Montana State University
Idaho State
Idaho State, Weber State Next on the Road for Men's Basketball
1/15/2025 11:03:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Bobcats head to Pocatello on Thursday, Ogden on Saturday for pair of critical Big Sky road games
BOZEMAN, Mont. -- Montana State men's basketball will look to parlay momentum from a thrilling come-from-behind home victory over Northern Arizona this past weekend into more wins on their upcoming road trip, traveling to face Idaho State on Thursday and Weber State on Saturday.
Tip on Thursday against Idaho State (6-8, 1-2) from Reed Gym in Pocatello, Idaho, is set for 7 p.m.
Saturday's game with Weber State (7-10, 1-2) in Ogden, Utah, will tip at 7 p.m. from Dee Events Center.
Both games will be streamed on ESPN+, with live radio play-by-play from Voice of the Bobcats Keaton Gillogly airing on the Bobcat Sports Network.
Montana State will be looking for their 12th straight win over Idaho State in the series before clashing with Weber State in a rivalry that's blossomed recently with several high-profile Big Sky Tournament meetings in Boise.
Montana State (6-11, 1-3) snapped a six-game skid with their 58-53 win over the Lumberjacks this past Saturday, and did so after falling behind 16-0 to start the game.
Brandon Walker scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half, and inspired efforts from the Bobcat bench out of Bryce Zephir, Sam Lecholat, and Chika Nduka helped carry the 'Cats to their first Big Sky win of the season.
Following the trip through Idaho and Utah, the 'Cats have a quick turnaround, hosting Eastern Washington on Monday night to wrap up a stretch of three games in five days.
LAST TIME OUT
Montana State ended a six-game losing streak with a 58-53 win over Northern Arizona last Saturday. Less than 48 hours after letting a 20-point lead slip away late in the second half in a deflating loss to league-leading Northern Colorado, the Bobcats erased a 16-point first half deficit to take down Northern Arizona and get their first Big Sky win. Brandon Walker scored 15 second half points, finishing with 17 for the game, to lead the Cats. Bryce Zephir, making his first appearance since missing three games with an injury, scored nine in the second half with four rebounds to highlight a strong bench effort.
SERIES HISTORY (IDAHO STATE)
Thursday marks the 211th meeting between the Bobcats and the Bengals. The rivalry is the 63rd most-played series in all of Division I college basketball, and Idaho State is MSU's second-most common opponent historically behind the University of Montana (308 meetings). Montana State leads the series with Idaho State, 123-87. Montana State has won 11 in a row over Idaho State and has won 13 of the last 14 overall dating back to 2016. The Bengals last beat the Bobcats on March 1, 2018, which was 2,147 days from this Thursday. Montana State has won five in a row over Idaho State in Pocatello, with the last loss coming on February 27, 2016.
SERIES HISTORY (WEBER STATE)
Saturday marks the 134th meeting between the Bobcats and the Wildcats in a series that dates back to 1964. Weber State leads the series with Montana State, 89-44. Montana State has won 3 of the last 4 and 6 of the last 8 dating back to 2022. Weber State has won four of the last five meetings in Ogden, with the Bobcat win in that stretch coming on Feb. 2, 2022. Overall, the Wildcats have won 56 of the 66 matchups played in Ogden. Montana State and Weber State have met each of the last three seasons in the Big Sky Tournament, with the Bobcats coming out on top in each clash on their way to three straight Big Sky championships and three straight NCAA Tournament appearances. MSU won in the 2022 semifinals, 69-66, then escaped in the 2023 semifinals, 60-58 in double overtime. Last year in Boise, the Bobcats scored 66 points in the second half to come back from down 13 and beat Dillon Jones and the Wildcats, 91-80, in the quarterfinals of the Big Sky Tournament.
SAME STARTERS
Montana State has rolled out the same starting lineup of Jabe Mullins, Tyler Patterson, Patrick McMahon, Max Agbonkpolo, and Brandon Walker all 17 games this season. The 17-game streak of the same starting lineup is tied for the most in NCAA Division I this season, with only Drexel and UC San Diego also using the same starters in 17 games to start the year.
CHASING 300
Head coach Matt Logie enters the weekend looking for his 300th career victory after picking up win No. 299 on Saturday against Northern Arizona. Logie (299-87) has taken his teams to the NCAA Tournament in 12 of his 13 seasons as a head coach, and is believed to be just the second men's coach in history to lead teams to the Big Dance at the Division I, Division II, and Division III levels (Tobin Anderson). Logie ranks 15th in NCAA men's basketball history in career winning percentage (.776) and is ninth among active head coaches. Logie came to Montana State after four seasons at Point Loma (Division II), where his teams rolled up an 82-23 record with three conference championships, and eight seasons at Whitworth (Division III), where his teams went 194-35. In 2023-24, Logie was named a finalist for Joe B. Hall National Coach of the Year, which is presented annually to the top rookie, first-year head coach in Division I college basketball, after orchestrating the Bobcats' third straight Big Sky championship title and third straight trip to the NCAA Tournament.
BRYCE IS COMING ALONG
Montana State got a big boost from their bench in last Saturday's win, including from reserve guard Bryce Zephir. Zephir, a junior college transfer from Salt Lake CC, had missed the last three games before making his return and scoring nine points with four rebounds in the second-half alone as the Cats mounted their comeback.
BIG TIME BRANDON
Brandon Walker has been the most valuable player in the Big Sky Conference this season according to KenPom's player ranking model. The junior is averaging 14.7 points per game (8th in the Big Sky) in 20.2 minutes of action, adding a career-best 4.9 rebounds per game. The native of Oak Cliff, Texas, has scored in double-figures in 14 of 17 games this year, highlighted by a career-high 31-point outburst against UC Riverside on December 18. Walker ranks third in the country in fouls drawn per 40 minutes (8.3), and ranks first in the country in percentage of possessions used when the junior forward is on the court (38.4%)
FOND MEMORIES FOR BRIAN
On Thursday in Pocatello senior wing Brian Goracke makes his return to Reed Gym, where he scored 29 points on 11-of-15 shooting with eight rebounds in a 74-66 victory over Idaho State last season. The native of Monroe, Oregon, scored ten of the Bobcats' first 14 points and had 12 points just eight minutes into the game to help MSU jump out to a lead they would never relinquish. Goracke, a Preseason All-Big Sky selection, has embraced a bench role this season and is third on the team in scoring (7.9 ppg) and second in three-point percentage (40.6%).
BEEN AROUND THE BLOCK
Montana State is one of the most experienced teams in the country in 2024-25, boasting five players in the rotation who have each played in at least 118 games (Jabe Mullins, Tyler Patterson, Brian Goracke, Max Agbonkpolo, Sam Lecholat), and nine players who have at least four years in college basketball. Tyler Patterson has started 133 games in a Montana State uniform entering Thursday, the most of any active player at one school in the country and the most in Montana State history.
GOLDEN AGE OF BOBCAT BASKETBALL
Montana State has played in four straight Big Sky Tournament championship games, gone 49-16 against Big Sky opponents over the last three sea- sons, and made three straight NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time in school history. The Bobcats are the Big Sky Conference's first three-peat champion since Idaho from 1981-83. 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.
THE MATT LOGIE FILE
Second-year MSU head coach Matt Logie has taken his teams to the NCAA Tournament in 12 of his 13 seasons as a head coach, and is believed to be just the second men's coach in history to lead teams to the Big Dance at the Division I, Division II, and Division III levels (Tobin Anderson). Logie ranks 15th in NCAA men's basketball history in career winning percentage (.776) and is ninth among active head coaches. Logie came to Montana State after four seasons at Point Loma (Division II), where his teams rolled up an 82-23 record with three conference championships, and eight seasons at Whitworth (Division III), where his teams went 194-35.
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