Saturday, February 13
2:05 pm
Montana State University
vs
Southern Utah
MSU looks for continued strong defense against SUU Saturday afternoon
Photo by: Sepp Jannotta
Cats Turn the Page on Thursday as Thunderbirds Loom on Saturday
2/12/2016 3:58:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MSU looks to snag a win from the team that handed it a New Year's Eve loss
No matter how much fun Thursday night was for the Montana State men's basketball team, all Brian Fish had to do to get his team's attention Friday was bring up a night six weeks ago that was at the other end of the enjoyment scale.
"This team beat us a month ago," Fish said flatly of Southern Utah, Saturday's opponent, less than 24 hours after his team coasted to a 101-58 win over Northern Arizona. "They beat us pretty bad, and they put us in a tough two days to have to get ready (for the next game). (MSU's players) remember that, and I think they're past (Thursday's win). I'd be real disappointed if we weren't ready to play (Saturday)."
The Cats used historic shooting – MSU set a Big Sky record with 25 three-pointers, the second-most ever by a Division I team against a DI opponent – to cruise past the Lumberjacks. At the dawn of the New Year, MSU followed a disheartening 93-82 loss at Southern Utah to open Big Sky play with a gut-check win in Flagstaff. That victory came after the Bobcats' bus had broken down on the way from Cedar City to Flagstaff, affecting the team's travel and practice plans. The Cats won a 74-72 overtime thriller on January 2.
Much of the talk after that trip, though, was of the loss to Southern Utah. The Cats led for much of the first half, but SUU tagged MSU with a 7-0 run to close the first half and an 11-2 run to open the second. Montana State drew to within three on several occasions in the second half but could get no closer.
Southern Utah has won just once since that win over the Bobcats. To compound matters for the Thunderbirds, players that accounted for fully one-third of their offensive output in the earlier meeting between the teams – Trey Kennedy (18 points) and Travon Langston (13) – are suspended for Saturday's game. That showed in the team's 86-53 loss at Montana on Thursday.
Fish, though, says personnel losses play no factor in his team's preparation. "We never talk about that," he said. "We talk about a team that beat us at their place, and we talk about the chance to get above .500 (in conference play). In my history a lot of times when a guy's missing (from a team) another guy steps up and plays well. They may change a little bit what they do, but we'll try to match them and get after it. It will be a tough game."
The Bobcats may have a personnel loss if their own to deal with. Starting center Shy Blake suffered an apparent knee injury in the second half Thursday, and it's highly doubtful that he'll play Saturday.
While Montana State's three-point shooting remained the talk on Friday, Fish is most pleased with the goings on at the other end of the floor. MSU held Northern Arizona to 58 points on 35.7% shooting. The Lumberjacks scored 34 points from the floor (15 two-point field goals, four three-pointers, and 24 free throws). The last two Bobcat opponents have combined to shoot 39% against MSU.
"The biggest thing is that we've added defense to our rebounding," Fish said. "We've rebounded well all year, but we're guarding now. We're throwing some tricks at people, but I think we have to do that with our size disadvantage. We're getting better when you look at where we were a month ago."
Tipoff is 2 pm Saturday in Worthington Arena.
"This team beat us a month ago," Fish said flatly of Southern Utah, Saturday's opponent, less than 24 hours after his team coasted to a 101-58 win over Northern Arizona. "They beat us pretty bad, and they put us in a tough two days to have to get ready (for the next game). (MSU's players) remember that, and I think they're past (Thursday's win). I'd be real disappointed if we weren't ready to play (Saturday)."
The Cats used historic shooting – MSU set a Big Sky record with 25 three-pointers, the second-most ever by a Division I team against a DI opponent – to cruise past the Lumberjacks. At the dawn of the New Year, MSU followed a disheartening 93-82 loss at Southern Utah to open Big Sky play with a gut-check win in Flagstaff. That victory came after the Bobcats' bus had broken down on the way from Cedar City to Flagstaff, affecting the team's travel and practice plans. The Cats won a 74-72 overtime thriller on January 2.
Much of the talk after that trip, though, was of the loss to Southern Utah. The Cats led for much of the first half, but SUU tagged MSU with a 7-0 run to close the first half and an 11-2 run to open the second. Montana State drew to within three on several occasions in the second half but could get no closer.
Southern Utah has won just once since that win over the Bobcats. To compound matters for the Thunderbirds, players that accounted for fully one-third of their offensive output in the earlier meeting between the teams – Trey Kennedy (18 points) and Travon Langston (13) – are suspended for Saturday's game. That showed in the team's 86-53 loss at Montana on Thursday.
Fish, though, says personnel losses play no factor in his team's preparation. "We never talk about that," he said. "We talk about a team that beat us at their place, and we talk about the chance to get above .500 (in conference play). In my history a lot of times when a guy's missing (from a team) another guy steps up and plays well. They may change a little bit what they do, but we'll try to match them and get after it. It will be a tough game."
The Bobcats may have a personnel loss if their own to deal with. Starting center Shy Blake suffered an apparent knee injury in the second half Thursday, and it's highly doubtful that he'll play Saturday.
While Montana State's three-point shooting remained the talk on Friday, Fish is most pleased with the goings on at the other end of the floor. MSU held Northern Arizona to 58 points on 35.7% shooting. The Lumberjacks scored 34 points from the floor (15 two-point field goals, four three-pointers, and 24 free throws). The last two Bobcat opponents have combined to shoot 39% against MSU.
"The biggest thing is that we've added defense to our rebounding," Fish said. "We've rebounded well all year, but we're guarding now. We're throwing some tricks at people, but I think we have to do that with our size disadvantage. We're getting better when you look at where we were a month ago."
Tipoff is 2 pm Saturday in Worthington Arena.
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