Men’s Hoops Hopes to Continue Winning Ways Saturday Versus Vandals

Saturday, January 29

BOZEMAN

4 p.m.

Montana State University

Idaho

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Photo by: Garrett Becker

Men’s Hoops Hopes to Continue Winning Ways Saturday Versus Vandals

1/28/2022 1:56:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Montana State hosts Idaho in a Saturday 4 p.m. men’s basketball tilt in Worthington Arena following a 69-65 victory over Eastern Washington on Thursday

By: Andrew Pedersen

Montana State Bobcats (15-5, 7-2) vs. Idaho Vandals (5-15, 2-8)
Date and Time	Saturday, Jan. 29 - 4 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
Idaho	Men's Basketball Home Page

BOZEMAN, Mont. – Montana State hosts Idaho in a Saturday 4 p.m. men's basketball tilt in Worthington Arena following a 69-65 victory over Eastern Washington on Thursday. MSU was outshot by the Eagles from the field with both squads under 40% from the field, but the Bobcats took advantage of a 53-30 edge on the boards and made 23 free throws while EWU made just five.

MSU's win over EWU ended a recent stranglehold the Eags had in the series. The Bobcat victory ended a six-game skid against the Eags and was just MSU's third triumph over EWU in their previous 18 meetings. The all-time series now stands at 47-47.

The Bobcats and Vandals match up for the second time this season. MSU topped Idaho 92-72 in Moscow on Jan. 6. MSU outshot Idaho in both halves and finished with a 56-45% edge. MSU was 7 of 15 (46.7%) from 3-point range and held Idaho to a 7-for-20 (35%) clip. Five Bobcats scored in double digits with Xavier Bishop scoring a team-high 22 points. The win was MSU's second as part of their current six-game winning streak. MSU has won eight of the last nine contests between the two sides.

Idaho had won two consecutive games for the first time this season before the Vandals fell at Montana, 81-62, on Thursday. The Vandals trailed 35-29 at halftime to the Grizzlies as both teams shot over 50% from the field, but Montana pulled away in the second half. Mike Dixon averages a team-high 17.4 points and is joined in double digits by Trevante Anderson (13.1) and Rashad Smith (10.2).

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.

MSU is currently 15-5 overall this season. That mark through 20 games is MSU's best since the 1997-98 season when that group began the year 17-4 before finishing 19-11. The Bobcats' 7-2 start in Big Sky play is also one of their best this century. MSU opened both the 2001-02 and 2004-05 ledgers at 8-2 in conference play, with the 2001-02 team winning the regular season Big Sky title by finishing 12-2 in the league.

The Bobcats' active six-game win streak is one of their longest during their Big Sky era. A season ago, MSU won seven consecutive contests which is the fifth longest win streak in the program's Division I history.

Several Bobcats are hitting career achievements this season. Xavier Bishop, who is coming off a Big Sky Player of the Week honors, is up 1,624 points which is ranked 51st among active players. Amin Adamu stands at 869 points in his college career. Jubrile Belo, MSU's fourth best all-time shot blocker, stands at 995 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 account game results, strength of schedule, game location, scoring margin, net offensive and defensive efficiency. MSU's highest RPIs ever when that system was used by the NCAA was in 1987 (63rd), 1996 (72nd) and 2002 (97th).

Montana State's games versus Idaho 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.