Montana State vs Denver Prediction College Basketball Picks 11/17/24

The Montana State Bobcats and the Denver Pioneers meet Sunday in college basketball action from the Hamilton Gymnasium. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Montana State vs. Denver prediction.

Montana State Recap

The Montana State Bobcats come into this one looking to build on their first win of the season coming in the form of a 93-35 win over subdivision Northwest Indian. After this game, Montana State will duke it out on the road with Northwestern.

Bobcats Looking For First D-I Win

Brian Goracke leads the Bobcats in scoring with 12 PPG along with 3 RPG while Brandon Walker has 11.7 PPG with 3.3 RPG and Max Agbonkpolo has 10.3 PPG with a team-high 4.7 RPG to lead the Bobcats on the glass, rounding out the trio of double-digit scorers for Montana State so far this season. Patrick McMahon also has 9.3 PPG with 3.7 RPG while Jabe Mullins has 8.3 PPG with 4.3 RPG and a team-high 4 APG to lead the Bobcats in assists. As a team, Montana State is averaging 76.3 PPG on 43.4% shooting from the field, 33% from three, and 73.3% from the foul line this season.

Why the Montana State Bobcats will win

• Denver has lost each of its last four games following a home win.

Denver Recap

The Denver Pioneers come into this one looking to build on an 86-63 win over Colorado Christian to get to 2-2 on the year. After this game, the Pioneers will head on the road to take on the Montana Bobcats.

Pioneers Looking For First D-I Win Themselves

DeAndre Craig leads the Pioneers In scoring and assists with 11.8 PPG and 4 APG along with 3 RPG while Isaiah Addo-Ankrah and Nicholas Shogbonyo each have 10.3 PPG to cap off the trio of double-digit scorers for Denver so far this season, with Shogbonyo logging 4.3 RPG as well on the year. Sebastian Akins also has 9.5 PPG while Isaiah Carr has 8.8 PPG with a team-high 5.3 RPG to lead the Pioneers on the glass this season. As a team, Denver is averaging 77.5 PPG on 46.5% shooting from the field, 35% from three, and 71.6% from the foul line this season.

Why the Denver Pioneers will win

• Denver has won each of its last 10 games against non-conference opponents at Hamilton Gymnasium.
• Montana State has lost each of its last eight-day games.

Montana State vs. Denver Prediction

I’m with Montana State here. I just think from a talent perspective, the Bobcats are the better team and are still expected to be a front-runner in a solid Big Sky conference while Denver is expected to middle out in the Summit League at best. Also, while both teams have only beaten subdivision teams, I feel like Montana State is more battle-tested and has had better results against the better schedule in the losing efforts. I’ll side with Montana State here.