Saturday, February 18
BOZEMAN
7 p.m.
Montana State University
vs
Montana
Great Osobor
Photo by: Kyle Cajero
Bobcats, Grizzlies Square off in Second Brawl of the Wild Rivalry Game
2/17/2023 3:50:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Bobcats host their bitter rivals on Saturday in hopes of sweeping the Grizzlies for the first time since 2010.
BOZEMAN, Montana – Montana State is aiming to sweep the Montana Grizzlies for the first time since 2010 in the second game of the Brawl of the Wild Rivalry series at home on Saturday at 7 p.m. MT.
The game will be broadcasted on ESPN+ and The CW Channel in Montana. Saturday's game will be part two of a true doubleheader with the women's team, which plays at 2 p.m. Should the men's and women's basketball teams win, it would mark the first time MSU basketball has gone 4-0 against their rivals since 1999.
The Bobcats bounced back from a road loss at Weber State by grinding out a 58-52 win at Idaho State last Saturday. RaeQuan Battle had two clutch shots in the final minutes and led MSU with 15 points; Great Osobor notched his third-career double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds off the bench; plus Darius Brown II added 14 points, six rebounds and a single-game season-high four steals.
Osobor has emerged as one of the best reserves in the Big Sky, having averaged 11.8 points and 6.0 rebounds in just 23.3 minutes per game over the last five games. One of the heroes in the first Brawl of the Wild game, Darius Brown II remains one of the most well-rounded point guards in the conference. His 3.3 assist-to-turnover ratio and 2.5 steals per game in conference games lead the league, plus he's MSU's third-leading rebounder at 4.3 points per game.
Montana comes to Bozeman as the winners of five straight — the second-longest to Eastern Washington's nation-best 15-game win streak. The Grizzlies have turned things around after playing Montana State for the first time this past month: UM's defense has held opponents to 66.0 points per game on 46.1% shooting — including an ice-cold 28.1% clip from three in that span. Grizzly guard Aanen Moody has averaged 21.5 points per game on 53.4% shooting in the past five games. He was Montana's leading scorer in the last meeting with 21 points.
The Bobcats and the Grizzlies are both top-four teams in the Big Sky Conference standings. With four games to go, MSU trails league-leading Eastern Washington — who is 14-0 in conference play — by three games but has a 2.5-game lead over third-place Weber State. A win Saturday would be a big step to sealing a top-two seed for MSU (and a first-round bye) in the conference tournament. The Grizzlies, meanwhile, are one game behind Weber State and have a two-game cushion over Portland State and Idaho State.
In the previous meeting, MSU held off Montana 67-64 for its first win in Missoula since 2010. Darius Brown II led MSU with 23 points — including two clutch free throws down the stretch — and RaeQuan Battle added 18 points, three of which were off of free throws after getting fouled on a three-point attempt in the waning seconds of the game. The victory was the first time head coach Danny Sprinkle has won in his rival's gym as a head coach.
Montana State continues its favorable, three-game February homestand against Sacramento State next Thursday and Portland State for Senior Night next Saturday. Both games will be broadcasted on ESPN+.
The game will be broadcasted on ESPN+ and The CW Channel in Montana. Saturday's game will be part two of a true doubleheader with the women's team, which plays at 2 p.m. Should the men's and women's basketball teams win, it would mark the first time MSU basketball has gone 4-0 against their rivals since 1999.
The Bobcats bounced back from a road loss at Weber State by grinding out a 58-52 win at Idaho State last Saturday. RaeQuan Battle had two clutch shots in the final minutes and led MSU with 15 points; Great Osobor notched his third-career double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds off the bench; plus Darius Brown II added 14 points, six rebounds and a single-game season-high four steals.
Osobor has emerged as one of the best reserves in the Big Sky, having averaged 11.8 points and 6.0 rebounds in just 23.3 minutes per game over the last five games. One of the heroes in the first Brawl of the Wild game, Darius Brown II remains one of the most well-rounded point guards in the conference. His 3.3 assist-to-turnover ratio and 2.5 steals per game in conference games lead the league, plus he's MSU's third-leading rebounder at 4.3 points per game.
Montana comes to Bozeman as the winners of five straight — the second-longest to Eastern Washington's nation-best 15-game win streak. The Grizzlies have turned things around after playing Montana State for the first time this past month: UM's defense has held opponents to 66.0 points per game on 46.1% shooting — including an ice-cold 28.1% clip from three in that span. Grizzly guard Aanen Moody has averaged 21.5 points per game on 53.4% shooting in the past five games. He was Montana's leading scorer in the last meeting with 21 points.
The Bobcats and the Grizzlies are both top-four teams in the Big Sky Conference standings. With four games to go, MSU trails league-leading Eastern Washington — who is 14-0 in conference play — by three games but has a 2.5-game lead over third-place Weber State. A win Saturday would be a big step to sealing a top-two seed for MSU (and a first-round bye) in the conference tournament. The Grizzlies, meanwhile, are one game behind Weber State and have a two-game cushion over Portland State and Idaho State.
In the previous meeting, MSU held off Montana 67-64 for its first win in Missoula since 2010. Darius Brown II led MSU with 23 points — including two clutch free throws down the stretch — and RaeQuan Battle added 18 points, three of which were off of free throws after getting fouled on a three-point attempt in the waning seconds of the game. The victory was the first time head coach Danny Sprinkle has won in his rival's gym as a head coach.
Montana State continues its favorable, three-game February homestand against Sacramento State next Thursday and Portland State for Senior Night next Saturday. Both games will be broadcasted on ESPN+.
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballBobcat Insider TV Show
Thursday, March 03
Inside The Brick (Amin Adamu)
Friday, November 05
Inside The Brick (Nick Gazelas)
Monday, November 01
Inside The Brick (Abdul Mohamed)
Sunday, October 31
