(Editor's note: Montana State University news release)
BOZEMAN — The three-time defending Big Sky Conference tournament champion Montana State men's basketball team will open the 2024-2025 season on the road at Wisconsin, kickstarting a challenging non-conference slate heavy on NCAA Tournament experience.
The full non-conference schedule released by head coach Matt Logie on Thursday also features road contests at Wichita State, Northwestern, USC and TCU, among others.
Tip times and TV network assignments will be announced at a later date.
The Bobcats will face three teams who were single-digit seeds in last season's NCAA Tournament, including No. 5 Wisconsin, No. 9 Northwestern and No. 9 TCU.
Eight of the 12 teams the Cats face in the non-conference finished with records of at least .500 or played in the postseason.
"As a program that has been to three straight NCAA Tournaments, we know the standard this basketball family has and it's imperative that we have multiple opportunities to test ourselves against that level of competition," Logie said. "We have a veteran group and a bunch of newcomers that have all signed up for an opportunity to make history: which is to be the first Big Sky program to ever go to four straight NCAA Tournaments.
"And ultimately, the next dream of our basketball family is to win in the NCAA Tournament and make a run. All of these types of experiences stacked on top of the NCAA Tournament experience our current players and staff already have will help us in these historic pursuits and prepare us for those opportunities in addition to the challenging Big Sky Conference slate that lies ahead."
The Big Sky Conference's first three-peat champion in nearly 50 years on the men's side opens up the season on Nov. 7 at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis., facing Greg Gard and the Badgers. As a No. 5 seed, Wisconsin fell to No. 12-seed James Madison in the NCAA Tournament first round last season.
Two days later, the Bobcats head to Wichita, Kan., for a date with Wichita State on Nov. 9.
Montana State's home opener is set for Nov. 11, as the Cats host Northwest Indian College in Worthington Arena. MSU has gone 35-9 at home over the last three seasons.
On Nov. 17, the Cats head to the Mile High City for a clash with the University of Denver, which made a run to the Summit League championship game last year before falling to South Dakota State.
From there, the Cats will complete their opening stretch of four road games in the first 12 days of the season with a visit to play perennial Big Ten contender Northwestern at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Ill. Last season, the Wildcats tied a single-season school-record by winning 12 games in conference play and reached the NCAA Tournament's second round for the second straight season.
Montana State wraps up the month of November with three straight home games, hosting Southern Miss (Nov. 24) and Abilene Christian (Nov. 26) in Bozeman as part of the Bobcats' multi-team event (MTE) The Basketball Travelers Invitational.
The Cats then look for revenge in a return game against Cal State Northridge on Nov. 30 at Worthington Arena after falling 82-70 last year on the road at the Matadors.
The second edition of the Big Sky-Summit Challenge will send Montana State to face the University of Nebraska-Omaha on Dec. 4 in Omaha, and matches the Cats with the University of Missouri-Kansas City in Bozeman on Dec. 7. Newly minted Bobcat assistant coach Xavier Bishop spent three seasons at UMKC as a player from 2016-2019 before transferring to Montana State and completing his career as one of the most prolific point guards in program history from 2019-2022.
Montana State's gauntlet of power conference opponents continues on Dec. 15 with a date in Los Angeles against the Trojans of USC at the Galen Center. USC is entering its first season in the Big Ten and will be led by former Nevada and Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman. Sixth-year Bobcat forward Max Agbonkpolo played three seasons for USC (2019-2022), appearing in 100 games and making 21 starts for the Trojans, helping them reach the Elite Eight in 2021.
Montana State heads back to California on Dec. 18 to face UC Riverside in a rematch of one of the most exciting games of the 2023-24 season, which saw Tyler Patterson drop 18 second-half points to lead the Cats to a 69-68 win in Bozeman on Nov. 22 last year.
The Bobcats close out the non-conference slate with a road contest at NCAA Tournament regular TCU on Dec. 22 in Fort Worth, Texas. The Horned Frogs of the Big 12 entered last year's Big Dance as a No. 9 seed, falling to Danny Sprinkle's Utah State squad in the first round.
"We are very excited about this year's schedule as it will provide a number of great opportunities to test ourselves and prepare for both Big Sky Conference and postseason play," Logie said. "In addition to the competitiveness, one of our scheduling goals is to bring our out-of-region players home when possible, and this schedule provides a number of opportunities for our families to drive to games which is very exciting."
Montana State opens up Big Sky play on Jan. 2 at Idaho. The Cats' first home conference game is slated for Jan. 9 against Northern Colorado at Worthington Arena.
The first edition of Cat-Griz will take place Jan. 25 in Missoula, with the second rivalry clash on Feb. 22 in Bozeman.
The Cats close the regular season on March 3 at home against Idaho, with the Big Sky Championships in Boise, Idaho, from March 8-12.
Montana State brings back three starters (Tyler Patterson, Brandon Walker, Brian Goracke) and three important role players (Sam Lecholat, Chika Nduka, Jed Miller) from a team that stormed through the Big Sky Tournament last year, defeating Montana 85-70 in the championship game to claim its third straight Big Sky title and book its third straight trip to the NCAA Tournament.
The Cats also return Patrick McMahon from injury and welcome eight impact newcomers as the Logie era enters its second year. Logie's teams have reached the NCAA Tournament in 12 of his 13 years as a head coach, and his career win percentage of .794 ranks eighth among all active men's college basketball coaches.
2024-2025 Montana State Men’s Basketball Schedule
Thur., Nov. 7 at Wisconsin, Madison, Wis.
Sat., Nov. 9 at Wichita State, Wichita, Kan.
Mon., Nov. 11 NORTHWEST INDIAN COLLEGE, Worthington Arena
Sun., Nov. 17 at Denver, Denver, Colo.
Tues., Nov. 19 at Northwestern, Evanston, Ill.
Sun., Nov. 24 SOUTHERN MISS+, Worthington Arena
Tues., Nov. 26 ABILENE CHRISTIAN+, Worthington Arena
Sat., Nov. 30 CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE, Worthington Arena
Wed., Dec. 4 at Omaha, Omaha, Neb.
Sat., Dec. 7 KANSAS CITY, Worthington Arena
Sun., Dec. 15 at USC, Los Angeles
Wed., Dec. 18 at UC Riverside, Riverside, Calif.
Sun., Dec. 22 at TCU, Fort Worth, Texas
Thur., Jan. 2 at Idaho*, Moscow, Idaho
Sat, Jan. 4 at Eastern Washington*, Cheney, Wash.
Thur., Jan. 9 NORTHERN COLORADO*, Worthington Arena
Sat., Jan. 11 NORTHERN ARIZONA*, Worthington Arena
Thur, Jan. 11 NORTHERN COLORADO*, Worthington Arena
Thur., Jan. 16 at Idaho State*, Pocatello, Idaho
Sat, Jan. 18 at Weber State*, Ogden, Utah
Mon, Jan 20 IDAHO STATE*, Worthington Arena
Sat., Jan. 25 at Montana*, Missoula
Thurs., Jan. 30 SACRAMENTO STATE*, Worthington Arena
Sat., Feb. 1 PORTLAND STATE*, Worthington Arena
Thurs., Feb. 6 at Northern Arizona*, Flagstaff, Ariz.
Sat., Feb. 8 at Northern Colorado*, Greeley, Colo.
Thurs., Feb. 13 WEBER STATE*, Worthington Arena
Sat., Feb. 15 IDAHO STATE*, Worthington Arena
Sat., Feb. 22 MONTANA*, Worthington Arena
Thurs., Feb. 27 at Portland State*, Portland, Ore.
Sat., March 1 at Sacramento State*, Sacramento, Calif.
Mon., March 3 IDAHO*, Worthington Arena
March 8-12 Big Sky Conference Tournament^, Boise, Idaho
+Montana State MTE
*Big Sky Conference game
^Idaho Central Arena, Boise, Idaho
