Thursday, January 2
Greeley, CO
7 p.m.
Montana State University
at
Northern Colorado
Photo by: Garrett Becker
Bobcat Men Hit Road to Open New Year
12/31/2019 4:09:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Montana State travels to Greeley to make its road debut in Big Sky Conference play
| Montana State Bobcats (8-5, 2-0) at Northern Colorado (7-5, 0-1) | |
| Date and Time | Thursday, Jan. 2 - 7 p.m. MDT |
| Location | Greeley, Colo. |
| Site | Bank of Colorado Arena (2,992) |
| Television | Pluto TV app |
| Radio | KMMS 1450 AM | Bobcat Sports Radio Network |
| Listen Live | msubobcats.com/watch | TuneIn app |
| Stream | Pluto TV | WatchBigSky.com |
| Live Stats | UNCBears.com |
| Tickets | UNCBears.com |
| Montana State | Game Notes | Men's Basketball Home Page |
| Northern Colorado | Men's Basketball Home Page |
BOZEMAN, Mont. – Montana State makes its first road trip of its Big Sky portion of the 2019-20 schedule when the Bobcats travel to Greeley to face Northern Colorado on Thursday. The Bobcats and Bears are scheduled to tipoff at 7 p.m. in Bank of Colorado Arena.
MSU plays its first game of a stretch of three contests on the road against the Bears. The Bobcats' Big Sky slate features two spans of three consecutive road games this season.
Northern Colorado is 7-5 overall and 0-1 in the Big Sky heading into Thursday. The Bears fell 69-65 at Portland State in their conference opener. They are led by Bodie Hume and Jonah Radebaugh who average 16 and 15.7 points per game, respectively. UNC is currently leading the Big Sky Conference in 3-point field goals per game (10.7) and 3-point field goal percentage (38.2%). Their per game mark is among the top 10 in the nation.
"Northern Colorado is super dangerous," Montana State head coach Danny Sprinkle said. "I love the pace they play with offensively and the way they move the ball. They usually have four really good shooters on the court at all times. Their big guys do a great job sprinting to screens and their pace is what makes them hard to guard. We're going to have a big challenge ahead of us guarding them and being able to contain the 3-point line."
The Bears also feature a defense that is among the best in the Big Sky. UNC is second in the conference in scoring defense (61.4 points per game). Head coach Jeff Linder – the reigning Big Sky Coach of the Year – guides a squad that also commits the fewest turnovers per game of 11.7 among league members.
"The one thing you can't do against them is turn the ball over," Sprinkle said. "They make you pay and they hit 3s, that's why they've been successful the last couple of years in the league."
The Bobcats ended 2019 with a 63-61 victory over Northern Arizona in Worthington Arena on Dec. 30. MSU improved to 5-1 in Bozeman, matching starts at home in the last 10 years of the 2016-17 and 2013-14 seasons. The Bobcats' best home start of the past decade came during the 2010-11 season, when MSU won its first eight games within Brick Breeden Fieldhouse before finishing 9-5 in its home confines.
MSU's improved defense has been evident since the start of the 2019-20 season. The Bobcats are 7-1 when holding opponents to less than 70 points, while a season ago MSU held foes to less than 70 only seven times over the 32-game schedule.
Montana State has held 11 of its 13 opponents this season to under 50% shooting from the field. The Bobcats are 8-3 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.
Style of play over a year span has been noticeable for the men's basketball program. Last season's team averaged nearly 10 more points per game and ranked 50th in the country at 78.2 points per contest compared to its average of 69 this season. MSU's defense is giving up 14 less points to opponents per outing this season at 65.4. The 'Cats ranked 336th a season ago giving up 79.8 points to foes per game.
The free throw line proved to be a difference maker for the Bobcats in their latest victory. MSU had season highs in free throws made and attempted by going 25-for-28 from the charity stripe. The Bobcats' season percentage improved to 73.7%, which currently is the same mark the 'Cats recorded during the 2018-19 season. This season's mark paces the Big Sky Conference and is 72nd best in the nation.
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 8-5 overall record under Danny Sprinkle is one of the best among Bobcat recent head coaches in their first year leading the program. The 13-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.
Senior Harald Frey surpassed 1,600 career points in MSU's last outing, improving his fifth-place mark on MSU's all-time scoring chart. Frey currently ranks third in assists (441), 3-pointers (239) and is tied for eighth in free throws (357). He's also ranked 30th in the Big Sky in career scoring and 14th in assists in conference history.
Following Thursday's game at Northern Colorado, MSU travels to Cedar City to take on Southern Utah Saturday.
"Both are super talented teams," Sprinkle said. "They've got great players and the one thing they can really do is score the basketball. We're really going to have to guard our yard in both games. A lot of times it's going to be mano-a-mano defense, you've got stay in front and contest. We've got our work cut out for us."
Both road games this weekend 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 with both games Thursday 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.
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