Montana State Falls to Texas Tech in NCAA Tournament

The No. 14 seed Montana State University men's basketball team has been eliminated from the NCAA Tournament following a 97-62 loss to No. 3 seed Texas Tech in the first round on Friday. The game marked Montana State's first appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 26 years.

From the beginning of the game, it was clear that the Bobcats were outmatched. The Bobcats struggled to find the basket throughout much of the first half. The Bobcats turned over the ball 11 times, made 8/25 (32%) shots overall and 5/12 3-pointers (41.7%) in the first half, and trailed Texas Tech 52-25 at halftime. Nick Gazelas led the team in scoring in the first half with six points.

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The Bobcats shot 21/55 (38.2%) overall and were 8/24 (33.3%) from beyond the 3-point line. Overall, Xavior Bishop led the Bobcats in scoring with 12 points, but the Texas Tech Red Raiders were able to shut down most of Montana's State's offensive scoring attempts throughout the game.

During the regular season, Montana State won 24 games which is the most wins any  Bobcat team has won since Montana State joined the Big Sky Conference in 1963-64. After winning all of the games in the Big Sky Conference Tournament, the Bobcats were 27-7 overall, which is the most wins for the program since the Golden Bobcats era which saw the 1928 and 1929 teams each go 36-2, while the 1927 squad went 30-7, according to Montana State University.

Montana State University previously won Big Sky Conference regular-season titles in 1964, 1967, 1987, 1996, and 2002. The Bobcats have made it to the NCAA Tournament four times.

It was a truly historic season for the Bobcats, but unfortunately, it has come to an end. We want to congratulate all of the players and coaching staff on an amazing season. As a fan, it has been exciting to watch.