Montana State University
Montana
Cats and Griz Collide in Bozeman on Saturday
1/19/2024 12:34:00 PM | Men's Basketball
All eyes are on the 306th Brawl of the Wild showdown in Worthington Arena
BOZEMAN, Mont. -- Two rivals clash on Saturday in one of college basketball's most storied series, as Montana visits Montana State in the 306th edition of the Brawl of the Wild on Saturday night at Worthington Arena.
Tip is set for 7 p.m.
The game will air across the state on the Montana Television Network (MTN) and will stream on ESPN+, with Ben Creighton and Jeff Riggs on the call. Live radio play-by-play from Voice of the Bobcats Keaton Gillogly and analyst Brian Priebe will air on the Bobcat Sports Network.
Tickets are available here. The theme of Saturday night's game is a 'White Out'.
Montana State (8-9, 3-1 Big Sky) sits in second place in the Big Sky after winning three of their first four conference games, including a sweep at home over both Northern Arizona and Northern Colorado last weekend. The Bobcats defeated the Lumberjacks last Thursday, 79-50, before handing the Bears their first conference loss in a 90-81 victory on Saturday. Robert Ford III was named Big Sky Co-Player of the Week after notching a pair of double-doubles in the wins, averaging 14.5 points, 12.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 3.5 steals per game.
Montana (11-6, 2-2 Big Sky) was picked to finish second in the preseason Big Sky Coaches' Poll, and is out to a 2-2 start in league play with wins over Idaho State and Northern Arizona and losses to Weber State and Northern Colorado. The Griz are led by seventh-year guard Aanen Moody, who is averaging 15.4 points per game, along with veteran starters Brandon Whitney and Josh Vazquez. The Grizzlies are averaging 90 points per game over their last four outings, shooting better than 50 percent from the floor in three of them.
COACHING CONNECTIONS
MSU head coach Matt Logie and Montana head coach Travis DeCuire have a relationship that goes back over 30 years. DeCuire played at Mercer Island High School outside Seattle when Logie's grandfather, Ed Pepple, was the head coach and Logie was a ball boy. DeCuire later returned to Mercer Island as an assistant and coached teams that included Logie, then got his first head coach job at rival Sammamish High School and coached against Mercer Island during Logie's senior season. When Logie coached at Whitworth, they played four exhibition games and one regular season game against Montana in Missoula each season from 2014-18. Current MSU assistant coach Zach Payne spent four seasons on the UM staff from 2019-23 under DeCuire, and played two seasons for Logie at Whitworth from 2011-13 and stayed as a graduate assistant and volunteer coach from 2013-16.
SERIES HISTORY
Montana and Montana State meet on Saturday in the 306th edition of the Brawl of the Wild, the fifth-most played series in NCAA Division I basketball. Montana leads the all-time series, 154-51, but the Cats have won three of the last four meetings. MSU is 97-51 against UM all-time in Bozeman. The Griz won 18 of 19 matchups overall from 2011 to 2020. Montana State won both matchups last year.
SHARPSHOOTING TYLER
Tyler Patterson ranks ninth all-time at MSU for made 3-point field goals in a career (174). The junior from Snoqualmie, Wash., is now two behind Scott Hatler (1992-96) and Marcus Colbert (2012-16) who each hit 176 triples. Tyler Hall (431) is the program's all-time leader.
SALUTE TO ROB
Robert Ford III was named Big Sky Co-Player of the Week on Tuesday after notching back-to-back double-doubles in a pair of wins at home last weekend over Northern Arizona and Northern Colorado. The redshirt senior gaurd continues to be one of the most impactful mid-major players in college basketball. The redshirt senior from Portland, Oregon, ranks sixth in the country in steals in per game (2.88) and fifth in total steals (49). On Nov. 20, Ford recorded a career-high seven steals against Green Bay, the second-most in a single game in program history and the most by a Bobcat since 2013. Among players 6-foot-2 or shorter, the 6-foot Portland native ranks second in NCAA Division I in rebounds per game (7.9). Ford has five double-doubles this season.
BONA FIDE BRIAN
Brian Goracke has been a revelation this season after following head coach Matt Logie from Division II Point Loma last season to Montana State. The junior ranks third in the Big Sky in scoring (16.1 ppg), first in three point percentage (38.9%), and first in three pointers per game (2.53). The native of Monroe, Oregon, is also sixth in NCAA Division I in free throw percentage (94.8%), having gone 55-for-58 at the free throw line this year. Goracke has scored at least 13 points in eight of his last nine games.
EASY TO ROOT FOR
Graduate transfer guard Eddie Turner III has made an immediate impact for the Bobcats after on and off the court obstacles slowed his basketball output at Columbia. Turner, a standout at Garfield HS in Seattle, played in just 18 games across four years in New York City while obtaining his Ivy League degree. Knee injuries and COVID-19 represented just some of the adversity Turner had to overcome, as he took his senior year off from basketball after his father suffered a health scare back home in Washington. Turner earned his degree in architecture in May and worked an internship for Bank of America on Wall Street this past summer that comes with a guaranteed job in investment banking once his two years of eligibility at Montana State are up.
BIG B WALK
Sophomore forward Brandon Walker has been on a tear since the turn of the new year, scoring at least 17 points in four of his last five games. The transfer from UT Arlington has proven to be one of the most gifted post scorers in the Big Sky, shooting at least 63.6% in all four of those contests. Last Saturday against Northern Colorado, Walker put up 22 points and five rebounds while not turning the ball over once, shooting 8-of-11 from the floor.
LAST TIME OUT
Montana State secured a big win over Northern Colorado last Saturday night, setting a season-high in field goal percentage (56.9%) while torching the Bears for 90 points, including 51 in the second half. The Cats trailed by two at halftime, but shot 17-of-26 (65.4%) from the floor after the break. Brian Goracke led the way with 25 points on 7-of-10 shooting, while Brandon Walker added 22 on 8-of-11 shooting. Eddie Turner tied his career-high with 18 points, and Robert Ford III posted his fifth double-double of the season with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
PACK THE BRICK
Five of the last six seasons, the Brawl of the Wild game in Bozeman has drawn over 6,000 fans
GOLDEN AGE OF BOBCAT BASKETBALL
The Bobcats are coming off of their two best seasons in the modern era. In 2021-22, Montana State went 27-8, which included a 13-1 record at home and a program-record 16 wins in conference play. In 2022-2023, Montana State went 25-10, collected a 12-1 record at Worthington Arena, and went 15-3 in conference action. Montana State has played in three straight Big Sky Tournament championship games, gone 37-7 against Big Sky opponents over the last two seasons, won at least 25 games in two straight seasons for the first time since 1927-1929, and are coming off consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time in school history.
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.
FREE THROW MAESTRO
Brian Goracke ranks sixth in NCAA Division I in free-throw percentage (94.8%). The junior is 55-of-58 at the charity stripe this year. Montana State's single-season record-holder for free throw percentage is Tyler Hall, who shot 90.7% during the 2017-18 season.
CAUSING HAVOC
Montana State leads the Big Sky in steals per game (8.6) and turnovers forced per game (14.1)
BIG MAN'S GOTTA EAT
According to KenPom.com, Brandon Walker is fourth in NCAA Division I in percentage of possessions used (35.0%), and is fourth in percentage of shots taken while he is on the court (37.4%)
DEADLY FROM DEEP
Montana State has three of the top-12 players in the Big Sky for made 3-point field goals: Brian Goracke (1st, 43), Tyler Patterson (7th, 35), and Robert Ford III (12th, 33)
BALANCED OFFENSE
Montana State has had four different players score at least 19 points in a game this season: Brian Goracke (29), Brandon Walker (26), Robert Ford III (26), and Tyler Patterson (20)
LET IT FLY
The Bobcats love to shoot three pointers under head coach Matt Logie. The Cats rank in the top-25 in NCAA Division I in three point attempts per game (27.3), and top-50 in made three pointers per game (9.2)
SIGNATURE WIN
Before beating Cal on Nov. 16, Montana State had last taken down a Power Five opponent on December 9, 2018, defeating Washington State, 95-90 in a neutral site game in Kennewick, Wash. Montana State is 54-101 against schools currently making up the Pac-12 (including Colorado, Utah, etc.)
BIG SKY DOMINANCE
With their 3-1 start to Big Sky play this year, Montana State has gone 40-8 against Big Sky opponents since the start of the 2021-2022 season, winning two Big Sky Tournament championships and advancing to consecutive NCAA Tournaments for the first time in school history. The Cats' 3-1 start to conference play is the fifth time in the last seven seasons that MSU has won three of their first four Big Sky contests.
#GoCatsGo
