Montana State University
Green Bay
Bobcats Open Homestand With Clashes Against Green Bay and UC Riverside
11/19/2023 6:48:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Montana State returns to Worthington Arena on Monday night to face Green Bay before turning attention to UC Riverside on Wednesday evening
BOZEMAN, Mont. -- Coming off a signature road win over California on Thursday night, the Montana State men's basketball team returns to Worthington Arena to begin a four-game homestand on Monday against Green Bay.
The Bobcats will host a multiple-team event (MTE) in Bozeman this week, with Green Bay and UC Riverside participating.
Monday night, Montana State (2-1) will take on Green Bay (1-2) at 7 p.m. in a contest that will be aired on both SWX and ESPN+.
Tuesday night, Worthington Arena will serve as the neutral site for a game between Green Bay and UC Riverside (1-3) at 7 p.m.
Wednesday night, the MTE wraps up with a non-conference clash between Montana State and UC Riverside at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
Both Bobcat games will have live radio play-by-play from Voice of the Bobcats Keaton Gillogly on the Bobcat Sports Radio Network. Live stats will be available on msubobcats.com.
Tickets for every game this week are available on msubobcats.com/tickets.
SIGNATURE WIN
Montana State is coming off the first signature win of the Matt Logie era, a 63-60 victory on the road over California in Berkeley on Thursday night. The Bobcats led by as many as 14 in the second half before Cal stormed back to make it a one-point game late. Clutch free throws from Jed Miller and Brian Goracke helped seal the win--Matt Logie's first Division I victory.
B WALK DOMINATION
Sophomore forward Brandon Walker was outstanding in the win over California, dropping a career-high 26 points on 12-of-21 shooting with four assists and three rebounds. The transfer from UT Arlington scored 14 points in the first half and 12 more in the second half, showcasing a variety of post moves and shooting touch to torch the Golden Bears. Walker's previous career-high was 17 points against Hardin-Simmons as a true freshman last season.
AGAINST THE PAC
The win was Montana State's first Power Five win since defeating Washington State, 95-90 in a neutral site game in Kennewick, Wash. It also marked the first true road victory over a Power Five opponent since taking down Utah in Salt Lake City in 2011. Montana State is now 54-101 against schools currently making up the Pac-12 (including Colorado, Utah, etc.)
FIND A WAY TO GET IT DONE
Montana State loves to shoot the three-ball, ranking 37th nationally in attempts. Despite being just 4-for-24 (16.7%) on Thursday at Cal, MSU was still able to pull the upset. The Cats were also out-rebounded 39-25, but did just enough in key moments. Redshirt senior guard Robert Ford did not score a point in 29 minutes against the Golden Bears, but pulled down nine rebounds and played outstanding defense while facilitating the Bobcat offense with Eddie Turner III not playing due to injury.
CREATE HAVOC
Through three games, the Bobcats rank seventh nationally in turnover margin (+9.3). The Bobcats forced 16 Cal turnovers on Thursday, including 11 in the first half alone, while committing just eight on the way to the thrilling win.
WELCOME TO THE LOGIE ERA
First-year head coach Matt Logie comes to Montana State after four seasons at Point Loma in California, where his teams rolled up an 82-23 record with three conference championships. His 12 seasons as a head basketball coach includes eight at Whitworth University in Spokane (2011-19), where his Pirates compiled a 194-35 record. Logie's 276-58 career mark in 12 seasons is good for an .826 winning percentage, the third-highest winning percentage in the history of all NCAA men's college basketball coaches.
HOME SWEET HOME
Montana State is 26-2 at Worthington Arena since the start of the 2021-2022 season. The Bobcats are kicking off a four-game homestand this week, their longest stretch of games in Bozeman this season. After games against Green Bay and UC Riverside on Monday and Wednesday, MSU hosts Long Beach State next Sunday afternoon, and wraps up the homestand with a clash against Rocky Mountain College on Thursday, Nov. 30.
ABOUT THE PHOENIX
Green Bay is led by first-year head coach Sundance Wicks. The Phoenix team in 2023-2024 features just three returners and six transfers. Green Bay is coming off a 64-59 loss to Valparaiso last Tuesday. Junior guard Noah Reynolds scored 24 points with seven rebounds in the loss, and is averaging 20.3 points per game this year. Green Bay was picked 11th in the Preseason Horizon League Poll.
ABOUT THE HIGHLANDERS
UC Riverside is coming off the best season in the program's Division I-era, as they went 22-12 on the way to head coach Mike Magpayo earning BIg West Coach of the Year honors. UC Riverside opened up the 2023-2024 season with a win over UC Merced but has lost three games in a row entering this week, falling in road contests to Utah (82-53), Portland (76-65), and No. 20 North Carolina (77-52). The Highlanders have had trouble offensively, shooting just 32.4% from the floor and 29.1% from three.
SERIES HISTORY
Monday marks the fourth meeting between Montana State and Green Bay. The Phoenix lead the series, 3-0, with the most recent meeting coming in 2019: a 98-72 defeat for the Bobcats at Worthington Arena. When the Cats take on UC Riverside on Wednesday night, it will be the fifth all-time meeting. UC Riverside has won three straight in the series (2010, 2011, 2013), with MSU's last victory coming in 2001. UC Riverside has visited Bozeman once before, eking out a 75-73 win over the Cats on December 11, 2011.
#GoCatsGo
