Monday, February 4
Greeley, CO
7 pm
Montana State University
at
Northern Colorado
Photo by: Andrew Pedersen
GAME #21: After Quick Turnaround, Cats Face League-Leading UNC Monday in Greeley
2/3/2019 12:53:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Montana State visits explosive Northern Colorado, which has found its defensive groove in league play
BOZEMAN, Montana – Conference basketball seasons, the old saw tells us, resembles a distance race more than a sprint. Montana State' 2019 Big Sky Conference season, though, is more like interval training.
The Cats continue their second sprint of 2019 in Greeley, Colorado, on Monday, two days after dropping a home game to Montana. On Thursday MSU hosts Eastern Washington, then Saturday Idaho, for the second of three schedule segments of the league season featuring four games in eight days. "We just have to look forward," junior guard Harald Frey said of transitioning into a rapid-fire set of games. "We have to put the last game behind us and prepare for what's ahead."
What's ahead for the Cats is one of the Big Sky's most explosive offensively, a Northern Colorado squad that averages 78 points and makes a league-high 9.8 three-pointers a game over the course of the season. During conference play, however, the Bears have found themselves defensively. UNC allows a league-low 67.2 points per game whole holding opponents to 43.7% shooting, third in the conference.
Montana State leads the Big Sky with 83.6 points per conference contest, stands second in three-point shooting (38.8%), and third overall (47.6%). But the Bobcats have struggled getting stops, standing eighth in the league in field goal percentage allowed (47.2%) in conference games. The Cats stand directly in the middle of the conference in rebounding margin, and that has been a key indicator for the Cats. MSU is 4-0 in conference games when out-rebounding the opponent, 1-5 when out-rebounded.
Monday's game matches two of the most prolific scorers in the Big Sky's recent history. Tyler Hall's 2,278 career points is a conference record, but his 22.2 points per conference game this season is behind Northern Colorado star Jordan Davis' 24.3 average. Hall scored 25 points and Davis 15 in the team's first meeting, but the Bears benefited from four players in double-digits while only Devin Kirby's 10 supported MSU in that fashion. UNC won 73-70.
Northern Colorado enters Monday's contest with fresh legs after a nine-day rest, sharing the Big Sky lead with Montana at 8-2 (UNC is 14-7 overall). Montana State begins the second half of the league schedule with a 5-5 conference mark, 8-12 overall. After Monday's game, MSU hosts Eastern Washington on Thursday and Idaho on Saturday.
#GoCatsGo
The Cats continue their second sprint of 2019 in Greeley, Colorado, on Monday, two days after dropping a home game to Montana. On Thursday MSU hosts Eastern Washington, then Saturday Idaho, for the second of three schedule segments of the league season featuring four games in eight days. "We just have to look forward," junior guard Harald Frey said of transitioning into a rapid-fire set of games. "We have to put the last game behind us and prepare for what's ahead."
What's ahead for the Cats is one of the Big Sky's most explosive offensively, a Northern Colorado squad that averages 78 points and makes a league-high 9.8 three-pointers a game over the course of the season. During conference play, however, the Bears have found themselves defensively. UNC allows a league-low 67.2 points per game whole holding opponents to 43.7% shooting, third in the conference.
Montana State leads the Big Sky with 83.6 points per conference contest, stands second in three-point shooting (38.8%), and third overall (47.6%). But the Bobcats have struggled getting stops, standing eighth in the league in field goal percentage allowed (47.2%) in conference games. The Cats stand directly in the middle of the conference in rebounding margin, and that has been a key indicator for the Cats. MSU is 4-0 in conference games when out-rebounding the opponent, 1-5 when out-rebounded.
Monday's game matches two of the most prolific scorers in the Big Sky's recent history. Tyler Hall's 2,278 career points is a conference record, but his 22.2 points per conference game this season is behind Northern Colorado star Jordan Davis' 24.3 average. Hall scored 25 points and Davis 15 in the team's first meeting, but the Bears benefited from four players in double-digits while only Devin Kirby's 10 supported MSU in that fashion. UNC won 73-70.
Northern Colorado enters Monday's contest with fresh legs after a nine-day rest, sharing the Big Sky lead with Montana at 8-2 (UNC is 14-7 overall). Montana State begins the second half of the league schedule with a 5-5 conference mark, 8-12 overall. After Monday's game, MSU hosts Eastern Washington on Thursday and Idaho on Saturday.
#GoCatsGo
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