Griz basketball travels to Oral Roberts, Portland
12/18/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
MISSOULA, Mont. -- The University of Montana men??s basketball team (6-5) opens a five-game road swing this week with games against Oral Roberts (4-5) and Portland (2-10).
The Grizzlies head to Tulsa, Okla., for a 6 p.m. (MST) matchup with the Golden Eagles Tuesday at the Mabee Center (10,575). UM faces the Pilots at the Chiles Center (4,852) Friday at 8 p.m.
QUOTING COACH WAYNE TINKLE
On the matchup against ORU ...
??It??s going to be a tough environment. They had big expectations this season but have lost four of their last five games. They are going to look to take that out on somebody. We need to make sure we??re ready to go from the opening tip.??
On the game at Portland ...
??They are a program with a new head coach and are off to a bit of a slow start at 2-10. I think the keys for us will be to utilize our advantage down low and complement that with the ability to knock down some shots from the perimeter.??
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES
Oral Roberts (4-5) enters Tuesday night??s matchup with Montana having lost four of its last five games. The Golden Eagles last win came Dec. 4, an 88-63 decision over Lamar. ORU has a win over a top 10 team under its belt this year, a 78-71 win at then third-ranked Kansas back in November.
Senior forward Caleb Green, a two-time Mid-Continent Conference Player of the Year, leads the Golden Eagles with 19.8 points and 10.0 rebounds per game. Green is coming off a a 16-point, 16-rebound effort in ORU??s 76-72 loss to Chattanooga last Saturday. Fellow senior Ken Tutt is averaging 17.4 points per contest this season from his guard position. Tutt is a team best 25-of-66 on 3-pointers this season.
Scott Sutton is in his eighth season as head coach at Oral Roberts. He maintains a career coaching record of 125-96.
ORU is 4-1 in the all-time series with the Grizzlies. UM won the last meeting between the two schools, an 88-74 victory in Missoula on Feb. 18, 2006 as a part of the ESPN BracketBusters. Green had 28 points and 11 rebounds for ORU, the only player to score in double-figures for the Golden Eagles.
SCOUTING THE PILOTS
Portland is 2-10 overall on the season, having lost its last seven games. The Pilots?? last win was a 76-72 home decision over UC Davis on Nov. 19. Portland is 1-4 this season against Big Sky Conference competition with a win over Montana State (W, 59-53) and losses against Portland State (L, 53-69), Weber State (L, 56-72 and L, 51-68) and Eastern Washington (L, 66-87).
Sophomore forward Jamie Jones is the only Pilot to average double figures in scoring at 10.6 points per contest. Jones also averages a team-best 8.1 rebounds per game. Senior guard Darren Cooper is coming off a 16-point performance at Weber State last Saturday. He had missed the previous nine games with a pulled hamstring.
Eric Reveno is in his first season at the helm of Portland men??s basketball. Reveno, 2-10 as a head coach, previously served as an assistant coach at Stanford under former Griz coach Mike Montgomery and current SU coach Trent Johnson.
The Grizzlies are 12-6 in the all-time series with the Pilots. UM defeated Portland, 91-69, in the last meeting at Dahlberg Arena in Missoula during the 1993-94 season.
UM EMBARKS ON FIVE-GAME ROAD SWING
Montana will play its next five games away from Missoula. The Griz are still searching for their first road victory of the 2006-07 season, having lost their only two road contests (L, 71-76 at Wyoming; L, 57-74 at Utah Valley State).
Following Tuesday??s game at ORU, Montana closes up its non-league schedule at Portland on Dec. 22. After a short Christmas break, the Griz open Big Sky play with games at Portland State and Eastern Washington on Dec. 28 and 30. UM closes the road-swing with a Jan. 4 contest at Sacramento State.
GRIZ HOT FROM BEHIND THE ARC
The Griz are shooting lights-out from behind the 3-point arc in their last two games, making 26-of-43 for 60.5 percent. Montana opened the first nine games of the 2006-07 season making 57-of-180 attempts for 31.7 percent.
In UM??s last outing against Montana Tech, the Griz made 12-of-20 from 3-point land (60.0 percent). In the game right before that against South Dakota State, Montana went 14-of-23 on 3-pointers (60.9 percent).
DLOUHY EMERGING AS A FORCE
Senior forward Matt Dlouhy is averaging a career-best 13.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per contest this season. Dlouhy, who is approaching 100 career games at Montana (98 GP, 48 GS), is coming-off a career effort in the Grizzlies?? 92-63 win over Montana Tech. The 6-foot-6 swingman scored 26 points in only 29 minutes of work. Dlouhy made 10-of-17 from the field and 6-of-8 on 3-pointers in the win over the Orediggers.
During the Grizzlies?? recent five-game homestand where they won four-of-five games, Dlouhy averaged 15.4 points and 4.2 rebounds per contest. He shot 48.1 percent from the field (26-of-54), 43.8 percent on 3-pointers (14-of-32) and 73.3 percent from the free throw line (11-of-15). He produced 1.2 steals per game and helped with the Griz ball control boasting a 3.0 assist/turnover ratio (12 assists, 4 turnovers).
STRAIT AMONG BIG SKY LEADERS
Junior forward Andrew Strait ranks among the Big Sky Conference leaders in five major statistical categories. Strait??s numbers dipped due to playing just 15 minutes in an 87-47 win over SDSU.
Strait, who was battling a sore leg, failed to score a point and had just one rebound in the win over SDSU. He hadn??t been held scoreless since his first collegiate game at Gonzaga back on November 21, 2004.
Strait still manages to rank third in scoring average (15.5 ppg) and blocked shots (1.2 bpg). He also ranks third in overall field goal percentage (.622, 74-of-119). Strait ranks seventh in defensive rebounding (4.3 drpg) and and ninth in overall rebounding (5.9 rpg).
FORWARDS LEAD SCORING, REBOUNDING
Senior Matt Dlouhy, junior Andrew Strait and sophomore Jordan Hasquet have led the Grizzlies in scoring and rebounding in 2006-07. The forward trio is accounting for 57.0 percent of the team??s scoring (441-of-773 total points) and 51.0 percent of the team??s rebounding (182-of-357 rebounds).
Dlouhy, from Couer d??Alene, Idaho, is averaging 13.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per game this year. Strait, from Yakima, Wash., leads all Grizzlies with a 15.5 points and 5.9 rebounds per game average. Hasquet, from Missoula, Mont., is averaging 11.1 points and 5.8 rebounds per game this season.
TINKLE SHUFFLES GRIZZLY LINEUP
All 14 active-roster Grizzlies have seen playing time this season. Eight different players have started games and Montana has used five different starting lineups in 2006-07. Senior forward Matt Dlouhy, junior forward Andrew Strait and sophomore forward Jordan Hasquet are the only three Grizzlies to have started in all 11 contest this season.
The Grizzlies head to Tulsa, Okla., for a 6 p.m. (MST) matchup with the Golden Eagles Tuesday at the Mabee Center (10,575). UM faces the Pilots at the Chiles Center (4,852) Friday at 8 p.m.
QUOTING COACH WAYNE TINKLE
On the matchup against ORU ...
??It??s going to be a tough environment. They had big expectations this season but have lost four of their last five games. They are going to look to take that out on somebody. We need to make sure we??re ready to go from the opening tip.??
On the game at Portland ...
??They are a program with a new head coach and are off to a bit of a slow start at 2-10. I think the keys for us will be to utilize our advantage down low and complement that with the ability to knock down some shots from the perimeter.??
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES
Oral Roberts (4-5) enters Tuesday night??s matchup with Montana having lost four of its last five games. The Golden Eagles last win came Dec. 4, an 88-63 decision over Lamar. ORU has a win over a top 10 team under its belt this year, a 78-71 win at then third-ranked Kansas back in November.
Senior forward Caleb Green, a two-time Mid-Continent Conference Player of the Year, leads the Golden Eagles with 19.8 points and 10.0 rebounds per game. Green is coming off a a 16-point, 16-rebound effort in ORU??s 76-72 loss to Chattanooga last Saturday. Fellow senior Ken Tutt is averaging 17.4 points per contest this season from his guard position. Tutt is a team best 25-of-66 on 3-pointers this season.
Scott Sutton is in his eighth season as head coach at Oral Roberts. He maintains a career coaching record of 125-96.
ORU is 4-1 in the all-time series with the Grizzlies. UM won the last meeting between the two schools, an 88-74 victory in Missoula on Feb. 18, 2006 as a part of the ESPN BracketBusters. Green had 28 points and 11 rebounds for ORU, the only player to score in double-figures for the Golden Eagles.
SCOUTING THE PILOTS
Portland is 2-10 overall on the season, having lost its last seven games. The Pilots?? last win was a 76-72 home decision over UC Davis on Nov. 19. Portland is 1-4 this season against Big Sky Conference competition with a win over Montana State (W, 59-53) and losses against Portland State (L, 53-69), Weber State (L, 56-72 and L, 51-68) and Eastern Washington (L, 66-87).
Sophomore forward Jamie Jones is the only Pilot to average double figures in scoring at 10.6 points per contest. Jones also averages a team-best 8.1 rebounds per game. Senior guard Darren Cooper is coming off a 16-point performance at Weber State last Saturday. He had missed the previous nine games with a pulled hamstring.
Eric Reveno is in his first season at the helm of Portland men??s basketball. Reveno, 2-10 as a head coach, previously served as an assistant coach at Stanford under former Griz coach Mike Montgomery and current SU coach Trent Johnson.
The Grizzlies are 12-6 in the all-time series with the Pilots. UM defeated Portland, 91-69, in the last meeting at Dahlberg Arena in Missoula during the 1993-94 season.
UM EMBARKS ON FIVE-GAME ROAD SWING
Montana will play its next five games away from Missoula. The Griz are still searching for their first road victory of the 2006-07 season, having lost their only two road contests (L, 71-76 at Wyoming; L, 57-74 at Utah Valley State).
Following Tuesday??s game at ORU, Montana closes up its non-league schedule at Portland on Dec. 22. After a short Christmas break, the Griz open Big Sky play with games at Portland State and Eastern Washington on Dec. 28 and 30. UM closes the road-swing with a Jan. 4 contest at Sacramento State.
GRIZ HOT FROM BEHIND THE ARC
The Griz are shooting lights-out from behind the 3-point arc in their last two games, making 26-of-43 for 60.5 percent. Montana opened the first nine games of the 2006-07 season making 57-of-180 attempts for 31.7 percent.
In UM??s last outing against Montana Tech, the Griz made 12-of-20 from 3-point land (60.0 percent). In the game right before that against South Dakota State, Montana went 14-of-23 on 3-pointers (60.9 percent).
DLOUHY EMERGING AS A FORCE
Senior forward Matt Dlouhy is averaging a career-best 13.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per contest this season. Dlouhy, who is approaching 100 career games at Montana (98 GP, 48 GS), is coming-off a career effort in the Grizzlies?? 92-63 win over Montana Tech. The 6-foot-6 swingman scored 26 points in only 29 minutes of work. Dlouhy made 10-of-17 from the field and 6-of-8 on 3-pointers in the win over the Orediggers.
During the Grizzlies?? recent five-game homestand where they won four-of-five games, Dlouhy averaged 15.4 points and 4.2 rebounds per contest. He shot 48.1 percent from the field (26-of-54), 43.8 percent on 3-pointers (14-of-32) and 73.3 percent from the free throw line (11-of-15). He produced 1.2 steals per game and helped with the Griz ball control boasting a 3.0 assist/turnover ratio (12 assists, 4 turnovers).
STRAIT AMONG BIG SKY LEADERS
Junior forward Andrew Strait ranks among the Big Sky Conference leaders in five major statistical categories. Strait??s numbers dipped due to playing just 15 minutes in an 87-47 win over SDSU.
Strait, who was battling a sore leg, failed to score a point and had just one rebound in the win over SDSU. He hadn??t been held scoreless since his first collegiate game at Gonzaga back on November 21, 2004.
Strait still manages to rank third in scoring average (15.5 ppg) and blocked shots (1.2 bpg). He also ranks third in overall field goal percentage (.622, 74-of-119). Strait ranks seventh in defensive rebounding (4.3 drpg) and and ninth in overall rebounding (5.9 rpg).
FORWARDS LEAD SCORING, REBOUNDING
Senior Matt Dlouhy, junior Andrew Strait and sophomore Jordan Hasquet have led the Grizzlies in scoring and rebounding in 2006-07. The forward trio is accounting for 57.0 percent of the team??s scoring (441-of-773 total points) and 51.0 percent of the team??s rebounding (182-of-357 rebounds).
Dlouhy, from Couer d??Alene, Idaho, is averaging 13.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per game this year. Strait, from Yakima, Wash., leads all Grizzlies with a 15.5 points and 5.9 rebounds per game average. Hasquet, from Missoula, Mont., is averaging 11.1 points and 5.8 rebounds per game this season.
TINKLE SHUFFLES GRIZZLY LINEUP
All 14 active-roster Grizzlies have seen playing time this season. Eight different players have started games and Montana has used five different starting lineups in 2006-07. Senior forward Matt Dlouhy, junior forward Andrew Strait and sophomore forward Jordan Hasquet are the only three Grizzlies to have started in all 11 contest this season.
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