Thursday, February 14
Pocatello, ID
7 pm
Montana State University
at
Idaho State
Photo by: Andrew Pedersen
GAME #24: Bobcats Begin Southern Swing at Idaho State on Thursday
2/13/2019 9:36:00 AM | Men's Basketball
MSU, Bengals meet in showdown of teams battling for tourney bye
BOZEMAN, Montana – Distance matters. Or at least it will in Idaho State's Reed Gym on Thursday night.
Two of the three most prolific three-point shooting teams in the Big Sky Conference get together Thursday when Montana State faces Idaho State. They are the two most prolific three-point shooting teams in the Big Sky – ISU leads the league with 119 triples in conference play, while MSU is second with 112.
Both teams are fighting to stay in contention for a bye in the first round of the Big Sky Tournament awarded to the top five teams in the conference. Montana State enters the game fourth in league play at 8-5, a game behind Saturday's opponent, Weber State (9-4). Southern Utah (7-6), Eastern Washington (6-6), Idaho State and Northern Arizona (both 5-8), and Portland State and Sacramento State (both 4-8) are all pacing ahead of Idaho (1-11).
As MSU coach Brian Fish preaches, though, the Cats need to control the controllable. "That is really what it's all about at this time of year," the program's fifth-year head coach said. "We're playing (conference) teams the second time and there's a scouting report out on everyone. There are always tweaks (to game plans), but for us the important thing is to do what we do and control what we can control."
Montana State leads the Big Sky in scoring, averaging 81.9 points per conference game, and the team's 10.2 turnovers per conference game is the lowest in the league. That combination allows the Bobcats to shoot .472, third in the league, with the team's 779 field goal attempts through 13 games the most in the Big Sky. Senior Tyler Hall continues to pace the Bobcats, with his 20.2 points per Big Sky game a team-high and third-most in the league. Harald Frey averages 17.6 points per conference game, fifth in the league.
While Fish likes how his top players have played, he is more impressed with how those individuals have played together. "I've said this since September," Fish said, "that this team likes each other and loves playing basketball together. They have played within the team framework, and I think that's led to our ability to improve throughout the season."
The Bobcats open weekend play against Idaho State in Reed Gym on Thursday. Electric guards Brandon Boyd (13.8 points per league game) and Balint Mocsan (13.5) pace the Bengals, whose 9.2 three-point field goals per conference game leads the Big Sky. Boyd (11) and Mocsan (38) have combined for 49 of the team's 119 treys during conference action. The Bengals also stand fifth in the league in scoring defense (74.9).
Tipoff for Thursday's game is 7 pm. After that, the Cats continue south to face Weber State at 7 pm Saturday in Ogden.
#GoCatsGo
Two of the three most prolific three-point shooting teams in the Big Sky Conference get together Thursday when Montana State faces Idaho State. They are the two most prolific three-point shooting teams in the Big Sky – ISU leads the league with 119 triples in conference play, while MSU is second with 112.
Both teams are fighting to stay in contention for a bye in the first round of the Big Sky Tournament awarded to the top five teams in the conference. Montana State enters the game fourth in league play at 8-5, a game behind Saturday's opponent, Weber State (9-4). Southern Utah (7-6), Eastern Washington (6-6), Idaho State and Northern Arizona (both 5-8), and Portland State and Sacramento State (both 4-8) are all pacing ahead of Idaho (1-11).
As MSU coach Brian Fish preaches, though, the Cats need to control the controllable. "That is really what it's all about at this time of year," the program's fifth-year head coach said. "We're playing (conference) teams the second time and there's a scouting report out on everyone. There are always tweaks (to game plans), but for us the important thing is to do what we do and control what we can control."
Montana State leads the Big Sky in scoring, averaging 81.9 points per conference game, and the team's 10.2 turnovers per conference game is the lowest in the league. That combination allows the Bobcats to shoot .472, third in the league, with the team's 779 field goal attempts through 13 games the most in the Big Sky. Senior Tyler Hall continues to pace the Bobcats, with his 20.2 points per Big Sky game a team-high and third-most in the league. Harald Frey averages 17.6 points per conference game, fifth in the league.
While Fish likes how his top players have played, he is more impressed with how those individuals have played together. "I've said this since September," Fish said, "that this team likes each other and loves playing basketball together. They have played within the team framework, and I think that's led to our ability to improve throughout the season."
The Bobcats open weekend play against Idaho State in Reed Gym on Thursday. Electric guards Brandon Boyd (13.8 points per league game) and Balint Mocsan (13.5) pace the Bengals, whose 9.2 three-point field goals per conference game leads the Big Sky. Boyd (11) and Mocsan (38) have combined for 49 of the team's 119 treys during conference action. The Bengals also stand fifth in the league in scoring defense (74.9).
Tipoff for Thursday's game is 7 pm. After that, the Cats continue south to face Weber State at 7 pm Saturday in Ogden.
#GoCatsGo
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballBobcat Insider TV Show
Thursday, March 03
Inside The Brick (Amin Adamu)
Friday, November 05
Inside The Brick (Nick Gazelas)
Monday, November 01
Inside The Brick (Abdul Mohamed)
Sunday, October 31
