BOZEMAN, Mont. -- Montana State men's basketball is Dayton-bound.
Making their third straight NCAA Tournament appearance and sixth overall appearance in program history, the Montana State men's basketball team will face off against Grambling State in the First Four in Dayton, Ohio, on Wednesday, March 20, at 4:40 p.m. MT.
The game will be nationally televised on truTV with Spero Dedes, Jim Spanarkel, and Jon Rothstein on the call. Westwood One will air the national radio call, featuring Nate Gatter and Jim Boeheim, and live radio play-by-play will also air on the Bobcat Sports Network from Voice of the Bobcats Keaton Gillogly.
The winner of Wednesday's clash between 16-seed Montana State and 16-seed Grambling State advances to play the top seed in the Midwest Region, the Purdue Boilermakers (29-4, 17-3 Big Ten). That game will be held at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, on Friday, March 22, at 5:25 p.m. MT on TBS.
Grambling State (20-14, 14-4 SWAC) is making their first NCAA Tournament appearance in school history after earning the SWAC automatic bid. The Tigers did not share a common opponent with the Bobcats this year, and the two teams will meet for the first time ever on Wednesday.
Montana State (17-17, 9-9 Big Sky) punched their ticket to the Big Dance in spectacular fashion, making a run through the Big Sky Tournament in Boise this past week as the No. 5 seed, the lowest seed to win the Big Sky Tournament since 1994.
The Cats defeated No. 4-seed Weber State in the quarterfinals and No. 10-seed Sacramento State in the semifinals before taking down archrival and No. 3-seed Montana in the championship game, 85-70, in one of the most memorable Brawl of the Wild games in the series' history.
Robert Ford III was named Big Sky Tournament MVP after averaging 22.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 3.3 steals during the tournament, shooting 59.0% from the field and 47.1% from beyond the arc. Ford also became the third straight Bobcat to earn Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year honors, and was selected First Team All-Big Sky as well as to the All-Defensive Team. Ford is currently second in the country in steals (100) and owns the Montana State single-season record for steals. Among players listed at 6-foot-3 or shorter, Ford is second in NCAA Division I in rebounding (7.6).
Brian Goracke was named to the Big Sky All-Tournament Team., averaging 12.3 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks during the tournament while shooting 50% from the floor and 46.7% from deep.
Brandon Walker was named Honorable Mention All-Big Sky by the conference. The sophomore big man ranks tenth in the Big Sky in scoring (13.7 ppg) and third in field goal percentage (55.6%). Walker scored a career-high 26 points in a Power Five win over California in Berkeley on November 16, 2023, and has had 22 games in double-figure scoring this season.
In his first year at the helm of the Bobcats, Matt Logie is leading a Montana State that was picked seventh in the preseason Big Sky Coaches' Poll to their third straight NCAA Tournament. In 13 years as a head coach, Logie has advanced to the NCAA Tournament 12 times, and is believed to be just the second-ever coach to lead a team to the NCAA Tournament at the Division III, Division II, and Division I levels.
The other coach to do so was Tobin Anderson, who led Fairleigh Dickinson to a win at the First Four last year in Dayton before becoming the second-ever No. 16 seed to knock off a No. 1 seed, defeating Purdue, 63-58.
Montana State is 0-5 all-time at the NCAA Tournament, falling as a 14-seed to 3-seed Texas Tech in the first round in 2022 in San Diego, California, and as a 14-seed to 3-seed Kansas State last season in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Ticket requests are open to priority point members until tomorrow at 11a.m. MT. Any remaining tickets will be available to the public starting 12 p.m. MT. Visit here. Student tickets are available for purchase starting Monday, March 18, at 9 a.m. by calling the ticket office.
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