Thursday, January 20
Flagstaff, AZ
6 p.m.
Montana State University
at
Northern Arizona
Photo by: Jerek Wolcott
Men’s Hoops Treks to Northern Arizona, Portland State
1/18/2022 3:59:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Montana State will play its first game in over 10 days on Thursday when the Bobcats visit Flagstaff to take on the Lumberjacks in the Walkup Skydome starting at 6 p.m
| Montana State Bobcats (12-5, 4-2) vs. Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (6-9, 2-2) | |
| Saturday vs. Portland State Vikings (4-9, 2-3) | |
| Date and Time | Thursday, Jan. 20 - 6 p.m. MT | Saturday, Jan. 22 - 8 p.m. MT |
| Location | Flagstaff, Arizona | Portland, Oregon |
| Site | Walkup Skydome | Viking Pavilion |
| Television | N/A |
| Stream | ESPN+ |
| Radio | KMMS 1450 AM | Bobcat Sports Radio Network |
| Listen Live | Varsity Network app |
| Live Stats | Statbroadcast (NAUAthletics.com | GoViks.com) |
| Montana State | Game Notes | Game Notes (vs PSU) | Men's Basketball Home Page |
| Northern Arizona | Men's Basketball Home Page |
| Portland State | Men's Basketball Home Page |
BOZEMAN, Mont. – Montana State will play its first game in over 10 days on Thursday when the Bobcats visit Flagstaff to take on the Lumberjacks in the Walkup Skydome starting at 6 p.m. MSU follows that with a trip to Portland to face the Portland State Vikings on Saturday with tipoff set for 8 p.m.
MSU most recently ended a six-game losing streak to Montana on Jan. 9 as the Bobcats defeated the Grizzlies, 66-59, in Worthington Arena. The victory was just MSU's second in their previous 21 meetings with Montana. It was the first for Danny Sprinkle as head coach, who also went 6-3 in his time as a player at Montana State (1995-99).
The Bobcats and Lumberjacks go head-to-head for the fourth consecutive time in Flagstaff with their two matchups a season ago taking place in Rolle Activity Center. MSU completed 62-51 (Jan. 21) and 58-53 (Jan. 23) victories over NAU, extending their season win streak to seven at the the time, which was the longest for the program in 19 years. The Bobcats' current streak of five-straight wins over the Jacks is the longest for MSU in the all-time series between the two teams.
Northern Arizona enters Thursday's contest coming off a down-to-the-wire 74-72 win over Idaho in Flagstaff on Monday. The contest was the Lumberjacks' first in 12 days. NAU sits 6-9 overall and 2-2 in Big Sky play, falling to Weber State and Eastern Washington previously, but also picking up a win over Idaho State.
The Jacks are led in the scoring column by Jalen Cone (18.4) and Nik Mains (12.7). Carson Towt nearly averages a double-double with his 8.5 points and 9.9 rebounds per game. NAU sits atop the Big Sky along with MSU in blocks per game (3.5) while the Jacks are among the top 100 in the NCAA in 3-point field goals per game (8.5), 3-point field goal percentage (.371) and rebounds per game (38.1).
"It's going to be a good matchup," Sprinkle said of facing NAU. "They have some big guys inside, they're athletic, they have a really good point guard, they've got some shooters on the wing, so it's a very similar team to ours. Any time you're going down to Flagstaff, it's going to be physical when you're playing coach (Shane) Burcar's teams.
"It's going to be a lot like Montana, you're going to have to be physical and hit some shots."
Portland State currently stands at 4-9 overall and 2-3 in Big Sky action. The Vikings have three double-digit scorers in James Jean-Marie (12.6), Marion Ruffin (11.7) and Khalid Thomas (10.0). Under first-year head coach Jase Coburn, the Viks rank among the top 100 in the nation in total rebounds and are 28th overall – and first in the Big Sky Conference – in offensive rebounding with a 12.8 average.
MSU and Portland State met twice last season in Bozeman with the Bobcats winning both contests. Prior to those two victories, the Vikings had won six of the previous seven matchups between the two sides.
"They play pretty similar to how they use to, but they don't press like they use to," Sprinkle said of Portland State. "In the half court, they make it hard for you, they switch 1-5 and pressure you. Offensively they're crashing the glass and they have multiple guys that can score.
"They might have been the most talented team in our conference last year when looking at their full roster and a lot of those guys are back plus a couple of transfers."
MSU's 12-5 overall mark at just past the midway point of the 2021-22 regular season is one of the program's best in recent memory. The 2021-22 overall record is MSU's best through the opening 17 games of the regular season since the 1997-98 season when that team began the year 17-4 overall before finishing 19-11.
The Bobcats continue to be paced by their customary starting lineup of Amin Adamu, Jubrile Belo, Xavier Bishop, Tyler Patterson and Abdul Mohamed. Four of those Bobcats have started in every game while Patterson has started in each contest but one. Each of the five players is averaging more than 24 minutes per game on the court, while Belo (13.6), Bishop (12.2) and Adamu (11.4) are averaging double digits in scoring through 17 games.
Several Bobcats are hitting career achievements this season. Bishop has surpassed both the 1,500-career point and 450-assist marks during his college tenure. Adamu stands at 857 points and is on pace for 1,000 in his career, while Belo draws closer to the milestone with 958 career points
Team trends continue to stand out for the Bobcats. MSU is 12-2 this year when an opponent shoots under 50%, including a 11-1 mark when the 'Cats outshoot their foe. The Bobcats are also 10-0 when they keep an opponent to scoring less than 70 points.
Montana State's games versus Northern Arizona and Portland State will be streamed on ESPN+.. The game will also be broadcast on the Bobcat Radio Network on KMMS 1450 AM as well as on the Varsity Network app. Links for live streams, live stats and radio coverage are available on the men's basketball schedule page on msubobcats.com.
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