Thursday, February 15
Moscow, ID
8 pm
Montana State University
at
Idaho
Zach Green and the Bobcats battle Idaho on Thursday
Photo by: Andrew Pedersen
GAME #27: Bobcats Head to Palouse to Face Vandals on Thursday
2/13/2018 3:20:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Montana State faces Idaho squad battling at the top of the league
BOZEMAN, Mont. – Montana State looks for traction on the difficult road west this weekend as the Bobcats head to the Palouse for a weekend-opening contest at Idaho on Thursday. Tipoff is 8:05 pm MT in the Cowan Spectrum.
MSU hasn't faced the Vandals yet this season, but the Bobcats are plenty familiar with their ancient rivals. Idaho (17-7 overall, 9-3 Big Sky) enters weekend play third in the Big Sky Conference, one game behind second-place Weber State, but there aren't many secrets surrounding the Vandals. "Idaho was picked to win the league and they're living up to that billing," said Montana State head coach Brian Fish. "They're right at the top of the league, and they a lot of seniors so they're a very veteran team."
Sweet-shooting Victor Sanders is one of those seniors, a player who averages 19.1 points a game in 2017-18. He is less than a point ahead of MSU's Tyler Hall in that category. Sanders is also 10th in the Big Sky with 3.1 assists a game, and his 2.6 three-pointers made per game is fourth in the conference. His main complement inside is Brayon Blake, a physical forward who nets 15.6 points a game for the Vandals while grabbing a league-best 9.2 boards.
Under veteran head coach Don Verlin, the Vandals have thrived on defense. Idaho leads the Big Sky in scoring defense at 67.1 points allowed per game, and rebound margin (+6.4 per game). Idaho is efficient offensively, standing second in the league at 15.2 assists per game in spite of making the ninth-most field goals, and its .468 field goal percentage is third in the conference.
The Vandals ride a four-game win streak into weekend play against the Bobcats Thursday and league-leading Montana on Saturday, coming off a 66-64 win over Eastern Washington on Saturday. MSU looks to iron out the inconsistency that has troubled a team that began Big Sky play with a four-game win streak following by four straight losses. The Cats, 13-13 overall and 6-7 in the conference, have dropped three of their last four.
Thursday's game is available across the state on the Bobcats Radio Network, as well as on msubobcats.com, with Jay Sanderson on the call. Video streaming is available at Pluto.TV and WatchBigSky.com.
#GoCatsGo
MSU hasn't faced the Vandals yet this season, but the Bobcats are plenty familiar with their ancient rivals. Idaho (17-7 overall, 9-3 Big Sky) enters weekend play third in the Big Sky Conference, one game behind second-place Weber State, but there aren't many secrets surrounding the Vandals. "Idaho was picked to win the league and they're living up to that billing," said Montana State head coach Brian Fish. "They're right at the top of the league, and they a lot of seniors so they're a very veteran team."
Sweet-shooting Victor Sanders is one of those seniors, a player who averages 19.1 points a game in 2017-18. He is less than a point ahead of MSU's Tyler Hall in that category. Sanders is also 10th in the Big Sky with 3.1 assists a game, and his 2.6 three-pointers made per game is fourth in the conference. His main complement inside is Brayon Blake, a physical forward who nets 15.6 points a game for the Vandals while grabbing a league-best 9.2 boards.
Under veteran head coach Don Verlin, the Vandals have thrived on defense. Idaho leads the Big Sky in scoring defense at 67.1 points allowed per game, and rebound margin (+6.4 per game). Idaho is efficient offensively, standing second in the league at 15.2 assists per game in spite of making the ninth-most field goals, and its .468 field goal percentage is third in the conference.
The Vandals ride a four-game win streak into weekend play against the Bobcats Thursday and league-leading Montana on Saturday, coming off a 66-64 win over Eastern Washington on Saturday. MSU looks to iron out the inconsistency that has troubled a team that began Big Sky play with a four-game win streak following by four straight losses. The Cats, 13-13 overall and 6-7 in the conference, have dropped three of their last four.
Thursday's game is available across the state on the Bobcats Radio Network, as well as on msubobcats.com, with Jay Sanderson on the call. Video streaming is available at Pluto.TV and WatchBigSky.com.
#GoCatsGo
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