Montana State University (MSU) founded in 1893 as Agricultural College of the State of Montana, 1913 Montana College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, 1920s called Montana St College (MSC), 1965 state legislature approved change from MSC to Montana State University. Montana became a state in 1889 and Helena won competition for the state capital. As consolation, the legislature agreed to put the state’s land grant college in Bozeman. Gallatin County donated half of its 160-acre poor farm for the campus, local community raised funds for an additional 40 acres
MSU now has 1170 small city acres in Bozeman, enrolls 17,144 (15,03 undergrad), $264 M endowment, USN&WR No. 296, WSJ No. >600
Famous alumni include MT Sen. Steve Daines - chair of National Republican Senatorial Committee, John Bonner 13th Governor of MT, Brian Schweitzer 23rd Governor, Member of NFLs 100th Anniversary All-Time Team HOF kicker Jan Stenrud, Football coach Dennis Erickson, former SportsCenter/The Daily Show/The Late Show host Craig Kilborn, father of mining geology Reno Sales (namesake of Reno H. Sales stadium), TX Tech President, former University of ID president Duane Nellis, Purdue’s most successful football coach and early pioneer of the spread formation Joe Tiller
MSU Athletics: NCAA Div I FCS Big Sky Conference (BSC) – 1984 NCAA FCS, 1976 NCAA D-II, 1956 NAIA national titles, Big Sky Women’s All-Sports trophy (2023-24), 13 Skiing national titles, 8 team and 32 individual Rodeo championships
Colors – Blue & Gold, Nickname – Bobcats (was Aggies), fight song Stand Up and Cheer, Mascot – Champ the Bobcat since 1916
Basketball started 1902, DI since 1984 (531-825, .392), 6 NCAA appearances (last 2024, lost to Grambling), 11 conf titles (6 DI), 1951 Sweet Sixteen, 10 NBA draft picks (last 1986). Retroactively recognized as pre-NCAA national champion for 1928–29 season by the Premo-Porretta Power Poll & Helms Athletic Foundation. 4-time AA Cat Thompson was Helms POY in 1929 and inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1962
Winningest coaches: 23 head coaches in 121 yrs: Brick Breeden 283-198, .588, Mick Durham 231-213, .520, Stu Starner 110-95, .537
Current – Matt Logie (2nd yr); MSU record 18-22 (.450), Career 194-35, .847; 2023-24 Big Sky tourney title, NCAA First Four
Currently: 5-5 (W: NW Indian College, So Miss, Abilene Christian, Omaha, Kansas City; L: Wisconsin, Wichita St, Denver, Northwestern, CSUN). MSU picked 1st in Big Sky by media and 2nd by coaches in preseason polling. Brandon Walker, Brian Goracke – preseason All-Conference
All-time: SC leads 1-0, 74-68 win in 1968-69 at the Sports Arena. SC was coached by Bob Boyd and players included Ernie Powell, Ron Taylor, Mack Calvin, Steve Jennings, Don Crenshaw
MSU NET 102, KenPom 128, SC NET 142, KenPom 93
MSU Scores: 75.9 ppg (+8.8), 46.5% FG, 37.2% 3FG, 10.2 3’s/g, 74.4% FT. Rebounds 34.2 pg +0.0), Assists 15.2 pg, TOs 10.7 pg (+1.9), 15.6 ppg/TO, Steals 7.4 pg, Blks 2.9 pg
MSU Leaders:
Scoring: Brandon Walker 14.3 ppg (52.5% FG, 33.3% 3FG, 59.3% FT), Max Agbonkpolo! 12.2 (47.1% FG, 37% 3FG, 63.6% FT), Jabe Mullins 9.1 (40.3% FG, 32.5% 3FG, 90.3% FT), Brian Goracke 9.0 (44.1% FG, 44.9% 3FG, 100% FT), Patrick McMahon 7.8 (46.7% FG, 28.6% 3FG, 72.7% FT), Tyler Patterson 6.9 (47.2% FG, 43.2% 3FG, 0 FTA)
Rebounding: Max 5.9, Walker 4.8; Assists Mullens 3.7, Jed Miller 2.4; Steals Mullens 1.5, Max 1.2; Blks Max 0.6
SC scores: 73.2 ppg (+2.6), 47.5% FG, 31.4% 3FG, 5.8 3’s/g, 74.1% FT, Rebs 30.1 rpg (-3.0), Assists 15.3 apg, TOs 11.2 pg (+2.3), 14.9 ppg/TO, Steals 6.4, Blks 3.0
SC Leaders
Scoring: Claude 13.6 (50.5% FG, 33.3% 3FG, 69.6% FT), Agbo 11.7 (37.1% FG, 34.4% 3FG, 90.9% FT), Cohen 10.0 (66.7% FG, 20% 3FG, 75% FT), Terrance Williams 10.6 ppg (51.1% FG, 36% 3FG, 81% FT), Thomas 8.5 (39.6% FG, 25% 3FG, 50% FT, Yates 8.3 (45.7% FG, 32.1% 3FG, 83.3% FT)
Rebounds: Saint 5.5, T-Will 4.6; Assists Saint 4.5, Claude 3.4; Steals Saint 1.6, Yates 1.1; Blks Knowling 0.8, Agee 0.6
Pregame
Todd Lee’s 3rd time at Founder’s (Conroy 2, Mike Muss 2, Quincy P 1). He jumped right into the scout on MSU. He says they’ve been to 3 straight NCAAs and this season have played B1G teams Wisconsin and Northwestern close. He said they are very skilled and run their offense thru Walker, their point-center. He acts as a facilitator to initiate a Princeton-style offense but also drives to the hoop, exhibiting great footwork. The perimeter guys are all 3-pt shooters and MSU is Top 30 with 10.2 made 3s/g. They also defend 3s well, limiting opponents to 26.9% 3FG. SC will try to deny Walker the ball at the top of the key and pressure him like a QB in football. Stop the cutters to the rim and limit their 3-pt shooting. Although MSU is a tall lineup (no fast little guys to guard!) they have no shot blockers so SC will try to attack the rim and finish or get to the FT line.
Interestingly, Max Agbonkpolo is 2nd in ppg & steals and leads in rebs & blks. How will he play in his return against an SC team he hardly recognizes?
At the HOF lobby, Santa Claus sits for photos and has gifts for kids to hand out after the game, his Trojan helpers from MBB assisted. Older ‘kids’ could get a pic with Santa and purchase a Muss Bus Christmas Sweater for $20. My wife and I got ours before entering the arena - haha
No DJ Malski tonight, but there is a stand in. Jen Cohen is here and moves Mrs. Muss & daughter to courtside. Apparently, SC’s need for a PG has been broadcast to all corners as former PGs Jacque Hill, Ethan Anderson and Isaiah Collier are in the house. EA is likely here to support 2x teammate Max, who beats EA 4 schools (SC, WY, UT St, MSU) to 3 (SC, WY, Pepperdine) in the transfer wars. Collier (one of 11 Trojans currently playing in the NBA) the UT Jazz’s 1st rd pick was sent down to the SLC Stars after averaging 3.4 ppg, 1.7 reb, 3.2 assists, 31.9% FG in 17 min. His stay in the G-League lasted just 1 game as he dominated in his SLC debut, scoring 36 pts on 83% FG and dishing out 5 assists.
The Game
SC starts Claude, Thomas, Cohen, Agbo, Yates. Des scores first on a layup at 19:43. Walker scores MSUs first pts on a layup at 17:59 to make it 5-2. SC would proceed to roll to an 18-2 lead at 13:11, before Max hit a 3 to make it 18-5. SC would double that margin to lead by 26 at the half 47-21. They looked like the team that steamrolled UW.
For the half
MSU shot 7-26 FG (26.9%), 2-11 3FG (18.2%), 5-7 FT (71.4%)
SC shot 17-32 FG (53.3%), 4-9 3FG (44.4%), 9-12 FT (75%)
SC led MSU in Pts off TOs 11-4, 2nd chance pts 12-3, bench pts 11-7 and pts in the paint 18-6. SC’s defense was dominant, and their offense looked very efficient and in-sync. They shared the ball freely and rarely settled for the first open shot. The ball needed to touch another player’s hands before a shot was taken, unless there was a free path to the hoop. To reinforce this strategy, the coaching staff keeps track of how many passes they make each half – the goal being 100 touches and makes examples of players that exhibit a quick trigger which they deem as poor shot selection. Kevin Patton came down the court and fired a 3 ptr and was immediately pulled from the game. Muss wants the ball to move first, that look will always be there, no need to settle for the quick shot.
After halftime, MSU played the Trojans evenly, and there was extensive ‘garbage’ time where the SC bench was emptied. All scholarship players played in this one, except for T-Will whose surgically repaired wrist may not be ready to go for the rest of this season. It is a wait and see situation. Bryce Pope made the most of his 7 minutes, hitting both of his shots including a 3-ptr. Hornery returned from Australia for his grandfather’s funeral, and played 5 mins and grabbed 3 boards.
Playing SC even still meant the Bobcats losing the game by 26 pts. MSU got no closer than 21 pts to SC at 53-32 after a Walker layup at 17:08. SC would push the margin to a game-high 31 pt lead on 3 occasions in the second half, the last one with 56 secs remaining to play after a Bryce Pope layup made it 87-56. SC had an 18-pt edge in pts in the paint (44-26), had 10 more 2nd chance pts (16-6) the result of SC’s best rebounding performance of the season (49 rebs) limiting MSU to only 7 offensive rebounds. The final score was 89-63.
This team is really starting to come together and believe in themselves. The real proof will be with conference games but their play of late has to be encouraging for the team and the fans. I know that it is for me.
For the game:
MSU shot 32.8% FG (20-61), 22.7% 3FG (5-22), 72% FT (18-25)
SC shot 50.8% FG (32-63), 33.3% 3FG (6-18), 79.2% FT (19-24)
MSU
Scoring: Walker 14 pts, 5-11 FG, 4-7 FT, Jeremiah Davis 11, 1-4 FG, 1-2 3FG, 8-8 FT, Jed Miller 7, McMahon 6, Goracke 6. New Max was the same as old Max 5 pts, 2-9 FG, 1-6 3FG, 3 PF, 1 reb, 1 stl, 1 TO in 22 min.
Rebounds: McMahon 5, Walker 4; Assts Bryce Zephir 4; Stls 6 players with 1; Blks 2 players with 1
SC
Scoring: Claude 19 pts, 6-8 FG, 0-1 3FG, 7-8 FT, Saint 17, 7-11 FG, 1-1 3FG, 2-2 FT, Agbo 12, 3-8 FG, 2-5 3FG, 4-4 FT, Agee 10, 3-8 FG, 0-2 3FG, 4-4 FT, Yates 9
Rebounds: Saint 7, Claude 6, Agbo 5; Assts Slajchert 5 (in 10 min!), Saint 4; Stls Saint, Yates, Knowling 2; Blks Saint 3, Agbo 2
With this victory, SC improves to 7-4, (1-1), Montana St falls to 5-6, (0-0)
Next up: CSUN (7-3) Wed Dec 18, 7 pm at Galen Center (Big Ten Network)
Fight On! Beat the Matadors!
MSU now has 1170 small city acres in Bozeman, enrolls 17,144 (15,03 undergrad), $264 M endowment, USN&WR No. 296, WSJ No. >600
Famous alumni include MT Sen. Steve Daines - chair of National Republican Senatorial Committee, John Bonner 13th Governor of MT, Brian Schweitzer 23rd Governor, Member of NFLs 100th Anniversary All-Time Team HOF kicker Jan Stenrud, Football coach Dennis Erickson, former SportsCenter/The Daily Show/The Late Show host Craig Kilborn, father of mining geology Reno Sales (namesake of Reno H. Sales stadium), TX Tech President, former University of ID president Duane Nellis, Purdue’s most successful football coach and early pioneer of the spread formation Joe Tiller
MSU Athletics: NCAA Div I FCS Big Sky Conference (BSC) – 1984 NCAA FCS, 1976 NCAA D-II, 1956 NAIA national titles, Big Sky Women’s All-Sports trophy (2023-24), 13 Skiing national titles, 8 team and 32 individual Rodeo championships
Colors – Blue & Gold, Nickname – Bobcats (was Aggies), fight song Stand Up and Cheer, Mascot – Champ the Bobcat since 1916
Basketball started 1902, DI since 1984 (531-825, .392), 6 NCAA appearances (last 2024, lost to Grambling), 11 conf titles (6 DI), 1951 Sweet Sixteen, 10 NBA draft picks (last 1986). Retroactively recognized as pre-NCAA national champion for 1928–29 season by the Premo-Porretta Power Poll & Helms Athletic Foundation. 4-time AA Cat Thompson was Helms POY in 1929 and inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1962
Winningest coaches: 23 head coaches in 121 yrs: Brick Breeden 283-198, .588, Mick Durham 231-213, .520, Stu Starner 110-95, .537
Current – Matt Logie (2nd yr); MSU record 18-22 (.450), Career 194-35, .847; 2023-24 Big Sky tourney title, NCAA First Four
Currently: 5-5 (W: NW Indian College, So Miss, Abilene Christian, Omaha, Kansas City; L: Wisconsin, Wichita St, Denver, Northwestern, CSUN). MSU picked 1st in Big Sky by media and 2nd by coaches in preseason polling. Brandon Walker, Brian Goracke – preseason All-Conference
All-time: SC leads 1-0, 74-68 win in 1968-69 at the Sports Arena. SC was coached by Bob Boyd and players included Ernie Powell, Ron Taylor, Mack Calvin, Steve Jennings, Don Crenshaw
MSU NET 102, KenPom 128, SC NET 142, KenPom 93
MSU Scores: 75.9 ppg (+8.8), 46.5% FG, 37.2% 3FG, 10.2 3’s/g, 74.4% FT. Rebounds 34.2 pg +0.0), Assists 15.2 pg, TOs 10.7 pg (+1.9), 15.6 ppg/TO, Steals 7.4 pg, Blks 2.9 pg
MSU Leaders:
Scoring: Brandon Walker 14.3 ppg (52.5% FG, 33.3% 3FG, 59.3% FT), Max Agbonkpolo! 12.2 (47.1% FG, 37% 3FG, 63.6% FT), Jabe Mullins 9.1 (40.3% FG, 32.5% 3FG, 90.3% FT), Brian Goracke 9.0 (44.1% FG, 44.9% 3FG, 100% FT), Patrick McMahon 7.8 (46.7% FG, 28.6% 3FG, 72.7% FT), Tyler Patterson 6.9 (47.2% FG, 43.2% 3FG, 0 FTA)
Rebounding: Max 5.9, Walker 4.8; Assists Mullens 3.7, Jed Miller 2.4; Steals Mullens 1.5, Max 1.2; Blks Max 0.6
SC scores: 73.2 ppg (+2.6), 47.5% FG, 31.4% 3FG, 5.8 3’s/g, 74.1% FT, Rebs 30.1 rpg (-3.0), Assists 15.3 apg, TOs 11.2 pg (+2.3), 14.9 ppg/TO, Steals 6.4, Blks 3.0
SC Leaders
Scoring: Claude 13.6 (50.5% FG, 33.3% 3FG, 69.6% FT), Agbo 11.7 (37.1% FG, 34.4% 3FG, 90.9% FT), Cohen 10.0 (66.7% FG, 20% 3FG, 75% FT), Terrance Williams 10.6 ppg (51.1% FG, 36% 3FG, 81% FT), Thomas 8.5 (39.6% FG, 25% 3FG, 50% FT, Yates 8.3 (45.7% FG, 32.1% 3FG, 83.3% FT)
Rebounds: Saint 5.5, T-Will 4.6; Assists Saint 4.5, Claude 3.4; Steals Saint 1.6, Yates 1.1; Blks Knowling 0.8, Agee 0.6
Pregame
Todd Lee’s 3rd time at Founder’s (Conroy 2, Mike Muss 2, Quincy P 1). He jumped right into the scout on MSU. He says they’ve been to 3 straight NCAAs and this season have played B1G teams Wisconsin and Northwestern close. He said they are very skilled and run their offense thru Walker, their point-center. He acts as a facilitator to initiate a Princeton-style offense but also drives to the hoop, exhibiting great footwork. The perimeter guys are all 3-pt shooters and MSU is Top 30 with 10.2 made 3s/g. They also defend 3s well, limiting opponents to 26.9% 3FG. SC will try to deny Walker the ball at the top of the key and pressure him like a QB in football. Stop the cutters to the rim and limit their 3-pt shooting. Although MSU is a tall lineup (no fast little guys to guard!) they have no shot blockers so SC will try to attack the rim and finish or get to the FT line.
Interestingly, Max Agbonkpolo is 2nd in ppg & steals and leads in rebs & blks. How will he play in his return against an SC team he hardly recognizes?
At the HOF lobby, Santa Claus sits for photos and has gifts for kids to hand out after the game, his Trojan helpers from MBB assisted. Older ‘kids’ could get a pic with Santa and purchase a Muss Bus Christmas Sweater for $20. My wife and I got ours before entering the arena - haha
No DJ Malski tonight, but there is a stand in. Jen Cohen is here and moves Mrs. Muss & daughter to courtside. Apparently, SC’s need for a PG has been broadcast to all corners as former PGs Jacque Hill, Ethan Anderson and Isaiah Collier are in the house. EA is likely here to support 2x teammate Max, who beats EA 4 schools (SC, WY, UT St, MSU) to 3 (SC, WY, Pepperdine) in the transfer wars. Collier (one of 11 Trojans currently playing in the NBA) the UT Jazz’s 1st rd pick was sent down to the SLC Stars after averaging 3.4 ppg, 1.7 reb, 3.2 assists, 31.9% FG in 17 min. His stay in the G-League lasted just 1 game as he dominated in his SLC debut, scoring 36 pts on 83% FG and dishing out 5 assists.
The Game
SC starts Claude, Thomas, Cohen, Agbo, Yates. Des scores first on a layup at 19:43. Walker scores MSUs first pts on a layup at 17:59 to make it 5-2. SC would proceed to roll to an 18-2 lead at 13:11, before Max hit a 3 to make it 18-5. SC would double that margin to lead by 26 at the half 47-21. They looked like the team that steamrolled UW.
For the half
MSU shot 7-26 FG (26.9%), 2-11 3FG (18.2%), 5-7 FT (71.4%)
SC shot 17-32 FG (53.3%), 4-9 3FG (44.4%), 9-12 FT (75%)
SC led MSU in Pts off TOs 11-4, 2nd chance pts 12-3, bench pts 11-7 and pts in the paint 18-6. SC’s defense was dominant, and their offense looked very efficient and in-sync. They shared the ball freely and rarely settled for the first open shot. The ball needed to touch another player’s hands before a shot was taken, unless there was a free path to the hoop. To reinforce this strategy, the coaching staff keeps track of how many passes they make each half – the goal being 100 touches and makes examples of players that exhibit a quick trigger which they deem as poor shot selection. Kevin Patton came down the court and fired a 3 ptr and was immediately pulled from the game. Muss wants the ball to move first, that look will always be there, no need to settle for the quick shot.
After halftime, MSU played the Trojans evenly, and there was extensive ‘garbage’ time where the SC bench was emptied. All scholarship players played in this one, except for T-Will whose surgically repaired wrist may not be ready to go for the rest of this season. It is a wait and see situation. Bryce Pope made the most of his 7 minutes, hitting both of his shots including a 3-ptr. Hornery returned from Australia for his grandfather’s funeral, and played 5 mins and grabbed 3 boards.
Playing SC even still meant the Bobcats losing the game by 26 pts. MSU got no closer than 21 pts to SC at 53-32 after a Walker layup at 17:08. SC would push the margin to a game-high 31 pt lead on 3 occasions in the second half, the last one with 56 secs remaining to play after a Bryce Pope layup made it 87-56. SC had an 18-pt edge in pts in the paint (44-26), had 10 more 2nd chance pts (16-6) the result of SC’s best rebounding performance of the season (49 rebs) limiting MSU to only 7 offensive rebounds. The final score was 89-63.
This team is really starting to come together and believe in themselves. The real proof will be with conference games but their play of late has to be encouraging for the team and the fans. I know that it is for me.
For the game:
MSU shot 32.8% FG (20-61), 22.7% 3FG (5-22), 72% FT (18-25)
SC shot 50.8% FG (32-63), 33.3% 3FG (6-18), 79.2% FT (19-24)
MSU
Scoring: Walker 14 pts, 5-11 FG, 4-7 FT, Jeremiah Davis 11, 1-4 FG, 1-2 3FG, 8-8 FT, Jed Miller 7, McMahon 6, Goracke 6. New Max was the same as old Max 5 pts, 2-9 FG, 1-6 3FG, 3 PF, 1 reb, 1 stl, 1 TO in 22 min.
Rebounds: McMahon 5, Walker 4; Assts Bryce Zephir 4; Stls 6 players with 1; Blks 2 players with 1
SC
Scoring: Claude 19 pts, 6-8 FG, 0-1 3FG, 7-8 FT, Saint 17, 7-11 FG, 1-1 3FG, 2-2 FT, Agbo 12, 3-8 FG, 2-5 3FG, 4-4 FT, Agee 10, 3-8 FG, 0-2 3FG, 4-4 FT, Yates 9
Rebounds: Saint 7, Claude 6, Agbo 5; Assts Slajchert 5 (in 10 min!), Saint 4; Stls Saint, Yates, Knowling 2; Blks Saint 3, Agbo 2
With this victory, SC improves to 7-4, (1-1), Montana St falls to 5-6, (0-0)
Next up: CSUN (7-3) Wed Dec 18, 7 pm at Galen Center (Big Ten Network)
Fight On! Beat the Matadors!
