Thursday, February 6
BOZEMAN
7 p.m.
Montana State University
vs
Idaho
Photo by: Garrett Becker
Montana State Hosts Idaho Thursday to Begin Second Half of Big Sky Slate
2/4/2020 5:09:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Montana State plays its first game on its home floor in nearly three weeks when the Bobcats host Idaho at 7 p.m. on Thursday
| Montana State Bobcats (11-10, 5-5) vs. Idaho (6-15, 2-8) | |
| Date and Time | Thursday, Feb. 6 - 7 p.m. MST |
| Location | Bozeman, Mont. |
| Site | Worthington Arena (6,772) |
| Television | SWX Montana (tape delay) |
| Radio | KMMS 1450 AM | Bobcat Sports Radio Network |
| Listen Live | msubobcats.com/watch | TuneIn app |
| Stream | Pluto TV | WatchBigSky.com |
| Live Stats | MSUBobcats.com (Statbroadcast) |
| Tickets | MSUBobcats.com |
| Montana State | Game Notes | Men's Basketball Home Page |
| Idaho | Men's Basketball Home Page |
BOZEMAN, Mont. – Montana State plays its first game on its home floor in nearly three weeks when the Bobcats host Idaho at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 6, in Worthington Arena. The Bobcats travel for their next game Saturday at Eastern Washington, but will host four of the next six games on their schedule.
The Bobcats and Vandals meet for the second time this season on Thursday. MSU earned a 71-68 victory in the Cowan Spectrum in Moscow on Jan. 9. The Bobcats trailed by nine past the midway point of the second half, but came back and hit crucial free throws at the end to earn the win. Harald Frey led MSU with 22 points, while Jubrile Belo and Borja Fernandez each recorded double-doubles.
Idaho won its first game on the road this season by defeating Sacramento State, 67-53, in The Nest on Monday. The Vandals led wire-to-wire to snap a six-game losing streak. Trevon Allen, the second leading scorer in the Big Sky, scored 27 points and had eight rebounds in the win.
The Bobcats enter Thursday's matchup 11-10 overall and 5-5 in Big Sky play. The Vandals are 6-5 with a 2-8 mark in conference action.
"They could easily be a six or seven win team," Montana State head coach Danny Sprinkle said of Idaho. "They beat a really good Sacramento State team last night in Sacramento and they dominated pretty much the entire game. They had them down 20 and we kind of got out of there by the skin of our teeth. We're going to need the same type of effort. They're similar to us, they have a player just like Harald Frey in Trevon Allen. We've got our work cut out for us on Thursday."
The Bobcats completed a road stretch of three consecutive games with their trip to Missoula on Feb. 1. MSU went 2-1 during the three-game span. The 'Cats defeated Weber State (62-61) on Jan. 23 and Idaho State (75-61) on Jan. 25. MSU fell to Montana, 78-64, this past Saturday.
The pair of victories over Weber State and Idaho State 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 of three. The Bobcats had their road winning streak snapped against the Griz.
Prior to the three-game road stand, the Bobcats played consecutive games at home. MSU dropped a 77-76 nail-biter to Portland State on Jan. 11 and lost to Eastern Washington on Jan. 18, 71-58.
"Even when we dropped a couple tough ones at home, we bounced back and went to Weber State and Idaho State and won a couple on the road," Sprinkle said. "The one thing this group does a good job of is listen. They come to work like yesterday, that was probably our most intense, physical practice we've had all year. We've had a couple of them, but yesterday was good. They responded. Their attitude was in the right place, their heart was in the right place, and that's why they continue to get better."
Montana hit a season-high 11 3-pointers on Saturday against Montana State. The 11-for-19 mark (57.9%) is the first time an opponent has shot over 50% from deep against the Bobcats this season. Montana and Green Bay are the only teams to have shot over 40% from long range against MSU during the 2019-20 schedule.
Montana State's 3-point field goal percentage defense jumped from 28.2% to 29.4% following the Feb. 1 game at Montana. That mark ranks the Bobcats 27th among Division I programs and second in the Big Sky Conference.
Senior Harald Frey scored a career-high 37 points in MSU's last outing versus Montana. Frey made 9 of 17 of his shot attempts, including a 7-for-14 mark from beyond the 3-point line. He also made 12 free throws. His 37 points tied for the 13th most in a single game in program history, his seven 3-pointers tied for seventh in a single game and his 12 free throws tied for the fifth most all-time.
Frey is less than 100 points away from the next spot on MSU's all-time scoring chart. The Oslo, Norway, native now has 1,757 career points as he stands at fifth in program history and is ranked 20th in the Big Sky Conference in all-time scoring.
MSU gave up over 70 points for the seventh time this season and are 0-7 in those contests. The Bobcats are 11-3 this season 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.
The Bobcats lost their first game this season when either winning or tying the turnover battle on Saturday as they tied the Griz with 10 apiece. MSU is now 7-1 when they either hold the edge or tie their foe in the turnover category.
Thursday's game will be televised by SWX Montana on tape delay. It will air at approximately 9 p.m. MST. 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 contest 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.
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