Montana State University
Northern Arizona
Bobcats Begin Homestand Hosting Northern Arizona
1/10/2024 1:26:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Montana State welcomes Lumberjacks to Worthington Arena in rematch of 2023 Big Sky Tournament championship game
BOZEMAN, Mont. -- With the non-conference slate now completely in the rearview mirror, the Montana State men's basketball team turns its focus forward to the resumption of Big Sky play, welcoming Northern Arizona to Worthington Arena on Thursday night.
Tip is set for 7 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN+, with live radio play-by-play from Voice of the Bobcats Keaton Gillogly and color analyst Brian Priebe airing on the Bobcat Sports Radio Network. Tickets are available here.
Montana State (6-9, 1-1 Big Sky) has won ten in a row in the series against Northern Arizona (7-8, 0-1 Big Sky), with the last meeting coming in last March's Big Sky Tournament championship game in Boise. The second-seeded Bobcats defeated the ninth-seeded Lumberjacks, 85-78, to secure their second straight Big Sky championship and their second straight NCAA Tournament appearance.
Montana State will face Northern Colorado on Saturday at 6 p.m. to complete the weekend ahead of next week's Cat/Griz matchup on Saturday, Jan. 20.
IMPRESSIVE CONSISTENCY
Prior to a three-game skid from Nov. 26-Dec. 5, a Matt Logie-coached team had not lost three games in a row since Point Loma dropped three straight from Feb. 5-15, 2020. The Bobcats' current three-game losing streak marks just the fourth time in Logie's 13-year coaching career that a team under his direction has lost three straight. Logie has never lost four games in a row as a head coach.
SHARPSHOOTING TYLER
Tyler Patterson ranks ninth all-time at MSU for made 3-point field goals in a career (171). The junior from Snoqualmie, Wash., is now five behind Scott Hatler (1992-96) and Marcus Colbert (2012-16) who each hit 176 triples. Tyler Hall (431) is the program's all-time leader.
IN ROB WE TRUST
Robert Ford III is enjoying his best college season in his last year in a Bobcat uniform, averaging career-highs in points (13.3ppg), rebounds (7.4rpg), and 3-point percentage (41.3%) among other categories. The redshirt senior from Portland, Oregon, ranks fifth in the country in steals in per game (2.80) and fifth in total steals (42). 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 6-foot Portland native ranks second in NCAA Division I in rebounds per game (7.4).
EDWARD'S COMING OUT PARTY
Eddie Turner III started Big Sky action with a bang, scoring a career-high 18 points against both Idaho State and Weber State. The game against the Bengals on Dec. 28 was Turner's first since ditching a protective face mask that he had been wearing since coming back from a face injury that had caused him to miss five games. Turner played four games in the mask before getting rid of it and exploding for 36 points across the two games on 13-of-25 shooting (52%) and 6-of-10 from deep (60%)
BALLING BRIAN
Brian Goracke exploded for 29 points and eight rebounds in the Cats' first Big Sky win on Dec. 28 over Idaho State, the second time the junior transfer from Division II Point Loma has hit the 29-point mark. Goracke finished the game 11-of-15 from the field, nailing big shot after big shot. The native of Monroe, Oregon, ranks third in the Big Sky in points per game (15.7), first in made 3-pointers (38), first in three-point percentage (36.9%) and is 12th in NCAA Division I in free throw percentage (92.7%). Goracke has scored at least 13 points in six of his last seven games, with a pair of 29-point outings.
ABOUT THE LUMBERJACKS
Northern Arizona finished 5-13 in Big Sky play last year before making a surprising run to the Big Sky Tournament championship game, where they fell to Montana State. Northern Arizona lost three starters from that team, including All-Big Sky Third Team selection Jalen Cone to California, but returned sharpshooting guard Trent McLaughlin, who leads the team with 15.3 points per game this year and owns seven games with at least 19 points scored. The Lumberjacks opened Big Sky play with a 92-77 loss at Northern Colorado on Dec. 30, then beat North Dakota in the Big Sky-Summit Challenge, 74-73 in Flagstaff.
SERIES HISTORY
Montana State leads the all-time series with Northern Arizona, 61-49. The Bobcats have won ten in a row, the longest streak in the series that dates back to the 1970-71 season. MSU and NAU have met at least twice every season since NAU joined the Big Sky Conference in 1970. Montana State has won 12 of the last 14 matchups at Worthington Arena dating back to 2008, and 38 of 51 clashes in Bozeman all-time. The two teams met in last season's Big Sky Tournament championship game, with second-seeded Montana State defeating ninth-seeded Northern Arizona, 85-78, to secure their second straight conference championship.
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 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. 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.
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.
DESERT ROOTS
John Olmsted is a graduate transfer forward from Morenci, Arizona, who attended Arizona State before coming to Bozeman this summer. Morenci is approximately 300 miles from Flagstaff.
FREE THROW MAESTRO
Brian Goracke ranks 12th in NCAA Division I in free-throw percentage (92.7%). The junior is 39-of-42 at the charity stripe this year. Montana State's single-season record-holder for free throw percentage is Tyler Hall, who shot 90.7% during the 2017-18 season.
CAUSING HAVOC
Montana State leads the Big Sky in steals per game (8.4) and turnovers forced per game (14.2)
LIGHTING IT UP FROM DEEP
Montana State has three of the top-eight players in the Big Sky for made 3-point field goals: Brian Goracke (1st, 38), Tyler Patterson (4th, 33), and Robert Ford III (7th, 31). The Bobcats love to shoot the three-ball under head coach Matt Logie. The Cats rank in the top-25 in NCAA Division I in three-point attempts per game (27.8), and top-50 in made 3-pointers per game (9.3)
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. Montana State is 54-101 against schools currently making up the Pac-12 (including Colorado, Utah, etc.)
#GoCatsGo
