Bobcat Men’s Basketball Releases 2023-2024 Non-Conference Schedule
8/7/2023 12:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
First-year head coach Matt Logie will lead two-time defending Big Sky champion Montana State against eight teams that finished with winning records last season
BOZEMAN, Montana – The back-to-back Big Sky Conference champion Montana State men's basketball team and first-year head coach Matt Logie released their 2023-2024 non-conference schedule on Monday, with the season opener scheduled for November 6 against Northwest Indian College in Bozeman.
Logie's first non-conference slate features eight games inside Worthington Arena, where the Bobcats have gone 25-2 over the last two seasons.
The Bobcats will face eight teams in the non-conference that finished with winning records in 2022-2023, including four that won 20 or more games.
Two road contests at Pac-12 foes Cal and Washington, along with marquee games against mid-major powerhouses Oral Roberts and South Dakota State as part of the Big Sky-Summit Challenge also stand-out from the non-conference slate.
"Our goal with scheduling will always be focused on two things: number one is obviously preparing your team for conference play and giving yourself experiences against different opponents and in various environments that will help you compete in conference as well as the postseason," Logie said. "The second thing is creating a home schedule that our Bobcat fans are excited to be a part of and continue building on the unique home court advantage that makes being a part of the Bobcat basketball family so special."
Montana State begins the Logie era on November 6 at home against Northwest Indian College inside Worthington Arena.
After the season opener, the Bobcats then make a westward swing, traveling to the Emerald City on November 11 for a date with Seattle University, before heading down to take on the Golden Bears of Cal on November 16 in Berkeley, California.
Montana State returns to Bozeman to begin a four-game homestand the week of Thanksgiving, welcoming Wisconsin-Green Bay and UC Riverside in a multi-team event that features games on November 20 and November 22.
The stretch of contests at Worthington Arena continues with home matchups against Long Beach State (Nov. 26) and Rocky Mountain College (Nov. 30).
The Bobcats travel back to Seattle on December 5 for a date with Washington at Alaska Airlines Arena, the first meeting between the two programs since 2002.
"Obviously with the number of guys from the Pacific Northwest, specifically the Seattle and Portland areas, getting the chance to play two games in Seattle versus Seattle U and the University of Washington will be a great opportunity," Logie said. "We're also very excited about that four-game home stand and multi-team event around Thanksgiving week as that will give our Bobcat fans a great early opportunity to be a part of what we're building towards in March."
After the road contest against the Huskies in Seattle, Montana State will then face SAGU-American Indian College (Dec. 16) and Southern Utah (Dec. 19) in consecutive home games back in Bozeman.
Southern Utah won 24 games last season and advanced to the WAC Championship game before falling to Grand Canyon. Last year's contest in Cedar City went down to the wire, with the Bobcats pulling out a thrilling win, 86-83, on a RaeQuan Battle steal-and-layup with 3.6 seconds left in regulation.
A trip to Cal State Northridge (Dec. 22) will be the final game before Christmas, after which the Bobcats dip their toes into Big Sky play with a pair of road games against Idaho State (Dec. 28) and Weber State (Dec. 30)
Montana State wraps up non-conference action with the first-ever Big Sky-Summit Challenge, featuring a home-and-away series with two opponents from the Summit League.
In the first leg of the 2023-2024 edition of the three-year Challenge, the Bobcats will host traditional power Oral Roberts on January 3. The Golden Eagles won the Summit League last year, going 30-4 before falling to No. 5-seed Duke in the NCAA Tournament.
On January 6, Montana State will head to Brookings, South Dakota, for a date with South Dakota State to close out non-conference play. The Jackrabbits have made the NCAA Tournament in six of the last 11 seasons.
The Big Sky Conference released the 2023-2024 men's basketball conference schedules on June 20. The entirety of the conference slate can be viewed here.
Notable Big Sky matchups include the home conference opener against Northern Colorado on January 11, the Cat-Griz game at Worthington Arena on January 20, hosting Eastern Washington in Bozeman on February 1, a rematch with the Griz in Missoula on February 17, and the regular season finale at home against Weber State on March 4.
The Big Sky Tournament returns to Idaho Central Arena in Boise, Idaho, from March 9-13.
"This year's non-conference slate will be a great prep for Big Sky play due to the competitiveness of the programs we've scheduled as well as the variety of style of play," Logie said. "Having four contests against 20-plus win teams and eight teams coming off winning seasons in addition to Pac-12 opponents in Washington and California, we will be well prepared for the rigors of Big Sky play."
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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