Portland vs. Montana State Game Preview
By James Pigott
March 6, 2013; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Portland Pilots center Thomas van der Mars (12) during player introductions against the Loyola Marymount Lions before the game of the WCC Basketball Championships at Orleans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Portland Pilots (7-3) vs. Montana State Bobcats (3-7)
Date: Saturday, December 20, 2014
Location: Chiles Center, Portland, OR
Time: 7:00 PM PT
TV: None
Livestream: Portland Pilots live video
Live Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=73136
PROJECTED STARTERS (Based on previous game)
Portland
Alec Wintering, 12.6 PPG, 5.4 APG
Bryce Pressley, 5.3 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 3.0 APG
Riley Barker, 4.6 PPG, 5.7 RPG
Volodymyr Gerun, 10.5 PPG, 6.3 RPG
Thomas van der Mars, 10.8 PPG, 8.3 RPG
Montana State
Marcus Colbert, 12.5 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 5.1 APG
Michael Dison, 12.7 PPG
Terrell Brown, 5.9 PPG
Danny Robinson, 8.5 PPG, 4.4 RPG
Blake Brumwell, 2.1 PPG
Meet the Opponent
Montana State has had their fair share off struggles offensively, including a 28 point effort for the entire game against Kentucky. The Bobcats shoot under 39 percent from the field, and average only 63 points per game as a team. Their best player is point guard Marcus Colbert, who does most of the scoring and passing for the team and has the ball in his hands most of the time. His matchup with Alec Wintering should be an interesting one to watch. The Bobcats are 0-6 on the road, so the Pilots shouldn’t have too much trouble with them.
Keys to the Game for Portland
Get Bobby Sharp and Bryce Pressley going from the outside. Both have struggled immensely this season after hot 3 point shooting last year, and if Kevin Bailey is still out with a foot injury (he’s listed as questionable for tonight’s game) those two will need to pick up the scoring slack. Portland can expose Montana State with their talented front line of van der Mars and Gerun, so Wintering needs to look to feed the post often during the game.
Prediction
After a heartbreaking overtime loss at UNLV, the Pilots will be fired up to play this game, regardless of the opponent. Against a team of Montana State’s caliber, I expect a 71-54 victory for Portland.