Saturday, January 26
BOZEMAN
2 pm
Montana State University
vs
Idaho State
Photo by: Montana State University
GAME #19: Bobcats Host Idaho State Saturday Afternoon in Fieldhouse
1/25/2019 4:52:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Montana State looks to snap three-game skid
BOZEMAN, Montana – There was no mistaking the urgency in the voice of Sam Neumann in the moments after Montana State's 93-84 loss to Weber State in Worthington Arena on Thursday.
"This one is really big for us," the Bobcats' senior center said of the Saturday afternoon matchup pitting MSU (7-11 overall, 4-4 Big Sky) against Idaho State (7-10, 3-5) at 2 pm in Worthington Arena. "We're coming off three straight losses so this is definitely a must-win game for us momentum-wise."
The Bobcats and Bengals enter weekend play part of a large group of teams in the middle of the Big Sky standings. Weber State (7-1 in the conference), Northern Colorado (7-2) and Montana (6-2) have created some separation at the top of the league, while Idaho is 1-6. But the other seven Big Sky teams all have either four or five league losses.
Idaho State's offense begins on the perimeter, where guards Brandon Boyd (14.1 points per game, team-high 68 assists) and Balint Mocsan (10.6 ppg, 39 three-pointers) fire the Bengals engine. Forward Chier Maker, like Boyd and Mocsan a junior, provides inside-out punch. He leads the team with 6.8 rebounds a game and shoots 51% inside the arc, but he is also second on the team with 26 three-pointers.
Bobcat coach Brian Fish continues to look inward for his team's most important key. "We need to control what we can control," he said. "We need to get to playing better by rebounding and playing defense. Those are this team's two most important factors, and they're the two things you can affect the most with effort. We have to block out, we have to get stops."
Tyler Hall scored 28 points against Weber State on Thursday, and he continues to pace the Bobcats offensively. But MSU was out-rebounded 46-to-27 by the Wildcats, and are 0-9 when the opponent gets more rebounds this season. In the current three-game losing streak, MSU is out-rebounded 108-to-86. Opponent field goal percentage seems to loosely follow rebounding, with easy put-backs boosting opponent offensive efficiency. Montana State stands 1-9 when the opponent shoots 50% or better.
After Saturday's game, the Cats are idle until Saturday, February 2, when Montana visits Bozeman for the annual Cat-Griz doubleheader.
#GoCatsGo
"This one is really big for us," the Bobcats' senior center said of the Saturday afternoon matchup pitting MSU (7-11 overall, 4-4 Big Sky) against Idaho State (7-10, 3-5) at 2 pm in Worthington Arena. "We're coming off three straight losses so this is definitely a must-win game for us momentum-wise."
The Bobcats and Bengals enter weekend play part of a large group of teams in the middle of the Big Sky standings. Weber State (7-1 in the conference), Northern Colorado (7-2) and Montana (6-2) have created some separation at the top of the league, while Idaho is 1-6. But the other seven Big Sky teams all have either four or five league losses.
Idaho State's offense begins on the perimeter, where guards Brandon Boyd (14.1 points per game, team-high 68 assists) and Balint Mocsan (10.6 ppg, 39 three-pointers) fire the Bengals engine. Forward Chier Maker, like Boyd and Mocsan a junior, provides inside-out punch. He leads the team with 6.8 rebounds a game and shoots 51% inside the arc, but he is also second on the team with 26 three-pointers.
Bobcat coach Brian Fish continues to look inward for his team's most important key. "We need to control what we can control," he said. "We need to get to playing better by rebounding and playing defense. Those are this team's two most important factors, and they're the two things you can affect the most with effort. We have to block out, we have to get stops."
Tyler Hall scored 28 points against Weber State on Thursday, and he continues to pace the Bobcats offensively. But MSU was out-rebounded 46-to-27 by the Wildcats, and are 0-9 when the opponent gets more rebounds this season. In the current three-game losing streak, MSU is out-rebounded 108-to-86. Opponent field goal percentage seems to loosely follow rebounding, with easy put-backs boosting opponent offensive efficiency. Montana State stands 1-9 when the opponent shoots 50% or better.
After Saturday's game, the Cats are idle until Saturday, February 2, when Montana visits Bozeman for the annual Cat-Griz doubleheader.
#GoCatsGo
Players Mentioned
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