# 2022–23 Montana State Bobcats men's basketball team

The 2022–23 Montana State Bobcats men's basketball team represented Montana State University (MSU) in the Big Sky Conference during the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by fourth-year head coach Danny Sprinkle, the Bobcats played their home games on campus at Brick Breeden Fieldhouse in Bozeman, Montana. They finished the season at 25–10, 15–3 in Big Sky play, to finish in second place. In the Big Sky tournament, MSU defeated Northern Colorado, Weber State and Northern Arizona to win the tournament championship. As a result, MSU earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 14 seed in the East regions. They lost lost in the first round to Kansas State.

## Previous season

The Bobcats finished the 2021–22 regular season at 24–7 (16–4 in Big Sky, first). As the top seed in the conference tournament, they defeated Sacramento State, Weber State and Northern Colorado to win the title and earn the Big Sky's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
This was the Bobcats' first appearance in the NCAA tournament in 26 years. Seeded fourteenth in the West region, the Bobcats were defeated by twelfth-ranked Texas Tech in the first round and finished at 27–8 overall.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| October 30, 2022* 2:00 p.m. | | Montana State Billings | W 56–49 | – | Brick Breeden Fieldhouse Bozeman, MT |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 7, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Grand Canyon | L 54–60 | 0–1 | GCU Arena (7,171) Phoenix, AZ |
| November 13, 2022* 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Long Beach State | W 70–57 | 1–1 | Walter Pyramid (2,334) Long Beach, CA |
| November 15, 2022* 7:00 p.m., P12N | | at Oregon | L 51–81 | 1–2 | Matthew Knight Arena (5,347) Eugene, OR |
| November 18, 2022* 5:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Warner Pacific | W 106–64 | 2–2 | Brick Breeden Fieldhouse (4,207) Bozeman, MT |
| November 20, 2022* 12:00 p.m., Midco+ | | at North Dakota | W 81–71 | 3–2 | Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (1,225) Grand Forks, ND |
| November 25, 2022* 2:30 p.m. | | vs. UNC Greensboro Northern Classic | L 66–77 | 3–3 | Place Bell (–) Laval, QC |
| November 26, 2022* 5:00 p.m. | | vs. Quinnipiac Northern Classic | L 53–70 | 3–4 | Place Bell (–) Laval, QC |
| November 27, 2022* 11:30 a.m. | | vs. Middle Tennessee Northern Classic | L 71–72 | 3–5 | Place Bell (–) Laval, QC |
| November 30, 2022* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Southern Utah | W 86–83 | 4–5 | America First Event Center (2,116) Cedar City, UT |
| December 8, 2022* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | St. Thomas (MN) | W 82–65 | 5–5 | Brick Breeden Fieldhouse (2,609) Bozeman, MT |
| December 10, 2022 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Omaha | W 82–54 | 6–5 | Brick Breeden Fieldhouse (1,975) Bozeman, MT |
| December 17, 2022 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Northwest Indian College | W 144–59 | 7–5 | Brick Breeden Fieldhouse (1,627) Bozeman, MT |
| December 20, 2022* 6:30 p.m., P12N | | at No. 5 Arizona | L 64–85 | 7–6 | McKale Center (13,606) Tucson, AZ |
| Big Sky regular season ||||||
| December 29, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Idaho | W 72–58 | 8–6 (1–0) | Brick Breeden Fieldhouse (3,172) Bozeman, MT |
| December 31, 2022 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Eastern Washington | L 67–70 | 8–7 (1–1) | Brick Breeden Fieldhouse (3,232) Bozeman, MT |
| January 5, 2023 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Northern Colorado | W 77–56 | 9–7 (2–1) | Bank of Colorado Arena (1,121) Greeley, CO |
| January 7, 2023 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Northern Arizona | W 69–54 | 10–7 (3–1) | Findlay Toyota Court (1,062) Flagstaff, AZ |
| January 12, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Idaho State | W 81–68 | 11–7 (4–1) | Brick Breeden Fieldhouse (2,370) Bozeman, MT |
| January 14, 2023 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Weber State | W 67–52 | 12–7 (5–1) | Brick Breeden Fieldhouse (3,270) Bozeman, MT |
| January 16, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Idaho | L 70–74 | 12–8 (5–2) | ICCU Arena (1,979) Moscow, ID |
| January 21, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+/SWX | | at Montana | W 67–64 | 13–8 (6–2) | Dahlberg Arena (6,374) Missoula, MT |
| January 26, 2023 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Portland State | W 75–66 | 14–8 (7–2) | Viking Pavilion (1,245) Portland, OR |
| January 28, 2023 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Sacramento State | W 72–65 | 15–8 (8–2) | Hornets Nest (875) Sacramento, CA |
| February 2, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Northern Arizona | W 69–68 | 16–8 (9–2) | Brick Breeden Fieldhouse (3,005) Bozeman, MT |
| February 4, 2023 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Northern Colorado | W 75–62 | 17–8 (10–2) | Brick Breeden Fieldhouse (3,863) Bozeman, MT |
| February 9, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Weber State | L 63–73 | 17–9 (10–3) | Dee Events Center (4,827) Ogden, UT |
| February 11, 2023 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Idaho State | W 58–52 | 18–9 (11–3) | Reed Gym (1,625) Pocatello, ID |
| February 18, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+/SWX | | Montana | W 72–68 | 19–9 (12–3) | Brick Breeden Fieldhouse (6,696) Bozeman, MT |
| February 23, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Sacramento State | W 60–56 | 20–9 (13–3) | Brick Breeden Fieldhouse (2,411) Bozeman, MT |
| February 25, 2023 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Portland State | W 91–78 | 21–9 (14–3) | Brick Breeden Fieldhouse (4,093) Bozeman, MT |
| February 27, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Eastern Washington | W 79–74 | 22–9 (15–3) | Reese Court (3,353) Cheney, WA |
| Big Sky tournament ||||||
| March 5, 2023 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | (2) | vs. (8) Northern Colorado Quarterfinals | W 84–73 | 23–9 | Idaho Central Arena Boise, ID |
| March 7, 2023 9:00 p.m., ESPN2 | (2) | vs. (3) Weber State Semifinals | W 60–58 $^{2OT}$ | 24–9 | Idaho Central Arena Boise, ID |
| March 8, 2023 9:30 p.m., ESPN2 | (2) | vs. (9) Northern Arizona Championship | W 85–78 | 25–9 | Idaho Central Arena Boise, ID |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| March 17, 2023* 7:40 p.m., CBS | (14 E) | vs. (3 E) No. 15 Kansas State First round | L 65–77 | 25–10 | Greensboro Coliseum (17,150) Greensboro, NC |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East. All times are in Mountain. ||||||
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