Bobcats Face T-Birds Thursday & Saturday to Open Big Sky Schedule

Thursday, December 31

BOZEMAN

2:30 p.m.

Montana State University

Southern Utah

Photo by: Garrett Becker

Bobcats Face T-Birds Thursday & Saturday to Open Big Sky Schedule

12/29/2020 12:27:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Montana State makes its conference schedule debut on New Year’s Eve when the Bobcats host Southern Utah beginning Thursday and follow with a second matchup on Saturday

By: Andrew Pedersen

Montana State Bobcats (2-3) vs. Southern Utah (7-1)
Date and Time	Game 1: Thursday, December 31 - 2:30 p.m. MDT Game 2: Saturday, January 2 - 12 p.m. MDT
Location	Bozeman, Montana
Site	Worthington Arena
Television	SWX Montana (Game 1 - Thursday Only)
Radio	KMMS 1450 AM \| Bobcat Sports Radio Network
Listen Live	TuneIn app
Stream	Pluto TV (Channel 1057)
Live Stats	MSUBobcats.com (Statbroadcast)
Tickets	N/A
Montana State	Game Notes \| Men's Basketball Home Page
Southern Utah	Men's Basketball Home Page

Montana State makes its conference schedule debut on New Year's Eve when the Bobcats host Southern Utah Thursday at 2:30 p.m. in Worthington Arena. The Bobcats take on the Thunderbirds to begin their Big Sky slate for third time in the previous four seasons. The two squads wrap up the conference back-to-back series with a 12 p.m. tipoff on Saturday in Bozeman.

MSU returns to action following two defeats on the road. The Bobcats dropped an 82-54 contest at Washington State on Dec. 18. The Cougars jumped out to a double-digit lead and held on to their advantage by shooting over 60% from the field during the first half. MSU held a lead for 31 minutes against Portland in their matchup on Dec. 22, but eventually fell 62-59 to the Pilots. Portland took advantage by going 25-for-26 from the charity stripe and also had a 42-31 rebounding edge.

After dropping its season opener on a buzzer beater to LMU, Southern Utah has won seven consecutive games to set a new regular season record for wins in a row during the Thunderbirds' Division I era. Southern Utah is led by four double-digit scorers in Tevian Jones (18.1), Maizen Fausett (13.9), John Knight III (12.9) and Dre Marin (10.3). Southern Utah is listed at No. 24 in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll.

The Thunderbirds rank among the top 50 teams in Division I and lead the Big Sky in scoring offense (84.6) and 3-point field goals per game (9.5). Southern Utah ranks second in the Big Sky in several categories and in the nation is 12th overall in rebound margin (12.1), 30th in total rebounds per game (42.1) and 38th in scoring margin (17.2).

Montana State still ranks among the top 100 in Division I men's basketball in scoring offense (77.6), 3-point field goal percentage (37.8%) and 3-point field goals per game (8.4) despite scoring less than 60 points in its last two outings. MSU's highest rank among NCAA members is its 76.5% clip from the free throw line which slots them 32nd overall. The Bobcats conversely have had opponents go 100-for-128 (78.1%) from the free throw line through their five contests.

The Bobcats and Thunderbirds have met 27 times prior to this season's back-to-back contests. MSU holds a 21-6 edge in the all-time series with the Bobcats picking up a 73-65 victory on March 5 in their last meeting a season ago. Southern Utah won the first meeting last season between the two foes, 59-53, in Cedar City on Jan. 4.

MSU is paced in the scoring column by Xavier Bishop (15.0), Amin Adamu (14.0) and Jubrile Belo (11.8). Bishop, who recently surpassed 1,100 points and 300 assists in his college career, is nearing his best season scoring average of 15.4 points per game he set as a junior at Kansas City in 2018-19. Adamu is scoring over two more points per game than he did as a junior and is shooting 50% from the field. Belo joins the trio in double digits and leads the team on the boards averaging six rebounds.

Abdul Mohamed completed a second double-double effort this season in MSU's loss to Portland. He totaled 11 points and 10 rebounds while playing a career-high 30 minutes. His previous most time on the court at the Division I level was a 17-minute showing on Nov. 19, 2019, against North Carolina A&T while at North Texas.

Thursday's game will be broadcast by SWX Montana for fans that carry the channel. Both of MSU's contests versus Southern Utah will be streamed on the Pluto TV app (channel 1057) 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.