Thursday, January 23
Ogden, UT
7:05 pm
Montana State University
at
at WEBER STATE
Paul Egwuonwu and the Cats play at Weber State on Thursday
Photo by: Kelly Gorham
Bobcats Head South, Tangle with Weber State on Thursday
1/23/2014 10:28:00 AM | Men's Basketball
MSU faces league leaders and preseason favorites
Brad Huse knows his team is in for a long haul, and he's not just talking about the six-hour bus trip to Ogden, Utah, to face preseason Big Sky favorite Weber State on Thursday.
MSU Game Notes vs. Weber State
"It's a grind, I think we're all figuring that out," MSU's eighth-year head coach said of the Big Sky's 20-game regular season schedule. Most of the league teams passed the quarter-pole on Saturday. "It's a long season, and you can't get too high or low."
Huse's Bobcats experienced each last weekend, knocking off the only undefeated remaining in the league standings by beating Northern Colorado on Thursday, then dropping a narrow decision to North Dakota on Saturday. Huse said that responding to the remaining ebbs and flows will go a fair way toward determining his team's fate.
"Somebody said, 'Hey, you're in first… now you're in fourth!'," Huse said with a laugh. "I'm not worried about all that right now, you just want to be playing good basketball. You realize the importance of every game. It's hard to be consistent and stay steady, not get too high or low, and that's what we have to do. I think this group has to learn that."
This weekend's games certainly provide Huse a classroom, as the Cats open with league-leading Weber State on Thursday. The Wildcats began 2014 as the league's preseason favorite, and with Monday's home win over Idaho State claimed a share of the first place. And while none of this is newsworthy, Weber State is different stylistically. The Wildcats lead the Big Sky in scoring defense (64.9) and shooting defense (41.2%), and stand second in three-point defense (33.7%).
Sprinkle in some home cooking, on which Weber State has thrived through the years, and the Huse knows the Cats face a tall task. "It's a tough road trip," he said. "(Weber State has) won 20-plus consecutive conference home games. It's going to be a battle for us, but everybody has the challenge of going in there and winning, that's consistent across the league."
A pair of big men anchor the Wildcats inside. Center Kyle Tresnak averages 10.4 points, 5.8 rebounds and a league-leading 1.8 blocked shots a game. Forward Joel Bolomboy leads the league with 10 rebounds a game, while dynamic wing Davian Davis is fifth in the league in scoring (16.9) and assists (3.6). "Those are very good post players offensively and defensively," Huse said of Tresnak and Bolomboy. "You have to game plan for them. They've done a good job against us with the interior."
Still, Huse's focus is more internal than external at this point. "Right now I'm more concerned about getting our guys on the right page and getting prepared for this road swing," he said, and part of that focus has been directed toward the lane. "Obviously the game plan (Saturday) was to get the ball around the paint, and our guys did a very good job of that." Forward Flavien Davis scored a season-high 25 points Saturday, while center Paul Egwuonwu averaged 13.5 points in two games.
After Saturday's loss, Huse said the importance of focusing on the moment becomes significant."We have to handle emotions the right way. I think that got away from us a little bit (Saturday). We played a team that was trying to find itself with a lot of veterans, a team with high expectations. I thought they played very well, and statistically we played pretty good, it just wasn't enough. That's how precious it is, it's a possession here or there. In a the course of a game like that you can't take anything for granted."
Montana State enters Thursday's game with a 4-2 league mark, one game behind 5-1 Weber State. Saturday, the Cats face Idaho State in Pocatello's Reed Gym.
MSU Game Notes vs. Weber State
"It's a grind, I think we're all figuring that out," MSU's eighth-year head coach said of the Big Sky's 20-game regular season schedule. Most of the league teams passed the quarter-pole on Saturday. "It's a long season, and you can't get too high or low."
Huse's Bobcats experienced each last weekend, knocking off the only undefeated remaining in the league standings by beating Northern Colorado on Thursday, then dropping a narrow decision to North Dakota on Saturday. Huse said that responding to the remaining ebbs and flows will go a fair way toward determining his team's fate.
"Somebody said, 'Hey, you're in first… now you're in fourth!'," Huse said with a laugh. "I'm not worried about all that right now, you just want to be playing good basketball. You realize the importance of every game. It's hard to be consistent and stay steady, not get too high or low, and that's what we have to do. I think this group has to learn that."
This weekend's games certainly provide Huse a classroom, as the Cats open with league-leading Weber State on Thursday. The Wildcats began 2014 as the league's preseason favorite, and with Monday's home win over Idaho State claimed a share of the first place. And while none of this is newsworthy, Weber State is different stylistically. The Wildcats lead the Big Sky in scoring defense (64.9) and shooting defense (41.2%), and stand second in three-point defense (33.7%).
Sprinkle in some home cooking, on which Weber State has thrived through the years, and the Huse knows the Cats face a tall task. "It's a tough road trip," he said. "(Weber State has) won 20-plus consecutive conference home games. It's going to be a battle for us, but everybody has the challenge of going in there and winning, that's consistent across the league."
A pair of big men anchor the Wildcats inside. Center Kyle Tresnak averages 10.4 points, 5.8 rebounds and a league-leading 1.8 blocked shots a game. Forward Joel Bolomboy leads the league with 10 rebounds a game, while dynamic wing Davian Davis is fifth in the league in scoring (16.9) and assists (3.6). "Those are very good post players offensively and defensively," Huse said of Tresnak and Bolomboy. "You have to game plan for them. They've done a good job against us with the interior."
Still, Huse's focus is more internal than external at this point. "Right now I'm more concerned about getting our guys on the right page and getting prepared for this road swing," he said, and part of that focus has been directed toward the lane. "Obviously the game plan (Saturday) was to get the ball around the paint, and our guys did a very good job of that." Forward Flavien Davis scored a season-high 25 points Saturday, while center Paul Egwuonwu averaged 13.5 points in two games.
After Saturday's loss, Huse said the importance of focusing on the moment becomes significant."We have to handle emotions the right way. I think that got away from us a little bit (Saturday). We played a team that was trying to find itself with a lot of veterans, a team with high expectations. I thought they played very well, and statistically we played pretty good, it just wasn't enough. That's how precious it is, it's a possession here or there. In a the course of a game like that you can't take anything for granted."
Montana State enters Thursday's game with a 4-2 league mark, one game behind 5-1 Weber State. Saturday, the Cats face Idaho State in Pocatello's Reed Gym.
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