Montana State University
Eastern Washington
Cats Welcome First-Place Eagles to Bozeman
1/31/2024 3:19:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Montana State looking to snap Eastern Washington’s nine-game winning streak and hand them first Big Sky loss in Thursday night tilt at Brick Breeden Fieldhouse
BOZEMAN, Mont. -- The premier men's basketball game in the Big Sky Conference on Thursday night will take place inside Worthington Arena, when defending Big Sky Tournament champion Montana State hosts defending Big Sky regular season champion Eastern Washington in Bozeman.
Tip is set for 7 p.m. Tickets are available here.
The game will be streamed on ESPN+, with live radio play-by-play from Voice of the Bobcats Keaton Gillogly and Brian Priebe airing on the Bobcat Sports Network.
Montana State (10-11, 5-3 Big Sky) is coming off a 1-1 road split last weekend after their trip to the West Coast, defeating Sacramento State last Thursday, 70-62, before falling in a heartbreaker to Portland State on Saturday, 94-91. The Cats have won four of their last six games and sit in fourth in the Big Sky standings as the calendar turns to February. Offensive efficiency has spurred Montana State to their recent success, with the Bobcats averaging 80.7 points per game over that stretch while shooting above 54% from the floor in five of those six games.
Eastern Washington (13-7, 7-0 Big Sky) enters Thursday winners of nine straight and 12 of their last 13. The Eagles have not lost since falling on the road to Washington on December 21, 73-66, and leads second-place Northern Colorado by two games in the Big Sky regular season race. Eastern Washington is one of the best offensive teams in the country despite not having a player average more than 14 points per game--the Eagles are fifth in the country in effective field goal percentage (57.8%), 16th in assists per game (17.6), and 25th in three-point percentage (38.0%).
Thursday's game will feature the top two three-point shooting teams in the conference, with Eastern Washington making 9.4 triples a game on 38.0% shooting and Montana State averaging 8.7 threes a game on 35.5% shooting.
SALUTE TO ROB
Robert Ford III has been on an absolute tear since the Cats restarted Big Sky play on January 11. Over the last six games, the redshirt senior is averaging 19.7 points, 9.7 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 3.3 steals per contest while shooting 55.4% from the floor and 48.3% from distance to help Montana State go 4-2. In those six games, Ford has three double-doubles. The native of Portland exploded for 26 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and four steals in Saturday's tight road loss to Portland State. Ford ranks third in the country in steals (62) and fourth in steals per game (2.95), and is top-60 in the nation in double-doubles (6). Ford is also second among all players shorter than 6-foot-3 in rebounding, averaging 8.0 rebounds per game this season.
BONA FIDE BRIAN
Brian Goracke continues to be one of the most dynamic players in the Big Sky this season in his first year as a Bobcat after following head coach Matt Logie from Division II Point Loma over the summer. The junior is fourth in the conference in scoring (15.5 ppg), second in made three point field goals (47), and first in free throw percentage (92.1%). Goracke also ranks ninth in NCAA Division I in free throw percentage.
SAM STEPPING UP
Sam Lecholat has asserted himself more in the rotation for the Bobcats and has done the most with the opportunity. The junior from Sheridan, Wyoming, is averaging 27.3 minutes per game over the last three contests, averaging 7.6 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.7 assists over that stretch.
MILESTONE WATCH
Brian Goracke enters Thursday's game needing nine points to hit 1,000 for his career, while Robert Ford III is six rebounds away from hitting 500 for his career.
SERIES HISTORY
Each of the last four meetings between Eastern Washington and Montana State has been decided by five or fewer points, with the two teams 2-2 against each other during both the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons. Thursday marks the 98th matchup all-time. Eastern Washington leads the series 49-48. Montana State is 32-14 against the Eagles at Worthington Arena, but EWU has won four of the last five in Bozeman and eight of the last ten overall in the series.
ABOUT THE EAGLES
Eastern Washington comes in to Thursday night's matchup on a nine-game winning streak, and have not lost since falling at Washington on Dec. 21, 73-66. The Eagles have won 12 of their last 13 and are in first in the Big Sky Conference at 7-0, carrying a two-game lead on second-place Northern Colorado heading into the month of February. Eastern Washington has six players averaging between 9.6 and 13.8 points per game
MR. AUTOMATIC
Brian Goracke ranks 9th in NCAA Division I in free-throw percentage (92.1%). The junior is 70-of-76 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 (8.2) and turnovers forced per game (13.5)
BY THE NUMBERS
At No. 123 in the KenPom rankings, Eastern Washington will be the highest rated opponent the Cats will face since they fell on the road to No. 58 Washington on December 5. Eastern Washington is the highest ranked Big Sky team in KenPom, followed by Weber State (132), Montana (140), and Northern Colorado (169). Montana State checks in at No. 247 in KenPom.
BUCKET-GETTER
Sophomore Brandon Walker leads the Big Sky in field goal percentage (59.2%) and is 33rd in NCAA Division I in that category.
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 (30), 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.)
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.
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