Bears Welcome Montana State to Start New Year

Thursday, January 2

Greeley, Colo.

7 PM

University of Northern Colorado

Montana State

Tickets

Photo by: Dillion Rudd

12/31/2019 11:19:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Northern Colorado Notes Montana State Notes Big Sky Notes

UNC men's basketball hosts Montana State Thursday night

By: By Ryan Pfeifer, UNCBears.com

GAME INFO
Who: Northern Colorado (7-5, 0-1 Big Sky) vs Montana State (8-5, 2-0 Big Sky)
When: Jan. 2, 7 pm MST
Where: Greeley, Colo., Bank of Colorado Arena
How to Follow: Pluto TV Ch. 5 41 | 1310 KFKA | Live Stats | @UNC_BearsM BB | Tickets

Gameday Special
With the date being 1/2 for the game against Montana State, get half price GA tickets! Tickets for the game and all UNC men's basketball games can be purchased at UNCBears.com/Tickets, by calling 970-351-3645 or visiting the UNC Ticket Office located in the Campus Commons, (M-F, 10 am - 5 pm). All ticket purchases may include fees.

Opening Tip
• Northern Colorado battled back from a 22-point hole against Portland State, but could not complete the comeback falling 69-65.
• Bodie Hume led the Bears scoring 22 points including making four 3-pointers
• Four Bears in total scored in double-figures against PSU in Hume (22), Jonah Radebaugh (14), Sam Masten (11) and Kai Edwards (10).
• Montana State opened up Big Sky play at home defeating Sacramento State (66-51) and Northern Arizona (63-61).
• The Bobcats are one of three teams to open the conference season at 2-0.
• MSU has played in four one possession games this season with a record of 3-1.

Last Time Out
Despite going down by as much as 22 in the first half, Northern Colorado battled back against Portland State pulling within one multiple times in the second half.. The Bears used an 11-0 run at the end of the first to get back in the game and cut the deficit to one three times. Bodie Hume led the Bears with 22 points.

Scouting the Bobcats
Under first year head coach Danny Sprinkle Montana State has jumped out to a 2-0 record in the Big Sky and 8-5 overall. MSU hosted Sacramento State and Northern Arizona to open the conference season in Bozeman winning the games, 66-51 and 63-61, respectively.

Montana State is led by senior guard Harald Frey and his 17.5 points and 3.0 assists per game. He is second on the team with 5.2 rebounds as well. They have two other players averaging double-digits scoring in Jubrile Belo, 12.2 ppg and Amin Adamu, 10.0 ppg.

Coming into the 2019-20 season, the Bobcats were picked seventh by both the media and coaches.

History against Montana State
UNC and MSU have a long history against each other dating back to the 1923-24 season. The Bobcats hold a 35-18 advantage in the series, but since joining the Big Sky Northern Colorado leads it 13-12. Northern Colorado had a dominate in the series from 2007-13 winning nine of 12 games.

On This Date
The Bears have played on January 2nd 15 times before holding a 5-10 record. UNC is 2-8 when playing at home on the date.

Around the Big Sky
Four teams remain undefeated in the Big Sky after the first weekend in Idaho State, Montana and Montana State at 2-0 and Southern Utah at 1-0. Home teams won eight of the 10 games played during the opening weekend.

What's Ahead?
The Bears close out the week by hosting Montana on Saturday. UNC and UM are set for a 7 pm tip. The game is the Big Sky Game of the Week televised on Eleven Sports.

Tickets for the game and all UNC men's basketball games can be purchased at UNCBears.com/Tickets, by calling 970-351-3645 or visiting the UNC Ticket Office located in the Campus Commons, (M-F, 10 am - 5 pm). All ticket purchases may include fees.

To stay up to date on all things UNC men's basketball, visit UNCBears.com and follow the team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.