Saturday, February 1
Missoula, MT
7 p.m.
Montana State University
at
Montana
Photo by: Andrew Pedersen
Bobcats Gearing up for 300th Meeting Against Griz
1/29/2020 4:07:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Cat-Griz rivalry reignites for the 300th time in men's basketball in Missoula Saturday
| Montana State Bobcats (11-9, 5-4) at Montana Grizzlies (11-9, 7-2) | |
| Date and Time | Saturday, Feb. 1 - 7 p.m. MST |
| Location | Missoula, Mont. |
| Site | Dahlberg Arena (7,322) |
| Television | SWX Montana (check local listings) |
| Radio | KMMS 1450 AM | Bobcat Sports Radio Network |
| Listen Live | msubobcats.com/watch | TuneIn app |
| Stream | Pluto TV | WatchBigSky.com |
| Live Stats | GoGriz.com (Statbroadcast) |
| Tickets | GrizTix.com |
| Montana State | Game Notes | Men's Basketball Home Page |
| Montana | Men's Basketball Home Page |
BOZEMAN, Mont. – Montana State travels to Missoula to face Montana on Saturday, Feb. 1, in the 300th meeting between the two men's basketball programs. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Dahlberg Arena.
Montana holds a 151-148 edge in the all-time series and has won 17 of the last 18 matchups. The Griz are 11-9 overall and sit atop the Big Sky standings at 7-2 in league play. They travel to play Portland State on Thursday before returning to their home confines for the Brawl of the Wild Series matchup on Saturday.
UM is led by two double-digit scorers in Sayeed Pridgett (19.2) and Kendal Manuel (15.0). Pridgett paces the Griz on the boards averaging 7.5 rebounds per game. Jared Samuelson has added to the team's offense by averaging in double figures (12.2) during Big Sky Conference play.
"They're going to be anxious," Sprinkle said of his team's preparations for Saturday's game. "People are going to talk about it all week, that's typical Cat-Griz, but that's what makes it special. We need to get those nerves out of the way early. We're going to practice hard and get after it. We're going to do the things we know we have to do for us to have a chance to win that game."
The Bobcats complete a road stretch of three consecutive games with their trip to Missoula. MSU earned two wins during its trek south a weekend ago. The 'Cats defeated Weber State (62-61) Thursday and Idaho State (75-61) Saturday.
The pair of victories over the two foes on the same road trip were the first for the MSU program since the 2004-05 season. That year also featured MSU's previously held longest true road win streak. The Bobcats are currently on a three-game road win streak, which is their best since the 2004-05 season. MSU completed the same streak with victories that year over Weber State (Jan. 6), Idaho State (Jan. 8) and Montana (Jan. 15).
"Obviously it was a great weekend," Sprinkle said. "I'm proud of the way the guys bounced back from two tough home losses. We had a great week of practice. I knew we were going to play well. Those are two tough places to play, two really well coached teams and teams we've struggled with in the past down there.
"Any time you can win in Ogden it's a great win, they made us earn it. Harald made a great play at the end of that game. The Idaho State game, the guys just fought. Typical Big Sky Conference game. Tied up with seven minutes to go and we really executed down the stretch and made some big plays and big shots."
Amin Adamu made a layup off a feed from Harald Frey with 3.2 seconds left to lift the 'Cats to 62-61 win over Weber State on Jan. 23. MSU came back from a 13-point second half deficit and led in the contest for just 2:53. The win for the Bobcats snapped an 11-game losing streak to the Wildcats that dated back to 2013. The victory for MSU in Ogden was its first on Weber State's home floor since the 2009 Big Sky Conference tournament.
Head coach Danny Sprinkle became the first in program history to win his first game coaching in Ogden, Utah. He also became the first MSU coach to pick up a win in his team's first matchup against Weber State since Roger Craft accomplished the feat in 1964. That matchup was the first ever between the two schools in men's basketball.
The Bobcats topped Idaho State by out-shooting the Bengals 49.1%-36.8%. The field goal percentage differential is the most in an MSU game this season since its loss to Green Bay on Nov. 30 and its most in a winning effort since the Bobcats' 82-46 victory over Colorado Christian on Nov. 26.
Montana State's effort on the defensive end continues to stand out this season. Twelve of 20 opponents have been held to shooting less than 40% from the field. The Bobcats' field goal percentage defense (40.3%) ranks 70th in the nation.
The highest ranking on the NCAA team statistical chart for MSU is its 3-point field goal defense. The Bobcats are ranked 12th in Division I basketball giving up a 28.3 clip from long range to opponents. Green Bay hit 10 of 22 3-pointers for 45.5% and is the only team this season to shoot over 40% from deep against MSU.
"The one thing we pride ourselves on is if we can consistently defend, we know teams are going to make some shots, but if we can defend, rebound and try to get three stops in a row multiple times in a half, eventually shots are going to fall for us," Sprinkle said. "It's a lot easier when you're getting stops to score because you're not taking the ball out of the net and they can't set their defense."
Montana State's one-point win over Weber State served as the seventh contest that ended with a score by one possession (three points or less) this season. The 'Cats are 5-2 in those games. That mark is the most for MSU since the 2013-14 season when the Bobcats went 4-4 in games that ended with a result difference of one field goal.
After holding both foes in the 60s last week, MSU improved to 11-3 when holding opponents to 70 points or less. The 14 foes under 70 points or less is the best mark since the 2014-15 season when MSU held 15 opponents to that total.
A trend has continued for the Bobcats through 20 games. The 'Cats are 7-0 this season when they either win or tie their opponent in the turnover battle.
Saturday's Cat-Griz doubleheader will be televised by SWX Montana. SWX Montana can be found on channel 199 or 503 for Charter spectrum subscribers, while it can also be found through digital antenna offering which can be found here. The doubleheader 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 and airing locally on KMMS 1450 AM. All tickets for home games 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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/ 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
