Andrew Pedersen MONTANA STATE Athletics Communications MBB Contact Office: 406-994-5349 MEN’S BASKETBALL Cell: 701-730-6618 2020-21 GAME NOTES [email protected] GAME 13 MONTANA STATE (9-3, 6-0) vs. WEBER STATE (9-4, 4-2) Big Sky Conference Schedule NEXT MSU: Home (4-0), Road (5-3), Neutral (0-0), Conf (6-0) Date: Thursday, February 4, 2021 WSU: Home (6-0), Road (3-3), Neutral (0-1), Conf (4-2) Time: 7:00 p.m. MT Series: WSU, 85-38 Last Meeting: February 15, 2020 Location: Ogden, Utah UP MSU, 77-63 (Bozeman, Mont.) Venue: Dee Events Center STORYLINES Media Information • Montana State looks to return to the court for the first time in nearly two weeks when TV: Pluto TV MSU faces Weber State in the first of two games in Ogden on Thursday. Talent: N/A • The Bobcats defeated the Wildcats twice during the 2019-20 season for their first Stream: WatchBigSky.com/Pluto TV (Channel 1054) regular season sweep over Weber State since the 2004-05 slate. Prior to MSU’s 62- Radio: Bobcat Radio Network | KMMS 1450 AM 61 victory at Weber State on Jan. 23, 2020, Weber State had held an 11-game win Talent: Zach Mackey (pxp) streak that dated back to 2013. MSU completed its head-to-head series last year with Online: msubobcats.com/watch & TuneIn app a 77-63 victory in Worthington Arena on Feb. 15. Live Stats: WeberStateSports.com • MSU’s win in Ogden last season was just its ninth in 61 games. The Bobcats’ last Twitter: @MSUBobcatsMBB road win against the Wildcats came in the 2009 Big Sky Conference tournament. Instagram: @msubobcatsmbb • Montana State had its most recent Big Sky Conference series scheduled from Jan. 28-30 canceled due to a positive COVID-19 test within the Montana Grizzlies’ program. SCHEDULE /RESULTS MSU previously had a series of home games versus Southern Utah canceled. November • MSU sits at 6-0 in conference play after three consecutive sweeps of Big Sky opponents. Wed. 25 at UNLV ................................... W, 91-78 Montana State earned a 62-51 victory over Northern Arizona on Jan. 21, then followed it with a 58-53 win against the Jacks in Flagstaff on Jan. 23. MSU improved its active December win streak to five over NAU which is the Bobcats’ longest stretch of victories all-time Wed. 2 at Pacific ...........................L, 74-70 (OT) over the Jacks. Sun. 13 Yellowstone Christian ...........W, 114-74 • Montana State extended its current winning streak to seven games after beating Fri. 18 at Washington State ............... L, 82-54 Northern Arizona twice. The seven-game win streak is the longest for the program Tue. 22 at Portland ............................... L, 62-59 Thu. 31 Southern Utah* ...................... Canceled since the 2001-02 squad won nine consecutive contests. • The Bobcats have opened Big Sky play undefeated through six games for the first time January in 34 years. Montana State last opened a Big Sky slate 6-0 during the 1986-87 season Fri. 1 Montana Western ...................W, 96-67 when that that team began its conference schedule with nine straight victories. Sat. 2 Southern Utah* ...................... Canceled • Montana State has established a 9-3 overall mark in its first 12 games of the season. Thu. 7 at Northern Colorado* ...........W, 79-67 The Bobcats’ 12-game start is their best since the 1997-98 season. That year, MSU Sat. 9 at Northern Colorado* .... W, 76-74 (OT). eventually jumped out to an 11-3 record before finishing the season 19-11 overall. Thu. 14 Portland State* ......................W, 71-64 • MSU has been led by a trio of upperclassmen in Amin Adamu, Jubrile Belo and Xavier Sat. 16 Portland State* ......................W, 69-64 Bishop. Adamu crossed over the 500-point mark as a Bobcat the team’s last time Thu. 21 at Northern Arizona* ............. W, 62-51 out, joining Belo (546) and Bishop (1,227) to reach the milestone. Belo, a preseason Sat. 23 at Northern Arizona* .............W, 58-53 all-conference selection, was MSU’s most recent Big Sky Player of the Week on Jan. Thu. 28 at Montana* ...........................Canceled 18. Bishop, who sits 97th among active career scorers in Division I men’s basketball, Sat. 30 Montana* ............................... Canceled has earned Big Sky weekly honors twice this season. • A set of trends have continued throughout this season. The Bobcats are 6-0 when February they score over 70 points and when they out-rebound the opposition. Following MSU’s Thu. 4 at Weber State* ..........................7 p.m. last victory over NAU, the Bobcats are 9-2 when they out-shoot their opponent and Sat. 6 at Weber State* ....................... 12 p.m. 8-2 when they commit less or tie an opponent in turnovers. Thu. 11 Eastern Washington* ..................5 p.m. • Weber State enters Thursday’s contest as one of the top offensive teams in the Sat. 13 Eastern Washington* ............... 12 p.m. country. The Wildcats are fourth in 3-point field goal percentage (41.3%), 10th in Thu. 18 Idaho State* .................................5 p.m. scoring (83.8) and 18th in field goal percentage (49.7). Sat. 20 at Idaho State* ...........................7 p.m. Thu. 25 at Idaho* .....................................7 p.m. PROJECTED LINEUP Sat. 27 at Idaho* .....................................1 p.m. Probable Starters Pos. Ht. Yr. Hometown PPG RPG APG G-GS MPG March 1 Xavier Bishop G 5-8 R-Sr. Springfield, Ill. 15.6 3.9 3.6 11-11 32.7 11 Tyler Patterson G 6-8 Fr. Snoqualmie, Wash. 5.2 1.3 0.7 12-12 22.6 Thu. 4 Sacramento State* .....................6 p.m. 4 Amin Adamu G 6-5 Sr. London, England 15.4 4.8 2.0 11-11 29.7 Sat. 6 Sacramento State* .................. 12 p.m. 0 Abdul Mohamed F/G 6-7 Sr. Ottawa, Ontario 5.3 5.8 1.0 12-7 18.8 10-13 Big Sky Tournament $ ............................ 13 Jubrile Belo F 6-9 Jr. London, England 11.7 6.0 1.2 12-12 24.3 Home games in bold Off The Bench Pos. Ht. Yr. Homtetown PPG RPG APG G-GS MPG *Big Sky Conference game 2 Nick Gazelas G 6-4 So. Humble, Texas 5.7 1.3 0.6 12-1 21.7 $ Big Sky Tournament quarterfinals 3 Finn Fleute F 6-10 So. Essen, Germany 1.6 1.1 0.3 7-0 6.2 played at Idaho Central Arena in Boise, Idaho 4 Bilal Shabazz F 6-8 Jr. Milwaukee, Wis. 1.0 0.0 0.5 2-0 7.4 10 Caleb Bellach G 6-6 So. Manhattan, Mont. 3.5 1.5 1.0 2-0 11.6 Times listed are in Mountain Time (MDT) 12 Mike Hood G 6-2 Jr. Kansas City, Mo. 7.2 2.1 1.0 12-0 14.3 15 Carter Ash G 6-0 Fr. Bozeman, Mont. - - - - - All games are subject to change. 20 Jesse Owens G 5-9 R-Fr. Billings, Mont. - - - - - 23 Borja Fernandez F 6-7 So. Bilbao, Spain 5.6 3.6 0.6 12-5 20.0 24 Kellen Tynes G 6-3 Fr. Dartmouth, Nova Scotia 3.0 1.3 1.6 11-1 9.2 31 Devin Kirby F 6-11 Sr. Chandler, Ariz. 2.0 2.8 0.4 9-0 13.3 FOLLOW THE BOBCATS @MSUBobcatsMBB @msubobcatsmbb @MSUCoachSprink /MSUBobcatsMBB QUICK FACTS 2020-21 MONTANA STATE ROSTER General Information No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Yr. Hometown (Previous Program) Name: Montana State University 0 Abdul Mohamed F/G 6-7 200 Sr. Ottawa, Ontario (North Texas) Founded: 1893 1 Xavier Bishop G 5-8 155 R-Sr. Springfield, Ill. (UMKC) Enrollment: 16,249 (Fall 2020) 2 Nick Gazelas G 6-4 190 So. Humble, Texas (Jacksonville College) Colors: Blue (PMS 281) and Gold (PMS 465) 3 Finn Fleute F 6-10 235 So. Essen, Germany (Uni Baskets Paderborn) Nickname: Bobcats Home Facility: Worthington Arena (6,772) 4 Bilal Shabazz F 6-8 210 Jr. Milwaukee, Wis. (Trinidad State) Opened: 1957 5 Amin Adamu G 6-5 190 Sr. London, England (Barking Abbey) Conference: Big Sky Conference (Since 1963-64) 10 Caleb Bellach G 6-6 195 So. Manhattan, Mont. (Manhattan Christian) Affiliation: NCAA Division I 11 Tyler Patterson G 6-6 180 Fr. Snoqualmie, Wash. (Mount Si HS) President: Dr. Waded Cruzado 12 Mike Hood G 6-2 185 Jr. Kansas City, Mo. (Southern Idaho) Director of Athletics: Leon Costello 13 Jubrile Belo F 6-9 240 Jr. London, England (Barking Abbey) Athletic Department Phone: 406-994-4221 15 Carter Ash G 6-0 165 Fr. Bozeman, Mont. (Bozeman HS) 20 Jesse Owens G 5-9 170 R-Fr. Billings, Mont. (Billings West HS) History 23 Borja Fernandez F 6-7 230 So. Bilbao, Spain (FC Barcelona) First Year of Basketball: 1901-02 (119th season) Record All-Time: 1,587-1,349 24 Kellen Tynes G 6-3 165 Fr. Dartmouth, Nova Scotia (Rothesay Netherwood) Regular Season Conference Championships: 14 31 Devin Kirby F 6-11 225 Sr. Chandler, Ariz. (Basha HS) Last: 2001-02 Season Big Sky Conference Tournament Championships: 2 Pronunciation Guide Last: 1995-96 Season Amin Adamu: awe-min ah-da-mu NCAA Division I Tournament Appearances: 3 Caleb Bellach: bell-etch Last: 1995-96 Season Jubrile Belo: juh-brill bell-oh Borja Fernandez: bore-ha Team Information Finn Fleute: floy-tay Head Coach: Danny Sprinkle (Montana State, 2000) Nick Gazelas: ga-zay-les Record at MSU: 25-18 (Second season) Bilal Shabazz: bi-lal sha-baws Assistant Coach: Chris Haslam (Eighth season) Assistant Coach: Dan Russell (Second season) INSIDE THE MATCHUP Assistant Coach: Ken Moses (First season) Montana State Weber State Strength Coach: John Sauer (Second season) Overall Record 9-3 9-4 Athletic Trainer: Brett Ritter (11th season) Basketball Contact: Andrew Pedersen (Second season) Conference Record 6-0 4-2 Cell: 701-730-6618 Scoring Average 74.9 83.8 Office: 406-994-5349 Scoring Defense 67.5 67.5 Email: [email protected] Scoring Margin 7.4 16.3 Team Overview Field Goal Percentage .453 .497 Overall Record (2019-20): 16-15 FG Percentage Defense .394 .400 Big Sky Record (2019-20): 10-10 (Tied 5th) 3-Point FG % .336 .413 Big Sky Tournament: Quarterfinals 3-Point FG % Defense .317 .307 Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 6/5 Free Throw Percentage .747 .775 Starters Returning/Lost: 3/2 Newcomers: 8 Rebounding Average 35.7 34.6 Rebounding Margin 0.8 1.1 BIG SKY STANDINGS Assists Average 12.3 16.7 School Overall Conf.