MSU NEWS SERVICE
BOZEMAN—The Montana State University men’s basketball team will travel to Greensboro, North Carolina, this week to play in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, which kicks off the March Madness competition.
The Bobcats learned their opponent Sunday during a national selection show that unveiled the full 68-team bracket. They enter the tournament as the No. 14 seed in the bracket’s East Region and will play No. 3 seed Kansas State on Friday, March 17, at 7:40 p.m. Mountain time. If the Bobcats win, they will move on to play the winner of No. 6 Kentucky and No. 11 Providence in the Round of 32 on Sunday, March 19.
MSU earned its second consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament after defeating Northern Arizona for the Big Sky Conference tournament title by a score of 85-78 in Boise, Idaho earlier this month. It is the first time in program history that the Bobcats have made it to back-to-back NCAA tournaments.
The Bobcats were also a No. 14 seed last year. They played in the bracket’s West Region, where they lost in the first round to No. 3 Texas Tech.
The NCAA tournament will begin March 14 with four play-in games, called the First Four, which will determine the final four teams playing in the first round. First-round games begin March 16, and the tournament will conclude with the NCAA championship game on April 4 in Houston, Texas.
The Bobcats’ first-round game will be nationally televised on CBS. More information on how to watch is below.
BACKGROUND
The Bobcat men’s team won three straight games at the conference tournament to secure their spot in the national event. They entered the conference tournament ranked No. 2 and defeated Northern Colorado and Weber State to advance to the title game against Northern Arizona.
The team was also the Big Sky Conference tournament champion last year. MSU’s women’s team, which was eliminated from this year’s conference tournament in the first round, was also the tournament champion in 2022.
PRIOR RESULTS
AWARDS AND HONORS
- Senior center Jubrile Belo was named to the All-Tournament team at the Big Sky Championships, while junior guard RaeQuan Battle was named the tournament’s MVP after averaging more than 21 points per game during the tournament.
- Four Bobcats earned regular-season honors: Battle was named First Team All-Big Sky and Belo was named Second Team all-conference, while Darius Brown II earned the Defensive Player of the Year honor and was named Third Team all-conference and Great Osobor was named the league’s Top Reserve.
HOW TO WATCH
First-round games will stream on CBS, truTV, TBS and TNT; the MSU vs. Kansas State game will air on CBS. The full list of games and where to stream them can be found at ncaa.com.
TICKET INFORMATION
NCAA tournament tickets will go on sale to the public on Tuesday, March 14, at 10 a.m. Student tickets went on sale Monday, March 13. Both can be purchased through the Bobcat Ticket Office at 406-994-CATS (2287). Student tickets must be purchased with a valid student ID.
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