Monday, December 30
BOZEMAN
7 p.m.
Montana State University
vs
Northern Arizona
Photo by: Kelly Gorham
Bobcats Close 2019 Hosting Lumberjacks Monday Evening
12/29/2019 4:36:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Montana State men's basketball closes the calendar year by taking on Northern Arizona in Worthington Arena
| Montana State Bobcats (7-5) vs. Northern Arizona (6-4) | |
| Date and Time | Monday, Dec. 30 - 7 p.m. MDT |
| Location | Bozeman, Mont. |
| Site | Worthington Arena (6,772) |
| Television | Eleven Sports (DirecTV Channel 623) |
| Radio | KMMS 1450 AM | Bobcat Sports Radio Network |
| Listen Live | msubobcats.com/watch | TuneIn app |
| Stream | Pluto TV (channel 538) | WatchBigSky.com |
| Live Stats | MSUBobcats.com (Statbroadcast) |
| Tickets | MSUBobcats.com/Tickets | Bobcat Ticket Office |
| Montana State | Game Notes | Men's Basketball Home Page |
| NAU | Men's Basketball Home Page |
BOZEMAN, Mont. – Montana State hosts Northern Arizona at 7 p.m. on Monday in Worthington Arena for each team's second game of their respective Big Sky schedules. The contest will be the Bobcats' last of 2019 and leads MSU into a stretch of three consecutive road games.
MSU improved to 4-1 in Worthington Arena in its return to its home confines for the first time in over three weeks with a 66-51 victory over Sacramento State on Saturday. The Bobcats held the Hornets to 34% shooting, their second lowest field goal percentage of the season. Their previous low of 28.3% from the field came in a 59-45 loss to then No. 21 Colorado on Nov. 30.
The Bobcats have got off to strong starts to begin conference play the last two seasons. MSU went 4-1 in its first five league games last year and started 4-0 to open the 2017-18 Big Sky schedule. Both starts were disrupted with losing streaks of three and four games, respectively.
MSU's 7-5 overall record under Danny Sprinkle is one of the best among Bobcat recent head coaches in their first year leading the program. The 12-game mark is the best for a first-year MSU head coach since Bruce Haroldson guided the program in his opening campaign in 1978-79. That squad began the year 7-0 and eventually got out to an 11-2 start.
Despite not scoring at as high of a rate as a season ago, the Bobcats have been one of the best shooting teams in Division I basketball. MSU's 47% mark from the field and 36.9% clip from 3-point range rank 57th and 46th, respectively, in the nation. Montana State has held 10 of its 12 opponents this season to under 50% shooting from the field. The Bobcats are 7-3 in those contests. The 'Cats are 0-2 when teams shoot over 50% against them which includes a 98-72 loss to Green Bay (Nov. 30) and a 74-72 narrow defeat to CSU Bakersfield (Dec. 19). MSU's loss to the Phoenix on Nov. 30 is the lone game this season the Bobcats have been out-shot from the field, while MSU is also 4-0 when it holds an opponent to under 60 total points.
Harald Frey has continued his strong play as a Bobcat during his senior season. Frey has started 108 straight contests which is one of the top 10 active marks in Division I. He also has moved up MSU's all-time scoring chart improving from 13th to his current spot of fifth.
The Bobcat senior guard moved to third in program history in the win over Sacramento State Saturday. His 439 total assists passed Craig Finberg in the Montana State record books. Frey is 15 away from passing Marcus Colbert on the all-time list while Scott Hatler is the program record holder with 608.
Jubrile Belo produced a career-high 18 points in Montana State's last outing. His offensive performance continued his strong play on the offensive end. He now is 51 of 70 (72.9%) this season, which is second in the Big Sky and unofficially among the top 10 in Division I basketball.
NAU enters Monday's matchup 6-4 overall. The Lumberjacks are coming off a 79-72 loss Saturday at Montana. The 'Jacks dropped their second consecutive game after leading for more than 22 minutes in Missoula. NAU had five double digit scorers, led by Cameron Shelton's 17 points. MSU holds a 52-49 edge in the all-time series between the two schools.
Monday's game will be televised by Eleven Sports which can be found on DirecTV channel 623 as well as on the FTF Next app via Xbox, Amazon Fire, Roku, and Apple TV. It also will be streamed on the Pluto TV app and on WatchBigSky.com. All Bobcat basketball games are available to listen to as part of the Bobcat Sports Radio Network airing locally on KMMS 1450 AM. All tickets are available at msubobcats.com/tickets, by calling 406-994-CATS or by visiting the Bobcat Ticket Office.
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Basketball
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