MBB @ SacSate

[MSU01]

Eddie only played 5 minutes against ISU on Monday before leaving due to illness, so I doubt he was at 100% today. He had been playing well before the illness so I won't read too much into one game.

[thefrank1]

Welcome to sole possession of 2nd place BOBCATS!!! Hard fought win in spite of not being at full strength. Great contributions from Sam and important minutes from Chika and Jaden. Logie is the best coach in the Big Sky.

[MSU01]

Anyone want to try and explain this sequence of scores?

Jan. 13: Griz 90, NAU 47
Jan. 18 - NAU 84, PSU 65
Jan. 25 - PSU 72, Griz 46

[BLACKnBLUEnGOLD]

Did the Griz lose a bunch of guys?

[MSU01]

Did the Griz lose a bunch of guys?

Nope, exact same starting lineup that beat MSU and Weber last week. Must have been the altitude.

[Joe Bobcat]

Anyone want to try and explain this sequence of scores?

Jan. 13: Griz 90, NAU 47
Jan. 18 - NAU 84, PSU 65
Jan. 25 - PSU 72, Griz 46

The only things I can think of is it's one of those on any given night kind of things or weird things happen on a full moon. I'd like to see the Cats add to the bizarre sequence by beating PSU on Saturday. I'm not betting on it but wouldn't put it past this Cat team to do just that.

[Cledus]

Heart attack cats are playing tonight, Ford misses 2 layups and now's it's a 6 , possibly 5,point game..

I was thinking Long Beach State all over again.

[Cats92]

High school talent wins again! Some interesting results tonight in the Big Sky, if PSU holds on against the Griz the Cats will be alone in 2nd place after tonight.

Ford/Walker/Goracke are plus players being put into positions to succeed by Logie. Guy can clearly coach and hopefully recruit.

I feel like the person who asks where the “Gris” thing came from with this question, but what’s the deal with people calling the Cats “High School players” where did that come from? I’ve seen it a few times and I feel out of the loop.

[DwaineF]

In an earlier post somebody disparagingly called the Cats' roster a bunch of high school players when talking about the talent level of this team. Now that is the new mantra for others when the Cats play well.

[Cledus]

High school talent wins again! Some interesting results tonight in the Big Sky, if PSU holds on against the Griz the Cats will be alone in 2nd place after tonight.

Ford/Walker/Goracke are plus players being put into positions to succeed by Logie. Guy can clearly coach and hopefully recruit.

I feel like the person who asks where the “Gris” thing came from with this question, but what’s the deal with people calling the Cats “High School players” where did that come from? I’ve seen it a few times and I feel out of the loop.

I think it’s complimenting the effort to build a foundation from the ground up with young players for long-term program success rather than patching together a bunch of mercenaries.

[MSU01]

In an earlier post somebody disparagingly called the Cats' roster a bunch of high school players when talking about the talent level of this team. Now that is the new mantra for others when the Cats play well.

This. One poster who only shows up when MSU is losing has referred multiple times to the team being "high school talent", which personally I feel is obviously not true and rather disrespectful to the hard work they've all put in to turn what most assumed would be a lost season into an unexpectedly successful one. That said it's probably time to let that go! Too many wins and too few losses to get too negative these days.

[tetoncat]

12-8 if we make a couple bunnies at the buzzer. Was going to say they have come a long way but Cats had a couple pretty good wins in preseason but mixed in a few bad losses. Defensive effort is much better now and our success seems to be tied to matchups

[kennethnoisewater]

Anyone want to try and explain this sequence of scores?

Jan. 13: Griz 90, NAU 47
Jan. 18 - NAU 84, PSU 65
Jan. 25 - PSU 72, Griz 46

The only things I can think of is it's one of those on any given night kind of things or weird things happen on a full moon. I'd like to see the Cats add to the bizarre sequence by beating PSU on Saturday. I'm not betting on it but wouldn't put it past this Cat team to do just that.

I think it's a winnable game. I didn't watch, but looking at stats, PSU made 12 3's on 24 attempts. The griz shot 31% from 2. PSU probably won't shoot 50% from 3 and only give up 31% from the field against the Cats. Sounds like PSU's press is pretty stifling...survive that and the Cats have a good shot. My guess is it was just an off night for the Missoula bears. ESPN analytics apparently thinks PSU is pretty good though, as that computer model gives the Viks an 81.8% chance to win. Woof.

[MSU01]

My favorite stat of the season so far is the Big Sky rebounding leaders:

1. Dillon Jones (Weber) - 9.8
2. Saint Thomas (UNC) - 9.8
3. Robert Ford (MSU) - 8.1
4. Duncan Powell (Sac) - 7.9
5. Laolu Oke (UM) - 7.3

Four of those guys are between 6'6" and 6'8". The other...is not.

[PapaG]

High school talent wins again! Some interesting results tonight in the Big Sky, if PSU holds on against the Griz the Cats will be alone in 2nd place after tonight.

Ford/Walker/Goracke are plus players being put into positions to succeed by Logie. Guy can clearly coach and hopefully recruit.

I feel like the person who asks where the “Gris” thing came from with this question, but what’s the deal with people calling the Cats “High School players” where did that come from? I’ve seen it a few times and I feel out of the loop.

It’s an insult on their abilities to play D1 basketball. I’d never call them that but it seems some think it’s funny. This isn’t the most talented roster, losing who they did would typically cripple a program the next season, but putting players in a position to succeed is mostly what college hoops at mid- and low-majors is about and that’s what Logie is doing this season. This team right now would not lose to Rocky IMO. It takes time for things to gel and good coaches see their teams improve over a season. Dana Altman at Oregon is a great example of this type of coach who doesn’t typically have an elite talent yet puts players in the correct spots and they tend to peak later in the season.

I don’t think this teams can win the Big Sky tournament title based on their lack of size, it has to catch up with them over time, but they can put up a good fight against anyone in the conference.

[Catprint]

Welcome to sole possession of 2nd place BOBCATS!!! Hard fought win in spite of not being at full strength. Great contributions from Sam and important minutes from Chika and Jaden. Logie is the best coach in the Big Sky.

The most optimistic of us would never had predicted CATS would 5-2 and be in sole possession of 2nd Place 7 games into the conference season! Still a long ways to go but I think 11-7 or 12-6 and first round bye (top 6 get the first round bye) very much a possibility! I think Logie is doing a great job with cards he was dealt. The CATS are fun to watch even if a 17 point lead evaporates to 4 points!!

[PapaG]

Welcome to sole possession of 2nd place BOBCATS!!! Hard fought win in spite of not being at full strength. Great contributions from Sam and important minutes from Chika and Jaden. Logie is the best coach in the Big Sky.

The most optimistic of us would never had predicted CATS would 5-2 and be in sole possession of 2nd Place 7 games into the conference season! Still a long ways to go but I think 11-7 or 12-6 and first round bye (top 6 get the first round bye) very much a possibility! I think Logie is doing a great job with cards he was dealt. The CATS are fun to watch even if a 17 point lead evaporates to 4 points!!

With Big Sky referees anything can happen. MSU was ahead most of the game yet the refs kept putting Sac on the FT line with dubious calls. It’s so frustrating watching our conference’s refs make themselves the story of many games. I’m surprised Logie didn’t get a technical witnessing some of those late-game calls whistled a few seconds after the play.

[kennethnoisewater]

My favorite stat of the season so far is the Big Sky rebounding leaders:

1. Dillon Jones (Weber) - 9.8
2. Saint Thomas (UNC) - 9.8
3. Robert Ford (MSU) - 8.1
4. Duncan Powell (Sac) - 7.9
5. Laolu Oke (UM) - 7.3

Four of those guys are between 6'6" and 6'8". The other...is not.

Especially impressive knowing the Cats are dead last in the conference in rebounding as a team, and 360 out of 362 D-I teams. I know the Cats don't have much size, but if they can improve there as a team, they should be able to hang in there in the top few teams in the conference.

[Joe Bobcat]

High school talent wins again! Some interesting results tonight in the Big Sky, if PSU holds on against the Griz the Cats will be alone in 2nd place after tonight.

Ford/Walker/Goracke are plus players being put into positions to succeed by Logie. Guy can clearly coach and hopefully recruit.

I feel like the person who asks where the “Gris” thing came from with this question, but what’s the deal with people calling the Cats “High School players” where did that come from? I’ve seen it a few times and I feel out of the loop.

It’s an insult on their abilities to play D1 basketball. I’d never call them that but it seems some think it’s funny. This isn’t the most talented roster, losing who they did would typically cripple a program the next season, but putting players in a position to succeed is mostly what college hoops at mid- and low-majors is about and that’s what Logie is doing this season. This team right now would not lose to Rocky IMO. It takes time for things to gel and good coaches see their teams improve over a season. Dana Altman at Oregon is a great example of this type of coach who doesn’t typically have an elite talent yet puts players in the correct spots and they tend to peak later in the season.

I don’t think this teams can win the Big Sky tournament title based on their lack of size, it has to catch up with them over time, but they can put up a good fight against anyone in the conference.

The idea that, "This is high school talent" originated from a post by WYCAT who at that time seemed to be in a dark place and was unable to see that in fact this team does have D1 talent. It was insulting and quite inaccurate but to be fair he wasn't the only one who basically thought that.

Each time it's brought up now is kind of a way of throwing it back in the face of posters that were hyper critical of the players and hyper critical of coach Logie as well. It may still come across as an insult but each time this team goes out and exceeds expectations it serves as a reminder that whatever their talent level is and no matter who their up against this Bobcat team will punch above their weight.

Credit to coach Logie and his staff for coaching them up, improving their skills, and bringing them together as a cohesive team. Credit also to the players for taking to the coaching and playing with so much heart.

Edit to add: good post PapaG

[PapaG]

High school talent wins again! Some interesting results tonight in the Big Sky, if PSU holds on against the Griz the Cats will be alone in 2nd place after tonight.

Ford/Walker/Goracke are plus players being put into positions to succeed by Logie. Guy can clearly coach and hopefully recruit.

I feel like the person who asks where the “Gris” thing came from with this question, but what’s the deal with people calling the Cats “High School players” where did that come from? I’ve seen it a few times and I feel out of the loop.

It’s an insult on their abilities to play D1 basketball. I’d never call them that but it seems some think it’s funny. This isn’t the most talented roster, losing who they did would typically cripple a program the next season, but putting players in a position to succeed is mostly what college hoops at mid- and low-majors is about and that’s what Logie is doing this season. This team right now would not lose to Rocky IMO. It takes time for things to gel and good coaches see their teams improve over a season. Dana Altman at Oregon is a great example of this type of coach who doesn’t typically have an elite talent yet puts players in the correct spots and they tend to peak later in the season.

I don’t think this teams can win the Big Sky tournament title based on their lack of size, it has to catch up with them over time, but they can put up a good fight against anyone in the conference.

The idea that, "This is high school talent" originated from a post by WYCAT who at that time seemed to be in a dark place and was unable to see that in fact this team does have D1 talent. It was insulting and quite inaccurate but to be fair he wasn't the only one who basically thought that.

Each time it's brought up now is kind of a way of throwing it back in the face of posters that were hyper critical of the players and hyper critical of coach Logie as well. It may still come across as an insult but each time this team goes out and exceeds expectations it serves as a reminder that whatever their talent level is and no matter who their up against this Bobcat team will punch above their weight.

Credit to coach Logie and his staff for coaching them up, improving their skills, and bringing them together as a cohesive team. Credit also to the players for taking to the coaching and playing with so much heart.

Edit to add: good post PapaG

I was hoping that was the case! Thanks for the clarification.