Montana State forward Jubrile Belo (13) puts up a shot over Northern Arizona forward Nik Mains (20) in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game for the championship of the Big Sky men’s tournament in Boise, Idaho on March 8.
Montana State head coach Danny Sprinkle holds up the Big Sky Championship trophy after defeating Northern Arizona in an NCAA college basketball game March 8 in Boise, Idaho.
Montana State forward Jubrile Belo (13) puts up a shot over Northern Arizona forward Nik Mains (20) in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game for the championship of the Big Sky men’s tournament in Boise, Idaho on March 8.
Associated Press
Montana State head coach Danny Sprinkle holds up the Big Sky Championship trophy after defeating Northern Arizona in an NCAA college basketball game March 8 in Boise, Idaho.
GREENSBORO, N.C. — The third-seeded Kansas State Wildcats find themselves in a position of power heading into the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday.
Montana State (25-9, 15-3), under the direction of four-year head coach and former Bobcat star Danny Sprinkle, comes into Friday’s game with the hopes of becoming just the 23rd 14 seed in tournament history to come out with a win, the first since Abilene Christian beat Texas 53-52 in 2021.
“They’re used to winning,” Jerome Tang said. “It’s hard to win 25 games, and they’ve won 25 games.”
This is the second-straight year that Montana State has been a 14 seed. Last year, Texas Tech demolished the Bobcats 97-62 in San Diego.
“We’re excited that we play another Big 12 team this year,” Sprinkle said in a written statement. “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.”
Montana State is led by first team All-Big Sky selection RaeQuan Battle, who averages 17.4 points per game. He scored 25 in the Big Sky title game, earning him Tournament MVP honors.
The Bobcats also have the Big Sky’s Defensive Player of the Year in Darius Brown II. The 6-foot-2 transfer guard from Cal State-Northridge averages 8.9 points and 1.8 steals per game.
Last but certainly not least is the Bobcats’ pair of big men, Jubrile Belo and Great Osobor.
Belo, standing 6-foot-9 and 240 pounds, averages 13 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game. He became the first Big Sky player in history to record 1,500 points, 700 rebounds and 150 blocks. He is one of five active Division I players to amass 1,500 points, 700 rebounds and 150 blocks in his career.
Osobor, 6-foot-8 and 245 pounds, averages 10 points, 4.5 rebounds and .8 blocks in 19.1 minutes per game.
In many ways, the matchup leans in the Wildcats favor. In the majority of K-State’s losses this season, turnovers and extended possessions due to poor rebounding have been the main culprits that have held them back.
The Bobcats are just okay at forcing turnovers, only averaging 13.6 per game, and they struggle on the offensive boards, only grabbing 8.3 offensive rebounds per game which ranks 296th out of 352 teams.
Add in the fact that the Bobcats are mediocre at best behind the 3-point line, averaging just 33.8%, and the ingredients that have powered many double-digit Cinderellas in the past just aren’t in Montana State’s arsenal. This season, they’ve only played two Quad 1 opponents (Oregon and Arizona), according to the NCAA, and they lost both by a combined 51 points.
For reference, K-State has played 17 Quad 1 games this season and has won nine of them.
However, you can’t completely count the Bobcats out. They have experienced size and crafty guard play. If they can drag K-State down into the mud and keep it close in the second half, they are one of the best free throw shooting teams in the country.
Montana State averaged 23.4 free throws attempted per game this season, the ninth-most in country. When they do go to the line, they hit 75.9% of their free ones, which has worked out to 17.8 made free throws per game, which ranks as second-best mark in the country.
“You’ve got to go be the aggressor,” Sprinkle told 406 MT Sports. “You can’t be on your heels in games like this. Yeah, you need some bounces to go your way, but there’s going to be some upsets. Why not us?”
As of Wednesday afternoon, Vegas has the Wildcats favored by 8.5 points.
If K-State were to win, they would be pitted against either sixth-seeded Kentucky (21-11, 12-6) or No. 11 seed Providence (21-11, 13-7) on Sunday. Kentucky finished third in the SEC and is led by goliath Oscar Tshiebwe (16.5 points per game, 13.1 rebounds per game), while Providence finished fifth in the Big East and has five players averaging double-figures, led by Bryce Hopkins (16.1 points and 8.1 rebounds).
Tip-off between the two is scheduled for 8:40 p.m. CT. The game, which will be held at Greensboro Coliseum, will be broadcast on CBS.
