Thursday, December 19
Bakersfield, CA
8 p.m.
Montana State University
at
CSU Bakersfield
Photo by: Andrew Pedersen
Bobcats Take on Roadrunners in Bakersfield Thursday
12/18/2019 4:50:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Montana State looks to close its road trip with a victory when it faces CSU Bakersfield in the Icardo Center
| Montana State Bobcats (6-4) vs. CSU Bakersfield (4-8) | |
| Date and Time | Thursday, Dec. 19 - 8 p.m. MDT |
| Location | Bakersfield, California |
| Site | Icardo Center (3,497) |
| Television | ESPN3 |
| Radio | KMMS 1450 AM | Bobcat Sports Radio Network |
| Listen Live | msubobcats.com/watch | TuneIn app |
| Stream | WatchESPN.com |
| Live Stats | gorunners.com |
| Tickets | gorunners.com |
| Montana State | Game Notes | Men's Basketball Home Page |
| NDSU | Men's Basketball Home Page |
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – Montana State heads into its final game before the start of its Big Sky Conference schedule as the Bobcats get set to take on the CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners on Thursday in the Icardo Center.
MSU and CSUB meet for the third time overall and the second time in Bakersfield. The 'Runners won the first ever matchup between the two squads, 71-61, in January of 2010. The Bobcats defeated the 'Runners 71-67 in their last meeting on Dec. 3, 2011, in Bozeman. The two teams played a highly contested contest in Worthington Arena, but the Bobcats used two big runs midway through the second half to pull away with the victory.
Montana State's defeat to North Dakota State on Monday completed its two-game arrangement as part of scheduled series between the Big Sky Conference and Summit League. The Bobcats went 1-1 in their head-to-head contests this season against Summit League opponents, previously beating South Dakota State in Bozeman on Dec. 5.
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 6-3 when opponents shoot less than 50% from the field. The Bobcats rank 78th in Division I basketball in field goal defense allowing opponents to shoot 39.3%. That mark is nearly 10% less than a season ago as the Bobcats ranked 344th in the nation in that category.
The Bobcats also have held the opposition to 28.3% from long range this season, good for the 39th best mark in the nation. Last year, MSU gave up a clip of 37.5% to opponents which was 327th among all Division I programs.
The Bobcat offense has been effective when it has created opportunities. Montana State ranks 59th in the nation in field goal percentage (47.2%) and 78th from the 3-point line (36.3%).
Senior Harald Frey began the season 13th on MSU's all-time scoring chart and currently sits in sixth overall. His 1,540 career points he reached last time out passed the legendary Cat Thompson (1926-30). With four points he will pass Jack Gillespie (1966-69) for the fifth spot in program history.
Amin Adamu has put together two straight career-best scoring outputs for the Bobcats. Adamu notched a second consecutive 19-point game in MSU's loss to NDSU on Monday. His points per game average (11.2) has moved into double digits, creating a Bobcat trio that includes Frey (16.6) and Jubrile Belo (11.7).
Belo has made the most of his touches with the ball this season. His field goal percentage of 73.7% if the season ended today would be the best single-season mark in program history. Although his percentage is not being counted currently towards the NCAA statistics leader chart, unofficially Belo is tied for third in the nation in field goal percentage with Michael Hughes of Duquesne.
Danny Sprinkle returns to California for the first time as a head coach after spending most of his coaching career in the state. Out of the 19 seasons he's accrued as a college coach, 17 were spent in California either at CSU Northridge or CSU Fullerton.
The matchup Thursday can be watched online on ESPN3 and on the ESPN app. 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.
Players Mentioned
Bobcat Insider TV Show
Thursday, March 03
Inside The Brick (Amin Adamu)
Friday, November 05
Inside The Brick (Nick Gazelas)
Monday, November 01
Inside The Brick (Abdul Mohamed)
Sunday, October 31
