MBB: HUGE Road games this weekend!

[Old Skool Cat]

The men have two very big games this weekend. The Cats will play a rare Wednesday game in Portland against the Vikings. PSU has teetered the past few weeks, suffering a few losses on the heels of Waters' guarantee that they wouldn't lose any more games after suffering a loss to Weber. However, they are coming off a big win over Boise State in their Bracketbuster game, and when they are playing their best ball, I still consider them the team to beat in the Sky. Dominquez didn't see much playing time when we beat them earlier in Bozeman; don't expect that to be the case this time around, as they are only a game behind the griz and are playing for the #2 seed and a bye in the BSC tourney. A very tough matchup, but a winnable game nonetheless. If the Cats can give the same kind of effort they gave last Saturday night, but just finish stronger, we've got a chance.

The Cats then travel to Greeley on Sunday and will play the Bears in the Altitude Game of the Week, 2:05pm tip-off. UNC is in sixth place right now, just a half game behind the Cats. They face the griz on Thursday night, which will also be the final regular season game for UM. Northern Colorado beat us by 10 in Bozeman earlier this season, and really have a good young team. Another tough matchup, but it may be our best chance for a win in our last three conference games.

The way I figure, one more conference win for the Cats secures a spot in the BSC tourney, whether it be a #5 or #6 seed. Sac State is out for sure. NAU could win their their last two and finish at 7-9, but their last games feature Weber & ISU, both very good teams. If EWU wins their last game, they too would finish at 7-9, but they too have a tough final game against PSU. If the Cats lose out and EWU & NAU both win out, we're done for sure. However, if we finish with the same conference record as either team or even both, we should get the nod for a tourney berth since we have split with both teams, and we're the only team to have a win over league winner Weber State. There's still alot to play for. It's even conceivable that the Cats could win the final three and have a shot at a #4 seed, or even a #3 seed and host a tourney game. There's only nine games total left in conference play, and it very well may come down to last game of the season -- MSU vs. WSU on March 3rd -- until we know the final standings. Don't any of you give up on these guys -- they need our support more than ever!
GO CATS!!!

[GrizinWashington]

Beat PSU.

[bozbobcat]

The men have two very big games this weekend. The Cats will play a rare Wednesday game in Portland against the Vikings. PSU has teetered the past few weeks, suffering a few losses on the heels of Waters' guarantee that they wouldn't lose any more games after suffering a loss to Weber. However, they are coming off a big win over Boise State in their Bracketbuster game, and when they are playing their best ball, I still consider them the team to beat in the Sky. Dominquez didn't see much playing time when we beat them earlier in Bozeman; don't expect that to be the case this time around, as they are only a game behind the griz and are playing for the #2 seed and a bye in the BSC tourney. A very tough matchup, but a winnable game nonetheless. If the Cats can give the same kind of effort they gave last Saturday night, but just finish stronger, we've got a chance.

The Cats then travel to Greeley on Sunday and will play the Bears in the Altitude Game of the Week, 2:05pm tip-off. UNC is in sixth place right now, just a half game behind the Cats. They face the griz on Thursday night, which will also be the final regular season game for UM. Northern Colorado beat us by 10 in Bozeman earlier this season, and really have a good young team. Another tough matchup, but it may be our best chance for a win in our last three conference games.

The way I figure, one more conference win for the Cats secures a spot in the BSC tourney, whether it be a #5 or #6 seed. Sac State is out for sure. NAU could win their their last two and finish at 7-9, but their last games feature Weber & ISU, both very good teams. If EWU wins their last game, they too would finish at 7-9, but they too have a tough final game against PSU. If the Cats lose out and EWU & NAU both win out, we're done for sure. However, if we finish with the same conference record as either team or even both, we should get the nod for a tourney berth since we have split with both teams, and we're the only team to have a win over league winner Weber State. There's still alot to play for. It's even conceivable that the Cats could win the final three and have a shot at a #4 seed, or even a #3 seed and host a tourney game. There's only nine games total left in conference play, and it very well may come down to last game of the season -- MSU vs. WSU on March 3rd -- until we know the final standings. Don't any of you give up on these guys -- they need our support more than ever!
GO CATS!!!

Very nice post.

The Cats play the last two conference games of the season, so they'll know exactly what they have to do. NAU goes on the Weber State-Idaho State trip. With ISU jockeying for position, I could see NAU losing both of those games. I could see ISU winning against NAU and Sac State. I wonder how Weber will play those last few games since they've already locked up the #1 seed. They could be coming into MSU as just a warmup game or as a rest game for their players. Portland State will be tough, especially at their place. They also play at Eastern, and it wouldn't hurt the Cats if Portland State won that game. The Northern Colorado one will be the most important, first off to get in the tournament, and what seed the Cats will get (5 or 6). All we know is that we can't give up yet, the team or the fans.

[DawsonPirate]

LOSE PSU
50/50 UNC
LOSE WEBER STATE

AS I PREDICT OVERALL MSU WILL FINISH 2 GAMES UNDER.500 AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SEASON.

[Helcat72]

LOSE PSU
50/50 UNC
LOSE WEBER STATE

AS I PREDICT OVERALL MSU WILL FINISH 2 GAMES UNDER.500 AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SEASON.

Don't we qualify for the tournament if PSU beats EWU?

[Old Skool Cat]

LOSE PSU
50/50 UNC
LOSE WEBER STATE

AS I PREDICT OVERALL MSU WILL FINISH 2 GAMES UNDER.500 AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SEASON.

Don't we qualify for the tournament if PSU beats EWU?

No, because we could still lose at and finish at 6-10, and NAU could win out and finish at 7-9. In that scenario (with PSU beating EWU), the three teams missing out on the tourney would be Sac. State, EWU and MSU. MSU needs to win at least one more game, or have a combination of PSU beating EWU and NAU losing at least one of their two remaining games.

[Old Skool Cat]

Games notes from MSU:

http://www.msubobcats.com/news.php?sid=mbb&nid=9590" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
MSU Game Notes at Portland State
MSU Bobcats Men's Basketball News : 2009-02-23 : Bozeman, MT
By MSU Sports Information

Montana State visits Portland State for a conference matchup on Wednesday...

With a pair of gut-wrenching losses still fresh, Montana State remains on the road with a crucial Wednesday night contest at Portland State. After the Bobcats dropped a 63-56 decision to Idaho State at home on Thursday, MSU was rewarded for a Bracketbuster trip to UC Santa Barbara with a 78-71 overtime loss in which MSU didn’t trail for the game’s first 36 minutes. Saturday wins by Eastern Washington and Northern Arizona put the pressure on MSU entering the season’s final week. Three Big Sky teams are bunched at six wins, with one more at seven wins and another at five.

NEXT UP...
Montana State vs. Portland State
DATE -- February 25, 2009
TIPOFF -- 7:05 pm PT/8:05 pm MT
SITE -- Portland, OR
ARENA -- Peter W. Stott Center
RADIO -- Bobcat Network (Jeff Lasky)
VIDEO -- Big Sky TV
LAST TIME -- @MSU 85-82, 2/1/09

MISCELLANY...
* Saturday’s loss drops MSU’s record to 3-1 in overtime games this season
* MSU’s leading scorer Bobby Howard (knee) and backup point guard James Hennessy (knee) are each expected to return to action Wednesday

SERIES NOTES...
* Portland State owns five straight wins over the Bobcats in Portland
* Northern Colorado owns a two-game winning streak against the Bobcats for the first time since 1952 and ‘53, when each team played in the RMAC

ON THE OFFENSE...
* MSU’s last two Big Sky foes have shot 19-for-54 (35.2%) in the first half, snapping a four-game streak in which opponents shot 54.9% in the first half
* The Big Sky’s worst free throw shooting team in conference games (63.2%), Montana State shot 72% from the line in the last four games
* MSU is 2-6 when turning the ball over 15 times or more
* MSU is 8th in the Big Sky in shooting percentage, 8th in three-point percentage and 9th in free throw percentage in conference games

ON THE DEFENSE...
* MSU has forced 14.4 turnovers in its 12 wins this season, 9.7 in its 11 losses
* The Bobcats have forced just 100 turnovers in the last 10 games (10.0)

[catatonic1]

didn't we go through one of these "who has to lose for us to get into the playoffs" threads a couple of months ago?

[WSUWILDCAT]

good luck in making the tourney, although nothing against MSU fans, but I do want Weber to win out.

[TIrwin24]

LOSE PSU
50/50 UNC
LOSE WEBER STATE

AS I PREDICT OVERALL MSU WILL FINISH 2 GAMES UNDER.500 AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SEASON.

How about adding something constructive to the conversation instead of your usual garbage?

[Helcat72]

LOSE PSU
50/50 UNC
LOSE WEBER STATE

AS I PREDICT OVERALL MSU WILL FINISH 2 GAMES UNDER.500 AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SEASON.

Don't we qualify for the tournament if PSU beats EWU?

No, because we could still lose at and finish at 6-10, and NAU could win out and finish at 7-9. In that scenario (with PSU beating EWU), the three teams missing out on the tourney would be Sac. State, EWU and MSU. MSU needs to win at least one more game, or have a combination of PSU beating EWU and NAU losing at least one of their two remaining games.

I forgot about NAU...but they do have to play at Weber and ISU!

[GrizinWashington]

Beat PSU.

[jagur1]

Beat PSU.

No luck in that. Now the Griz get to help the cats. Looks like the cats are stuck in the February fade, and we thought it was the old coach. Any chance for the Griz to play the cats a third time?

[GrizinWashington]

Beat PSU.

Sigh.

[DawsonPirate]

TIRWIN

add something constructive --- what do you want to say they will win out for a team that can bearly shoot 40% from the field?

Freedom of speech and if the true facts hurt so be it!

Adding to my comment TIRWIN --- The 5th spot is gone with UNC beating Montana and should EWU upset PSU in Cheney, the Cats probably will being playing Weber State back-to-back. What it really says is MSU for two years in a row has finished poorly in the final weeks. Next year is a statement year and "NO" excuses on youth or they have a bunch of JUCO's.

Huse is the right person --- question is the talent that is recruited?