Montana State Evens Record With Win Over Southern Utah

In a battle between 3-4 Big Sky teams, it was Montana State beating Southern Utah on Monday night to even their Big Sky record at 4-4 and move into a third place tie in the Big Sky.

It was a bit of a grinding game (as Southern Utah games often are), and remained tight for most of the night. The reffing was uneven at times, and the game got physical. But it seemed like whenever Montana State needed a big shot, Christian Moon was there to provide. The senior guard scored a career high 24 points, shooting 9/13 from the field. He also added five rebounds.

One interesting story was the return of Antonio Biglow, who had been suspended. He didn't put up big numbers (5 points, 1 assist) in his playing time, but I thought he had a positive impact. He showed good quickness and didn't seem to force a lot of shots. His season has not gone very smoothly so far, but the ceiling of MSU is higher when he is in there.

Damon Heuir led the Thunderbirds with 20 points, though it took him 20 shots to get there. Jackson Stevenett was his usual solid self, with 19 points on 8/14 shooting. Jayson Cheesman had 13 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 blocks, but missed a key layup late in the game that got close to sealing it for the Bobcats.

Montana State is now tied with North Dakota for third at 4-4. Southern Utah is tied for fifth place in the Big Sky with five other teams. So it goes early in the Big Sky season.

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Northern Arizona Starts 1-0 in Big Sky Play

Last season, Northern Arizona won just a single Big Sky game, finishing with a 1-15 mark in the conference. This year, they have matched that mark after just one game.

Northern Arizona started fast and held on for an 87-80 victory over Montana State in head coach Jack Murphy's first career Big Sky game. Surprisingly, it wasn't the guard play that was the difference, but the play of big man Max Jacobsen. He came into the game averaging 5.9 points and 4.1 rebounds per game on the year.

Against the Bobcats, he was good for 22 and 9, icnluding 9/12 shooting from the court. He also had a couple blocks for good measure. He was the difference with key post points when MSU was making their second half surge (it was an 18 point game at half, but the Bobcats cut it to as low as five in the second frame). Jacobsen was a star, and if he continues that, NAU is a legit threat in the Big Sky.

DeWayne Russell was solid but not spectacular. He had 12 points at the break before finishing wiht 16 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists. All five NAU starters finished in double figures. Senior PG Stallon Saldivar picked up his 400th career assist in the game as well.

For Montana State, they drop to 2-6 on the year, and they didn't look great in this game. They struggled in a major way defensively, and only looked good offensively in spurts. Antonio Biglow had 15 points, but they need him to be a guy that gets easy baskets for others as well. He had three assists compared to two turnovers. Xavier Blunt and Jamie Stewart are other guys with the talent to take over stretches and get others good looks, but they didn't do that in this game.

It's a big year for Brad Huse, but I have a feeling he still doesn't know what he has in his team. On the other side, we know what Jack Murphy has - a program on the rise.

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Montana State Gets Their First Win

It was a rough opening game for Montana State, but they made up for it with an excellent showing in their home opener against Portland, winning 83-64.

Guard Antonio Biglow hit a three to open the game, and MSU never trailed. Biglow led the team with 23 points, and he was joined in double figures by Flavien Davis (13), Calen Coleman (12), and Jamie Stewart (11). The Bobcats shot 51% from the field and got to the line 39 times, making 27 of them (69%).

“I feel really good about this win,” Huse said. “A week ago we didn't feel like we played very good basketball (in a loss at Seattle), and today we feel good. We just have to keep working and keep practicing hard.”

MSU forced 19 Pilot turnovers, which is huge. They are going to be a team that will look to get out on the break a bit, so forcing turnovers will be critical to their success. They also had the rebounding edge, 32-23. Five guys had four or more rebounds.

The Bobcats now stand at 1-1, and will travel to take on Air Force on Wednesday.

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Montana State Will Be Off to Canada

From Gidal Kaiser at the Bozeman Daily Chronicle:

Antonio Biglow’s Bobcat debut will happen on foreign soil.

The soon-to-be-junior, as well as the entire recruiting class of 2012, will head to Calgary, Alberta, Canada from August 7-12 to participate in the “Battle of the Border,” an international tournament.

The tournament is acceptable under NCAA rules, which allows a member institution to participate in a foreign tournament once every four years. Montana State and the University of Wyoming are the two NCAA schools in the five-team tournament; each will play three games. The University of Alberta, University of Mount Royal and host University of Calgary will also participate.

Gidal hit on it right away... but it is huge that Antonio Biglow will be with the team. He was supposed to be the best newcomer in the conference last season, but did not make it because of some academic hiccups at his junior college. Now, he is with the team, and will be a junior this year. If he is as good as advertised, this season could end more pleasantly for the Bobcats than the past few seasons, and it could save Brad Huse's job.

Also key is that Jamie Stewart and Xavier Blount are on the team roster, according to Gidal. If those three can all make it to start of the season on the team, MSU could be a major darkhorse in the Big Sky.

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Antonio Biglow Is At Montana State

Finally, this week came the news that Montana State fans have been wanting to hear - Antonio Biglow is at MSU, and is a part of the basketball. According to Gidal Kaiser, he was on the bench last night in street clothes - not able to play, but he can practice.

There was some question all along about if he was able to become eligible, whether he would play in the second semester or just redshirt this year. According to a tweet last night, he will not play this year, and will start out fresh next season.

Frankly, this is great news for the Bobcats and for Coach Brad Huse. The longer this went on, the more doubt there had to be that Biglow would ever play for MSU. Plus, there was some question as to whether he would play this year or get the full two years for the Bobcats. That he would start off next year, basically as a redshirt junior will be a huge addition.

Coming into this year, many people thought he had the potential to be the most talented newcomer in the Big Sky. Next year, with another year of practice and maturity, he should be even better. Assuming this plays out with him practicing with the team the rest of the year and starting next year on the team, this is a big development for the MSU program.

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Montana State Roster Updates

Over at the Montana State message board, Gidal Kaiser gave a couple of updates on Montana State guys, including Jamie Stewart:

According to Brad Huse, Jamie Stewart "is not currently a part of the team." He would not elaborate. I asked if Antonio Biglow was going to be here at the start of the semester (Wednesday) and I was told "I can't tell you yes or no." ... Since this morning's presser, I saw Stewart walk into the weight room in street clothes to say hi to a couple people, then leave with a pile of books. He obviously did not practice. I have been told that Biglow will be here on the 10th & he and Huse will sit down and discuss future plans.
UPDATE: Stewart is off the official roster as of today. If it matters, Jeremiah Tardy (a walk-on) is off the official roster as well.

Hopefully Biglow will be open to a redshirt... certainly he could help the Montana State program right now, but he would be a real force for the Bobcats if he played the full two years. We will see what happens.

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Antonio Biglow Will Miss The Start Of The Season

Have heard these rumors but it was finally confirmed recently by Gidal over at Blue & Gold:

It’s been rumored (or known) for a while, but Brad Huse officially told me Monday that Antonio Biglow won’t be here first semester. Biglow and I have communicated through Twitter, and it’s due to some sort of error on either his junior college (Mt. San Antonio College) or him in regards to getting his associate’s degree on time.

His loss will definitely be felt, as he was one of the top (if not the top) incoming prospects in The Big Sky this season. It will be interesting to see if Biglow gets redshirted for this year, even though he will be eligible to play sometime in December or January. As some Bobcat fans are speculating, it could depend on how confident Huse and the staff are in their jobs and how the season is going.

It is a story worth following, because Biglow could be one of the most talented guards in the Conference this season if he becomes eligible and is put on the active roster.

Article on Future Montana State Bobcat Antonio Biglow

Nice article to be found here on Antonio Biglow, who will be joining Montana State next season.

According to what some people have told mslacat, Biglow could be the best recruit coming to MSU next year, and figures to factor big into the success of the team.

Tip of the cap to Gidal Kaiser for the link.

Montana State Adds A Walk-On

The Bobcats have added 6'4'' guard Mitchell Schwab will be joining the team this season, as I first saw over at Blue & Gold.

Also Gidal added a pretty interesting blurb that I hadn't seen before:

He’ll help more with depth and experience and has four years to play (as noted), which is all fantastic for obvious reason. It also helps MSU for another reason. I’m still trying to confirm this, but Antonio Biglow might have run into some issues coming to Bozeman to start the season. He’s tweeted to that effect, saying he might have to sit out this year. Once more becomes available, I’ll pass it along.

Safe to say, I'll be watching to see if I can find out anymore.

Excellent stuff as always from Gidal.