shooting percentages are significantly higher. We're getting enough stops to win games. I feel like we're evolving, getting a pretty good idea of where are shots need to come from.”
The Bobcats are in the midst of a stretch playing five games out of seven on the road. That extended road trip began well, with MSU winning at Idaho State last Thursday. Huse is looking for mindset as much as results. “We've played pretty good basketball on the road. The bigger thing for us is mentality. When we come out and we're the more aggressive team on both ends of the floor it bodes well. It certainly helps your confidence when you come out of the chutes and see the ball go in the basket.”
MSU Game Notes vs. Weber State
The problem is, says Montana State men's basketball coach Brad Huse, he's not. “They have the great player (in Lillard), and a lot of good players around him, so they don't have weaknesses,” Huse said of dealing with the Big Sky-leading Wildcats, who Montana State faces Thursday at 7 pm in Ogden's Dee Event Center. “We're playing a team that has confidence and one that has a lot of veterans, guys that have been through the battles and have a good idea how to win.”
Winning is something the Wildcats have become accustomed to in 2011-12. Weber State is 12-3 on the season, and off to a sterling 4-0 start in Big Sky play. And while Lillard, the team's all-everything guard who has drawn as much attention from NBA scouts (Weber State officials expect at least a dozen on Thursday) as from opposing defenses, stands at or near the top of the Big Sky in most statistical categories, he's not alone.
Scott Bamforth enters Thursday's game fifth in the Big Sky in scoring (15.6 ppg) and seventh in three-point shooting (44.2%). Kyle Tresnak is one of the top players in the league in shooting, while Darin Mahoney has been a presence inside rebounding and blocking shots.
But it all starts with Lillard. The league's top player as a sophomore, he missed last season with a knee injury. But the junior from the Oakland area is back at full strength, leading all of Division I with 26.3 points per game and topping the Big Sky in three other statistical categories.
Huse said it will take more than one man to help contain Weber State's current superstar. “It takes teamwork. We're not putting it on any one guy to go and shut down another guy. They have a lot of good pieces, and we'll have to make it a collective effort.”
Montana State's sixth-year head coach likes how his team is playing as it continues along the Big Sky road this weekend. “We're definitely gelling,” he said. “We played good basketball the last two games, we've played with a lot more confidence, our shooting percentages are significantly higher. We're getting enough stops to win games. I feel like we're evolving, getting a pretty good idea of where are shots need to come from.”
The Bobcats are in the midst of a stretch playing five games out of seven on the road. That extended road trip began well, with MSU winning at Idaho State last Thursday. Huse is looking for mindset as much as results. “We've played pretty good basketball on the road. The bigger thing for us is mentality. When we come out and we're the more aggressive team on both ends of the floor it bodes well. It certainly helps your confidence when you come out of the chutes and see the ball go in the basket.”
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