Sunday, December 13
2 pm PT
Montana State University
at
San Jose State
Zach Green and the Cats play at San Jose State Sunday
Photo by: Ruth Shellenberg
Bobcats Visit San Jose State for Rematch on Sunday
12/11/2015 5:14:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MSU topped Spartans in November home game
It doesn't take Brian Fish long to pinpoint where he wants see progress in his team during its upcoming 12-day, 5,000 mile road trip that begins Sunday against San Jose State at 2 pm PT.
"We've got to get better defensively," he says directly. "We're coming off giving up 100 points (in a home loss to Omaha Sunday), and we've got to get stops. There have been too many games this year where (an opposing player) has had his career high against us. We've got to get that under control."
The high-scoring Bobcats – MSU scored 97 in that Omaha game, losing on a three-point shot as the buzzer sounded – face a San Jose State team it beat 81-69 on November 20 in Bozeman. Frank Rogers leads the Spartans with 16.2 points and 9.2 rebounds, but the Cats held him to 15 points and five boards in the earlier meeting. Princeton Onwas torched MSU for 21 that night, but Bobcat guard Marcus Colbert poured in 27.
The biggest area of difference on that night, though, was on the boards. MSU out-rebounded San Jose State 45-to-25, with Danny Robison snatching nine and Quinton Everett grabbing eight.
"I thought a big factor of us winning the game was on the boards," Fish said. "We've got to do it again, and to do that we've got to be scrappy. We've got to be in the right places on defense. If we do that, we'll have a chance."
The Cats have defended effectively at times this season, and holding San Jose State to a shade below its season scoring average was one of those. But MSU has also allowed points in bunches at times. Six of the team's eight opponents have scored at least 80 points, topped by last Sunday's 100-point outing by Omaha.
Montana State hasn't played since last Sunday, and Fish said he hopes that will pay dividends on Sunday and throughout the upcoming trip that takes the team to North Dakota State on Wednesday, Buffalo on Dec. 19, and Syracuse on Dec. 22. "I thought we took a step that way in practice (Friday), but we've got to be able to build on that and get guys in the right spot, then finish with a rebound."
Since the last meeting with SJSU, which was Montana State's first on the mainland after a season-opening tournament in Hawaii, the Cats have grown offensively. The team is led by its dynamic backcourt of Colbert, who is fourth in the Big Sky in scoring and seventh in assists, and Tyler Hall, who has two of MSU's four all-time single-game scoring marks by a freshman.
The Spartans have also evolved, Fish said. "They're a little like us," he said. "They've changed the lineup a couple times, but (Frank) Rogers is playing at an All-Mountain West Conference level, (Cody) Schwartz is scoring well, and (Ryan Welage) Is starting to play really well. They're starting to make some shots. They've got a good team, I like their team. They just need some mileage on them to where they have some confidence. But I like their team, and I think they'll be good by the end of the year."
"We've got to get better defensively," he says directly. "We're coming off giving up 100 points (in a home loss to Omaha Sunday), and we've got to get stops. There have been too many games this year where (an opposing player) has had his career high against us. We've got to get that under control."
The high-scoring Bobcats – MSU scored 97 in that Omaha game, losing on a three-point shot as the buzzer sounded – face a San Jose State team it beat 81-69 on November 20 in Bozeman. Frank Rogers leads the Spartans with 16.2 points and 9.2 rebounds, but the Cats held him to 15 points and five boards in the earlier meeting. Princeton Onwas torched MSU for 21 that night, but Bobcat guard Marcus Colbert poured in 27.
The biggest area of difference on that night, though, was on the boards. MSU out-rebounded San Jose State 45-to-25, with Danny Robison snatching nine and Quinton Everett grabbing eight.
"I thought a big factor of us winning the game was on the boards," Fish said. "We've got to do it again, and to do that we've got to be scrappy. We've got to be in the right places on defense. If we do that, we'll have a chance."
The Cats have defended effectively at times this season, and holding San Jose State to a shade below its season scoring average was one of those. But MSU has also allowed points in bunches at times. Six of the team's eight opponents have scored at least 80 points, topped by last Sunday's 100-point outing by Omaha.
Montana State hasn't played since last Sunday, and Fish said he hopes that will pay dividends on Sunday and throughout the upcoming trip that takes the team to North Dakota State on Wednesday, Buffalo on Dec. 19, and Syracuse on Dec. 22. "I thought we took a step that way in practice (Friday), but we've got to be able to build on that and get guys in the right spot, then finish with a rebound."
Since the last meeting with SJSU, which was Montana State's first on the mainland after a season-opening tournament in Hawaii, the Cats have grown offensively. The team is led by its dynamic backcourt of Colbert, who is fourth in the Big Sky in scoring and seventh in assists, and Tyler Hall, who has two of MSU's four all-time single-game scoring marks by a freshman.
The Spartans have also evolved, Fish said. "They're a little like us," he said. "They've changed the lineup a couple times, but (Frank) Rogers is playing at an All-Mountain West Conference level, (Cody) Schwartz is scoring well, and (Ryan Welage) Is starting to play really well. They're starting to make some shots. They've got a good team, I like their team. They just need some mileage on them to where they have some confidence. But I like their team, and I think they'll be good by the end of the year."
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