No. 5 Montana State
at No 4. No. Arizona
Saturday, March 5, 6:35 p.m.
Flagstaff, Ariz.
Rolle Activity Center (800)
TV: Fox College Sports Pacific/NAU-TV (Dish Network 9411)
Internet: Big Sky TV
Coaches: Montana State’s Brad Huse is 68-82 overall in his fifth season with the Bobcats. He has taken the Bobcats to the Big Sky Championship all of his five seasons. Huse is 2-4 in tournament games, with both wins coming in 2009…Northern Arizona’s Mike Adras is 190-161 in his 12th season. He is 8-8 in Big Sky tourney games. He guided NAU to the 200 championship, and to second-place finishes in 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2008.
What’s next: The winner advances to the semifinal game on Tuesday at Butler-Hancock Sports Pavilion in Greeley, Colo., against either No. 1 seed Northern Colorado or No. 2 seed Montana.
Season Series: The teams split their regular-season meetings. Montana State beat Northern Arizona 86-78 in Bozeman on Dec. 31. MSU led 44-25 at the half and shot 52.8 percent from the floor in the game. Erik Rush scored 22 points and Bobby Howard had 21 points and eight rebounds. Shane Johnannsen led NAU with 15 points and seven rebounds. Northern Arizona beat Montana State 61-41 on Feb. 3 in Flagstaff. Johanssen scored 16 points and Cameron Jones added 11. Montana State shot just 35.3 percent from the floor, and made just 4-of-24 3-pointers.
Previous Championship Meetings: This will be the fifth meeting between the teams in the championship, and the first in 10 seasons. NAU has won three of the four meetings, including a 65-62 quarterfinal win in 2001. NAU beat MSU 77-50 in the 1998 championship game. MSU beat NAU 80-74 in a 1986 semifinal en route to the championship. In 1985, NAU beat MSU 69-62 in the quarterfinals.
Big Sky Championship History: Montana State is making its seventh straight and 26th overall tournament appearance. The Bobcats are 15-23 in the tournament with championships in 1986 and 1996. MSU last appeared in the championship game in 2009, losing to Portland State 56-54…Northern Arizona is making its 20th tournament appearance and 13th in the last 15 years. The Lumberjacks are 13-17 all-time with championships in 1998 and 2000.
Notes: NAU is hosting a Big Sky tournament game for the first time since 2006….Montana State has been knocked out in its first game of the tournament in seven of its last eight appearances…NAU senior Cameron Jones needs 26 points to reach 1,600 for his career. Jones scored just 19 points in the two regular-season meetings. Jones scored just eight points in the first meeting, the only time he was held under 10 this season.