Montana State University
Weber State
Cats Welcome Weber State and Idaho State to Bozeman This Weekend
2/12/2025 4:31:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Montana State begins three-game homestand with bout against Weber State on Thursday, faces old nemesis Idaho State on Saturday
BOZEMAN, Mont. -- Montana State men's basketball returns home this weekend for a pair of critical Big Sky clashes, hosting Weber State on Thursday and Idaho State on Saturday.
Tip on Thursday against Weber State (9-16, 3-8) is set for 7 p.m. The game will be televised regionally on SWX stations and stream on ESPN+.
Tip on Saturday against Idaho State (11-11, 6-5) is set for 6 p.m. The game will stream live on ESPN+.
Voice of the Bobcats Keaton Gillogly and color analyst Brian Priebe will have the radio call of both games on the Bobcat Sports Network.
As they enter the stretch run toward March, Montana State (10-15, 5-7) plays four of their final six games in the regular season at home, beginning with a three-game homestand that continues through next Saturday with the Brawl of the Wild.
Montana State is tied for sixth in the Big Sky standings with Northern Arizona and Eastern Washington, but are just a game and a half behind Portland State for third place.
The 'Cats have gone 8-2 at home this season, including 4-1 against Big Sky opponents.
Over the last four seasons, Montana State is 43-11 overall at home and 27-6 in conference play at Worthington Arena.
MORE FROM MULLINS: Graduate student Jabe Mullins is coming off his best week as a Bobcat, tying his career-high with 24 points off the bench on 8-of-12 shooting at Northern Colorado on Saturday night in Greeley, including scoring 19 points in the second half alone. It was the most points for Mullins in his 132-game college career since scoring 24 for Washington State against Eastern Washington in 2022. The career-best outing followed up a performance on Thursday that saw the guard score 16 points with eight rebounds in a tight loss to Northern Arizona.
BIG IMPACT B WALK: Brandon Walker has been the second-most valuable player in the Big Sky according to KenPom.com's All-Conference metrics. The junior forward ranks ninth in the Big Sky in scoring (14.7 ppg) and sixth in field goal percentage (52.4%) while playing an efficient 21.2 minutes per game. Walker has scored in double-figures in ten of his last 11 games, including an 18-point performance the last time he faced Weber State.
IT'S MILLER TIME: Reserve guard Jed Miller enjoyed a career-night the last time Montana State faced Weber State, scoring a career-high 20 points with six rebounds and two assists and no turnovers across 24 minutes running the point guard position off the bench. Since that performance, Miller has been a bright spot for the Cats, averaging 6.7 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and perhaps most importantly, only 1.0 turnover per game over that seven-game span while averaging 22.8 minutes off the bench.
MAGIC NUMBER OF 70: Montana State boasts the third-best defense in the Big Sky, allowing just 70.1 points per game. Montana State is 1-11 this season when scoring fewer than 70 points, and 2-12 when allowing more than 70 points.
TIGHT MARGINS: All seven of Montana State's losses in conference play have come by seven points or fewer with the average margin of defeat in those seven games just 4.7 points. Out of 31 conferences, the Big Sky has had the second-fewest number of blowouts. Only 5 of 58 conference games have been decided by 20 or more points.
AT THE FREE THROW LINE: Montana State has shot 92-of-112 (82.1%) at the free throw line over the last six games. On the season, teams are shooting 77.4% at the free throw line against Montana State--the seventh-highest mark in the country. Jabe Mullins is second in the country in free throw percentage, going 55 of 58 at the line (94.8%). Creighton's Steven Ashworth is first in the country, going 94 of 97 at the line (96.9%).
TURNING POINT: Coming off a disappointing loss to Idaho State in Pocatello on January 16 that dropped MSU to 1-4 in Big Sky play, head coach Matt Logie made the decision to shake up the lineup ahead of their road game at Weber State on January 18, moving Jabe Mullins and Patrick McMahon to prominent bench roles and putting Bryce Zephir and Sam Lecholat in the starting five. Since then, the Cats have won four of their last seven games, with two tight road losses to the top two teams in the Big Sky (Montana and Northern Colorado) to move within a game and a half of third place in the Big Sky. All seven of Montana State's Big Sky losses have been by seven or fewer points.
WE MEET AGAIN (WEBER STATE): Montana State defeated Weber State earlier this season, 80-71, in Ogden on January 18. The Bobcats scored 52 points in the second half on 57.1% shooting from the floor, turning it over just twice after halftime while making 14 of their final 16 free throw attempts. Jed Miller scored a career-high 20 points in the win, tying RaeQuan Battle for the most free throw makes in a game without a miss in Bobcat history (12). Brandon Walker scored 18 points with seven rebounds, and Max Agbonkpolo added 15 points and six boards.
SERIES HISTORY (WEBER STATE): Weber State leads the all-time series 89-45, but Montana State has won seven of the last nine matchups. The Bobcats and Wildcats have met in the Big Sky Tournament each of the last three seasons, with Montana State coming out on top in the semifinal round in 2022 and 2023 and in the quarterfinal round in 2024. All three years, Montana State went on to win the Big Sky title and advance to the NCAA Tournament. Montana State is 30-32 all-time against Weber State in Bozeman, but has won three of the last four meetings at Worthington Arena, including last year's duel, 76-64, on ESPN2.
WE MEET AGAIN (IDAHO STATE): Montana State fell 70-67 to Idaho State in Pocatello at Reed Gym on January 16 earlier this season. The Cats trailed by as many as 14 points with under 13 minutes to go in the second half, but made a furious charge that featured a 24-6 run to take a 66-62 lead on a Tyler Patterson 3-pointer with 3:14 to play. However, the Bengals rallied to survive and break an 11-game losing streak to the Bobcats. Patterson finished with 18 points on six made triples, with Brandon Walker adding 18 points and three rebounds.
SERIES HISTORY (IDAHO STATE): Saturday marks the 212th meeting between the Bobcats and the Bengals. The rivalry is the 63rd most-played series in all of Division I college basketball, and Idaho State is MSU's second-most common opponent historically behind the University of Montana (309 meetings). Montana State leads the series with Idaho State, 123-88. Montana State has won 11 of the last 12 over Idaho State and has won 13 of the last 15 overall dating back to 2016. Prior to taking down MSU on January 16 in Pocatello earlier this year, the Bengals last beat the Bobcats on March 1, 2018, a span of 2,147 days.
MAGNET FOR CONTACT: Junior forward Brandon Walker ranks 12th in the country in fouls drawn per 40 minutes (7.3), and ranks fourth in the country in percentage of possessions used when the junior forward is on the court (35.6%)
MILESTONE WATCH: Junior forward Brandon Walker eclipsed 1,000 career points in a win over Eastern Washington on January 20. Entering Thursday, graduate student guard Tyler Patterson is 29 points away from hitting 1,000 for his career. Patterson is also six 3-pointers away from passing his former coach Danny Sprinkle for third all-time in program history. Sprinkle hit 263 career 3-pointers.
THREE AND D: Opponents are shooting just 29.8% from beyond the arc against the Bobcats this season, the 19th-lowest mark in NCAA Division I
LOW TURNOVER: Tyler Patterson is seventh in the country in turnover rate, with only 5.2% of possessions with him on the court ending in a Patterson turnover. In 558 minutes of game action, Patterson has turned it over just six times this season. Patrick McMahon ranks 18th in NCAA Division I in turnover rate, with only 6.3% of possessions with him on the court ending in a McMahon turnover. In 584 minutes, McMahon has 11 turnovers.
MR. 300: With the 'Cats win over Weber State on January 18, 2025, head coach Matt Logie achieved his 300th career victory in college basketball. Logie is the 22nd-winningest coach all-time in men's college basketball history (.769) and tenth among active head coaches. Logie went 194-35 over eight seasons at Whitworth (Division III) and 82-23 over four seasons at Point Loma (Division II). Logie is currently 27-33 at Montana State, and led the Bobcats to the NCAA Tournament last year.
GOLDEN AGE OF BOBCAT BASKETBALL: Montana State has played in four straight Big Sky Tournament championship games, gone 49-16 against Big Sky opponents over the last three seasons, and made three straight NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time in school history. The Bobcats are the Big Sky Conference's first three-peat champion since Idaho from 1981-83. 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.
THE MATT LOGIE FILE: Second-year MSU head coach Matt Logie has taken his teams to the NCAA Tournament in 12 of his 13 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 20th in NCAA men's basketball history in career winning percentage (.773) and is ninth 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.
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