Montana State Ready to Face UNLV to Open 2020-21 Season

Photo by: Garrett Becker

11/24/2020 11:24:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Montana State makes its return to the court for the start of the 2020-21 season by taking on UNLV in the Thomas & Mack Center on Wednesday

By: Andrew Pedersen

Montana State Bobcats (0-0) vs. UNLV (0-0)
Date and Time	Wednesday, November 25 - 7:30 p.m. MDT
Location	Las Vegas, Nevada
Site	Thomas & Mack Center
Television	Mountain West Network \| Watch Stadium
Radio	KMMS 1450 AM \| Bobcat Sports Radio Network
Listen Live	TuneIn app
Stream	Watch Stadium \| UNLVRebels.com
Live Stats	UNLVRebels.com
Tickets	N/A
Montana State	Game Notes \| Men's Basketball Home Page
UNLV	Men's Basketball Home Page

BOZEMAN, Mont. - Montana State makes its return to the court for the start of the 2020-21 season by taking on UNLV in the Thomas & Mack Center on Wednesday, Nov. 25. The last time the Bobcats were preparing for a game was the morning of March 12 when MSU was scheduled to face Portland State in the quarterfinals of the 2020 Big Sky Tournament.

The Bobcats come off a 16-15 record during the 2019-20 season. The overall winning margin was MSU's first winning record in a decade. The Bobcats advanced to the Big Sky quarterfinals for just the third time in 15 seasons and the 16 victories were tied for the most for the program since the 2001-02 slate.

The Big Sky Conference announced its preseason polls on Wednesday, Nov. 11. The Bobcats were voted by the Big Sky's media to finish fourth in the 2020-21 season while the coaches' poll had MSU ranked sixth.

Danny Sprinkle's 16 victories in his first season as head coach were the most for a first-year MSU coach since Hank Anderson guided the 1972-73 team to a 17-9 mark. The last Bobcat coach to open his first two seasons with winning records was Bruce Haroldson who followed an opening 15-11 season with a second-year mark of 14-12 during the Bobcats' 1979-80 schedule.

Jubrile Belo was named to the 2020-21 Big Sky Preseason All-Conference Team following a standout sophomore season. Belo averaged 13.1 points and 6.4 rebounds per game while starting all 31 games a season ago. He ended the 2019-20 season with three straight double-doubles, earning the league's final Player of the Week award. He was named Big Sky Newcomer of the Year and to the All-Big Sky Third Team.

MSU will be led by a variety of upperclassmen. Devin Kirby enters his fifth year in the program starting the previous two seasons. Amin Adamu started in 28 of 29 games a season ago and averaged 11.7 points. Xavier Bishop comes off a redshirt season and is already a 1,000 point scorer after three previous seasons at Kansas City. Abdul Mohamed joined the Bobcats as a graduate transfer from North Texas, a team that a season ago won the 2019-20 Conference USA regular season title.

The Bobcats' remaining returners are each rising sophomores in Caleb Bellach, Borja Fernandez and Finn Fleute. Junior college transfers Nick Gazelas, Mike Hood and Bilal Shabazz are in their first Division I seasons. MSU has four freshmen on the roster including Tyler Patterson, Kellen Tynes, Carter Ash and Jesse Owens.

UNLV and Montana State have met one prior time, a 76-65 Runnin' Rebels victory on Nov. 9, 2007, in Las Vegas for the 2007-08 season opener. UNLV was predicted to take fourth in the Mountain West 2020-21 Preseason Poll. Bryce Hamilton was selected to this year's Preseason All-Mountain West Team, while David Jenkins Jr. (Preseason Newcomer of the Year) and Nick Blake (Preseason Freshman of the Year) were also individually recognized.

Wednesday's game will be streamed as part of the Mountain West Network. It can be found at WatchStadium.com, TheMW.com/watch and at UNLVRebels.com. Watch Stadium also provides a where to watch selection of streaming options. All Bobcat basketball games are available to listen to as part of the Bobcat Sports Radio Network which airs locally on KMMS 1450 AM. Fans can also listen online on the TuneIn app.