Sunday, December 9
Kennewick, WA
5 pm
Montana State University
at
Washington State
Photo by: Andrew Pedersen
GAME #9: Bobcats Face Washington State in Kennewick Sunday Afternoon
12/7/2018 4:05:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MSU battles hot Cougar squad
BOZEMAN, Montana – Brian Fish has always wondered.
"This must be what it feels like to be a football coach," Fish said with a smile, pondering a stretch in his team's schedule which averages just one game a week over the course of a month. "We're only playing one game a week, it's been unique."
The Bobcats roll back into action Sunday at 5 pm MT when Montana State (2-6) plays its first game in 13 days against Washington State at Kennewick, Washington. The Cougars enter the contest with a robust 5-2 record, fresh off a 20-point win over Idaho, but Brian Fish said his team's break from competition – it comes on the heels of eight games in 22 days – has allowed the Bobcats to focus on themselves.
"I think it's really about focusing on our team rather than worrying about an opponent," he said. "We've had a lot of time to adjust some things, to make some tweaks, and to get back to work on fundamentals."
Montana State hopes to springboard into the final non-league games of 2018 off of an 81-76 win over North Dakota on November 27. Five Bobcats scored in double-digits, led by Devin Kirby's first career double-double (14 points, 10 rebounds). MSU held North Dakota to 49% shooting, snapping a string of three straight foes hitting at a clip of 50% or better, and out-rebounded UND 38-to-26. MSU also shot more free throws than the opponent for the fourth straight game, out-scoring the Fighting Hawks 19-11 from the stripe.
Robert Franks, a 6-9 forward, paces the Cougars. He averages 24.3 points a game, nearly double his closest teammate, and scores in every way imaginable. Franks shoots 60% from inside the arc, has hit a dozen three-pointers, and his 22 free throws made and 34 attempts both lead his squad. He is also the team's pacesetter with 8.7 boards a game.
The Cougars shoot an impressive 35% from the three-point circle and average three points a game more from the free throw line than their opponent. They also turn the ball over two-and-a-half times less a game than the opponent.
Montana State counters with a developing team, one Fish believes continues to improve. "I like the way this team works," he says. Tyler Hall's 19.5 points a game leads three Bobcats in double-digits. Keljin Blevins averages 11.5 points a game, while Ladan Ricketts' 11.0 points is third on the squad. Ricketts, who shoots 43% from the three-point circle, has emerged as a scoring balance to Hall and Harald Frey.
Fish points to a couple of early-season characteristics as reasons for optimism as the team gears up for conference play. The Cats have out-shot the opponent from the line and out-rebounded the opponent in the last four.
Sunday's game, at the Toyota Center in Kennewick, airs on the Pac 12 Network.
#GoCatsGo
"This must be what it feels like to be a football coach," Fish said with a smile, pondering a stretch in his team's schedule which averages just one game a week over the course of a month. "We're only playing one game a week, it's been unique."
The Bobcats roll back into action Sunday at 5 pm MT when Montana State (2-6) plays its first game in 13 days against Washington State at Kennewick, Washington. The Cougars enter the contest with a robust 5-2 record, fresh off a 20-point win over Idaho, but Brian Fish said his team's break from competition – it comes on the heels of eight games in 22 days – has allowed the Bobcats to focus on themselves.
"I think it's really about focusing on our team rather than worrying about an opponent," he said. "We've had a lot of time to adjust some things, to make some tweaks, and to get back to work on fundamentals."
Montana State hopes to springboard into the final non-league games of 2018 off of an 81-76 win over North Dakota on November 27. Five Bobcats scored in double-digits, led by Devin Kirby's first career double-double (14 points, 10 rebounds). MSU held North Dakota to 49% shooting, snapping a string of three straight foes hitting at a clip of 50% or better, and out-rebounded UND 38-to-26. MSU also shot more free throws than the opponent for the fourth straight game, out-scoring the Fighting Hawks 19-11 from the stripe.
Robert Franks, a 6-9 forward, paces the Cougars. He averages 24.3 points a game, nearly double his closest teammate, and scores in every way imaginable. Franks shoots 60% from inside the arc, has hit a dozen three-pointers, and his 22 free throws made and 34 attempts both lead his squad. He is also the team's pacesetter with 8.7 boards a game.
The Cougars shoot an impressive 35% from the three-point circle and average three points a game more from the free throw line than their opponent. They also turn the ball over two-and-a-half times less a game than the opponent.
Montana State counters with a developing team, one Fish believes continues to improve. "I like the way this team works," he says. Tyler Hall's 19.5 points a game leads three Bobcats in double-digits. Keljin Blevins averages 11.5 points a game, while Ladan Ricketts' 11.0 points is third on the squad. Ricketts, who shoots 43% from the three-point circle, has emerged as a scoring balance to Hall and Harald Frey.
Fish points to a couple of early-season characteristics as reasons for optimism as the team gears up for conference play. The Cats have out-shot the opponent from the line and out-rebounded the opponent in the last four.
Sunday's game, at the Toyota Center in Kennewick, airs on the Pac 12 Network.
#GoCatsGo
Players Mentioned
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