Saturday, January 21
Missoula, MT
7 p.m.
Montana State University
at
Montana
Jubrile Belo
Photo by: Kyle Cajero
Brawl of the Wild Awaits Montana State Men’s Basketball
1/19/2023 4:16:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The first of two games in the rivalry series takes place this Saturday in Missoula at 7 p.m.
BOZEMAN, Mont. – The first of two Brawl of the Wild rivalry series games between the Montana State men's basketball team and the University of Montana Grizzlies takes place in Missoula this Saturday at 7 p.m.
The game, which will be a true doubleheader following the matchup between both women's basketball teams at 2 p.m., will be broadcasted on ESPN+ and MTN Sports, as well as CBS channels across the state of Montana. Livestream, live stats and radio links can be found on the men's basketball team's schedule page at msubobcats.com.
The Grizzlies (9-10, 3-4 Big Sky Conference) hold a slim 149-154 edge over the Bobcats (12-8, 5-2 Big Sky Conference) in the all-time series between the two teams, which dates back to the turn of the 20th century. Both head coaches — MSU's Danny Sprinkle and Montana's Travis DeCuire — played for their respective teams in the 90s, which gives the already-heated rivalry extra juice.
The Brawl of the Wild will pit two of the Big Sky Conference's top three defenses against each other, as MSU ranks first in conference games by allowing 61.7 points per game on 40.8% field goal shooting. Meanwhile, Montana's defense has allowed 67.1 points per game on 41.0% shooting — both of which rank third in the league.
Montana State is looking to bounce back after a 74-70 upset loss at the University of Idaho last Monday, in which the Bobcats never led, yet made it a one-possession game several times in the final minute. RaeQuan Battle led the Bobcats with 22 points — his seventh 20-point outing of the year — while Jubrile Belo finished with a 15-point, 11-rebound double-double and put the clamps down on one of the Big Sky's best forwards in Idaho's Isaac Jones.
Individually for MSU, Jubrile Belo has had a resurgence of late, averaging 16.0 points, 10.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game in a three-game in five days stretch last week. He is coming off posting two-straight double-doubles against Weber State (17 points, 11 rebounds) and Idaho (15 points, 11 rebounds), bringing his total to four on the season, which leads the team.
Montana is 3-4 in league play after being picked to finish third in both preseason Big Sky polls. The Griz are coming off a 67-54 road loss at Eastern Washington this past Monday, in which the U of M starters accounted for all 54 points. Colorado State transfer Dischon Thomas led the way with 19 points on 6-for-12 shooting, while also chipping in five rebounds, two steals and two assists.
The Griz have retooled their lineup from last year with the additions of Thomas (Colorado State) and sixth-year guard Aanen Moody (Southern Utah), both of whom are double-digit scorers. Moody is averaging 13.9 points and 2.4 threes per game (4th in the Big Sky), while Thomas averages 12.3 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.
From here, the Bobcats continue their four-game road swing at Portland State and Sacramento State next Thursday and Saturday, respectively. All Big Sky Conference games will be broadcasted on ESPN+.
The game, which will be a true doubleheader following the matchup between both women's basketball teams at 2 p.m., will be broadcasted on ESPN+ and MTN Sports, as well as CBS channels across the state of Montana. Livestream, live stats and radio links can be found on the men's basketball team's schedule page at msubobcats.com.
The Grizzlies (9-10, 3-4 Big Sky Conference) hold a slim 149-154 edge over the Bobcats (12-8, 5-2 Big Sky Conference) in the all-time series between the two teams, which dates back to the turn of the 20th century. Both head coaches — MSU's Danny Sprinkle and Montana's Travis DeCuire — played for their respective teams in the 90s, which gives the already-heated rivalry extra juice.
The Brawl of the Wild will pit two of the Big Sky Conference's top three defenses against each other, as MSU ranks first in conference games by allowing 61.7 points per game on 40.8% field goal shooting. Meanwhile, Montana's defense has allowed 67.1 points per game on 41.0% shooting — both of which rank third in the league.
Montana State is looking to bounce back after a 74-70 upset loss at the University of Idaho last Monday, in which the Bobcats never led, yet made it a one-possession game several times in the final minute. RaeQuan Battle led the Bobcats with 22 points — his seventh 20-point outing of the year — while Jubrile Belo finished with a 15-point, 11-rebound double-double and put the clamps down on one of the Big Sky's best forwards in Idaho's Isaac Jones.
Individually for MSU, Jubrile Belo has had a resurgence of late, averaging 16.0 points, 10.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game in a three-game in five days stretch last week. He is coming off posting two-straight double-doubles against Weber State (17 points, 11 rebounds) and Idaho (15 points, 11 rebounds), bringing his total to four on the season, which leads the team.
Montana is 3-4 in league play after being picked to finish third in both preseason Big Sky polls. The Griz are coming off a 67-54 road loss at Eastern Washington this past Monday, in which the U of M starters accounted for all 54 points. Colorado State transfer Dischon Thomas led the way with 19 points on 6-for-12 shooting, while also chipping in five rebounds, two steals and two assists.
The Griz have retooled their lineup from last year with the additions of Thomas (Colorado State) and sixth-year guard Aanen Moody (Southern Utah), both of whom are double-digit scorers. Moody is averaging 13.9 points and 2.4 threes per game (4th in the Big Sky), while Thomas averages 12.3 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.
From here, the Bobcats continue their four-game road swing at Portland State and Sacramento State next Thursday and Saturday, respectively. All Big Sky Conference games will be broadcasted on ESPN+.
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