# 2020–21 Montana State Bobcats men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Montana State Bobcats men's basketball team represented Montana State University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bobcats, led by second-year head coach Danny Sprinkle, played their home games at Brick Breeden Fieldhouse in Bozeman, Montana as members of the Big Sky Conference. In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, they finished the season 13–10, 8–6 in Big Sky play to finish in a tie for fourth place. They defeated Idaho State and Southern Utah before losing to Eastern Washington in the championship of the Big Sky tournament.

## Previous season

The Bobcats finished the 2019–20 season 16–15, 10–10 in Big Sky play to finish in a tie for fifth place. They received the #5 seed in the Big Sky tournament, and were slated to go up against the #4 seed Portland State in the quarterfinals, but the tournament was cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 25, 2020* 7:30 pm | | at UNLV | W 91–78 | 1–0 | Thomas & Mack Center Paradise, NV |
| December 2, 2020* 3:00 pm | | at Pacific | L 70–74 $^{OT}$ | 1–1 | Alex G. Spanos Center Stockton, CA |
| December 13, 2020* 2:00 pm, Pluto TV | | Yellowstone Christian | W 114–74 | 2–1 | Brick Breeden Fieldhouse Bozeman, MT |
| December 18, 2020* 7:00 pm, P12N | | at Washington State | L 54–82 | 2–2 | Beasley Coliseum Pullman, WA |
| December 22, 2020* 1:00 pm, NBCSNW | | at Portland | L 59–62 | 2–3 | Chiles Center Portland, OR |
| December 31, 2020 2:30 pm, Pluto TV | | Southern Utah | Canceled | Canceled | Brick Breeden Fieldhouse Bozeman, MT |
| January 1, 2021* 2:00 pm, Pluto TV | | Montana Western | W 96–67 | 3–3 | Brick Breeden Fieldhouse Bozeman, MT |
| January 2, 2021 12:00 pm, Pluto TV | | Southern Utah | Canceled | Canceled | Brick Breeden Fieldhouse Bozeman, MT |
| January 7, 2021 6:30 pm, Pluto TV | | at Northern Colorado | W 79–67 | 4–3 (1–0) | Bank of Colorado Arena Greeley, CO |
| January 9, 2021 12:00 pm, Pluto TV | | at Northern Colorado | W 76–74 | 5–3 (2–0) | Bank of Colorado Arena Greeley, CO |
| January 14, 2021 7:00 pm, Pluto TV | | Portland State | W 71–64 | 6–3 (3–0) | Brick Breeden Fieldhouse Bozeman, MT |
| January 16, 2021 12:00 pm, Pluto TV | | Portland State | W 69–64 | 7–3 (4–0) | Brick Breeden Fieldhouse Bozeman, MT |
| January 21, 2021 6:00 pm, Pluto TV | | at Northern Arizona | W 62–51 | 8–3 (5–0) | Rolle Activity Center Flagstaff, AZ |
| January 23, 2021 12:00 pm, Pluto TV | | at Northern Arizona | W 58–53 | 9–3 (6–0) | Rolle Activity Center Flagstaff, AZ |
| January 28, 2021 7:00 pm, SWX MT | | at Montana | Canceled | Canceled | Dahlberg Arena Missoula, MT |
| January 30, 2021 2:00 pm, SWX MT | | Montana | Canceled | Canceled | Brick Breeden Fieldhouse Bozeman, MT |
| February 4, 2021 7:00 pm, Pluto TV | | at Weber State | L 88–96 | 9–4 (6–1) | Dee Events Center (810) Ogden, UT |
| February 6, 2021 12:00 pm, Pluto TV | | at Weber State | L 74–82 | 9–5 (6–2) | Dee Events Center Ogden, UT |
| February 11, 2021 5:00 pm, SWX MT | | Eastern Washington | L 77–93 | 9–6 (6–3) | Brick Breeden Fieldhouse Bozeman, MT |
| February 13, 2021 12:00 pm, Pluto TV | | Eastern Washington | L 69–85 | 9–7 (6–4) | Brick Breeden Fieldhouse Bozeman, MT |
| February 18, 2021 5:00 pm, SWX MT | | Idaho State | Canceled | Canceled | Brick Breeden Fieldhouse Bozeman, MT |
| February 20, 2021 2:00 pm, Pluto TV | | at Idaho State | Canceled | Canceled | Reed Gym Pocatello, ID |
| February 26, 2021 5:00 pm, SWX MT | | at Idaho | L 69–74 | 9–8 (6–5) | Memorial Gymnasium Moscow, ID |
| February 28, 2021 1:00 pm, Pluto TV | | at Idaho | W 71–61 | 10–8 (7–5) | Memorial Gymnasium Moscow, ID |
| March 5, 2021 12:00 pm, Pluto TV | | Sacramento State | W 77–75 | 11–8 (8–5) | Brick Breeden Fieldhouse Bozeman, MT |
| March 6, 2021 11:00 am, SWX MT | | Sacramento State | L 73–74 | 11–9 (8–6) | Brick Breeden Fieldhouse Bozeman, MT |
| Big Sky tournament ||||||
| March 11, 2021 2:00 pm, Pluto TV | (5) | vs. (4) Idaho State Quarterfinals | W 71–63 | 12–9 | Idaho Central Arena Boise, ID |
| March 12, 2021 5:00 pm, Pluto TV | (5) | vs. (1) Southern Utah Semifinals | W 80–77 $^{OT}$ | 13–9 | Idaho Central Arena Boise, ID |
| March 13, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPNU | (5) | vs. (2) Eastern Washington Championship | L 55–65 | 13–10 | Idaho Central Arena Boise, ID |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Mountain. ||||||
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