Thursday, January 27
BOZEMAN
7 p.m.
Montana State University
vs
Eastern Washington
Photo by: Garrett Becker
Bobcats Set to Host Eagles in Worthington Arena Thursday
1/26/2022 1:54:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Montana State, on the heels of a five-game winning streak, returns to Bozeman to host Eastern Washington and Idaho in Worthington Arena
| Montana State Bobcats (14-5, 6-2) vs. Eastern Washington Eagles (11-8, 5-3) | |
| Date and Time | Thursday, Jan. 27 - 7 p.m. MT |
| Location | Bozeman, Montana |
| Site | Worthington Arena |
| Stream | ESPN+ |
| Radio | KMMS 1450 AM | Bobcat Sports Radio Network |
| Listen Live | Varsity Network app |
| Live Stats | MSUBobcats.com |
| Montana State | Game Notes | Men's Basketball Home Page |
| Eastern Washington | Men's Basketball Home Page |
BOZEMAN, Mont. – Montana State, on the heels of a five-game winning streak, returns to Bozeman to host Eastern Washington and Idaho in Worthington Arena. The Bobcats take on the Eagles for the first time this season on Thursday at 7 p.m. and Idaho for a second time on Saturday at 4 p.m.
MSU picked up two wins on the road last week defeating Northern Arizona (89-84) on Jan. 20 and Portland State (73-60) on Jan. 22. The two victories extended the squad's winning streak to five consecutive games on the road, which is the longest span for the program during its Division I era.
The Bobcats had a variety of players step up on the road trip with the absence of starter Amin Adamu. Xavier Bishop earned Big Sky Player of the Week honors for averaging 20.5 points, 6.5 assists and 4.5 rebounds in the two contests. RaeQuan Battle and Nick Gazelas had two of their best games of the season off the bench. Battle scored a combined 22 points (9-13 FG) in 36 minutes while Gazelas recorded 23 points (7-14 FG) in 47 minutes.
MSU improved to 14-5 overall this season with its win over Portland State. That mark is one of the program's best in recent memory. The 2021-22 overall record is MSU's best through the opening 19 games of the regular season since the 1997-98 season when that team began the year 17-4 overall before finishing 19-11.
Montana State plays on its home floor for the first time since its Jan. 9 Cat-Griz win, a 66-59 final, over Montana. The Bobcats are 6-1 at home this year, but face an EWU squad on Thursday that is 7-4 on the road, including a 3-0 away record against Big Sky foes. The Eags, who lead the league in assists per game (16.2), field goal percentage defense (41.8%) and free throws made (315), enter the contest with four double digit scorers in Steele Venters (18.1), Linton Acliese (15.4), Rylan Bergersen (13.9) and Angelo Allegri (11.2).
The Eagles took a hold of the all-time series lead over the Bobcats last season with their three wins over MSU during the 2020-21 campaign. EWU earned two victories over the 'Cats during the regular season then defeated MSU in the Big Sky Championship game on March 13, 65-55. The Eags lead the series 47-46 thanks to a six-game active win streak between the two programs. EWU has also won 15 of the last 17 matchups over MSU.
Several Bobcats are hitting career achievements this season. Bishop has surpassed both the 1,500-career point (currently at 1,609) and 450-assist marks during his college tenure. Amin Adamu stands at 857 points, while Belo draws closer to the milestone with 980 career points.
MSU is currently ranked 132nd in the NCAA's latest NET Rankings. That ranking is the highest among Big Sky schools and is the highest for MSU since 2002. NET takes into game results, strength of schedule, game location, scoring margin net offensive and defensive efficiency. MSU's highest RPIs ever when that was used by the NCAA was in 1987 (63rd), 1996 (72nd) and 2002 (97th).
Montana State's games versus Eastern Washington 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.
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's BasketballBobcat Insider TV Show
Thursday, March 03
Inside The Brick (Amin Adamu)
Friday, November 05
Inside The Brick (Nick Gazelas)
Monday, November 01
Inside The Brick (Abdul Mohamed)
Sunday, October 31
