By Danny Waldo
Perhaps the fourth time is the charm for head coach Brian Fish and the Montana State men’s basketball program.
Entering his fourth season as the head man, Fish and Co. are still in search of their first Big Sky Conference championship in 2017-18, but following the release of their upcoming conference schedule, it appears the road may be a bumpy one.
MSU will open the conference season on the road versus a Southern Utah team that upset the ‘Cats in the opening round of the conference tournament this past winter, but they will close out the conference portion of their schedule in the now friendly confines of Brick Breeden Fieldhouse.
The Bobcats saw their home arena turn into an advantage in 2017, hosting the first sold-out contest in over a decade when they defeated the University of Montana last February.
The ‘Cats will play regional rivals Idaho and Eastern Washington only once, and both on the road, but they do have the luxury of hosting Weber State to close out the regular season, and will not have to travel to Ogden to take on the Wildcats. MSU will also host Idaho State on the final weekend for its lone matchup with the Bengals, as well.
In addition to their 18-game conference schedule, MSU will play 13 other contests, including matchups with Fresno State and Louisiana Tech, as well as return games at Central Michigan and Milwaukee.
The Bobcats will begin the 2017-18 season on the road, sort of, hosting Omaha in Great Falls on November 10th at Four Seasons Arena.
All dates and opponents on the ‘Cats upcoming season schedule have not been released. Log on to www.msubobcats.com for updates.
Danny Waldo is a freelance writer covering Bozeman Hawk and Montana State Bobcat athletics.
Bobcats Promote Defensive Assistant
By Danny Waldo
The Montana State Bobcats’ defensive backfield received more help recently, this time in the form of a promotion for defensive assistant coach Kyle Risinger who has been elevated to the position of assistant secondary coach.
Risinger spent the 2016 season on the sidelines with the Bobcats as a defensive intern, and parlayed that experience into a full-time position as new defensive back coach Mark Orphey’s right-hand man.
The Bobcats’ defensive secondary has seen a lot of turnover this offseason, beginning with the loss of former secondary coach Gerald Alexander, who left to take a position at the University of California. Alexander’s departure was followed by the loss of three players who were expected to be big contributors in the Bobcat backfield, Tre’von Strong, Naijiel Hale and Darren Gardenhire. Strong opted to transfer to the University of Utah, while Hale and Gardenhire were dismissed from the team following legal trouble.
Risinger is a graduate of St. Cloud State in St. Cloud, Minnesota. St. Cloud is an NCAA Division II program that competes primarily in the Northern Collegiate Sun Athletic Conference. During his time at St. Cloud, Risinger logged over 200 career tackles for the Huskies, and upon his graduation, he was ranked in the Top 10 for pass breakups with 15.
Risinger will be charged with helping Orphey turn an inexperienced, yet athletic group of defensive backs into a formidable unit before they hit the road for their season-opener at Washington State on September 2nd. The Cougars are traditionally one of the pass-happiest offenses in the country behind head coach Mike Leach. The Big Sky Conference is also home to some of the most productive quarterbacks in NCAA FCS level football.
Risinger came to MSU following a one-year stint as a defensive graduate assistant at Indiana State University.
Danny Waldo is a freelance writer, covering Montana State and Bozeman High School athletics.