Montana State University
Rocky Mountain College
Cats Close November Welcoming Rocky Mountain College on Thursday
11/29/2023 2:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MSU wraps up four-game homestand with 100-year old series against Battlin' Bears
BOZEMAN, Mont. -- Montana State men's basketball closes out both a four-game homestand and the month of November on Thursday night, welcoming Rocky Mountain College to Worthington Arena for an in-state non-conference clash.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
The game will be streamed on ESPN+, with live radio play-by-play carried on the Bobcat Sports Radio Network. Tickets are available here.
Montana State (3-3) has battled through early injury adversity to pick up big wins over California and UC Riverside, and their three losses have come by a combined ten points.
With Brandon Walker (13.2 ppg), Brian Goracke (13.2 ppg), Robert Ford III (12.2 ppg), and Tyler Patterson (11.2 ppg), the Bobcats feature a balanced offense predicated on sharing and shooting.
Patterson is coming off back-to-back 20-point outings against UC Riverside and Long Beach State, earning his first career Big Sky Player of the Week honor. The junior from Snoqualmie, Wash., leads the Big Sky Conference in three-point percentage (41.7%).
Ford ranks second in the country in steals per game (3.5) and is second in the country among players 6-foot-2 or shorter in rebounds per game (7.8).
Rocky Mountain College (5-1) checked in at No. 21 in the latest NAIA Top 25 Poll released on Wednesday, their first appearance in the top-25 since 2019. The Battlin' Bears are averaging 93.3 points game, led by New Zealand native Kael Robinson, a 6-foot-7 senior averaging 22.0 points and 9.0 rebounds per game.
TYLER'S DIALED IN
Tyler Patterson was named Big Sky Conference Co-Player of the Week on Monday after notching consecutive 20-point games last week. The junior from Snoqualmie, Wash., finished 7-of-9 from the floor and scored 18 points in the second half alone against UC Riverside on Wednesday, including going 4-of-4 from three-point range to lift the Cats to a huge non-conference win, then dropped 20 more points with seven rebounds while going 6-of-11 from three in a tight loss to Long Beach State on Sunday. Thursday against Rocky Mountain, Patterson will be playing in his 100th game as a Bobcat.
HIGHWAY ROB-BERY
Robert Ford III ranks second in the country in steals in per game (3.5) and fifth in total steals (21). On Nov. 20, Ford recorded a career-high seven steals against Green Bay, the second-most in a single game in program history and the most by a Bobcat since 2013. Among players 6-foot-2 or shorter, the Portland native ranks second in NCAA Division I in rebounds per game (7.8)
GORACKE THE GUNNER
Brian Goracke is 7-of-12 from three-point range over his last two games, and is coming off a career-high 19 points against Long Beach State on Sunday. The junior is playing his first season at the NCAA Division I level after transferring from Division II Point Loma, following head coach Matt Logie.
WALK THIS WAY
Brandon Walker has scored in double-figures in four of six games this year, including a 26-point explosion to lead the Bobcats to an upset win on the road over Pac-12 foe California on Nov. 16. The sophomore from Oak Cliff, Texas, is averaging 13.2 points and 2.7 rebounds per game.
SIGNATURE WIN
Before beating Cal on Nov. 16, Montana State had last taken down a Power Five opponent on December 9, 2018, defeating Washington State, 95-90 in a neutral site game in Kennewick, Wash. The Bobcats' last true road win over a Power Five foe came back in 2011, against Utah in Salt Lake City. Montana State is 54-101 against schools currently making up the Pac-12 (including Colorado, Utah, etc.)
THE COMEBACK
Eddie Turner III is easing his way back into the rotation after missing three games with an injury. The grad transfer guard from Columbia played two minutes against Long Beach State on Sunday in his return but started the first two contests of the season, averaging 10.0 points and 4.0 assists per game.
NAIL-BITERS
Montana State's last five games have been decided by a combined 14 points.
BALL SECURITY
Montana State ranks first in the Big Sky Conference in turnover margin (5.7) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.3), while also ranking first in steals per game (9.0) and turnovers forced per game (15.5)
100 YEARS OF SERIES HISTORY
Montana State and Rocky Mountain College (then called Billings Poly) first clashed on January 10, 1923. Montana State won, 31-17. Montana State has won 30 of 31 meetings in the long series history, with the lone loss coming from a win that was vacated in 1993. The two teams last met on Nov. 14, 2021, with Montana State winning, 82-51, with then-freshman Tyler Patterson nailing five three-pointers and finishing with 15 points.
GET WELL SOON, PAT
After suffering an injury late in Montana State's win over California on November 16, junior forward Patrick McMahon (Palmer, Alaska), will miss the rest of the 2023-2024 season. McMahon was averaging 13.0 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 26.0 minutes per game for the Bobcats.
PRESEASON POLLS
MSU was picked to finish seventh by the coaches and fourth by the media in the Big Sky Conference Preseason Media and Coaches' Polls.
NEW-LOOK CATS
Montana State brings back six letter-winners from last year's squad, and welcomes ten newcomers in 2023-2024, including seven transfers and three freshmen. The Bobcats will replace four starters from last season: First Team All-Big Sky forward RaeQuan Battle (West Virginia), four-time All-Big Sky big man Jubrile Belo (graduated), Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year Darius Brown II (Utah State), and Big Sky Reserve of the Year Great Osobor (Utah State)
WELCOME TO THE LOGIE ERA
First-year head coach Matt Logie comes to Montana State after four seasons at Point Loma in California, where his teams rolled up an 82-23 record with three conference championships. His 12 seasons as a head basketball coach includes eight at Whitworth University in Spokane (2011-19), where his Pirates compiled a 194-35 record. Logie's 276-58 career mark in 12 seasons is good for an .826 winning percentage, the third-highest winning percentage in the history of all NCAA men's college basketball coaches.
GOLDEN AGE OF BOBCAT BASKETBALL
The Bobcats are coming off of their two best seasons in the modern era. In 2021-22, Montana State went 27-8, which included an undefeated stretch in January, a 13-1 record at home and a program-record 16 wins in conference play. In 2022-2023, Montana State went 25-10, collected a 12-1 record at Worthington Arena, and went 15-3 in conference action. The Bobcats are the Big Sky's first repeat champion since Montana went back-to-back from 2017-19. Montana State has played in three straight Big Sky Tournament championship games, gone 37-7 against Big Sky opponents over the last two seasons, won at least 25 games in two straight seasons for the first time since 1927-1929, and are coming off consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time in school history.
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