MSU basketball closes up shop for the season

The MSU 2023-24 basketball season has come to an end. Let’s take a look at how the campaign shaped up for both Bobcat teams. 

Women’s: 

The women’s season came to a close on March 12 in Boise during the Big Sky tournament. The ‘Cats fell to a top-seeded Eastern Washington squad, only managing 39 points in the loss. Such a mark was a season low for the ‘Cats, and a bit of an unceremonious end to the year. 

In Tricia Binford’s seventeenth season as head coach, she led the team to a final regular season record of 16-15. The season win percentage of 0.516 is the lowest the team has seen since the 2018-19 season.  They did manage to finish in the top half of the Big Sky conference, earning a fourth seed for the tournament and beating Northern Colorado in overtime during the second round of play. 

The ‘Cats struggled with the loss of key contributors from last season — as well as a slew of injuries to many of the squad’s starters. Younger players found themselves in more demanding roles, and to their credit, they performed rather well in these spots for the most part. 

Sophomore forward Marah Dykstra serves as a standout example. Despite only starting in nine contests last year, Dykstra was top three on the team in points per game, blocks, assists and rebounds among players who played in seven or more games. 

While the season may have been a step back from the success seen thus far in the decade, Dykstra and the rest of the Bobcats’ emerging core are certainly looking to right the ship next time around. 

Men’s:

Coming off two straight conference titles and subsequent NCAA tournament appearances, the men’s team was gutted in the offseason after the departure of head coach Danny Sprinkle. A number of star contributors either transferred, followed Sprinkle to Utah State or graduated. 

Matt Logie was tapped to take over head coaching duties. He quickly built a rather interesting roster around the talent that remained, but the ‘Cats still weren’t expected to do much in what many figured would be a “rebuilding” season. 

The regular season went about as expected, with MSU finishing right around the middle of the pack in the Big Sky Conference standings and earning the fifth seed. 

However, it’s safe to say that what they did in the tournament shocked everyone. 

MSU pulled off victories in their first two games before facing the Griz in the championship. Despite having dropped both games of the season series to the University of Montana, the ‘Cats came through thanks to a fantastic second-half performance. 

The victory secured a conference title three-peat for the ‘Cats and sent them to the NCAA tournament for a third straight year. 

Robert Ford III was instrumental to this year’s regular season and playoff success. An athletic, supremely savvy guard, Ford was a leader on the court whose statline is downright impressive and much too long to list here in any detail. 

MSU lost to Grambling State University in their opening March Madness game. This is the third straight first-game exit for MSU. 

Given the season Logie and the ‘Cats put together, however, there is plenty of reason to be optimistic about the ‘Cats continuing their Big Sky reign in the seasons to come.