Thursday, March 7
Sacramento, CA
8 p.m.
Montana State University
at
Sacramento State
Photo by: Andrew Pedersen
GAME #29: Bobcats Open Regular Season's Final Road Trip at Sacramento State on Thursday
3/6/2019 10:47:00 AM | Men's Basketball
MSU faces different tempos in weekend contests
BOZEMAN, Montana – Both games are important. Both games are on the road. And that's where the similarities between the games that comprise Montana State's regular season-ending road trip end.
The Bobcats open that trip on Thursday at 8 pm MT, when MSU plays at Sacramento State (13-14 overall, 7-11 Big Sky). The game matches two teams scrapping for position in the Big Sky Tournament, which begins March 13 in Boise, but it also pits teams with contrasting styles and offers MSU an opponent that plays vastly different than the one it sees Saturday at Portland State.
"You've got two contrasting styles," said Bobcat coach Brian Fish. "Sacramento State usually tries to pay a low-scoring game, and Saturday we play a team (Portland State) that usually likes to play in the 100s. So we'll have to adjust and adapt and focus on playing as well as we can at Sacramento State."
One of the most deliberate offensive teams in the Big Sky, Sacramento State is a dangerous squad and MSU maintaining its aggressive nature remains important, Fish said. "We want to not get caught up in that. It's like what a zone does to you. It gets you standing up, standing around, and you have to be who you are. We need to be an aggressive team. You have to not be lulled into a passive pace."
The Cats enter weekend play 14-14 overall and 11-7 in Big Sky play, all alone in third place. The top five seeds in the Big Sky tourney earn first-round byes, and MSU could finish anywhere from third place to sixth. The Bobcats are one win, or one Portland State loss, from clinching a bye. But none of that draws Fish's focus away from the task at hand.
"That's not something we talk about," Fish said. "We just try to get a little better each day. This team has stayed pretty focused on trying to do that. You get 28 or 29 games into the season and you understand what you have as a team. These guys know what they're playing for. They're grown men and they understand it, so we don't talk about it much."
Montana State is the top scoring team in the Big Sky, averaging 82.7 points per game. The team stands third in the league in field goal percentage (.472), and three-point percentage (.388), and fourth in free throw percentage (.750). But offensive proficiency wasn't always his team's calling card, according to Fish. "I think we've gone from a team challenged to score to the top in the league in scoring. The ball is moving better, so we've improved there. For the most part we've been a good rebounding team, we take care of the ball, we get some steals. I think this team has improved as much as any team in my time here."
After this weekend's 8 pm MT games, Thursday at Sacramento State and Saturday at Portland State, the Cats head to Boise for the Big Sky Conference Championships. MSU will play either Wednesday or Thursday, depending on seeding.
#GoCatsGo
The Bobcats open that trip on Thursday at 8 pm MT, when MSU plays at Sacramento State (13-14 overall, 7-11 Big Sky). The game matches two teams scrapping for position in the Big Sky Tournament, which begins March 13 in Boise, but it also pits teams with contrasting styles and offers MSU an opponent that plays vastly different than the one it sees Saturday at Portland State.
"You've got two contrasting styles," said Bobcat coach Brian Fish. "Sacramento State usually tries to pay a low-scoring game, and Saturday we play a team (Portland State) that usually likes to play in the 100s. So we'll have to adjust and adapt and focus on playing as well as we can at Sacramento State."
One of the most deliberate offensive teams in the Big Sky, Sacramento State is a dangerous squad and MSU maintaining its aggressive nature remains important, Fish said. "We want to not get caught up in that. It's like what a zone does to you. It gets you standing up, standing around, and you have to be who you are. We need to be an aggressive team. You have to not be lulled into a passive pace."
The Cats enter weekend play 14-14 overall and 11-7 in Big Sky play, all alone in third place. The top five seeds in the Big Sky tourney earn first-round byes, and MSU could finish anywhere from third place to sixth. The Bobcats are one win, or one Portland State loss, from clinching a bye. But none of that draws Fish's focus away from the task at hand.
"That's not something we talk about," Fish said. "We just try to get a little better each day. This team has stayed pretty focused on trying to do that. You get 28 or 29 games into the season and you understand what you have as a team. These guys know what they're playing for. They're grown men and they understand it, so we don't talk about it much."
Montana State is the top scoring team in the Big Sky, averaging 82.7 points per game. The team stands third in the league in field goal percentage (.472), and three-point percentage (.388), and fourth in free throw percentage (.750). But offensive proficiency wasn't always his team's calling card, according to Fish. "I think we've gone from a team challenged to score to the top in the league in scoring. The ball is moving better, so we've improved there. For the most part we've been a good rebounding team, we take care of the ball, we get some steals. I think this team has improved as much as any team in my time here."
After this weekend's 8 pm MT games, Thursday at Sacramento State and Saturday at Portland State, the Cats head to Boise for the Big Sky Conference Championships. MSU will play either Wednesday or Thursday, depending on seeding.
#GoCatsGo
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