Hoops IQ

06 March 2010

Big Sky Conference Tournament - Portland State @ Montana State

First Meeting
January 8th
Portland State 34 37 71
Montana State 43 34 77

Second Meeting
February 13th
Montana State 40 39 79
Portland State 27 44 71

Key Players
Montana State
Bobby Howard 6/12 4/6 18 4 0
Bobby Howard 9/14 4/4 22 8 1
Erik Rush 4/8 6/8 15 5 5
Erik Rush 5/14 4/5 17 9 1 2
Marquis Navarre 5/9 0/0 12 3 1
Marquis Navarre 4/6 4/4 12 2 4
Will Bynum 3/7 6/8 12 3 4 6
Will Bynum 3/9 4/6 10 4 4
Branden Johnson 2/4 6/6 12 1 1 2
Branden Johnson 4/7 0/0 10 2 1

Portland State
Dominic Waters 7/12 6/6 24 2 4 8
Dominic Waters 6/12 6/6 21 1 4
Melvin Jones 5/8 1/4 14 1 1
Melvin Jones 2/12 0/0 4 1 3
Jamie Jones 4/12 2/3 10 10 0
Jamie Jones 4/5 1/3 9 11 1
*Phil Nelson 5/9 0/0 13 4 0
**Julius Thomas 7/8 0/0 14 5 2 2

Key Stats
Montana State shot 53.3 percent in the first half against Portland State in the first meeting and 70.0 percent in the first half of the second contest.
Montana State was a plus-8 in the points off turnovers category in the first meeting including a 14 to 2 margin in the second half.
Montana State was plus-11 in turnover margin in the first meeting with Portland State.
Portland State had 20 turnovers in the game at Montana State, including eight by Dominic Waters.
Montana State held a 40-27 lead over Portland State at halftime of the second meeting by efficient shooting from the floor, three point and foul lines.
Montana State was a plus-7 in points off turnovers in the second meeting between these two teams.
Portland State's Phil Nelson did not play in the second meeting and will be unavailable for tonight's game.
Portland State's Julius Thomas played only one minute in the first meeting between these teams because of a hip pointer.

HoopsIQ Prediction

Portland State 76 Montana State 75

Big Sky Conference Tournament - Northern Arizona @ Montana

First Meeting
December 4th
Northern Arizona 31 23 54
Montana 34 37 71

Second Meeting
January 30th
Montana 29 55 84
Northern Arizona 30 34 64

Key Players
Montana
Anthony Johnson 8/11 6/6 22 2 2 3
Anthony Johnson 9/14 9/9 28 4 2 5
Will Cherry 5/10 0/1 10 2 5 2
Will Cherry 7/10 5/6 19 7 1
Brian Qvale 2/3 0/1 4 6 1
Brian Qvale 3/4 1/2 7 3 3

Northern Arizona
Cameron Jones 6/14 0/2 12 4 4 6
Cameron Jones 9/18 2/2 22 3 4
Shane Johannsen 6/9 4/8 16 4 1
DeAngelo Jones 6/10 1/1 14 1 2
Josh Lepley 4/9 5/7 13 2 1

Key Stats
Montana outscored Northern Arizona by 35 points in their two meetings this season.
Northern Arizona shot 37.5 percent from the free throw line at Montana in early December.
Montana scored 19 points off Northern Arizona turnovers in the second half of their game at Northern Arizona and were a plus-10 in their meeting at Montana.
Montana's Anthony Johnson and Will Cherry combined to score 40 points on 13 of 15 shooting from the floor in the second half at Northern Arizona.
During the meeting at Montana, Montana finished plus-12 points in the paint and a plus-20 bench points.

HoopsIQ Prediction

Montana won both regular season meetings against Northern Arizona and did so in different manners. Brian Qvale was in foul trouble throughout the first meeting, but Montana received scoring help from their bench to take control in the second half in route to a 17 point victory. Northern Arizona shot poorly from the foul line and Northern Arizona finished with 18 turnovers in the game.

Montana won the second meeting with an extremely efficient second half from their starting backcourt. Anthony Johnson and Will Cherry combined to shoot 86.7 percent from the floor and as a team the Grizzlies shot 76 percent.

Both of the regular season meetings between these two teams were close at half time. Montana held a three point advantage at home and trailed by one at Northern Arizona. For Northern Arizona to pull the upset Cameron Jones will need another big game. Also, the Lumberjacks will need to take better control of the ball and have a good shooting night from the foul line. If the game is close again at the half, the first five minutes of the second half will be important for Northern Arizona.

Montana knocked off Northern Arizona by an average of 18.5 points per game and received limited offensive production from their primary interior option, Brian Qvale. Expect Qvale to end up with 8 to 10 shot attempts in an attempt to take some of the scoring load off the shoulders of Johnson and Cherry. If Montana comes out and plays to their averages Northern Arizona will need a big performance to advance. Montana ended the regular season on a sour note losing at home to instate rival Montana State, expect the Grizzlies to come out with better energy and focus tonight.

Montana 74 Northern Arizona 62

05 March 2010

Big Sky Conference Rankings - Week 16

Conference Record: 13-3, Overall Record: 19-9

1. Weber State

College Hoops IQ says:

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Recent Results:
02/28 @ Portland State* (Loss 79-84)

Upcoming Schedule:
No Games Scheduled

Conference Record: 12-4, Overall Record: 24-6

2. Northern Colorado

College Hoops IQ says:

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Recent Results:
02/27 @ Sacramento State* (Win 78-66)

Upcoming Schedule:
No Games Scheduled

Conference Record: 10-6, Overall Record: 19-9

3. Montana

College Hoops IQ says:

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Recent Results:
02/27 Montana State* (Loss 67-73)

Upcoming Schedule:
No Games Scheduled

Conference Record: 10-6, Overall Record: 15-13

4. Montana State

College Hoops IQ says:

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Recent Results:
02/27 @ Montana* (Win 73-67)

Upcoming Schedule:
No Games Scheduled

Conference Record: 8-8, Overall Record: 14-13

5. Northern Arizona

College Hoops IQ says:

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Recent Results:
No Games Scheduled
Upcoming Schedule:
No Games Scheduled

Conference Record: 7-9, Overall Record: 12-18

6. Portland State

College Hoops IQ says:

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Recent Results:
02/28 Weber State* (Win 84-79)
03/02 @ Seattle (Loss 80-93)

Upcoming Schedule:
No Games Scheduled

Conference Record: 5-11, Overall Record: 9-21

7. Eastern Washington

College Hoops IQ says:

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Recent Results:
02/27 Idaho State* (Win 79-71)

Upcoming Schedule:
No Games Scheduled

Conference Record: 3-13, Overall Record: 9-21

8. Sacramento State

College Hoops IQ says:

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Recent Results:
02/27 Northern Colorado* (Loss 66-78)

Upcoming Schedule:
No Games Scheduled

Conference Record: 4-12, Overall Record: 7-22

9. Idaho State

College Hoops IQ says:

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Recent Results:
02/27 @ Eastern Washington* (Loss 71-79)

Upcoming Schedule:
No Games Scheduled