Hall’s last chance to be on a winning team

Senior guard Tyler Hall has had nothing short of a stellar career at MSU. He holds the all-time Big Sky Conference record in points scored and just cracked the top-15 all-time in three-pointers made for the entirety of Division One basketball. While his success has been noted at MSU, most people would find it surprising that Hall has never been a part of a Bobcats team that ended the year with an overall winning record. Their best record occurred during the 2016–17 when the team finished 16-16, losing to Southern Utah in the opening game of the conference tournament, despite being the higher seed. In fact, the last time the men’s basketball team finished above .500 was back in the 2009–10 season when they ended the year with a 15–14 record.

Even more surprising may be the fact that the Bobcats have not won a Big Sky Conference tournament game while Hall has been on the team, despite being ranked the higher seed in each of their three playoff appearances. Granted, an individual can’t make up an entire basketball team, as it takes a strong supporting cast to perform well at any level. With veteran leadership as well as a balance offense, this year more than ever seems like MSU has a legitimate shot of finishing with more wins than losses and winning at least one tournament game.

Currently, the Bobcats own a 12–14 overall record and are sitting in fourth place with four games remaining in conference play. To guarantee a winning record they need to win out, something that will no doubt be tough, but is definitely possible. The Cats’ four remaining opponents currently sit below them in the standings, and MSU has a 7-1 record this year against teams they rank higher than in the current Big Sky standings.

Furthermore, they have already beat three of the four upcoming competitors, their only loss being against Northern Arizona, but this time the Cats will have home-court advantage. In addition to playing lower-ranked opponents, MSU has been playing their best basketball of the season the past few weeks. They were on a four-game win streak, until narrowly losing to Weber State and the University of Montana, both of who are top three in the standings. As far as the conference tournament goes, it appears the Cats have a good shot at earning a bye and being the favorite in their first tournament game.

Although Hall has never been a part of a winning MSU team or earned a win in the Big Sky Conference tournament, his senior year is shaping up to be his last and best shot to scrub those of his resume and leave Bozeman on a high note.