Montana State University
Colorado
Bobcats Set to Tip Off Hoops Season at Colorado on Monday Night
11/3/2025 7:33:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Montana State to debut new-look lineup in Boulder as 2025-26 season begins
GAME 1
MONTANA STATE (0-0) vs COLORADO (0-0)
Date: Mon., Nov. 3
Time: 7 p.m.
Venue: CU Events Center
Location: Boulder, Colo.
TV: ESPN+
Radio: Bobcat Radio Network
MSU Records: Home 0-0, Road 0-0, Neutral 0-0
CU Records: Home 0-0, Road 0-0, Neutral 0-0
Series: MSU leads, 6-2
Last Meeting: L, 94-90 (OT) (11/9/21)
STORYLINES
CATS BACK IN ACTION: Montana State begins its 2025-26 campaign in Boulder, Colo., on Monday with a 7 p.m. matchup against Big 12 foe Colorado at the CU Events Center. The Bobcats are set for a challenging non-conference slate that includes games against two Power Four and three Group of Six schools as the Cats seek their fourth NCAA Tournament appearance in five seasons.
BACK TO WHERE IT ALL BEGAN: The Bobcats will face the Buffaloes for the first time since the 2021-22 season opener, when Montana State nearly upset CU in a 94-90 overtime defeat in Boulder. The contest lifted the curtain on the first of three-straight Big Sky title-winning seasons for the Bobcats, who finished the 2021-22 campaign with a 27-8 record and made their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1996.
A CENTURY OF HISTORY: Monday's contest between the Bobcats and Buffaloes marks the ninth in the all-time series between the two teams. Montana State owns a 6-2 record against Colorado thanks to a six-game winning streak that stretched over an 80-year span. The two teams first met during the 1923-24 season when the Buffaloes earned a 25-19 win in Boulder. The Bobcats then collected a trio of victories during the 1928-29 campaign before a long hiatus that lasted until a Montana State win in 1994. MSU earned its fifth and sixth-straight victory over CU in 1998 and 2008.
FRESH FACES: Montana State debuts a new-look lineup in 2025-26 with 10 newcomers joining five returning Bobcats on the 15-man roster. Redshirt senior Patrick McMahon and senior Jed Miller lead a crop of returners that also features redshirt junior Jeremiah Davis, who missed most of last season with an injury, redshirt sophomore Calum Rutherfurd, and redshirt freshman Grayson Gaddis. MSU's seven-member transfer class includes Davian Brown (Biola), Cavin Holden (Central Washington), Christian King (Washington), Seth Amunrud (Dawson CC), Chris Hodges (Wisconsin), Waka Mbatch (Florida State) and Jaden Steppe (Colorado State). Freshmen Howie Keene, CJ Purdie, and James Steward round out the 2025-26 Bobcat roster.
A LOOK AT THE BUFFS: Colorado defeated Grace College, 92-66, in its lone exhibition game on Oct. 19. Six Buffs scored in double figures, led by a 21-point performance by Isaiah Johnson. The freshman shot 7-of-10 from the field as Colorado posted a 50.8% clip in the contest, including a scorching 67.9% in the second half. The Buffaloes outrebounded the Lancers, 42-31, and recorded 14 steals at the CU Events Center. Colorado finished the 2024-25 season with a 14-21 record, including 3-17 in Big 12 play.
MCMAHON MAKING HIS MARK: Redshirt senior Patrick McMahon is set for a significant leadership role in 2025-26 as the lone starter returning from last season's team. The Palmer, Alaska, native with 72 career games played as a Bobcat averaged 9.9 points and 3.4 rebounds in 23.3 minutes per game last season and owns an impressive .522 career field goal percentage.
LOOKING BACK ON LAST SEASON: The Cats concluded the 2024-25 season with a 15-18 record, including a 9-9 mark in conference play. Montana State finished fifth in the Big Sky regular season standings and defeated No. 4 Idaho State in dominant fashion, 80-60, in the Big Sky Tournament quarterfinals before falling to top-seeded Northern Colorado in the semis, 72-45. The defeat ended the Bobcats' run of three-straight trips to the NCAA Tournament from 2022-24, which marked the longest tournament streak by a Big Sky team since Weber State appeared in three-straight NCAA Tournaments from 1978-80.
PRESEASON PROJECTIONS: MSU earned a share of fifth place in the Big Sky Preseason Coaches' Poll and was picked sixth in the media poll ahead of the 2025-26 season.
LOGIE CONTINUES HIS WINNING WAYS: Montana State head coach Matt Logie is no stranger to winning, entering the 2025-26 season with a 308-94 (.766) record as a head coach across all NCAA divisions. Logie's 308 victories rank second among active Division I head coaches 45 years old or younger behind incoming Iowa head coach Ben McCollum with 425.
THE MATT LOGIE FILE: Third-year MSU head coach Matt Logie has taken his teams to the NCAA Tournament in 12 of his 14 seasons as a head coach, and is believed to be just the second men's coach in history to lead teams to the Big Dance at the Division I, Division II, and Division III levels (Tobin Anderson). Logie ranks 22nd in NCAA men's basketball history in career winning percentage (.766) and is 11th among active head coaches. Logie came to Montana State after four seasons at Point Loma (Division II), where his teams rolled up an 82-23 record with three conference championships, and eight seasons at Whitworth (Division III), where his teams went 194-35.
CAT TRACKS
+ Montana State opens its season in Boulder, Colo., for the second time in five years, facing Colorado for the first time since a 94-90 overtime defeat at the hands of the Buffaloes on Nov. 9, 2021.
+ The Bobcats will face Power Four opponents Colorado (Big 12) and Stanford (ACC) in their first two road contests of the season, marking MSU's first ocurrence of facing Power conference opponents in their opening two road games since the 2011-12 season. Montana State fell to Arizona State, 78-72, on Nov. 11 before triumphing over Utah, 70-64, in its second road contest of the season on Nov. 19. Both of MSU's opponents were members of the Pac-12.
+ Montana State is no stranger to tough competition, taking on four Power Four opponents during the 2024-25 season. The Bobcats earned their last win over a Power conference team on Nov. 16, 2023, when they defeated California, 63-60, in Berkeley.
+ The Bobcats last faced a Big 12 opponent on Dec. 22, 2024, falling to TCU, 82-48, in Fort Worth, Texas. That contest marked Montana State's most recent game against a Power Four opponent.
+ Montana State faces two teams coming off of NCAA Tournament appearances in 2024-25, including at-large selection Utah State (Nov. 29) and defending Big Sky Champion Montana (Jan. 17 & Feb. 14). Both teams fell to Big Ten opponents in the Round of 64 as the No. 10 Aggies were ousted by No. 7 UCLA, 72-47, and No. 14 Montana fell to current Bobcat Chris Hodges and the No. 3 Badgers, 85-66.
+ Three current Bobcats have played in at least one NCAA Tournament game, and two others were members of teams that reached the tournament while they were on the roster. Patrick McMahon scored seven points in eight minutes against Texas Tech during the 2022 Round of 64, Chris Hodges appeared in NCAA Tournament games for Wisconsin in three-straight years from 2023-25, and Jed Miller recorded an assist in MSU's First Four game against Grambling State in 2024. Jaden Steppe played in seven games a member of Colorado State's Mountain West Championship team in 2024-2025, and Calum Rutherfurd redshirted during Montana State's most recent Big Sky Championship year in 2023-24.
+ Patrick McMahon enjoyed a breakout year last season, tallying 18 of his 24 career double-figure scoring performances in 2024-25. He posted four 20-point performances off the bench in conference play, including a career-high 23 points in the regular-season finale vs Idaho on March 3, 2025.
+ Jed Miller enters his fourth year in Bozeman with 71 games under his belt, one short of Patrick McMahon for the most among active players in a Bobcat uniform. Miller led MSU in steals last season with 43 while also dishing 74 assists in 33 games.
+ Junior guard Cavin Holden was a prolific scorer at the Division II level for Central Washington, averaging 15.1 points per game on 47.6% shooting during the 2024-25 season, including a 43.8% mark from deep. Holden tallied 674 points in just two seasons at CWU and earned Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) Player of the Year honors during his sophomore season.
+ Davian Brown joins the Bobcats for his final year of collegiate eligibility in 2025-26, following in the footsteps of his older brother Darius, who played on MSU's Big Sky Championship and NCAA Tournament team in 2022-23. Darius played in 33 of 34 games and averaged 9.1 points on 46.5% shooting, 4.4 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game en route to Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year honors and a Third-Team All-Conference Selection. Davian averaged 15.6 points per game last season at Division II Biola and enters the 2025-26 season with a total of 1,915 points scored across his five-year collegiate career at Biola (D-II), Lewis-Clark State (NAIA), and The Master's University (NAIA).
+ Chris Hodges provides 40 games of Big Ten experience for the Bobcats as a graduate transfer from Wisconsin. He was the Badgers' 2024 recipient of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award during his third year in Madison.
+ Washington transfer Christian King adds another 20 games of Power Four experience from his time in the Big Ten, tallying 50 points and 31 rebounds during his redshirt freshman season in 2024-25. His father, Rich King, was drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics with the 14th pick in the 1991 NBA Draft.
+ Jeremiah Davis rejoins the Bobcats' rotation after missing the final 20 games of the 2024-25 season due to injury. During his eight-game stint with the Cats last season, Davis scored in double figures twice (vs. Northwest Indian, Nov. 11; at USC, Dec. 15).
+ Bozeman native Seth Amunrud returns home for his junior season after two years at Dawson Community College, where he was an NJCAA Second-Team All-American this past season after averaging 21.1 points per game and shooting 55.2% from the field, 46.8% from three, and 88.7% from the line.
+ Montana State was picked for a share of fifth in the Big Sky Preseason Coaches' Poll and sixth in the Big Sky Preseason Media Poll.
+ Logie's 308-94 career mark in 14 seasons is good for a .766 winning percentage, 11th-best among active coaches at four-year schools and the 11th-highest winning percentage in the history of all NCAA men's college basketball coaches. Logie's teams have qualified for the NCAA Tournament in 12 of his 14 years as a head coach at three different institutions, and his teams have won at least 21 games in every season save two he has coached in his career.
