Traveling to Montana in the winter can be filled with difficulties all its own. Sacramento State head coach Brian Katz anticipates the most difficult part of his team’s trip to the Treasure State will be the foes his Hornets encounter on the hardwood.
[restrict paid=”true”]“The most difficult part about it is these are two really good teams,” said Katz, who’s team did not make a trip to Montana last winter because of the Big Sky Conference’s unbalanced schedule. “Montana speaks for itself. They are always very, very good, some of the best tradition in our league. People are going to find out that Montana State is really, really good. People always talk about road trips but the biggest obstacle this weekend is these are two very good teams.”
In Brian Fish’s first season last winter, Montana State struggled mightily. The Bobcats posted a 7-23 record that included just four Big Sky Conference wins in 18 outings. One of the low points in the season came during MSU’s road trip to Sacramento State and Portland State, this weekend’s opponents coming to Bozeman. MSU shot 36 percent in a 75-59 loss at Sac and allowed Portland State to hit 9-of-11 3-pointers in an 80-62 loss two nights later.
Katz does not expect quite so easy a contest at Brick Breeden Fieldhouse on Thursday night.
“Coming into the league, I don’t think people knew how good Montana State is,” Katz said. “We hadn’t seen their guys. We didn’t’ know. I think they are awfully good. I’m very impressed with what he has done his second year, Brian Fish. They significantly upgraded their talent. With the way they are playing, they are playing very, very hard and committed. I’m very impressed and it’s a dramatic turnaround. “
The Hornets enter the weekend with an entirely new look themselves. Last season, Mikh McKinney took the league by storm, averaging 19.2 points and 4.7 assists in winning Big Sky Conference MVP honors. Smooth-shooting guard Dylan Garrity also earned all-league honors as the Hornets employed arguably the best backcourt in the Big Sky.
Both McKinney and Garrity are gone, meaning Katz has had to reshuffle his lineup and form a new identity for his team. Cody Demps has shifted from the wing to point guard. Marcus Graves and Justin Strings have embraced elevated roles. Eric Stuteville has emerged as one of the best post scoring threats in the league.
“What I’ve been really impressed with is how the guys have all shifted in the batting order,” Fish said. ‘They had two really good guards last year and now they’ve all picked up scoring roles. They’ve done a nice job of stepping in and replacing those two and giving you a completely different look.”
“Both those guys were tremendous players, all-league players and when you have two all-league guards, you are going to be pretty good,” Katz said. “But I think this group has some pride of its own. Mikh and Dylan really helped those guys grow up and learn how to do it. I think we benefited from that. Like anybody, anytime you replace two all-league guards you are going to have a transition for sure.”
Sacramento State (7-5) opened up Big Sky Conference play with a 76-68 loss at Portland State on Saturday despite 17 points and 12 rebound from the 6-foot-11 Stuteville. Montana State opened conference play with a 93-82 loss at Southern Utah despite 36 points from freshman sensation Tyler Hall. The Bobcats bounced back two days later to post a 74-72 overtime win at Northern Arizona.
“I think this weekend is a big step because it’s the first time we were able to show them film of how we envision our team being so hopefully we build on that and put a little more pressure on our seniors to lead us,” Fish said. “It’s not just about points and rebounds. It’s about leadership. It’s about hustle. It’s about getting people organized. We were way better at Northern Arizona.”
Hall and senior point guard Marcus Colbert make up one of the Big Sky’s best scoring backcourts. Hall is sixth in the Big Sky, averaging 17.7 points per game and Colbert’s 17.4 points per game are right behind. With the exception of a 90-85 win over Division II Hawaii-Hilo and an 82-60 loss at Syracuse, either Hall or Colbert has led Montana State in scoring every game this season.
On the interior, senior Danny Robison has been solid, averaging 8.1 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. But sophomore wing Zach Green (5.9 rebounds per game), Hall (5.6) and junior guard Quinton Everett (5.0) are Montana State’s leading rebounders. Sarp Gobeloglu, a 6-foot-10 junior forward, is averaging 8.2 points per game off the bench but he is a perimeter player who does most of his damage beyond the 3-point line. Junior college center transfers Shy Blake and Tyson Kanseyo have provided little resistance on either end for the Bobcats.
“We will throw different things at them,” Fish said. “So far, size hasn’t hurt us too bad. They have to guard us on the other end too so we’ve tried to exploit that. So far, we’ve been a scrappy group on the boards, competed, so we will stick to our game plan.
“My options are limited, I have to go small. Unless Karl Malone walks through here, we will have to go that way. We will have to make them matchup and guard us.”
Thursday will mark a homecoming of sorts for Montana State. The Bobcats have played just two true home games this season. MSU’s last home game was a 100-97 loss to Omaha on December 6. Since then, MSU has played six road games, posting a 2-4 record during a stretch that included games at San Jose State, North Dakota State, Buffalo, Syracuse, Southern Utah and NAU.
“We are excited to be back home,” Colbert said. “I don’t even know how long it’s been. We’ve played what, two games at home? It’s good to be back in Bozeman, play the home crowd.”
Fish expressed concern with a return home since it’s such an atypical thing for this year’s group so far. Fish said he hopes fans are ready to cheer and he hopes his players are ready to react to being the favorites rather than the opponent in a hostile environment. But Fish said one of his biggest wishes for the first game of the New Year is a sizeable showing to help spur his team on.
“I don’t think I’m talking out of turn here and I think these guys are a fun group to watch,” Fish said. “I think Tyler Hall is a fun player to buy a ticket to see. Marcus and Danny give us great effort. I hope fans come out because I like this team and I think this team could be exciting if we continue to grow.”
[/restrict]Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
