The last time Montana State played in Greensboro, North Carolina, the Bobcats won in walk-off fashion.
In November of 2019, Harald Frey hit a half-court buzzer-beater to help lad MSU on SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays that evening. That victory served over UNC-Greensboro served as the first quality win of the Danny Sprinkle era.
Now the Bobcats return to Greensboro to take on another mighty opponent from the Big XII.
On Sunday, four days after winning a second consecutive Big Sky Conference tournament title, the Montana State men’s basketball team earned a No. 14 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Bobcats will take on third-seeded Kansas State on Friday night in North Carolina.
Montana State has played Kansas State four times in basketball, but not since 1974. MSU beat Kansas State in 1941 and lost in 1946 and 1974.
Friday night’s game will tip at 9:40 p.m. EST and 7:40 p.m. MST in Montana.
“It’s exciting to hear our name get called — it never gets old,” Sprinkle, Montana State’s fourth-year head coach said in an MSU press release. “It’s also exciting to see the guys who have never been through it before experience this moment.”
The Bobcats have won 52 games over the last two seasons, including 25 this year. Montana State won 15 Big Sky games this winter, the second-most by a Bobcat basketball team, surpassed only by last season’s 16 league wins.
The consecutive NCAA Tournament trips mark the first time that’s happened for a basketball program that will make its fourth ever trip to the Big Dance.
Last season, MSU’s 27-win team ran into a brick wall, losing 97-62 to Texas Tech. MSU was a 14-seed and Tech, like Kansas State a member of the Big XII, was a No. 3 seed.
“We will prepare like we do for any other game,” Sprinkle said after his team’s 85-78 win over Northern Arizona in the Big Sky Tournament title game. “We aren’t going to change things up. We will do them like we do them.
“Last year, we ran into a buzz saw. Texas Tech was one of the best defensive teams in the last 10 years in all of Division I. And they shot the ball extremely well that day, which they hadn’t done up to that point.
“Our two best players, X (Xavier Bishop) and Jubrile (Belo), it’s not an excuse, but they both had surgery the day after the tournament. Xavier played on a broken foot and Jubrile was half speed. I’m not saying it would’ve changed anything in the game but it would’ve helped us a little bit.”
Kansas State will be making its first tournament appearance under head coach Jerome Tang and its 32nd appearance overall. The Wildcats went 23-9 overall and 11-7 in Big 12 play to place third in the conference. They fell 80-67 to TCU in the Big 12 Tournament Quarterfinals.
“We’re excited that we play another Big 12 team this year,” Sprinkle said. “While it would have been nice to stay out West, we went to Greensboro during my first year for a tournament. But we’ll play anywhere.”
First-team All-Big Sky Conference selection RaeQuan Battle leads the Bobcats with 17.4 points per game and is coming off a 25-point outburst in the Big Sky title game to earn Tournament MVP honors. Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year and third-team All-Big Sky selection Darius Brown II joins Battle in the backcourt and will be playing in his first-ever NCAA Tournament game next week.
Second-team All-Big Sky selection Jubrile Belo became the first player in Big Sky history to earn four all-conference awards. Belo is also one of five active Division I players to amass 1,500 points, 700 rebounds and 150 blocks in his career. Big Sky Top Reserve Great Osobor rounds out MSU’s front-court. The sophomore from Bradford, England averages 10.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 0.8 blocks in just 18.7 minutes per game.
NCAA Tournament tickets will go on sale to priority point members on Monday, March 13 at 10 a.m. MT at the following link, then the remaining seats will be available for the general public on Tuesday, March 14 at 10 a.m. Student tickets will be available for purchase on Monday, March 13 at 10 a.m. MT by calling the Montana State ticket office and providing a valid student ID. Tickets cost $115 per person for each session pass.
“These guys will tell you, I have ways to humble them,” Sprinkle said with a laugh after the championship game. “I know how to humble these guys and keep them on track and I think the experience last year will help us. We were disappointed with how we played last year. Whoever we draw is going to be an unbelievable team but we have to go fight and do what we do.”
| Year | Big Sky champion results since last Big Sky win in NCAA Tournament in 2006 |
| 2007 | No. 2 UCLA 70, No. 15 Weber State 42 |
| 2008 | No. 1 Kansas 85, No. 16 Portland State 61 |
| 2009 | No. 4 Xavier 77, No. 13 Portland State 59 |
| 2010 | No. 3 New Mexico 62, No. 14 |
| 2011 | No. 2 San Diego State 68, No. 15 Northern Colorado 50 |
| 2012 | No. 4 Wisconsin 73, No. 13 Montana 49 |
| 2013 | No. 4 Syracuse 81, No. 13 Montana 34 |
| 2014 | No. 1 Arizona 68, No. 16 Weber State 59 |
| 2015 | No. 4 Georgetown 84, No. 13 Eastern Washington 74 |
| 2016 | No. 2 Xavier 71, No. 15 Weber State 53 |
| 2017 | No. 2 Arizona 100, No. 15 North Dakota 82 |
| 2018 | No. 3 Michigan 61, No. 14 Montana 47 |
| 2019 | No. 2 Michigan 74, No. 15 Montana 55 |
| 2020 | No Tournament |
| 2021 | No. 3 Kansas 93, No. 14 Eastern Washington 84 |
| 2022 | No. 3 Texas Tech 97, No. 14 Montana State 62 |
| 2023 | No. 14 Montana State vs No. 3 Kansas State, March 17 9:40 EST from Greensboro, NC |
