Bobcats Face Vandals on Monday Night - Montana State University Athletics

MOSCOW, Idaho – Kicking off a four-game road stretch in Big Sky Conference play, the Montana State men's basketball heads to Moscow, Idaho for a rare Monday night game against the University of Idaho Vandals. The game also marks the first time MSU or Idaho have seen a repeat opponent in Big Sky Conference play; Montana State won the first matchup, 72-58, on Dec. 29.

Monday's game and all Big Sky Conference games will be streamed on ESPN+ and a free radio broadcast will be provided on the Bobcat Sports Radio Network. Links to livestream, live stats can be found on the men's basketball team's schedule page on msubobcats.com.

The Bobcats (12-7, 5-1 Big Sky Conference) have gone on a 4-0 run after a New Year's Eve loss to Eastern Washington, plus the Bobcats have made a concerted effort to improve on defense. Danny Sprinkle's squad has the best defense in the Big Sky, allowing 59.7 points per game on 39.9% shooting. No Big Sky team has scored more than 70 points against the defending champions.

Meanwhile, the Vandals (6-12, 0-5 Big Sky Conference) are in the midst of a six-game losing streak and are searching for their first conference win. Four of Idaho's five Big Sky games have been determined by 10 points or more, save for an 85-83 overtime loss against Sacramento State on Jan. 5.

Offensively, Montana State has relied on RaeQuan Battle (15.1 points per game), Jubrile Belo (13.2 points, 6.3 rebounds per game) and Darius Brown II (8.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.1 assists) to a 5-1 record in conference play. In both games last week, the Bobcats shut down their opponents' leading scorers and limited both teams to point totals well below their averages.

The Bobcats are coming off an emphatic 67-52 home win over Weber State on Saturday. Belo's 17-point, 12-rebound double-double led the way for MSU, RaeQuan Battle scored the bulk of his 12 points on highlight-reel dunks, plus Darius Brown II nearly had his second-career triple-double with nine points, eight assists and seven rebounds. Defensively, the Bobcats held Weber State to a season-low 52 points thanks to a 19-point first half — the third time MSU has held a Big Sky opponent to 20 points or less this season.

Idaho, on the other hand, had most of this past week off to prepare for a travel-partner rivalry game at Eastern Washington. The Big Sky's lone undefeated team got the best of Idaho, handing the Vandals a 95-74 loss. The Eagles neutralized 29 points from Divant'e Moffitt and 14 points from Isaac Jones by shooting 61.0% from the field.

In the last matchup on Dec. 29, Jubrile Belo scored a game-high 19 points and Tyler Patterson had a breakout game, sinking five of his nine three-pointers to score a season-high 17-points. Defensively, the Bobcats held then-Big Sky leading scorer Isaac Jones to six points on 3-for-6 shooting. Divant'e Moffitt tied Jubrile Belo for the game-high with 19 points, yet he did so on 8-for-20 shooting. As a team, MSU limited the hot-shooting Vandals — who came into the game shooting 50.2% from the field — only made 40% of their field goals.

From here, the Bobcats will have a brief reprieve before traveling to Missoula on Saturday, Jan. 21 for the first of two games of the Brawl of the Wild rivalry series.

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Players Mentioned

RaeQuan Battle

Jubrile Belo

Darius Brown II

Tyler Patterson

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