Photo by: Jack Murrey
Season Wrap Up: Bobcat Men’s Hoops Reaches New Heights En Route to Big Sky Title
3/23/2022 4:11:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Montana State culminated one of its most historic seasons in program history as the Bobcats appeared in their first NCAA Tournament game in 26 years and fell to Texas Tech on March 18
BOZEMAN, Mont. – Montana State culminated one of its most historic seasons in program history on Friday, March 18, as the Bobcats appeared in their first NCAA Tournament game in 26 years. The 'Cats ran into a Texas Tech team that lost in the Big 12 Championship game. The Red Raiders, now prepping for a Sweet 16 matchup versus Duke, put together their best offensive game of the season en route to a 97-62 win over the Bobcats.
The No. 3 team in the West Region, Texas Tech recorded its team highs as well as MSU opponent highs this season in field goal percentage (66.7%), 3-point field goal percentage (60%) and assists (23). The Red Raiders ended the Bobcats' season at 27-8 overall while MSU went 16-4 during its Big Sky Conference slate.
The Bobcats made their fourth ever showing at the NCAA Tournament on March 18 in San Diego. MSU's previous visit, with now head coach Danny Sprinkle then a freshman on the squad, came in 1996 when the No. 13 seed Bobcats fell to No. 4 seed Syracuse 88-55 in Albuquerque. The Bobcats were the No. 16 seed in 1986 when they took on No. 1 St. John's in Long Beach, Calif. MSU fell to the Red Storm 83-74. The Bobcats also played in the NCAA Tournament in 1951 when they faced Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State). MSU lost to the then Aggies in Kansas City, 50-46.
MSU's trip to the NCAA Tournament followed its three-day run through the Big Sky Tournament in Boise from March 10-12. The Bobcats claimed victories over Sacramento State (83-61), Weber State (69-66) and Northern Colorado (87-66) to earn their third ever Big Sky Conference Tournament title. MSU previously won in 1996 and 1986.
MSU claimed the No. 1 seed in the Big Sky Tournament by completing a 16-4 league slate. MSU's four losses came by a combined 20 points while the Bobcats won the Big Sky crown by two games. The 16 victories were four more than the 'Cats had ever previously recorded in their Big Sky history dating back to 1963-64. The program's previous Big Sky regular season titles came in 2002, 1996, 1987, 1967 and 1964.
Montana State's sweep of both the Big Sky Conference regular season and tournament titles represented just the second time ever the program achieved the feats in the same year. The 1995-96 team is the only other Bobcat squad to do so.
Montana State completed its regular season with 24 wins which was three more total victories than any other Bobcat team had posted during its Big Sky Conference era. Following its Big Sky Conference Tournament title, MSU eventually settled at 27 wins. That is the most victories for the program since the Golden Bobcats era which saw the 1928 and 1929 teams each go 36-2, while the 1927 squad went 30-7.
The Bobcats are now 56-33 during Sprinkle's tenure as head coach. His .629 winning percentage is the second most among 12 coaches in program history that have won at least 40 games. Sprinkle only trails Ott Romney's .829 mark (145-30) that he accumulated over six seasons in the 1920s. His 55 victories within his third season at Montana State are the most for a Bobcat coach since Schubert Dyche won 66 contests in a span from 1928-31. Sprinkle was named one of 20 finalists for the Hugh Durham award which is given to the top DI mid-major coach in college basketball.
Montana State ended the season ranked 120th in the NCAA's NET Rankings. The ranking is the highest for MSU since 2002 and is among the best for the Bobcats ever. The mark only trails their RPI they achieved at the end of the 1987 (63rd), 1996 (72nd) and 2002 (97th) seasons.
MSU made its way into the conversation among some of the best mid-major teams in the country recently. MSU entered the poll early in February and ranked as high 17th. The Bobcats stood at 21st in the last rankings posted on March 7. MSU's ranking in the CollegeInsider.com Men's Mid-Major Top 25 is its first in 20 years.
Montana State was honored by the Big Sky Conference on March 9 with several awards. Danny Sprinkle was named the Big Sky's Men's Coach of the Year, becoming the fourth Montana State coach to earn the honor. Jubrile Belo was chosen as the league's MVP, Defensive Player of the Year and was a unanimous choice for First Team All-Big Sky.
Joining Belo on the Big Sky's First Team was Xavier Bishop. RaeQuan Battle was selected as the Big Sky Top Reserve while Amin Adamu was an honorable mention to the All-Big Sky squad. Bishop eventually claimed Big Sky Tournament MVP honors while Adamu was selected to the All-Tournament Team for the second time.
It may be hard to stack up a trio of scorers that Montana State had on its roster this season again. Three players in Xavier Bishop, Jubrile Belo and Amin Adamu all scored over 1,000 points during their college careers. Bishop finished with nearly 1,850 points with over 1,000 coming in three seasons at Kansas City. Adamu crossed over 1,000 career points during the Big Sky Tournament. Belo still holds a season of eligibility and is already over 1,160 points.
Montana State is making up for its history at the Big Sky Tournament of late. The Bobcats completed back-to-back trips to the championship game for the first time in program history. The Bobcats' consecutive trips to the semifinals were a first in 22 years, while the fourth trip to the quarterfinals was a first since a span from 1996-99.
The Bobcats earned a 22-point quarterfinal win over Sacramento State, as well as a 21-point championship victory over Northern Colorado, to prove they deserved the crown of the Big Sky in 2021-22.
MSU held Sacramento State to just one 3-pointer in their matchup, while the Bears shot a season-low 30.2% versus the Bobcats. The margins of victory were the second and third most ever for the 'Cats in Big Sky Tournament play.
Montana State has now won 13 games at the Big Sky Conference Tournament since 1996 when Sprinkle was a freshman on the Bobcats' NCAA Tournament squad. During those 27 years, Sprinkle has been part of the program as either student-athlete, assistant or head coach for 10 years. Ten of MSU's 13 wins have come with Sprinkle affiliated with the program in some way.
The No. 3 team in the West Region, Texas Tech recorded its team highs as well as MSU opponent highs this season in field goal percentage (66.7%), 3-point field goal percentage (60%) and assists (23). The Red Raiders ended the Bobcats' season at 27-8 overall while MSU went 16-4 during its Big Sky Conference slate.
The Bobcats made their fourth ever showing at the NCAA Tournament on March 18 in San Diego. MSU's previous visit, with now head coach Danny Sprinkle then a freshman on the squad, came in 1996 when the No. 13 seed Bobcats fell to No. 4 seed Syracuse 88-55 in Albuquerque. The Bobcats were the No. 16 seed in 1986 when they took on No. 1 St. John's in Long Beach, Calif. MSU fell to the Red Storm 83-74. The Bobcats also played in the NCAA Tournament in 1951 when they faced Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State). MSU lost to the then Aggies in Kansas City, 50-46.
MSU's trip to the NCAA Tournament followed its three-day run through the Big Sky Tournament in Boise from March 10-12. The Bobcats claimed victories over Sacramento State (83-61), Weber State (69-66) and Northern Colorado (87-66) to earn their third ever Big Sky Conference Tournament title. MSU previously won in 1996 and 1986.
MSU claimed the No. 1 seed in the Big Sky Tournament by completing a 16-4 league slate. MSU's four losses came by a combined 20 points while the Bobcats won the Big Sky crown by two games. The 16 victories were four more than the 'Cats had ever previously recorded in their Big Sky history dating back to 1963-64. The program's previous Big Sky regular season titles came in 2002, 1996, 1987, 1967 and 1964.
Montana State's sweep of both the Big Sky Conference regular season and tournament titles represented just the second time ever the program achieved the feats in the same year. The 1995-96 team is the only other Bobcat squad to do so.
Montana State completed its regular season with 24 wins which was three more total victories than any other Bobcat team had posted during its Big Sky Conference era. Following its Big Sky Conference Tournament title, MSU eventually settled at 27 wins. That is the most victories for the program since the Golden Bobcats era which saw the 1928 and 1929 teams each go 36-2, while the 1927 squad went 30-7.
The Bobcats are now 56-33 during Sprinkle's tenure as head coach. His .629 winning percentage is the second most among 12 coaches in program history that have won at least 40 games. Sprinkle only trails Ott Romney's .829 mark (145-30) that he accumulated over six seasons in the 1920s. His 55 victories within his third season at Montana State are the most for a Bobcat coach since Schubert Dyche won 66 contests in a span from 1928-31. Sprinkle was named one of 20 finalists for the Hugh Durham award which is given to the top DI mid-major coach in college basketball.
Montana State ended the season ranked 120th in the NCAA's NET Rankings. The ranking is the highest for MSU since 2002 and is among the best for the Bobcats ever. The mark only trails their RPI they achieved at the end of the 1987 (63rd), 1996 (72nd) and 2002 (97th) seasons.
MSU made its way into the conversation among some of the best mid-major teams in the country recently. MSU entered the poll early in February and ranked as high 17th. The Bobcats stood at 21st in the last rankings posted on March 7. MSU's ranking in the CollegeInsider.com Men's Mid-Major Top 25 is its first in 20 years.
Montana State was honored by the Big Sky Conference on March 9 with several awards. Danny Sprinkle was named the Big Sky's Men's Coach of the Year, becoming the fourth Montana State coach to earn the honor. Jubrile Belo was chosen as the league's MVP, Defensive Player of the Year and was a unanimous choice for First Team All-Big Sky.
Joining Belo on the Big Sky's First Team was Xavier Bishop. RaeQuan Battle was selected as the Big Sky Top Reserve while Amin Adamu was an honorable mention to the All-Big Sky squad. Bishop eventually claimed Big Sky Tournament MVP honors while Adamu was selected to the All-Tournament Team for the second time.
It may be hard to stack up a trio of scorers that Montana State had on its roster this season again. Three players in Xavier Bishop, Jubrile Belo and Amin Adamu all scored over 1,000 points during their college careers. Bishop finished with nearly 1,850 points with over 1,000 coming in three seasons at Kansas City. Adamu crossed over 1,000 career points during the Big Sky Tournament. Belo still holds a season of eligibility and is already over 1,160 points.
Montana State is making up for its history at the Big Sky Tournament of late. The Bobcats completed back-to-back trips to the championship game for the first time in program history. The Bobcats' consecutive trips to the semifinals were a first in 22 years, while the fourth trip to the quarterfinals was a first since a span from 1996-99.
The Bobcats earned a 22-point quarterfinal win over Sacramento State, as well as a 21-point championship victory over Northern Colorado, to prove they deserved the crown of the Big Sky in 2021-22.
MSU held Sacramento State to just one 3-pointer in their matchup, while the Bears shot a season-low 30.2% versus the Bobcats. The margins of victory were the second and third most ever for the 'Cats in Big Sky Tournament play.
Montana State has now won 13 games at the Big Sky Conference Tournament since 1996 when Sprinkle was a freshman on the Bobcats' NCAA Tournament squad. During those 27 years, Sprinkle has been part of the program as either student-athlete, assistant or head coach for 10 years. Ten of MSU's 13 wins have come with Sprinkle affiliated with the program in some way.
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