Montana State University
Sacramento State
Bobcats Hit Road for West Coast Trip
1/24/2024 2:39:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Montana State men’s basketball faces Sacramento State on Thursday night and Portland State on Saturday night in pair of important Big Sky tilts
BOZEMAN, Mont. -- Coming off a 3-1 homestand against Big Sky opponents, the Montana State men's basketball team now heads west for their first conference road games in nearly a month.
The Bobcats will face Sacramento State (6-13, 2-4 Big Sky) on Thursday night at The Nest in Sacramento, California, at 6 p.m. PT/7 p.m. MT.
On Saturday, the Bobcats will take on Portland State (11-8, 2-4 Big Sky) at Viking Pavilion in Portland, Oregon, at 4 p.m. PT/5 p.m. MT.
Both games will stream on ESPN+, with live radio play-by-play from Voice of the Bobcats Keaton Gillogly airing on the Bobcat Sports Network.
Montana State (9-10, 4-2 Big Sky) opened Big Sky play on the road at Idaho State and Weber State before the start of the new year, defeating the Bengals on Dec. 28 and falling to the Wildcats on Dec. 30. Since then, the Cats have played four conference games at Worthington Arena, defeating Northern Arizona (Jan. 11), Northern Colorado (Jan. 13), and Idaho State (Jan. 22).
The Cats took down the Bengals on Monday night, 77-70, to sweep the season series and earn their 11th straight win over their conference foes from Pocatello. Brandon Walker led the way with 19 points and seven boards, while Robert Ford III picked up his sixth double-double of the season with 18 points and 13 rebounds. The Bobcat bench showed out in a big way—after contributing just three points in an 87-77 loss to Montana last Saturday, the Cats bench chipped in 28 points and nine rebounds on Monday night.
Sacramento State is coming off a pair of road losses at Northern Colorado and Northern Arizona this weekend after defeating both Weber State and Idaho State at home the prior week. The Hornets have been significantly better at The Nest this year, going 5-2 at home compared to just 1-9 on the road. Sacramento State has struggled with turning the ball over, ranking 361st out of 362 NCAA Division I teams in unforced turnover percentage (11.8%), setting up a good matchup for Montana State, who leads the Big Sky in forced turnovers per game (12.8)
Portland State started the year by matching their best non-conference record in school history, going 9-3 against non-Big Sky opponents. However, the Vikings have fallen in four of their first six conference contests, with wins coming at Idaho and at home against Weber State, and losses coming at the hands of Eastern Washington, Idaho State, Northern Arizona, and Northern Colorado. Portland State has been good in close games this season—11 of their 19 games have been decided by seven or fewer points, with the Vikings going 8-3 in those games.
BOUNCE BACK W
After falling to Montana in the 306th Brawl of the Wild on Saturday, 87-77, Montana State bounced back with a 77-70 win over Idaho State at home on Monday. Robert Ford III tallied his sixth double-double of the season with 18 points and 13 rebounds, while Brandon Walker posted 19 points and seven boards. The Cats' bench was the big story of the game--after getting out-scored by the Griz bench, 33-2, on Saturday, Montana State got 28 points from their bench against the Bengals as the Cats dealt with foul trouble.
HOMECOMINGS
When the Cats visit Portland State on Saturday, it will mark a homecoming of sorts for two of Montana State's best players. Redshirt senior Robert Ford III, who is among the nation's leaders in steals and rebounding among guards, hails from Portland and attended Jefferson High School before starting his college career at Clackamas Community College in Oregon City. Junior Brian Goracke, who leads the team in scoring and three-point shooting, is a native of Monroe, Oregon, about 100 miles south of Portland.
DO IT ALL ROBERT
Robert Ford III was outstanding in both games last week, putting up 30 points on 12-of-18 shooting with seven rebounds and five steals against Montana on Jan. 20, then following that up with 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting and 13 rebounds against his former team in Idaho State on Jan. 22. Ford is currently fourth in the country in steals (56) and steals per game (2.95), and ranks second among all players shorter than 6-foot-3 in NCAA Division I in rebounding (8.1 per game). As a 6-foot guard, Ford is third in the Big Sky in rebounding.
WE SEE YOU, BRANDON
Brandon Walker continues to impress in his first year as a Bobcat after transferring from UT Arlington. The sophomore put up 19 points and seven rebounds on Monday against Idaho State after scoring 18 points on a perfect 8-of-8 shooting last Saturday against the Griz. The big man is third on the team in scoring (13.6 ppg) and leads the Big Sky and is 38th in the country in field goal percentage (58.1%). Over his last seven games, Walker has scored at least 17 points six times.
SCORING IN BUNCHES
Montana State has found their groove offensively, scoring at least 77 points in each of the four games over their homestand while shooting at least 55% from the field in each as they went 3-1 against Big Sky opponents to improve to 4-2 in league play.
A SHOUTOUT FOR CHIKA
Junior forward Chika Nduka transferred to Montana State from the University of Portland this past offseason, where he started as a walk-on before going on to play in 67 games for the Pilots over his two seasons in the WCC. The junior is coming off one of his best games of the season, contributing 12 points off the bench with a pair of assists in a 77-70 win over Idaho State on Monday.
GOLDEN AGE OF BOBCAT BASKETBALL
The Bobcats are coming off 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
Head coach Matt Logie in his first year at 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.
SERIES HISTORY--SACRAMENTO STATE
Montana State leads the all-time series with Sacramento State, 40-20. The Bobcats have won five in a row and eight of the last ten in the series. Sacramento State is 14-13 against Montana State at home, but the Cats have won four of the last six contests played at The Nest. The Bobcats and Hornets met in the 2022 Big Sky Tournament quarterfinal, with the top-seeded Bobcats taking down the eighth-seeded Hornets en route to Montana State winnin the tournament championship and booking a spot in their first NCAA Tournament since 1996.
SERIES HISTORY--PORTLAND STATE)
Montana State leads the all-time series with Portland state, 40-27. Montana State has won 27 of 34 matchups in Bozeman, but is 13-18 in the Rose City. The Cats have won six in a row in the series that dates back to 1958. Portland State has won five of the last seven games in the series played at Viking Pavilion.
CLIMBING THE LEADERBOARD
Junior Tyler Patterson is tied for seventh in MSU history for made three point field goals (176). His two triples on Monday against Idaho State moved him into a tie with Marcus Colbert (2012-16) and Scott Hatler (1992-96). Tyler Hall (431) is the program's all-time leader.
ROBCAT
Robert Ford III ranks seventh in MSU history for steals in a single season (56). Chris Conway had 94 in the 1987-88 season.
FREE THROW MAESTRO
Brian Goracke ranks 13th in NCAA Division I in free-throw percentage (91.9%).
CAUSING HAVOC
Montana State leads the Big Sky in steals per game (8.4) and turnovers forced per game (12.8)
OFFENSIVE BALANCE
Montana State has had five different players score at least 18 points in a game this season: Brian Goracke (29), Brandon Walker (26), Robert Ford III (26), Tyler Patterson (20), and Eddie Turner III (18)
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.)
#GoCatsGo
