Thursday, March 3
7:05 pm
Montana State University
vs
Northern Colorado
MSU's defense will be tested by Northern Colorado Thursday
Photo by: Sepp Jannotta
Bobcats Ready for Final Regular Season Weekend
3/2/2016 7:36:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Seniors set for final homestand
It seems like a full season ago when a wild finish propelled Northern Colorado to a wild 78-76 home win over Montana State.
In reality it was a month and two weeks ago, but the memory of Bears guards Jordan Davis, Jordan Wilson and Dallas Anglin riddled the Bobcat defense for 40 points, 10 assists and a half-dozen rebounds between them is burnt into Brian Fish's memory. "We've got to get stops in transition defense, that's what (Northern Colorado) is very good at," he said. "They're a very aggressive, very confident team."
Northern Colorado enters Thursday's 7 pm game in Worthington Arena having lost six of its last seven games, but that belies the underlying numbers. UNC lost to Portland State by three points, North Dakota by one and Idaho by six during that stretch of games. And the Bears remain a dangerous team offensively, with three players standing among the Big Sky's top 21 scorers.
"They're probably the most aggressive team at the guard spot of anybody in our league, attacking the basket and getting after it," Fish said. "They hit a big shot to beat us at their place and did a good job of throwing zones at us and trying to keep us off balance. They're not a great matchup for us, we'll have to play very well."
Anthony Johnson leads the Bears at 15.5 points a game, but Anglin (13.2), Wilson (13.1) and Davis (10.7) provide great balance. UNC shoots 45.3% from the floor and 37.4% from three-point range, numbers very similar to Montana State's (43.2% FG, 37.6% 3FG). Like UNC, the Bobcats provide punch on the perimeter. Tyler Hall is fourth in the Big Sky in scoring at 19.0 points a game, while Marcus Colbert adds 16.3 points and 5.3 assists an outing.
Fish says that strategy is marginalized as the season's end approaches. "At this time of year it comes to just playing," he said. "It's about keeping the guys excited about the game and who shows up at 7 o'clock ready to play."
Still, Fish remembers well January's wild ending in Greeley. With a minute-and-a-half to play, Jordan Wilson's three-pointer gave UNC a 76-72 lead. After a Bears stop, Jeremy Verhagen missed a layup with just under a minute left, and Zach Green secured the rebound. On the ensuing Bobcat possession, Tyler Hall was knocked to the ground after making a contested three-point basket and drained the free throw to tie the game. But Verhagen drew a foul and made both free throws, and the Cats missed a pair of contested layups at the other end, and UNC had a win. "They kept us off balance defensively and made big plays when they needed to on offense," he said.
But, he likes his team's trajectory since. "We've made some improvements and played pretty good on the road (in the last three games)," he said. "I like the improvement we're making. I like where we're headed. I like what's going on."
In reality it was a month and two weeks ago, but the memory of Bears guards Jordan Davis, Jordan Wilson and Dallas Anglin riddled the Bobcat defense for 40 points, 10 assists and a half-dozen rebounds between them is burnt into Brian Fish's memory. "We've got to get stops in transition defense, that's what (Northern Colorado) is very good at," he said. "They're a very aggressive, very confident team."
Northern Colorado enters Thursday's 7 pm game in Worthington Arena having lost six of its last seven games, but that belies the underlying numbers. UNC lost to Portland State by three points, North Dakota by one and Idaho by six during that stretch of games. And the Bears remain a dangerous team offensively, with three players standing among the Big Sky's top 21 scorers.
"They're probably the most aggressive team at the guard spot of anybody in our league, attacking the basket and getting after it," Fish said. "They hit a big shot to beat us at their place and did a good job of throwing zones at us and trying to keep us off balance. They're not a great matchup for us, we'll have to play very well."
Anthony Johnson leads the Bears at 15.5 points a game, but Anglin (13.2), Wilson (13.1) and Davis (10.7) provide great balance. UNC shoots 45.3% from the floor and 37.4% from three-point range, numbers very similar to Montana State's (43.2% FG, 37.6% 3FG). Like UNC, the Bobcats provide punch on the perimeter. Tyler Hall is fourth in the Big Sky in scoring at 19.0 points a game, while Marcus Colbert adds 16.3 points and 5.3 assists an outing.
Fish says that strategy is marginalized as the season's end approaches. "At this time of year it comes to just playing," he said. "It's about keeping the guys excited about the game and who shows up at 7 o'clock ready to play."
Still, Fish remembers well January's wild ending in Greeley. With a minute-and-a-half to play, Jordan Wilson's three-pointer gave UNC a 76-72 lead. After a Bears stop, Jeremy Verhagen missed a layup with just under a minute left, and Zach Green secured the rebound. On the ensuing Bobcat possession, Tyler Hall was knocked to the ground after making a contested three-point basket and drained the free throw to tie the game. But Verhagen drew a foul and made both free throws, and the Cats missed a pair of contested layups at the other end, and UNC had a win. "They kept us off balance defensively and made big plays when they needed to on offense," he said.
But, he likes his team's trajectory since. "We've made some improvements and played pretty good on the road (in the last three games)," he said. "I like the improvement we're making. I like where we're headed. I like what's going on."
Players Mentioned
Bobcat Insider TV Show
Thursday, March 03
Inside The Brick (Amin Adamu)
Friday, November 05
Inside The Brick (Nick Gazelas)
Monday, November 01
Inside The Brick (Abdul Mohamed)
Sunday, October 31
