Thursday, December 5
BOZEMAN
8 p.m.
Montana State University
vs
South Dakota State
Photo by: Garrett Becker
Bobcats Host Jacks to Cap Basketball Doubleheader
12/3/2019 6:28:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Montana State takes on South Dakota State as part of the Big Sky-Summit League Basketball Series
| Montana State Bobcats (5-3) vs. South Dakota State (6-4) | |
| Date and Time | Thursday, Dec. 5 - 8 p.m. MDT |
| Location | Bozeman, Mont. |
| Site | Worthington Arena (6,772) |
| Television | SWX Montana (check local listings) |
| Radio | KMMS 1450 AM | Bobcat Sports Radio Network |
| Listen Live | msubobcats.com/watch | TuneIn app |
| Stream | Pluto TV (channel 538) | WatchBigSky.com |
| Live Stats | MSUBobcats.com (Statbroadcast) |
| Tickets | MSUBobcats.com/Tickets | Bobcat Ticket Office |
| Montana State | Game Notes | Men's Basketball Home Page |
| SDSU | Men's Basketball Home Page |
Montana State completes its longest home stand of the season as the Bobcats host their third of three consecutive games on Thursday, Dec. 5, when they take on the South Dakota State Jackrabbits at approximately 8 p.m. The 'Cats and Jacks will tipoff after the conclusion of the MSU women's game against Gonzaga inside Worthington Arena.
SDSU enters the game 6-4 overall with five of its wins coming at home in Brookings. The Jackrabbits are led by Douglas Wilson, a junior newcomer who averages 16.6 points per game and 7.2 rebounds per game. Brandon Key and Matt Dentlinger join Wilson averaging double digits for a team that shoots 45.3% from the field and averages 75 points per game.
"They're very similar to Utah State who we played the first year of the game," Montana State head coach Danny Sprinkle said. "They're very well coached and very disciplined. They've got good basketball players. They make the right read, they make the right pass, make the right cuts, it seems like they all shoot it pretty well.
"The way they run their offense and the way they cut, we've got our work cut out for ourselves."
The Bobcats opened the stretch in Worthington Arena on Nov. 26 by defeating Colorado Christian, 82-46. MSU led the Cougars 31-29 at the half and outscored the Division II foe decisively 51-17 in the second half. MSU dropped its first home game of the season, falling to Green Bay 98-72 on Nov. 30.
Montana State and SDSU meet on Thursday as part of a four-year series between members of the Big Sky Conference and Summit League. The Bobcats travel to North Dakota State to play the Bison on Dec. 16 as part of their two games in the series this season. 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.
Thursday's game is the fourth meeting between MSU and SDSU. The Jacks hold a 2-1 edge in the all-time series. Just 15 points have made the difference between the three prior matchups.
Montana State's 5-3 overall record matches one of its best starts to a season during the 21st century. The Bobcats' nonconference ledger so far matches their first eight game records in 2017-18, 2016-17 and 2011-12.
MSU went 30-for-59 (50.8%) from the field against Colorado Christian on Nov. 26 to improve to 3-0 when shooting over 50% against an opponent this season. The Bobcats' 20-for-32 performance in the second half, good for a 62.5% clip, was their second-best mark in a half this year. MSU shot 66.7% (12-18) in the second half of its 67-66 victory at UNCG on Nov. 16.
Montana State's defense ranked among the best in Division I basketball ahead of the contest versus Green Bay. The Phoenix became the first MSU opponent to shoot above 40% from the field this season, recording a 61.5% clip inside Worthington Arena. Green Bay was the first MSU opponent to shoot over 60% in a game against MSU since Portland State did so in February of 2016.
"We've made people make jump shots," Sprinkle said. "When I watched the Green Bay film, they made 26 jump shots 15 feet out. You're not going to beat many teams when they do that. Green Bay is a really good team and they played fantastic that night. So we kind of ran into a buzz saw, but we've got to get back to our defensive principles this Thursday and we've just to do a better job of contesting jump shots and rebounding."
The Bobcats sit among the top 100 in the nation this season through eight games in shooting and field goal defense. Montana State ranks 68th from 3-point range (36.8%) and 76th from the field (46.7%). The Bobcats rank 34th for opponents' 3-point shooting (27.3%) and 50th in field goal percentage defense (38.1%).
Senior Harald Frey has been Montana State's leader on the court. He currently paces the team in points per game (15.6), rebounds (5.9) and assists (5.8). While sitting among the best in the Big Sky Conference in several categories, he is also making his way up MSU's all-time charts. He is just one point away from hitting the 1,500-career point threshold and passed Danny Sprinkle for the seventh spot on MSU's program scoring leader chart last time out. He ranks third all-time among Bobcats in 3-point field goals (226) and fourth in assists (418).
The doubleheader Thursday will be televised by SWX Montana. SWX Montana can be found on channel 199 or 503 for Charter Spectrum subscribers, while it can also be found through digital antenna offering which can be found here. The game will be streamed on the Pluto TV app and on WatchBigSky.com. All Bobcat basketball games are available to listen to as part of the Bobcat Sports Radio Network with both games Thursday airing locally on KMMS 1450 AM. All tickets are available at msubobcats.com/tickets, by calling 406-994-CATS or by visiting the Bobcat Ticket Office.
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