The Idaho State Bengals and the Montana State Bobcats meet Thursday in college basketball action from Worthington Arena. Idaho State is 6-10 so far this year. The Bengals beat Weber State in their last game. As for Montana State, they’re 10-7 on the season after a win over Northern Arizona. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Idaho State went just 3-7 over their first 10 games with wins over Westcliff, UMKC and Montana Western. The Bengals are 3-3 since then with wins over Northern Arizona, Northern Colorado and Weber State.
In the Weber State game, the Bengals posted a 32-25 deficit in the first half. Idaho State rallied from there on a 42-25 run and won it 67-57. Brayden Parker led the team on 15 points with three rebounds.
Over on the Montana State side, they hit a 7-5 run in their first 12 games with losses to Grand Canyon, Oregon, UNCG, Middle Tennessee and Quinnipiac. The Bobcats have since gone 3-2 with losses to Arizona and Eastern Washington.
Matched up against Northern Arizona on Saturday, Montana State got off to a 40-24 lead going into the second half. The Bobcats were outscored 30-29 from there but won it 69-54. Darius Brown led the team on his 22 points.
PICK: I’ll probably stick with Montana State in this one. You could make a case either way, though. The Bobcats have scored pretty well lately with 67 or more points in four straight games, going 3-1 in that time. The Bobcats have finished in the 70s with semi-regularity this season so far. As for Idaho State, they’ve hit 67 or more points in three straight during this win streak. I like the Bengals to put up a decent total here if they continue to play well. It’s probably Montana State’s cover to take, though.