Grizzlies ready for stiff test at Stanford

MONTANA AT STANFORD
Wednesday, Nov. 29 / 8 p.m. MT / Stanford, Calif.
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Montana head basketball coach Travis DeCuire knew the non-conference schedule he compiled would be challenging, and the next opponent in its way will be the Stanford Cardinal of the Pac-12. Earlier this month, the Grizzlies snapped a 14-game losing streak against Power-5 opponents and got a road win at Pitt – their first over a Power-5 school since 2010. Now, they're looking to do it again.

"We schedule these games to win them," DeCuire said. "We've shown the ability to hang with these types of teams, and Pitt was a big step in terms of actually winning the game. The next step will be to do it consistently, so we're looking forward to the challenge."

Stanford was picked to finish fifth in the preseason Pac-12 media poll, but has had a rough start to the year, including losses to Big Sky members Eastern Washington and Portland State. Still, though, DeCuire and his team know how much talent a team like Stanford will have – not to mention motivation to buck its current four-game losing skid.

"They're big, so our ability to out-rebound them will be challenged," DeCuire said. "They change defenses, so we're going to have to score against a long, lengthy zone, and try to find some ways to force some turnovers and create some tempo and some pace. They're going to be desperate for a win and we're going to have to be ready."

Stanford has four players averaging double figures for scoring, led by 2017 first-team All-Pac-12 forward Reid Travis – who is averaging 21.4 points per game on .509 shooting.

Montana's win on Sunday night wasn't perfect, but progress was shown. After allowing Carroll to shoot 76 percent from the floor in the first half, the Grizzlies limited the visitors to 37-percent shooting in the second half. Montana forced 20 turnovers for the second consecutive game, turning them into 24 points. The Grizzlies were also dominant on the glass, including 14 offensive rebounds and 18 second-chance points.

Montana had five players in double figures for scoring, putting up a season-most 86 points on a season-best 56-percent shooting.

The trip to the Bay will also be a trip home for a couple Grizzlies. Four Griz players hail from the Golden State, including freshman Timmy Falls (Dublin) and Sayeed Pridgett (Oakland).

DeCuire noted that games like these are all about how teams match up against each other, and an area that could lean in Montana's favor is turnovers. The Griz defense is one of the best in the nation at forcing turnovers, ranking 15th, with 19.2 turnovers forced per game, including 8.3 steals per game (50th) and a +5.2 turnover margin (22nd). Stanford, on the other hand, has a -3.7 turnover margin (321st) and is forcing just 12.25 (286th).

SCOUTING STANFORD

Stanford enters Wednesday's contest with a 3-5 mark, losing four in a row after beginning the season 3-1.
The Cardinal has posted wins over Cal Poly, Northeastern and Pacific. Stanford lost to a pair of top-10 teams in the prestigious PK80 tournament last week in Portland (Florida and North Carolina), but also lost to Big Sky member Portland State – the team's second loss this season to a Big Sky team (also Eastern Washington in Stanford).
Stanford has one of the nation's top scorers in Reid Travis. The junior is averaging 21.4 points per game on .509 shooting, in addition to 7.3 rebounds per game. The 2017 first-team All-Pac-12 selection averaged 17.4 points and 8.9 rebounds per game as a sophomore.
Stanford has three other players who average double figures for scoring, including Isaac White (team-most 18 three-pointers), Michael Humphrey (team-best 8.5 rebounds per game) and Robert Cartwright (team-most 11 steals).
The Cardinal is one of the most veteran-laden teams in the country, returning four starters from last year's team. Entering the season, Stanford's returners combined for 493 total games played.
Stanford was picked to finish fifth out of 12 teams in the 2017 Pac-12 Preseason Media Poll.
The Cardinal is under the guidance of second-year head coach Jerod Haase. Stanford went 14-17 in his first season, including a 6-12 mark in Pac-12 play. Prior to his time at Stanford, he spent for seasons at UAB, helping the Blazers to back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances, including a first-round win over No. 3 seed Iowa State in 2015.

SERIES VS. THE CARDINAL
Montana is 2-3 all-time against Stanford, winning two of the three most-recent meetings.

The series between the two schools began in 1930-31, a Stanford win in California. The Cardinal earned another victory in 1988-89, this time in Missoula as part of the Preseason NIT. The two teams then met three times over a four-year period in the mid-2000s, with the Grizzlies winning twice. Montana earned a 70-68 win at Stanford in 2002-03 and a 19-point home victory in 2005-06. Stanford was victorious on its home court in 2004-05.

ALL-AROUND RORIE
Ahmaad Rorie played in all 40 minutes vs. UC Santa Barbara and ranks 11th nationally for minutes played per game. He also ranks highly, however, for points (18.80 per game) and steals (2.50 per game). In fact, Rorie is one of five NCAA Division I players to average at least 18.0 points per game and 2.50 steals per game. He joins Mikal Bridges (Villanova), Melvin Frazier (Tulane), Justin Turner (Bowling Green) and Thomas Wilder (Western Michigan).

CRASHING THE GLASS
Montana has out-rebounded its opponents in each of the last five games, which is particularly impressive considering two of the contests were road games against an ACC and Big Ten school. Well over one-third of Montana's rebounds have come from the offensive end (37.6 percent). That number was 28.6 percent a year ago.

On the season, Karl Nicholas has 12 offensive rebounds compared to five defensive. Michael Oguine, UM's leading rebounder, also has nearly as many offensive boards (16) as defensive (18). Over their last two games, the Grizzlies have out-rebounded their opponents 31-9 on the offensive glass.

FORCING TURNOVERS
Montana has forced more turnovers than its opponents in five of six games, tying Penn State with 15 turnovers apiece in the other. The advantage has led to a +5.2 turnover margin (22nd in NCAA). The Grizzlies caused Whitworth to commit 24 turnovers (Nov. 10) and UC Santa Barbara – which entered the game ranked fifth nationally for fewest turnovers surrendered – to 21 (Nov. 21).

In a win at Pitt (Nov. 13), Montana forced the Panthers into 19 turnovers, converting them into 30 points – an average of 1.58 points per turnover.

STOUT DEFENSE
Montana is allowing its opponents to shoot at too high of a percentage, particularly from the three-point line. However, the Grizzlies are doing a good job of preventing teams from getting shots.

19.2 turnovers forced per game: 15th in NCAA
+5.2 turnover margin: 22nd
8.3 steals per game: 50th
4.3 blocked shots per game: 87th

DYNAMIC DUO, PART I
Junior guards Michael Oguine and Ahmaad Rorie enter Wednesday's contest each averaging more than 16.0 points per game. The tandem is one of 24 across all of NCAA Division I with two players on the same team averaging that many points per game.

Both Oguine and Rorie have been in double figures scoring in all six games this season and rank among the nation's leaders for a variety of categories:

Ahmaad Rorie

37:30 minutes played per game (11th)
2.50 steals per game (29th)
97 field goal attempts (40th)
18.8 points per game (89th)
40 field goals made (94th)

Michael Oguine

35:50 minutes played per game (49th)
44 free-throw attempts (66th)
2.67 offensive rebounds per game (88th)
2.38 assist-to-turnover ratio (91st)

AKOH TAKING OVER
In 2015-16, Ahmaad Rorie had to redshirt after transferring from Oregon. During his first season suiting up for the Griz, he led the team in points, minutes and assists and was an all-conference pick. The Grizzlies are hoping the same will be true for Jamar Akoh, a transfer from Cal State Fullerton who has two years of eligibility remaining after redshirting last year.

Akoh was limited to just 28 total minutes over the first two games due to foul trouble, scoring four points. Over the past four games, however, Akoh has been able to adjust to the tempo and stay on the floor longer, averaging 11.25 points and 6.75 rebounds per game, including a double-double vs. Carroll (Nov. 26).

LOOKING AHEAD
Montana returns to Missoula to host Cal State Northridge on Sunday. That game will be followed by a third trip to the state of California in as many weeks, playing UCLA (Dec. 6) before flying east to Georgia State (Dec. 9).

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jamar Akoh

Timmy Falls

Karl Nicholas

Michael Oguine

Sayeed Pridgett

Ahmaad Rorie

University of Montana Athletics