
Great Osobor
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Montana State Embarks on Final Two-Game Road Trip of Big Sky Play
2/7/2023 1:31:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Bobcats put their five-game win streak on the line against two top-five Big Sky Conference foes this week.
BOZEMAN, Mont. – The Montana State men's basketball team takes its final two-game road trip of the regular season this week as it travels to Weber State on Thursday, followed by a Saturday-night game against Idaho State.
Thursday night's game between the Bobcats (17-8, 10-2 Big Sky Conference) and the Wildcats (12-12, 7-4 Big Sky Conference) will tip off at 7 p.m., while Saturday's game against the Bengals (9-15, 6-5 Big Sky Conference) will start at 6 p.m. Both games will be live streamed on ESPN+ and a free radio broadcast will be provided through the Bobcat Sports Radio Network.
Thursday night's game will pit two of the top three teams in the Big Sky Conference against each other. At 10-2 in conference so far, MSU will look to extend the gap between third-place Weber State, which is 7-4 in league play. Also, Montana State and Weber State have two of the stingiest defenses in the Big Sky. The Bobcats remain atop the league by allowing a mere 66.3 points per game, while the Wildcats rank third by allowing 67.1 points per game.
The Bobcats not only carry a five-game winning streak into this week, but also a three-game win streak against Weber State. Historically, the Dee Events Center has been a difficult environment to play in for Montana State. The Bobcats have a 10-54 record in Ogden, with their last win coming on Feb. 5, 2022. Head Coach Danny Sprinkle has a 2-2 record in the Dee Events Center as a coach.
Weber State is looking to bounce back after an 88-54 loss at Northern Colorado on Monday night. The Wildcats went 3-for-23 (13.0%) from three and never led in the loss.
Individually, the matchup will pit double-double machine Dillon Jones (15.5 points per game, a Big Sky-leading 10.8 rebounds per game) against the Bobcats' frontcourt duo of Jubrile Belo and Great Osobor — both of whom have put together solid performances lately. Belo broke the Montana State career record with his 150th block against Northern Arizona last Thursday; in the same game, Great Osobor's layup with 3.8 seconds left proved to be the game-winner. Belo averaged 19 points, eight rebounds and two blocks per game in both wins last week.
Coming off his record-breaking defensive week, Belo has another milestone coming up this week. With 1,493 career points, Belo is five points away from passing Danny Sprinkle for eighth on Montana State's all-time scoring list. Should he eclipse 1,500 points, Belo will be one of five active Division I players with 1,500 points, 700 rebounds and 150 blocks. The other four players with these career totals are National Player of the Year candidate Trayce Jackson-Davis (Indiana), Armando Bacot (North Carolina), Grant Basile (Virginia Tech) and Jake Stephens (Chattanooga).
Jones has averaged 16.8 points and leads the league with 12.7 rebounds per game, but he is also Weber State's leader in assists at 3.9 per game in conference play this season. His teammate, Steven Verplancken, has averaged 13.3 points per game on 45.4% shooting — good for 11th in the league.
In the first meeting between the two teams, Montana State got the best of the Wildcats in a 67-52 home win. WSU's 52 points tied a season-low at the time, plus the Wildcats only connected on 25% of their three-pointers and committed 16 turnovers. Individually, the Bobcats limited star forward Dillon Jones to 13 points.
Following Saturday's game, the Bobcats travel to Pocatello, Idaho to take on Idaho State on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 6 p.m. Despite having a 9-15 record this season, the Bengals are fourth in the Big Sky with a 6-5 record — already an improvement over last season's 7-23 record with seven games to go in the regular season.
In their last meeting, Montana State won 81-68 in convincing fashion by holding leading scorer Brock Mackenzie (12.8 points per game) to four points on 2-for-7 shooting. MSU has won the last eight meetings against Idaho State, which is the Bobcats' second-longest active win streak against any Big Sky school (the longest is a nine-game win streak against Northern Arizona).
Thursday night's game between the Bobcats (17-8, 10-2 Big Sky Conference) and the Wildcats (12-12, 7-4 Big Sky Conference) will tip off at 7 p.m., while Saturday's game against the Bengals (9-15, 6-5 Big Sky Conference) will start at 6 p.m. Both games will be live streamed on ESPN+ and a free radio broadcast will be provided through the Bobcat Sports Radio Network.
Thursday night's game will pit two of the top three teams in the Big Sky Conference against each other. At 10-2 in conference so far, MSU will look to extend the gap between third-place Weber State, which is 7-4 in league play. Also, Montana State and Weber State have two of the stingiest defenses in the Big Sky. The Bobcats remain atop the league by allowing a mere 66.3 points per game, while the Wildcats rank third by allowing 67.1 points per game.
The Bobcats not only carry a five-game winning streak into this week, but also a three-game win streak against Weber State. Historically, the Dee Events Center has been a difficult environment to play in for Montana State. The Bobcats have a 10-54 record in Ogden, with their last win coming on Feb. 5, 2022. Head Coach Danny Sprinkle has a 2-2 record in the Dee Events Center as a coach.
Weber State is looking to bounce back after an 88-54 loss at Northern Colorado on Monday night. The Wildcats went 3-for-23 (13.0%) from three and never led in the loss.
Individually, the matchup will pit double-double machine Dillon Jones (15.5 points per game, a Big Sky-leading 10.8 rebounds per game) against the Bobcats' frontcourt duo of Jubrile Belo and Great Osobor — both of whom have put together solid performances lately. Belo broke the Montana State career record with his 150th block against Northern Arizona last Thursday; in the same game, Great Osobor's layup with 3.8 seconds left proved to be the game-winner. Belo averaged 19 points, eight rebounds and two blocks per game in both wins last week.
Coming off his record-breaking defensive week, Belo has another milestone coming up this week. With 1,493 career points, Belo is five points away from passing Danny Sprinkle for eighth on Montana State's all-time scoring list. Should he eclipse 1,500 points, Belo will be one of five active Division I players with 1,500 points, 700 rebounds and 150 blocks. The other four players with these career totals are National Player of the Year candidate Trayce Jackson-Davis (Indiana), Armando Bacot (North Carolina), Grant Basile (Virginia Tech) and Jake Stephens (Chattanooga).
Jones has averaged 16.8 points and leads the league with 12.7 rebounds per game, but he is also Weber State's leader in assists at 3.9 per game in conference play this season. His teammate, Steven Verplancken, has averaged 13.3 points per game on 45.4% shooting — good for 11th in the league.
In the first meeting between the two teams, Montana State got the best of the Wildcats in a 67-52 home win. WSU's 52 points tied a season-low at the time, plus the Wildcats only connected on 25% of their three-pointers and committed 16 turnovers. Individually, the Bobcats limited star forward Dillon Jones to 13 points.
Following Saturday's game, the Bobcats travel to Pocatello, Idaho to take on Idaho State on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 6 p.m. Despite having a 9-15 record this season, the Bengals are fourth in the Big Sky with a 6-5 record — already an improvement over last season's 7-23 record with seven games to go in the regular season.
In their last meeting, Montana State won 81-68 in convincing fashion by holding leading scorer Brock Mackenzie (12.8 points per game) to four points on 2-for-7 shooting. MSU has won the last eight meetings against Idaho State, which is the Bobcats' second-longest active win streak against any Big Sky school (the longest is a nine-game win streak against Northern Arizona).
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