Montana State Travels to Fargo to Face NDSU on Hardwood Monday

Montana State Bobcats (6-3) vs. North Dakota State (7-4)
Date and Time	Monday, Dec. 16 - 6 p.m. MDT
Location	Fargo, N.D.
Site	Scheels Center (5,700)
Television	Midco Sports Network \| ESPN+
Radio	KMMS 1450 AM \| Bobcat Sports Radio Network
Listen Live	msubobcats.com/watch \| TuneIn app
Stream	ESPN+ \| GoBison.com/showcase
Live Stats	GoBison.com (Statbroadcast)
Tickets	GoBison.com
Montana State	Game Notes \| Men's Basketball Home Page
NDSU	Men's Basketball Home Page

As finals week begins to wind down, the Montana State men's basketball team's focus turns back to what remains of their schedule before the start of Big Sky Conference play.

Two games remain on the Bobcats' non-conference portion of their schedule, with MSU getting prepared to face North Dakota State next in Fargo on Monday in the Scheels Center.

The Bobcats finished their longest home stand of the season by going 2-1 over a 10-day span. MSU defeated Colorado Christian, 82-46, on Nov. 26 and dropped its first home game of the season to Green Bay, 98-72, on Nov. 30. The 'Cats topped South Dakota State, 77-70, in front of 4,877 fans in Worthington Arena on Dec. 5.

"It's good because it gives them a little bit of a mental break from basketball, but they're still being mentally tasked because of finals," MSU head coach Danny Sprinkle said of the team's lay off since its last outing. "We haven't done much this week other than a couple shooting workouts. We've done a little running just to break it up – they needed to get a little sweat in instead of just studying for 20 hours a day – to kind of freshen up and energize them, keep them more alert."

Montana State's matchups against SDSU and NDSU this season are a part of a four-year series between members of the Big Sky Conference and Summit League. Last year, MSU went 1-1 in the series beating North Dakota at home and losing to Omaha on the road. MSU will travel to Grand Forks to face North Dakota and will host Omaha next season. The final year of the series will have the 'Cats travel to SDSU and host NDSU during the 2021-22 slate.

MSU and NDSU meet for the 19th time on Monday. The Bobcats hold an 11-7 edge in the all-time hardwood series, but the Bison have won the last three matchups. The two teams last met in December of 2015 with NDSU earning a 73-64 win in Fargo. The Bison, which won the Summit League tournament title a season ago and advanced to the NCAA Tournament, are 7-4 overall and 3-1 at home this year. NDSU has won two consecutive games and is led by senior guard Vinnie Shahid who averages 14.9 points per game and scored 30 in their last win at CSUN Wednesday.

"They're solid," Sprinkle said. "They're tough, they make you earn it. They're very similar to a South Dakota State. They're physical, they do all the little things, they box out every time and they sit in gaps. Offensively, they're really good. They've got some really good players. Obviously, they went to the NCAA tournament last year and a lot of those guys are back."

MSU's 6-3 start to its 2019-20 season matches one of its best starts to a season during the 21st century. The Bobcats' non-conference ledger so far matches their opening nine game record of the 2017-18 slate. The last time the Bobcats won seven of their first 10 games of a season dates back to the 1997-98 campaign.

Defense has been a key to MSU's success this season, flipping the script from a year ago. Green Bay is the only team that has shot over 50% against the Bobcats. MSU is 6-2 when opponents shoot less than 50% from the field. The Bobcats rank 49th in Division I basketball in field goal defense allowing opponents to shoot 38.6%. They also have held the opposition to 27.1% from long range which is the 19th best mark in the nation. While last year's team ranked 50th in scoring offense (78.2), its defense gave up 79.8 points per game while allowing a 48% clip from the field, ranking MSU 344th in the nation in that category.

The Bobcat offense hasn't scored at the level of last season's squad, but it still has been effective. MSU ranks 60th in field goal percentage shooting at a clip of 47% and is 71st from the 3-point line shooting 36.5%.

Montana State's attendance of 4,877 against South Dakota State -- as part of a doubleheader with the women's team -- was the highest attended non-conference home game for the program since 1997. On Dec. 30, 1997, MSU beat San Diego 77- 61 in front of 5,477 fans during a holiday tournament played in Worthington Arena. The next highest attended non-conference home game was on Nov. 16, 2007, when MSU hosted Boise State in Bozeman in front of 4,866 fans.

Senior Harald Frey served as MSU's leader in points, rebounds and assists per game through eight contests. Frey passed the 1,500-career point mark in the Bobcat victory over SDSU and sits seventh in scoring at MSU and 42nd in Big Sky history. He currently ranks third all-time among Bobcats in 3-point field goals (228) and fourth in assists (423), while both also rank among the top 20 all-time in the Big Sky.

The matchup Monday airs in the Midwest on Midco Sports Network but also will be carried on ESPN+ to stream for those across the country. All Bobcat basketball games are available to listen to as part of the Bobcat Sports Radio Network. It will air locally on KMMS 1450 AM with play-by-play broadcaster Zach Mackey on the call.

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Montana State Travels to Fargo to Face NDSU on Hardwood Monday

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Players Mentioned

Harald Frey

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