The Montana Grizzlies will be at Max Worthington Arena to face the Montana State Bobcats in a Big Sky matchup. The game begins at 9:00 pm ET on Saturday, Jan. 30.
The Bobcats come into this game hoping to repeat their last performance, edging Idaho 70-68 in their last game. Marcus Colbert was the game’s high scorer with 23 points on 9-for-20 shooting. The Grizzlies, meanwhile, are coming off a 74-69 win over Eastern Washington in their last game. Martin Breunig led the game in scoring by posting 26 points on 9-for-12 shooting.
Breunig has upped his play for the Grizzlies, averaging 22.0 points, 10.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 0.6 steals, and 1.6 blocks over the past five games.
Montana State, a four-point underdog, will look to capitalize at home against Montana. The teams combine to set the Over/Under (O/U) at 140 points. The Bobcats are looking to improve on their records of 9-11 Straight Up (SU) and 11-7 Against The Spread (ATS).
Over on the other bench, the Grizzlies have records of 7-7-2 ATS and 12-7 SU.
This game marks the first time these teams will play this season. The last time these conference rivals played, Montana won, moving its SU record against Montana State to 10-0 in their most recent head-to-head meetings. The Grizzlies also hold the advantage ATS with a record of 7-3. Neither Montana State nor Montana has led in three key areas (field goals, rebounds, or three-pointers) over their most recent five games.
Predictions: SU Winner – MontSt, ATS Winner – MontSt, O/U – Over
Notes
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Montana State’s last 7 games.
Montana State is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games at home.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Montana State’s last 5 games at home.
Montana State is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Montana.
Montana State is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing Montana.
Montana State is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Montana.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Montana State’s last 6 games when playing at home against Montana.
The Montana Grizzlies have a defensive rating of 98.1 (ranked 87th), while the Montana State Bobcats have an offensive rating of 108.0 (ranked 119th).
The Montana Grizzlies average a field goal percentage of 44.7% this season. The Montana State Bobcats have an underachieving record of 4-10 when opponents have a FG% of 44.7% or greater.
The Montana State Bobcats and the Montana Grizzlies both rank higher in average effective field goal percentage when compared to their field goal percentages. Montana State is 219th and 139th in the nation for FG% and eFG% respectively, while Montana is 138th and 112th in these categories.
Montana State ranks 65th in offensive rebounding. Montana ranks 146th in defensive rebounding.
Montana has forced an average turnover percentage of 19.4% this season. Montana State is an even 3-3 when its TO% is 19.4% or higher.
