Montana State Squares Off With Portland State in Big Sky Quarterfinals

Thursday, March 12

Boise, ID (CenturyLink Arena)

2 p.m.

Montana State University

Portland State

Buy Tickets

Photo by: Garrett Becker

Montana State Squares Off With Portland State in Big Sky Quarterfinals

3/10/2020 3:45:00 PM | Men's Basketball

The Bobcat men open Big Sky Tournament play Thursday when they face the Vikings in Boise

By: Andrew Pedersen

Montana State Bobcats (16-15, 10-10) vs. Portland State (18-14, 12-8)
Date and Time	Thursday, March 12 - approximately 2 p.m. MST
Location	Boise, Idaho
Site	CenturyLink Arena (5,300)
Television	Eleven Sports (DirectTV ch 623) \| Pluto TV
Radio	KMMS 1450 AM \| Bobcat Sports Radio Network
Listen Live	msubobcats.com/watch \| TuneIn app
Stream	Pluto TV \| WatchBigSky.com
Live Stats	BigSkyStats.com (Statbroadcast)
Tickets	MSUBobcats.com
Montana State	Game Notes \| Men's Basketball Home Page
Portland State	Men's Basketball Home Page

BOISE, Idaho - Montana State makes its Big Sky Tournament debut on Thursday, March 12, when the Bobcats take on the Portland State Vikings. The game is set to tipoff 30 minutes following the conclusion of Game 4 of men's championship play at roughly 2 p.m. in CenturyLink Arena.

The Bobcats defeated Southern Utah, 73-65, on March 5 to clinch the No. 5 seed and set up a matchup against No. 4 Portland State. It's the first time MSU has earned a bye in the conference tournament since the league moved to a neutral site. The Bobcats have previously earned byes in Big Sky tournaments in 1988, 1996, 2002 and 2005.

MSU and Portland State met two previous times this season with the Vikings earning wins in each contest. The Viks have won five of the last six matchups between the two squads.

Portland State earned a one-point victory in the final seconds in the teams' opening matchup on Jan. 11 in Bozeman. The Viks nabbed a 77-76 decision over the 'Cats in Bozeman as Holland Woods converted on a driving layup with 2.4 seconds remaining. The game featured 20 lead changes and eight ties. Woods scored a then career-high 30 points for the Viks, while Harald Frey scored 26 and Amin Adamu recorded 20 for the Bobcats.

The Vikings topped the Bobcats, 87-77, on Feb. 20 in the second meeting of the season in Portland. MSU held a three-point lead at the break, but a 13-2 run out of halftime propelled PSU ahead for good. The Viks scored 21 points off 17 MSU turnovers while PSU was led by Woods's 22 points. Five Bobcats scored in double digits led by Adamu's 17, but MSU was without Frey for the final 18 minutes due to an ankle injury.

"The key is being able to handle their pressure, handle their press," Montana State head coach Danny Sprinkle said. "They do a great job of taking you out of your offense. They switch everything, they collapse and help, they do a really good job of making it difficult to score on them.

"When they're on offense, you've got to box them out. All five guys go to the offensive glass. You have to do a great job of contact box outs and making sure they don't have second opportunities."

MSU and Portland State have met four previous times in Big Sky Tournament games. The Viks own a 4-0 edge in postseason conference play against the Bobcats. The two squads last met in 2012 in the First Round, while the pair's most prominent postseason matchup came in the 2009 Big Sky Championship.

After completing two upset victories en route to the 2009 title game, the Bobcats fell in a 79-77 contest to Portland State that featured 13 lead changes and a dozen ties. MSU's Branden Johnson hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 77 with 15 seconds left, but a Julius Thomas dunk with 3.5 seconds remaining sealed a PSU victory in Ogden.

Senior Harald Frey and junior Jubrile Belo each were honored by the Big Sky on Tuesday as All-Conference selections. Frey was selected to the Big Sky's First Team for the first time in his career. Belo, a Third-Team honoree, was named the conference's Newcomer of the Year. Belo became just the second Bobcat to earn the award, joining Damir Latovic who won it in 2002.

MSU enters the Big Sky Tournament having held 20 of its 31 opponents to under 70 points or less. The Bobcats are 16-4 overall this season when doing so. That mark is nearly one of the best for the program since the start of the 21st century. The 'Cats held 23 foes to 70 or less during the 2001-02 season, their last Big Sky Championship regular season campaign.

The Bobcats' quarterfinal appearance is just their third in the previous 15 seasons. MSU looks to make its first semifinal since 2009, a year it advanced to the title game.

Thursday's game will air on Eleven Sports (DirecTV channel 623) and can 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.