Griz set to play in Paradise

Friday, November 18

St. Thomas, USVI

4:00 PM (MT)

Montana

North Carolina State

11/17/2016 4:46:00 PM | Men's Basketball

By: Montana Sports Information

UM NOTES | BRACKET | LIVE STATS | WATCH ON TV | WATCH ONLINE

The weather in Missoula on Friday calls for a high of 40 degrees.

In the U.S. Virgin Islands, however, the Montana Grizzlies men's basketball team is basking in the warmth of an 82-degree day as they tip off the Paradise Jam tournament on Friday against the North Carolina State Wolfpack, the first of three guaranteed games for the Griz.

The Paradise Jam has been hosting some of the nation's premiere college basketball teams in early-season action at the University of the Virgin Islands since the tournament's inception in 2001.

This year's eight-team field includes Loyola (Chicago), Saint Joseph's, Oral Roberts, Ole Miss, N.C. State, Washington State, and current No. 22 ranked Creighton.

THE GAMES: Standing between Montana (0-2) and its first win of the season is N.C. State (2-0) of the always powerful ACC conference. The Griz/Wolfpack matchup is game No. 3 of the tournament, set to tip off at 4 p.m. MT on Nov. 18.

Pending the outcome of that game, Montana will advance on to face either Creighton, who reached the NIT quarterfinal last season or regional foe Washington State of the Pac-12.

If the Griz win on Friday, they will get a day of rest before playing in the second round on Sunday, Nov. 20. If Montana falls in the first-round game, they play on Saturday, Nov. 19. The third and final game for the Griz will be played on Nov. 21.

WATCH/LISTEN: Friday's Griz/Wolfpack game will be shown nationwide on CBS Sports Network, with Darren Goldwater providing the play-by-play, Kevin Lehman serving as analyst and Monyka Johnigan serving as the courtside reporter. CBS Sports Network will broadcast two games on day one of the Paradise Jam and will broadcast the rest of the games on the winner's side of the bracket from there out.

FloHoops.com will provide an online stream of the games on the consolation side of the bracket. A subscription to FlowHoops is required to access live content.

With the Paradise Jam coinciding with the Brawl of the Wild football game, Montana broadcasting legend "Grizzly" Bill Schwanke comes out of retirement to provide the radio call of UM's games in the Virgin Islands. Schwanke served as the "Voice of the Griz" for 21 years and has been an icon of Missoula sports for his entire career spanning more than six decades.

Fans can tune in to listen to Grizzly Bill call the games from the Paradise Jam on the Montana Grizzly Radio Network, or via web stream at GoGriz.com. Live stats are also available at pjam.statbroadcast.com.

GRIZ TRACKS: Montana enters the game after suffering a narrow 73-72 defeat to the Wyoming Cowboys in its home opener on Monday.

After two games, Ahmaad Rorie leads the Grizzlies in scoring, averaging 15.5 points-per-game, highlighted by 21 in the season opener at USC.

After a breakout game against Wyoming where he put down a team-high 20 points, true freshman guard Sayeed Pridgett is averaging 10.5 points in the first two games of the season.

Griz junior forward Fabijan Krslovic earned Montana's nomination for Big Sky player of the week last week, posting a career high 12 rebounds against WYO, and seven against USC for a total of 19 on the weekend.

At USC, Krslovic not only led the Griz with seven rebounds (four of which were offensive), he also led the team in assists (3), steals (2) and blocks (2) in addition to putting up 10 points. In the home opener against Wyoming, he once again led the team in rebounds with 12 (again taking four offensive boards) and assists (3), while contributing six points and a block.

Montana has not faced a team from the ACC in the regular season since 2008 when Wayne Tinkle led the Griz to Cameron Indoor Stadium to face the Duke Blue Devils (a 78-58 loss for UM). The last time Montana faced an ACC opponent was in the first round of the 2013 NCAA Tournament, when the Griz took on Syracuse in San Jose, Calif., falling 81-34.

This is the first-ever meeting between the Griz and Wolfpack. In fact, NC State is 0-1 in program history against the Big Sky Conference, falling to Weber State 94-80 in the 1993 Great Alaskan Shootout. The Big Sky is the only conference of the 31 D-I men's basketball conferences that N.C. State does not have a win over.

SCOUTING THE WOLFPACK: N.C. State looks to be an improved outfit from the 2015-16 season where they finished No. 13 in the ACC standings, missing out on the postseason.

This year, the Pack has been selected to finish at No. 6 in the ACC, thanks in large part to the addition of true freshman Dennis Smith, Jr.

Smith Jr. was named ACC Preseason Rookie of the Year in October and was named to the Preseason All-ACC first team without ever stepping foot on a college basketball floor.

He is the highest-ranked recruit (No. 4 overall) that NC State has signed since the Recruiting Services Consensus Index began ranking prospects in 1998. The 6-foot-3 guard from Fayetteville, North Carolina was also rated college basketball's No. 1 incoming point guard by ESPN.

The Wolfpack has had five players score in double figures in each of their two games this season. N.C. State has picked up wins over Georgia Southern (81-79) and St. Francis College (86-61)