Photo by: Todd Goodrich
Montana opens hoops season with exhibition contest Monday in Dahlberg
11/4/2017 1:21:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MONTANA VS. SASKATCHEWAN
Monday, Nov. 6 / 6 p.m. MT / Missoula, Mont.
Watch ($) / Listen / Live Stats
GRIZ HOST SASKATCHEWAN FOR EXHIBITION OPENER
After more than a month of full-team practices, Montana finally gets to put it all together on Monday, hosting Saskatchewan in an exhibition contest in Dahlberg Arena.
It's always hard to gauge an opponent at the beginning of a season, but especially this year against a Canadian team that competes in the CIS, not the NCAA. Head coach Travis DeCuire does know that the Huskies move the ball quickly – the CIS uses a 24-second shot clock – and has good guard play. DeCuire's Grizzlies like to most the ball fast, too, so he envisions an exciting, up-tempo battle.
Aside from a little bit of scouting and film on Saskatchewan, Montana's focus has been less on the op-ponent and more on itself. The Grizzlies are finalizing their pieces and roles, and determining how to best gel together six players who saw the floor last year with even more newcomers.
"Everybody wants to win this game, and I think it's important to get off to a good start, but at the same time, I think it's important to grow from Monday," DeCuire said. "I've seen a lot of growth during the fall, with guys having a better feel of their roles and what's expected of them, and Monday is another opportunity to develop in those areas."
The team held its annual Maroon/Silver Scrimmage less than two weeks ago and saw several encour-aging signs from the newcomers, including 16 points and five boards from redshirt junior Jamar Akoh. The two squads combined to shoot 46.2 percent from the floor and 40.0 percent from beyond the arc.
It was a similar trend in last week's closed scrimmage against another NCAA Division I opponent. DeCuire was pleased with his team's ability to put the ball in the basket at a high percentage.
The next step, he said, will be increasing its defensive execution.
"We have to keep getting better on the defensive side of the ball," DeCuire said. "If we want to play up-tempo and run, we have to get stops too."
A year ago, 10 players saw the bulk of the playing time. With 15 players on this year's roster, DeCuire and his staff will make decisions on who to redshirt. However, with exhibition games not counting to-ward a team's official results, Montana can play everyone on Monday, without restrictions.
"You want to get everybody on the floor," DeCuire said. "It's important to get everybody out there when the lights are on, because at some point you're going to come to them, and you want to give them as much experience as possible. We'll use what happens in the game, positive and negative, as a topic of discussion in terms of making some decisions moving forward."
Monday will mark the first of 15 home games this season, a place where Montana has had plenty of success in recent and extended history. With a new video board installed over the summer that should add to the fan engagement, coupled with an exciting team on the court, DeCuire hopes to see fans pack the arena on Monday and each time after.
"I think we have some new faces that will be entertaining," DeCuire said. "I think the tempo is some-thing we haven't seen in a long time here, so I think it's an exciting team that should make fans want to come back. We want people to come and enjoy the experience, but also get involved and be a part of the experience "
CAN THE CATS FOOD DRIVE
Fans who bring five non-perishable canned-food items can get into Monday's exhibition contest for free. The donations will go toward Can the Cats, an annual competition between Montana and Montana State fans to see who can donate the most food. Last year, the two communities combined to donate more than 644,000 pounds of food to their respective city's food banks.
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SERIES VS. THE HUSKIES
The Grizzlies and Huskies have never met on the hardwood.
RECORD IN EXHIBITION GAMES
Montana is a perfect 4-0 in exhibition contests under DeCuire, averaging 92.75 points.
Complete Notes
Monday, Nov. 6 / 6 p.m. MT / Missoula, Mont.
Watch ($) / Listen / Live Stats
GRIZ HOST SASKATCHEWAN FOR EXHIBITION OPENER
After more than a month of full-team practices, Montana finally gets to put it all together on Monday, hosting Saskatchewan in an exhibition contest in Dahlberg Arena.
It's always hard to gauge an opponent at the beginning of a season, but especially this year against a Canadian team that competes in the CIS, not the NCAA. Head coach Travis DeCuire does know that the Huskies move the ball quickly – the CIS uses a 24-second shot clock – and has good guard play. DeCuire's Grizzlies like to most the ball fast, too, so he envisions an exciting, up-tempo battle.
Aside from a little bit of scouting and film on Saskatchewan, Montana's focus has been less on the op-ponent and more on itself. The Grizzlies are finalizing their pieces and roles, and determining how to best gel together six players who saw the floor last year with even more newcomers.
"Everybody wants to win this game, and I think it's important to get off to a good start, but at the same time, I think it's important to grow from Monday," DeCuire said. "I've seen a lot of growth during the fall, with guys having a better feel of their roles and what's expected of them, and Monday is another opportunity to develop in those areas."
The team held its annual Maroon/Silver Scrimmage less than two weeks ago and saw several encour-aging signs from the newcomers, including 16 points and five boards from redshirt junior Jamar Akoh. The two squads combined to shoot 46.2 percent from the floor and 40.0 percent from beyond the arc.
It was a similar trend in last week's closed scrimmage against another NCAA Division I opponent. DeCuire was pleased with his team's ability to put the ball in the basket at a high percentage.
The next step, he said, will be increasing its defensive execution.
"We have to keep getting better on the defensive side of the ball," DeCuire said. "If we want to play up-tempo and run, we have to get stops too."
A year ago, 10 players saw the bulk of the playing time. With 15 players on this year's roster, DeCuire and his staff will make decisions on who to redshirt. However, with exhibition games not counting to-ward a team's official results, Montana can play everyone on Monday, without restrictions.
"You want to get everybody on the floor," DeCuire said. "It's important to get everybody out there when the lights are on, because at some point you're going to come to them, and you want to give them as much experience as possible. We'll use what happens in the game, positive and negative, as a topic of discussion in terms of making some decisions moving forward."
Monday will mark the first of 15 home games this season, a place where Montana has had plenty of success in recent and extended history. With a new video board installed over the summer that should add to the fan engagement, coupled with an exciting team on the court, DeCuire hopes to see fans pack the arena on Monday and each time after.
"I think we have some new faces that will be entertaining," DeCuire said. "I think the tempo is some-thing we haven't seen in a long time here, so I think it's an exciting team that should make fans want to come back. We want people to come and enjoy the experience, but also get involved and be a part of the experience "
CAN THE CATS FOOD DRIVE
Fans who bring five non-perishable canned-food items can get into Monday's exhibition contest for free. The donations will go toward Can the Cats, an annual competition between Montana and Montana State fans to see who can donate the most food. Last year, the two communities combined to donate more than 644,000 pounds of food to their respective city's food banks.
Â
SCOUTING SASKATCHEWANWith the season right around the corner, @VoiceoftheGriz previews Monday's exhibition opener and more with @CoachDeCuire! pic.twitter.com/tnmc8DF8J8
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) November 2, 2017
- The CIS season has already begun, with Saskatchewan standing at 2-6, most recently dropping its conference openers to Manitoba (Oct. 27-28).
- The Huskies' non-conference season began all the way back on Sept. 28. They went 2-4 in those contests, defeating Briercrest and Mount Royal.
- The Huskies have five players averaging double figures for scoring, led by guard Lawrence Moore (21.2), who is shooting .449 from three-point range. He also has a team-most 23 steals and ranks second with 27 assists.
- Forward Joseph Barker is averaging a double-double with 12.5 points and 10.5 rebounds.
- Point guard Alex Unruh ranks second on the team with 16.0 points per game and is the team leader with 29 assists.
- As a team, Saskatchewan is allowing an average of 84.5 points per game, with opponents shooting .473 overall (.412 from three-point range).
- The Huskies' defense does force an average of 17.8 turnovers per game, including 9.1 steals.
- Saskatchewan went 16-8 in 2016-17, advancing to the Canada West semis before losing in overtime to Calgary in the bronze-medal game.
- Saskatchewan graduated its pair of Canada West All-Stars from a year ago (Shane Osayande and Matt Forbes).
- Barry Rawlyk is in his 11th season overall at Saskatchewan, including his eighth season as head coach. He holds a 106-50 record with the Huskies, leading them to the Canada West semifinals five times, earning a bronze in 2012 and 2014 and silver in 2011 and 2015. The Huskies have advanced to the CIS Championship three times under Rawlyk, finishing third in 2011 and fifth in 2014 and 2015.
SERIES VS. THE HUSKIES
The Grizzlies and Huskies have never met on the hardwood.
RECORD IN EXHIBITION GAMES
Montana is a perfect 4-0 in exhibition contests under DeCuire, averaging 92.75 points.
Complete Notes
The calendar has turned to November, meaning #GrizHoops is BACK! pic.twitter.com/RrhNwbcSDm
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) November 1, 2017
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