Thursday, February 2
BOZEMAN
7 p.m.
Montana State University
vs
Northern Arizona
Jubrile Belo (center)
Photo by: Wes Salonen/NAU Athletics
Bobcats Return to Worthington Arena to Face Northern Arizona
1/31/2023 9:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Senior forward Jubrile Belo and the Bobcats will play in front of their own student section for the first time in Big Sky Conference play this week.
BOZEMAN, Mont. – Playing in front of its student section for the first time in Big Sky Conference play, the Montana State men's basketball team returns to Worthington Arena for a two-game homestand against Northern Arizona and Northern Colorado.
Thursday's game between the Bobcats (15-8, 8-2 Big Sky Conference) and the Lumberjacks (6-16, 2-7 Big Sky Conference) will start at 7 p.m., while Saturday's regionally televised game on SWX Sports against Northern Colorado will tip off at 4 p.m. Both games will be live streamed on ESPN+ and a free radio broadcast will be provided on the Bobcat Sports Radio Network.
Montana State recently wrapped up its longest road swing of the Big Sky slate: a four-game stretch with wins at Montana, Portland State and Sacramento State. The Bobcats are riding a three-game win streak and look to carry momentum into February, where a favorable three-game homestand and minimal travel await the second-best team in the Big Sky standings.
Most recently, the Bobcats are coming off a gritty, 72-65 road win at Sacramento State — which boasted a perfect 8-0 record before the Bobcats came to town — that helped put them alone in second place in the conference standings. RaeQuan Battle led the way with a career-high 32 points, 10 of which came in the final three minutes of regulation, and set the program's single-game record with 12 free throws without a miss. Battle now has 20 double-figure scoring nights and two 30-point efforts this year.
With more than half of the Big Sky Conference games in the books, MSU's defense still leads the league by allowing a mere 62.7 points per game in conference contests. The Bobcat defense is also the only unit in the league to rank in the top three in opponent field goal percentage (42.3%, third), opponent three-point percentage (32.1%, second), blocks (3.1 per game, third) and steals (6.3 per game, third).
Advanced metrics have also favored the Bobcats after their road swing: MSU ranks 109 on KenPom.com — an all-time high — and is up to 102 in the NCAA's NET rankings. Both figures lead the Big Sky. Additionally, the MSU defense is the conference's only top-100 unit on either side of the ball, per KenPom; MSU head coach Danny Sprinkle's unit ranks 77th thanks to allowing 99.6 points per 100 possessions.
Montana State is in the midst of the longest win streak — eight straight — against the Lumberjacks. This past January in Flagstaff, the Bobcats put the clamps down on the Lumberjack offense, holding the team to 26.5% shooting and limiting leading scorer Jalen Cone to 12 points.
Ever since the teams' first meeting, Northern Arizona has gone 1-5 and slid down to a tie for eighth in the conference standings. The Lumberjacks, who have yet to win a road game in Big Sky play, are coming off an 83-73 win over Northern Colorado in which Xavier Fuller led the way with 25 points and four of the team's five starters finished in double-figures.
This week's games can also see two milestones for MSU. Sprinkle is one win shy of tying his wins as a player. During 1995-99, Sprinkle went 72-47; in his fourth year at the helm of the program. Sprinkle has amassed a 71-40 record.
Additionally, senior forward Jubrile Belo is two rejections away from breaking Dwayne Michaels' MSU career record of 149 blocks. Belo had two blocks against Sacramento State — the latter of which was on a key defensive stop in the final minute of regulation. Belo is tied atop the Big Sky leaderboard with 1.3 blocks per game in conference play.
The Bobcats wrap up the week with a home game against Northern Colorado Saturday, which will be live streamed on ESPN+ and televised on SWX Sports. All live stream and live stat links can be found on the men's basketball schedule page on msubobcats.com.
Thursday's game between the Bobcats (15-8, 8-2 Big Sky Conference) and the Lumberjacks (6-16, 2-7 Big Sky Conference) will start at 7 p.m., while Saturday's regionally televised game on SWX Sports against Northern Colorado will tip off at 4 p.m. Both games will be live streamed on ESPN+ and a free radio broadcast will be provided on the Bobcat Sports Radio Network.
Montana State recently wrapped up its longest road swing of the Big Sky slate: a four-game stretch with wins at Montana, Portland State and Sacramento State. The Bobcats are riding a three-game win streak and look to carry momentum into February, where a favorable three-game homestand and minimal travel await the second-best team in the Big Sky standings.
Most recently, the Bobcats are coming off a gritty, 72-65 road win at Sacramento State — which boasted a perfect 8-0 record before the Bobcats came to town — that helped put them alone in second place in the conference standings. RaeQuan Battle led the way with a career-high 32 points, 10 of which came in the final three minutes of regulation, and set the program's single-game record with 12 free throws without a miss. Battle now has 20 double-figure scoring nights and two 30-point efforts this year.
With more than half of the Big Sky Conference games in the books, MSU's defense still leads the league by allowing a mere 62.7 points per game in conference contests. The Bobcat defense is also the only unit in the league to rank in the top three in opponent field goal percentage (42.3%, third), opponent three-point percentage (32.1%, second), blocks (3.1 per game, third) and steals (6.3 per game, third).
Advanced metrics have also favored the Bobcats after their road swing: MSU ranks 109 on KenPom.com — an all-time high — and is up to 102 in the NCAA's NET rankings. Both figures lead the Big Sky. Additionally, the MSU defense is the conference's only top-100 unit on either side of the ball, per KenPom; MSU head coach Danny Sprinkle's unit ranks 77th thanks to allowing 99.6 points per 100 possessions.
Montana State is in the midst of the longest win streak — eight straight — against the Lumberjacks. This past January in Flagstaff, the Bobcats put the clamps down on the Lumberjack offense, holding the team to 26.5% shooting and limiting leading scorer Jalen Cone to 12 points.
Ever since the teams' first meeting, Northern Arizona has gone 1-5 and slid down to a tie for eighth in the conference standings. The Lumberjacks, who have yet to win a road game in Big Sky play, are coming off an 83-73 win over Northern Colorado in which Xavier Fuller led the way with 25 points and four of the team's five starters finished in double-figures.
This week's games can also see two milestones for MSU. Sprinkle is one win shy of tying his wins as a player. During 1995-99, Sprinkle went 72-47; in his fourth year at the helm of the program. Sprinkle has amassed a 71-40 record.
Additionally, senior forward Jubrile Belo is two rejections away from breaking Dwayne Michaels' MSU career record of 149 blocks. Belo had two blocks against Sacramento State — the latter of which was on a key defensive stop in the final minute of regulation. Belo is tied atop the Big Sky leaderboard with 1.3 blocks per game in conference play.
The Bobcats wrap up the week with a home game against Northern Colorado Saturday, which will be live streamed on ESPN+ and televised on SWX Sports. All live stream and live stat links can be found on the men's basketball schedule page on msubobcats.com.
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