Saturday, February 22
Bozeman, MT
7:05 pm
Montana State University
vs
WEBER STATE
Marcus Colbert looks to stay hot for the Bobcats on Saturday
Photo by: Ruth Shellenberg
Bobcats Square Off with League-Leading Weber State on Saturday
2/21/2014 3:29:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MSU hosts Wildcat sqad stinging from Thursday loss
The style is different, but the challenge remains great when Montana State hosts Big Sky-leading Weber State on Saturday at 7 pm in Worthington Arena.
MSU Game Notes vs. Weber State
The Wildcats continue to lead the Big Sky Conference, but WSU's lead has dwindled to one game after Thursday's loss at Montana. Weber State enters Saturday's game with an 11-4 mark in Big Sky play, and Northern Colorado is in hot pursuit at 10-5. Montana State is in a pack of five teams at 8-7, while three more have seven wins.
Brad Huse knows his Bobcats will face a hungry and focused team Saturday. "They're going to want to be in a position where they can split on this road trip, obviously," Huse said. "They're at the top of the league and they want to stay there."
As if facing a team looking to hold down the league's top spot late in the season isn't challenge enough, the Cats play a team on Saturday that is differently different than the one they saw on Saturday. Weber State has had the Big Sky's best defense through most of the season, but play primarily an attacking man-to-man. That comes on the heels of Thursday's matchup against Idaho State's zone defense.
"It's such a different style that you play when you play against Weber compared to Idaho State," Huse said, "so we have to make that adjustment. Weber State can play at a (fast) tempo, for sure, but they play very aggressively on defense. They can score inside, and they have one of the premiere players in this league with Davion Berry. There are a lot of different pieces to worry about with Weber State."
One piece that will have no direct bearing on Saturday's game, but which will be on everyone's mind, is WSU's 29-point blowout win against MSU last month in Ogden. Weber shot 62% from the floor, Davion Berry led all players with 25 points, and MSU was never in the game from the opening tipoff. "We have to get ready to play a team that really handled us last time," Huse said.
Berry is among the Big Sky leaders in scoring (18.9 points per game) and assists (2.7 per game), and can score in a variety of ways. Last winter he poured in six three-pointers (in eight attempts) to keep Weber State in a game the Bobcats had seemed to have in hand. Berry is far from a one-man show. Center Kyle Tresnak scores 11.2 points a game from the low blocks, while Joel Bolomboy is one of the nation's top rebounders, grabbing 11.1 a game. Jeremy Senglin, a freshman wing, chips in 11.2 points a game, as well.
One factor Huse likes in his team as Big Sky play grinds into its final weeks is the ability to play at different tempos. The Cats scored deep in the shot clock many times on Saturday, but also benefitted from eight fast break points.
"You want to assert your own will at some point," Huse said, "but at the same time there are certain paces and styles that you have to be able to counter. A team like Idaho State, that's who they are, they're very persistent in playing that zone that slows the game down. They've done that against everybody. We found a comfort zone in the second half and didn't settle for perimeter shots and really did a nice job, particularly coming down the stretch, getting into the paint, getting buckets, drawing fouls. I thought our team showed a little more maturity (Thursday) night."
The Bobcats will be asked to do so again Saturday night. The game is available statewide on the Bobcat Radio Network, as well as on WatchBigSky.com.
MSU Game Notes vs. Weber State
The Wildcats continue to lead the Big Sky Conference, but WSU's lead has dwindled to one game after Thursday's loss at Montana. Weber State enters Saturday's game with an 11-4 mark in Big Sky play, and Northern Colorado is in hot pursuit at 10-5. Montana State is in a pack of five teams at 8-7, while three more have seven wins.
Brad Huse knows his Bobcats will face a hungry and focused team Saturday. "They're going to want to be in a position where they can split on this road trip, obviously," Huse said. "They're at the top of the league and they want to stay there."
As if facing a team looking to hold down the league's top spot late in the season isn't challenge enough, the Cats play a team on Saturday that is differently different than the one they saw on Saturday. Weber State has had the Big Sky's best defense through most of the season, but play primarily an attacking man-to-man. That comes on the heels of Thursday's matchup against Idaho State's zone defense.
"It's such a different style that you play when you play against Weber compared to Idaho State," Huse said, "so we have to make that adjustment. Weber State can play at a (fast) tempo, for sure, but they play very aggressively on defense. They can score inside, and they have one of the premiere players in this league with Davion Berry. There are a lot of different pieces to worry about with Weber State."
One piece that will have no direct bearing on Saturday's game, but which will be on everyone's mind, is WSU's 29-point blowout win against MSU last month in Ogden. Weber shot 62% from the floor, Davion Berry led all players with 25 points, and MSU was never in the game from the opening tipoff. "We have to get ready to play a team that really handled us last time," Huse said.
Berry is among the Big Sky leaders in scoring (18.9 points per game) and assists (2.7 per game), and can score in a variety of ways. Last winter he poured in six three-pointers (in eight attempts) to keep Weber State in a game the Bobcats had seemed to have in hand. Berry is far from a one-man show. Center Kyle Tresnak scores 11.2 points a game from the low blocks, while Joel Bolomboy is one of the nation's top rebounders, grabbing 11.1 a game. Jeremy Senglin, a freshman wing, chips in 11.2 points a game, as well.
One factor Huse likes in his team as Big Sky play grinds into its final weeks is the ability to play at different tempos. The Cats scored deep in the shot clock many times on Saturday, but also benefitted from eight fast break points.
"You want to assert your own will at some point," Huse said, "but at the same time there are certain paces and styles that you have to be able to counter. A team like Idaho State, that's who they are, they're very persistent in playing that zone that slows the game down. They've done that against everybody. We found a comfort zone in the second half and didn't settle for perimeter shots and really did a nice job, particularly coming down the stretch, getting into the paint, getting buckets, drawing fouls. I thought our team showed a little more maturity (Thursday) night."
The Bobcats will be asked to do so again Saturday night. The game is available statewide on the Bobcat Radio Network, as well as on WatchBigSky.com.
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