Men’s Hoops Faces Idaho State to Open Big Sky Tournament

Thursday, March 11

Boise, ID (Idaho Central Arena)

2 p.m.

Montana State University

Idaho State

Photo by: Garrett Becker

Men’s Hoops Faces Idaho State to Open Big Sky Tournament

3/9/2021 1:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Game Notes Postseason Guide

Montana State begins its quest for a conference title on Thursday, March 11, when the Bobcats face the Idaho State Bengals in the quarterfinals of the Big Sky Conference Tournament.

By: Andrew Pedersen

Montana State Bobcats (11-9, 8-6) vs. Idaho State Bengals (13-10, 8-6)
Date and Time	Thursday, March 11 - 2 p.m.
Location	Boise, Idaho
Site	Idaho Central Arena
Radio	KMMS 1450 AM \| Bobcat Sports Radio Network
Listen Live	TuneIn app
Stream	Pluto TV (Channel 1050)
Live Stats	BigSkyStats.com
Montana State	Game Notes \| Postseason Guide \| Men's Basketball Home Page
Idaho State	Men's Basketball Home Page

BOZEMAN, Mont. – Montana State begins its quest for a conference title on Thursday, March 11, when the Bobcats face the Idaho State Bengals in the quarterfinals of the Big Sky Conference Tournament. The two teams, slotted fourth and fifth in the league standings, meet in a 2 p.m. matchup in Idaho Central Arena.

The Bobcats clinched a top-five seed and a bye to the Big Sky Conference quarterfinals in Boise when they defeated Sacramento State on March 5, 77-75, in Worthington Arena. They fell to the Hornets in the regular season finale on March 6, 74-73, to finish their schedule 11-9 overall and 8-6 in Big Sky play.

"It's great having the bye," Montana State head coach Danny Sprinkle said. "We're going to get (to Boise) late tonight, we're going to practice here, but hopefully feel a little bit of the tournament atmosphere once we get to Boise and the hotel. Even though we'll be a little restricted, it'll be good to be there because we'll get to watch the games on Pluto and see the gym and see how exciting the tournament is."

MSU sealed an overall winning record in back-to-back years with its 11-9 ledger heading into the league tournament. With its 16-15 record it completed a season ago, the Bobcats achieved the feat of back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in 19 years. MSU's two consecutive trips to the quarterfinals of the league's postseason tournament is a first for the program since the 'Cats did it back-to-back seasons in 1998 and 1999.

The Bobcats and Bengals are scheduled to play nearly a year to the date when the remainder of the 2020 Big Sky Championships were canceled due to coronavirus pandemic. The announcement was made the morning of March 12, with MSU scheduled to face Portland State that afternoon in the league's quarterfinals.

Montana State and Idaho State will square off for the first time this season on Thursday. The two teams were slated to play from Feb. 18-20, but the series was canceled due to an MSU pause in activities because of COVID-19. The Bobcats had three total Big Sky series canceled. MSU missed out on series with Southern Utah and Montana due to a positive COVID-19 case within each program at the time.

The Bobcats hold a 117-87 all-time series lead over the Bengals and have won the last four meetings. MSU won both matchups a season ago, starting with a 75-64 win in Pocatello on Jan. 25, 2020. Four 'Cats scored in double digits led by Amin Adamu's 19 points and Jubrile Belo's 16. They completed the season sweep with a 73-69 victory in Bozeman on Feb. 13. MSU shot 56% in the contest and was led in the scoring column again by Adamu (20) and Belo (18).

Idaho State enters Thursday's contest statistically among the best in the nation on defense. The Bengals are atop the Big Sky in scoring defense (61.3) and field goal defense (40.4%). They rank ninth and 31st among all Division I programs in those categories, respectively. Tarik Cool (13.8), Robert Ford III (11.5) and Brayden Parker (10.3) average double digits scoring for Idaho State.

"I think Idaho State is really good," Sprinkle said. "I think we both have very similar teams. They've got a great point guard (Robert Ford III), a wing in Tarik Cool and a big kid in Brayden Parker. They're very similar to us with their three all-league guys and our three all-league guys. It's going to come down to those guys and out of the peripheral guys that play better. Who's going to come in and help spurt each team.

"They're a tremendous defensive team. To go and beat Eastern Washington at Eastern Washington, shows how tough they are mentally and physically."

MSU and Idaho State have only met once ever in postseason play. That matchup took place in the Idaho State "Minidome" as the Bengals claimed a 93-77 victory over the Bobcats in the 1977 Big Sky semifinals.

Amin Adamu, Xavier Bishop and Jubrile Belo were honored by the Big Sky Conference on Monday. Bishop, in his first season as a Bobcat, was named to the All-Big Sky Second Team. Adamu and Belo, both in their second seasons, were selected to the Third Team. Belo, a repeat choice to the Third Team, was last year's Newcomer of the Year. Adamu earned his first league honors by leading MSU in scoring (14.7).

The Big Sky quarterfinals will be streamed on channel 1050 of the Pluto TV app. All Bobcat basketball games are available to listen to as part of the Bobcat Sports Radio Network and air locally on KMMS 1450 AM.