GREENSBORO, N.C. – A year ago, the Montana State Bobcats limped – literally – into the NCAA Tournament.
Unbeknownst to the public, starting center and Big Sky MVP Jubrile Belo entered the Bobcats’ first-round game last season against Texas Tech with a knee injury. Unbeknownst even to the coaches, point guard and Big Sky tournament MVP Xavier Bishop entered with a foot injury.
Both needed surgery after that first-round game, a 97-62 runaway by Texas Tech in which the Red Raiders went up 20 points not even 10 minutes in and led 52-25 at halftime.
“It was a little shock-and-awe last year,” Montana State head coach Danny Sprinkle said. “It happened so fast from Sunday, to I think we played on Friday morning.”
This year, the Bobcats drew another 14 seed, and their opponent is just as difficult – Kansas State, which finished 23-9 and fourth in the most difficult Big 12 in recent memory.
Montana State will be at a similar talent disadvantage against the Wildcats, who boast two third-team All-Americans in point guard Markquis Nowell and wing Keyontae Johnson.
But aside from their health, last year’s loss gave Montana State two important x-factors going into Friday night’s game: experience, and motivation.
“Last year I kind of feel like I had a different mindset towards this game because I was really hurt,” Belo said. “(This year), rather than soaking it in, I’m trying to focus on the game. I’m excited to compete against these guys.”
It’s hard to overstate just how disorienting the rigidly-scheduled pageantry of the NCAA Tournament can be – the travel, the tightly-scheduled press obligations, the huge arenas – not to mention the pressure of playing in the tournament itself.
Montana State had plenty of basketball experience last year, including Bishop, a fifth-year transfer point guard. But with Sprinkle and the beat-up roster making their first March Madness appearance, that experience didn’t travel to San Diego.
Against one of the best defensive teams in recent college basketball history, Belo shot just 2 of 8 and didn’t grab a single defensive rebound. Bishop was 3 of 8 with more turnovers than assists. RaeQuan Battle, still coming off the bench at that point, made just 1 of 5 3-pointers.
“I know we competed,” Sprinkle said. “We competed against a great team, but I think our guys have a little bit of a chip on their shoulder and want to play better than we did last year.”
Even Kansas State head coach Jerome Tang acknowledged Montana State’s motivation in Thursday’s press conference.
“Obviously, that wasn’t the result they wanted to show, so I know all summer long those dudes have been preparing for this, right? This is not a one-week or three-day preparation for them for this game,” Tang said. “This is a whole year they’ve been preparing for this game.”
Sprinkle agreed. The difference is, this year Montana State has a baseline for that preparation, an idea of what to expect and what will be needed.
Last year, nothing – not a healthy Belo, not the most motivation in the world – would have made things any easier for Montana State. This year, with those two things coupled with the knowledge they grabbed, even in defeat, has them feeling confident.
“Last year it went by like that,” Battle said, “especially with how the first five minutes of that game went. … Just being able to take that experience and know that this is a win-or-lose tournament…we have a lot to prove when we got here, and we’re not going to be one of those teams that’s going to lay down. We’re going to punch back.”
