Thursday, January 26
BOZEMAN
7 p.m.
Montana State University
vs
Idaho
Devonte Klines
Photo by: R. Dean Hendrickson
Improved Defense Boosts Bobcats Ahead of Vandal Invasion
1/25/2017 1:21:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Idaho topped the Cats in overtime three weeks ago
Brian Fish saw it before most.
"I thought we were really coming on the defensive end the last couple of weeks," Montana State's third-year head basketball coach said in the wake of his team's weekend wins at Sacramento State and Portland State. "The guys just weren't being rewarded for it (with wins). But the improvement was there."
The team's defensive resurgence started with a trickle when the Bobcats beat Northern Colorado 68-53 on January 14 to close a two-game homestand. Then, the Cats went on the road last weekend and beat Sacramento State 74-65 and Portland State 71-65 to sweep a road trip. MSU held its most recent three opponents to 37.9 percent shooting and an average of 61.0 points a game.
"We took some big defensive steps," sophomore guard Devonte Klines said of his team's weekend performance. "(We) really locked in on the defensive end. We got two good road wins and we're looking forward to carrying it on this week."
The stakes rise and challenges heighten this week when Idaho and Eastern Washington visit Worthington Arena. The Vandals, who face MSU on Thursday at 7 pm, topped Montana State 83-81 in overtime three weeks ago in Moscow, turning 11 offensive rebounds into 14 second-chance points. Three of those came on Victor Sanders free throws after an offensive rebound that tied the game at the end of regulation and two more came on Brayon Blake's buzzer-beating tip-in to win the game for Idaho in overtime.
Klines said the wins, particularly because they came on the road, felt good. "It's helping us get a lot of confidence. It feels good to win finally on the road."
While Fish knows style points count for nothing in basketball, but he's pleased with the manner in which his team has won three straight. "How we did it is what I was most proud of," Fish said of the weekend wins. "We did it with defense. We started getting some stops that resulted in baskets, we won second-chance points, and we turned what was an early (rebounding) deficit (against Portland State) into a 23-to-20 halftime lead on the boards."
Facing a team the second time around provides a challenge, Fish says, but also simplifies things. "The one thing about league games is, you show your cards about how you guard some things and if it worked maybe you stay with it and if it didn't work you make some changes."
There is one glaring challenge for the Cats on Thursday. "We gave up 83 points (in the first meeting with Idaho) and I think we put them on the line (42) times," Fish said. "Everything else, we guarded them pretty well. We've got to play defense without fouling and keep them off the line. They're well-coached. They do a great job of clogging the lanes up. We've got to handle some things they threw at us. We've got to quit fouling."
Both of MSU's weekend games came against teams above the Bobcats in the Big Sky standings. After Thursday's game against Idaho (9-9 overall, 4-3 in the Big Sky), MSU (9-12, 4-4) hosts Eastern Washington (13-7, 5-2) at 2 pm Saturday.
"I thought we were really coming on the defensive end the last couple of weeks," Montana State's third-year head basketball coach said in the wake of his team's weekend wins at Sacramento State and Portland State. "The guys just weren't being rewarded for it (with wins). But the improvement was there."
The team's defensive resurgence started with a trickle when the Bobcats beat Northern Colorado 68-53 on January 14 to close a two-game homestand. Then, the Cats went on the road last weekend and beat Sacramento State 74-65 and Portland State 71-65 to sweep a road trip. MSU held its most recent three opponents to 37.9 percent shooting and an average of 61.0 points a game.
"We took some big defensive steps," sophomore guard Devonte Klines said of his team's weekend performance. "(We) really locked in on the defensive end. We got two good road wins and we're looking forward to carrying it on this week."
The stakes rise and challenges heighten this week when Idaho and Eastern Washington visit Worthington Arena. The Vandals, who face MSU on Thursday at 7 pm, topped Montana State 83-81 in overtime three weeks ago in Moscow, turning 11 offensive rebounds into 14 second-chance points. Three of those came on Victor Sanders free throws after an offensive rebound that tied the game at the end of regulation and two more came on Brayon Blake's buzzer-beating tip-in to win the game for Idaho in overtime.
Klines said the wins, particularly because they came on the road, felt good. "It's helping us get a lot of confidence. It feels good to win finally on the road."
While Fish knows style points count for nothing in basketball, but he's pleased with the manner in which his team has won three straight. "How we did it is what I was most proud of," Fish said of the weekend wins. "We did it with defense. We started getting some stops that resulted in baskets, we won second-chance points, and we turned what was an early (rebounding) deficit (against Portland State) into a 23-to-20 halftime lead on the boards."
Facing a team the second time around provides a challenge, Fish says, but also simplifies things. "The one thing about league games is, you show your cards about how you guard some things and if it worked maybe you stay with it and if it didn't work you make some changes."
There is one glaring challenge for the Cats on Thursday. "We gave up 83 points (in the first meeting with Idaho) and I think we put them on the line (42) times," Fish said. "Everything else, we guarded them pretty well. We've got to play defense without fouling and keep them off the line. They're well-coached. They do a great job of clogging the lanes up. We've got to handle some things they threw at us. We've got to quit fouling."
Both of MSU's weekend games came against teams above the Bobcats in the Big Sky standings. After Thursday's game against Idaho (9-9 overall, 4-3 in the Big Sky), MSU (9-12, 4-4) hosts Eastern Washington (13-7, 5-2) at 2 pm Saturday.
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