By Danny Waldo
After a difficult preseason schedule that saw the Montana State men’s basketball team limp to a 3-7 record heading into conference play, the Bobcat’s are starting to see the fruit of that labor as they have raced out to a 4-1 mark in league play with an upcoming game at league-leading Northern Colorado.
Montana State currently sits in a tie for second place, a half-game behind the Bears.
Heading into the season, head coach Brian Fish predicted a tough start to the season with matchups versus three Power 5 schools in Indiana, Arkansas and Washington State, as well as games versus Colorado State, Utah State and Omaha. The Bobcats came out on the right side of the scoreboard versus Washington State, and nearly escaped Colorado with an impressive win versus the Rams, but the losses helped Fish and his staff identify areas of concern.
The thinking behind the difficult preseason schedule is that it would prepare the ‘Cats for the rigors of a newly-instituted 20-game conference schedule that will see the Bobcats play each conference opponent twice, a change from year’s past, and would allow MSU to hang with league favorite Montana.
So far, the results have proven the coach’s theory correct. Aside from a 74-68 setback at Northern Arizona, a game MSU led late, the Bobcats have taken care of business, stealing two league games on the road and holding court inside Brick Breeden Fieldhouse with wins over Portland State and Sacramento State.
However, MSU has yet to play the heavy weights in the Big Sky. Upcoming games versus Northern Colorado, Eastern Washington and Weber State will go a long way towards determining MSU’s standings in the conference before their first matchup with in-state rival Montana on February 2nd.
The Bobcats have once again been led by senior Tyler Hall and junior Harald Frey. The duo have led MSU in scoring in all but three of their games, but they have received more help from their supporting cast than in previous seasons. Keljin Blevins and newcomer Ladan Ricketts have shown flashes, as has Devin Kirby, who has led the team in rebounds and has flirted with double-double numbers all season.
MSU started fast in league play a year ago, going 4-0 through the first two weekends before crashing back down to earth and finishing 6-12 in the Big Sky and being unceremoniously bounced from the conference tournament on the opening day.
Fish and Co. are hoping history does not repeat itself, and the next two weeks should help tell the story.
