It will be a battle between two of the nation’s top scoring defenses when the Montana State Bobcats (10-13) take on the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (4-18). The game starts at 9:05 pm ET on Thursday, Feb. 11.
The Bobcats edged Sacramento State 79-76 in their last game. Tyler Hall led all scorers on the team with 25 points on 8-for-18 shooting. The Lumberjacks, meanwhile, are coming off a 72-70 win over Idaho in their last outing. Torry Johnson stood out for Northern Arizona, posting 11 points, five assists, and three steals.
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Bobcats won the first game 74-72. Marcus Colbert was a standout player in the game, producing 23 points, five rebounds, eight assists, and two steals.
The Bobcats enter the game with records of 10-13 Straight Up (SU) and 12-9 Against The Spread (ATS). Montana State is excellent from the perimeter with 209 three-pointers made (9.0 per game), the 49th-most in the country. Teams have a tough time keeping Montana State off of the offensive glass. They rank 38th in Division I in offensive rebounds.
Across the court, the Lumberjacks head into the game with records of 5-12 ATS and 4-18 SU. The Northern Arizona defense has allowed an average of 75.4 points per game during the last 10 games, lower than their season average of 82.3.
Montana State beat Northern Arizona in their most recent meeting this season, taking the head-to-head record to an even 5-5 SU over their most recent meetings. However, Northern Arizona leads the matchup ATS with a record of 6-4. When it comes to field goals, rebounds, or three-pointers, neither team was able to hold the advantage in all three of these categories over their past five meetings against one another.
Predictions: SU Winner – MontSt, ATS Winner – MontSt
Notes
“Montana State is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games “.
“The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Montana State’s last 14 games “.
“Montana State is 6-3 SU in its last 9 games at home”.
“The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Montana State’s last 5 games at home”.
“Montana State is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Northern Arizona”.
“Montana State is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games when playing at home against Northern Arizona”.
“The total has gone OVER in 4 of Montana State’s last 5 games when playing at home against Northern Arizona”.
Montana State scores 79.9 points per home game (ranked 84th). Northern Arizona ranks a poor 245th in points allowed on the road, allowing 84.8 points.
The Northern Arizona Lumberjacks average 72.6 possessions per game and .958 points per possession. The Montana State Bobcats earn fewer possessions with 70.1, but they score more points with 1.077.
The Montana State Bobcats average an effective field goal percentage of 50.1% this season. The Northern Arizona Lumberjacks are a winless 0-15 when opponents have an eFG% of 50.1% or greater.
On average, Montana State attempts 24.0 three pointers and Northern Arizona attempts 22.0. In games where they have 20 or more three point attempts, the Montana State Bobcats have an 8-12 record while the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks have an underachieving 2-10 record.
The Montana State Bobcats average 4.6 steals per game. When giving up 4 or more steals, the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks have an abysmal record (3-17) this season.
