The MSU-Northern Skylights basketball team is embarking on their 2023-24 season.
Head coach Chris Mouat reflected on how last year’s team fared in this situation and gave credit to their first opponent, NCAA-Division II Montana State University-Billings, for how successful they have been. He also draws the conclusion that his squad will have a high bar to set right out of the gate.
“They’re every bit as good as advertised,” Mouat said. “I thought Montana Tech played really well against them (last week) and they still lost by 30.”
“We went down to Billings last year and did not put our best foot forward,” Mouat continued. “We really struggled. It was one of those nights you don’t want to have (as a team).”
“Our kids are aware of (the performance last year); a lot of them played in that game,” Mouat said. “I know they’re going to want to improve on what we did last year for sure, but (this game) is going to tell us right where we’re at, which is great.”
The Skylights return six players from their last campaign and added four transfers. Coach Mouat said how much of a difference having depth will be compared to last season.
“The last few years, we’ve had some unfortunate injuries that we couldn’t withstand very well,” Mouat said.
“I think we have depth especially on the perimeter,” Mouat continued. “We’re going to shoot the ball better.”
“(The players) spent a lot of time shooting the ball during our preseason and they were really working at it,” Mouat said. “I like how we’re shooting it in the post.”
“We’re experienced; we’re not overly deep in the post, but we’re experienced,” Mouat said.
The Skylights tip off their season on Monday night in Winifred with their matchup versus MSU-Billings and then play two more games later in the week against Northwest University and Corbon University in Great Falls.
