The Grizzlies’ Road to Reno
1/26/2016 6:07:00 PM | Men's Basketball
With 40 days until the Big Sky Conference basketball tournament tips off in its new official home of Reno, Nev., the league postseason picture is about as clear as a mud puddle, but is beginning to take shape.
For the Montana Grizzlies, Saturday's first tussle of the year with the Montana State Bobcats marks the halfway point of the Big Sky schedule, and will provide a solid litmus test for coach Travis DeCuire as to where he hopes his team would be at this point in the season.
With each of the league's 12 teams guaranteed a trip to Reno for the postseason tournament, the top four teams at the end of the regular season receive a bye into the quarterfinals.
The Grizzlies are in the enviable, if not dangerous position of league frontrunners at the midway point, so we here at gogriz.com thought we'd take time to outline the second half of the Big Sky season, and see what the Griz will have to do to pick up the all-important top-four finish on the "Road to Reno."
LEAGUE SEASON TO DATE: The Grizzlies are in a good spot. UM rebounded after last Thursday's loss to Idaho with a win over rival Eastern Washington. That victory put the Griz at 7-1 in Big Sky play, and thanks to Idaho State's last-second victory over Weber State, put the Griz back on top of the league table with the second half to come.
To get to 7-1, the Griz had to endure two of the Big Sky's most arduous road trips at Northern Arizona and Southern Utah, followed by the Northern Colorado and North Dakota trip a week later. In a league with vast travel distances, coming away with a pair of road sweeps is no easy task, but the Griz survived.
Falling behind UM on the league table is always dangerous Weber State at 5-1, North Dakota at 5-3, and Idaho to round out the top four at 4-3, followed by Montana State at 4-4 in the fifth spot. With UND and UI carrying three losses each, the Griz and Weber have some presumed "breathing room" at one loss each, but in the Big Sky, there is no such thing as breathing room.
COMING UP: Over the next two weeks, the Griz return to the road at Montana State this weekend, followed by another tough trip at Sacramento State and Portland State in early February.
UM will enjoy a three-game home stand when Southern Utah and Northern Arizona pay a visit to the Garden City, followed by the return game with Montana State on Feb. 20 (get your tickets now!).
The Griz hit the road again to Idaho State and Weber State in late February, then finish the regular season at home against North Dakota and Northern Colorado in early March.
Other than the Bobcats, the only one of the current top five teams remaining on the Grizzlies' schedule is Weber State in Ogden, the site of last year's 68-60 UM loss, but also the game where Martin Breunig put up a career-high 31 points. Though all games are important, we think it's fair to assume the Griz will have a star on the calendar next to that game.
FINISHING TOP FOUR: So what do the Griz have to do to finish top four in the league, and earn an all-important first-round bye? The short answer is win out.
The long answer could take days to figure out with endless mathematical possibilities, but would almost certainly involve:
- Taking care of business at home. With five of nine games to finish the season in Dahlberg Arena, the Griz will need to keep slip-ups like Idaho from happening often.
- Pick up one more road sweep. The Sacramento State/Portland State trip is notoriously dangerous, but if UM can sweep the Idaho State/Weber trip the last weekend of February, a top-four spot would seem likely.
- Shoot the ball well, and play solid defense. The Griz offense relies on a stifling defense (UM has the best scoring defense in the Big Sky, allowing only 66.6 points per game), and guys to be able to drop buckets from range. At almost 19 points per game, Martin Breunig is the Grizzlies' leading scorer, but he can't put up all the points. If the Griz have four players in double figures on any given night, they are tough to stop.
Hotel info is available (The Griz are staying at the ElDorado), along with all the venue info you need for a successful trip to Reno to cheer on the Griz at RoadToReno.com.
Tickets for the Big Sky Championship are available now at GrizTix.com and at the Adams Center Box Office.
Players Mentioned
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