Griz head back to California to face ranked UCLA team

MONTANA AT RV/#23 UCLA
Wednesday, Dec. 6 / 9 p.m. MT / Los Angeles, Calif.
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Montana might as well look for residence in the state of California. The Grizzlies are traveling to the Sunshine State for the third consecutive week, and following Wednesday's contest at UCLA will have played four games in California compared to just three in the state of Montana.

Montana's new home away from home is actually home to several current Grizzlies. Four players hail from California, including two from SoCal. Junior Jamar Akoh (Rancho Cucamonga) is from two hours east of UCLA's campus, while junior Michael Oguine (Los Angeles) grew up about 25 minutes away – give or take L.A.'s traffic.

Two weeks ago when the team was in southern California – playing in the Legends Classic on the campus of Pepperdine – Akoh had 20 points and 11 rebounds in a pair of games. Oguine had 28 total points, in addition to 12 rebounds and eight assists.

Montana will need both its guards and post players to be on their 'A' games on Wednesday, taking on a UCLA squad that entered the USA Today Coaches Poll this week at No. 23.

Despite the name on the chest across from them, there will be no awe factor on Wednesday. Yes, UCLA has won an NCAA-best 11 national titles, not to mention the vast number of All-Americans and Hall of Famers who have suited up on the famed Pauley Pavilion court. But the last time the Grizzlies were in that building, they came away with a victory, 66-57, in 2010-11.

The Bruins advanced to the Sweet 16 a year ago, led by No. 2 NBA Draft pick Lonzo Ball. Just one of the team's five starters are still on their roster, however – a roster that features seven freshmen and four sophomores.

"They're a very talented basketball team, but they're also young," head coach Travis DeCuire said. "Like we are, they're still adjusting and jelling, and hopefully we can catch them a little bit off guard."

The Bruins are 7-1 on the young season, but have had a couple close calls, including two single-possession victories, an overtime win over Central Arkansas and a nine-point win last week over CSU Bakersfield.

"We've seen some teams – some teams at our level – hang with them and do some things to disrupt them," DeCuire said. "It will be important for us to find ways to do that as well."

The Bruins can score. They're averaging 86.8 points per game (27th in NCAA) and hung 106 on Detroit Mercy on Sunday. Five players are averaging double figures, led by junior Aaron Holiday's 16.5. Holiday also has a team-most 44 assists and 17 steals. Their offense runs at a quick pace and will give Montana's stingy defense a test.

They'll also give Montana a challenge on the glass. The Grizzlies have out-rebounded six of their past seven opponents, but UCLA is averaging 42.6 rebounds per game – 18th in the country.

Montana, though, is coming off its best game of the season. The Grizzlies scored 86 points and shot better than 50 percent from the floor in an 18-point win over CSUN on Sunday. Four Grizzlies were in double figures, including 25 points by Ahmaad Rorie and Sayeed Pridgett's first career double-double (20 points, 12 rebounds). The Grizzlies forced 16 turnovers and are averaging 18.6 per game this season.

UCLA averages 12.1 turnovers per game and ranks 298th in the country for turnovers forced.

Montana will get opportunities to score, DeCuire's focus is on making sure his team sticks to its game plan and gets the right looks.

"We're going up against a very talented team, so we need to play our game and not let them take us out of it," he said. "If we stick to our rules and don't try to do too much, we'll give ourselves a chance."

SCOUTING UCLA

UCLA is 7-1 on the season, defeating Detroit Mercy, 106-73. The Bruins lone loss came to Creighton, 100-89.
UCLA is among the nation's leaders for scoring (86.8 points per game, 27th) and rebounding (42.63 per game, 18th).
Junior guard Aaron Holliday is UCLA's leader with 16.5 points per game. He also ranks 40th nationally with 5.5 assists per game and 63rd with 2.13 steals.
7-0 center Thomas Welsh is averaging a double-double on the season with 12.5 points and 10.9 rebounds per game. The senior's rebounding average ranks 13th nationally.
Welsh ranks third in UCLA history for career blocks.
UCLA has a young squad, featuring seven freshmen and four sophomores. Five of UCLA's eight regulars did not play a year ago.
UCLA was picked to finish third in the Pac-12 preseason poll, behind Arizona and USC.
Steve Alford is in his fifth season at UCLA. He has guided the Bruins to three Sweet 16 appearances and the 2014 Pac-12 tournament championship. Alford has 566 career wins.
The Bruins went 31-5 in 2016-17, including a 15-3 mark in Pac-12 play. They advanced to the Sweet 16 and finished the year ranked No. 8/9.
UCLA has one of the most storied programs in NCAA history, winning 11 national titles. The Bruins have had 38 All-Americans, 36 first-round NBA Draft picks and have nine former players or coaches in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

SERIES VS. THE BRUINS
Montana and UCLA have met on the hardwood five times, with the Bruins winning four of the meetings. The two teams met twice during the 1930-31 season – both UCLA victories in Los Angeles. The Bruins also won on their home court in 1984-85.

The two games that stand out to Griz fans, however, came in 1975 and 2010. In 1975, Jud Heathcote led the Grizzlies to their first conference title and NCAA tournament debut. Montana defeated Utah State in the opening round and advanced to the Sweet 16 to face John Wooden's Bruins in Portland. Eric Hays poured in 32 points on 13-of-16 shooting as the Griz nearly upset UCLA, losing by three, 67-64. UCLA would go on to win its 10th national championship in 12 years.

After coming so close in 1975, 35 years later, the Griz and Bruins met again, and this time the Grizzlies came out on top. Montana led for the final 27 minutes of the game, including by double digits for the final eight minutes until the Bruins hit a shot at the buzzer to make it a nine-point final margin. Will Cherry scored 18 points and Brian Qvale had a double-double.

STRONG NOVEMBER
The first month of the season was – all in all – a success. Montana posted a 4-3 record, marking the team's first winning November since 2011-12. For comparison, Montana was a combined 6-16 in the previous four Novembers.

Even more impressive, the Grizzlies are having success against much stronger competition, already playing five games away from Missoula and three against Power-5 competition.

"We're sitting in a good spot going into December," Travis DeCuire said last week. "I am happy with where we're at, but we have to be a better basketball team. Two of our three losses, we walked away feeling like we should have won, and one of them we felt like we could have won. If we execute better and make fewer mistakes offensively, we have the chance to be a pretty good team."

INTO DECEMBER
The Grizzlies followed up a strong November with a win to begin the month of December. At 5-3, it is the program's best eight-game start since 2010-11. A win on Wednesday would not only be a signature victory over a ranked opponent, but it would also be the team's best nine-game start since 2009-10. The Grizzlies won 20-plus games and played in the postseason in both 2010 and 2011.

STILL NO SATURDAYS
Montana will play at least 11 games on Saturdays this season – more than any other day of the week. However, nearly a month into the season, the Grizzlies have yet to play on that day. They will for the first time this weekend at Georgia State. Oklahoma is believed to be the only other Division I team in the country to have yet to play on Saturday. The Sooners will do so for the first time on Dec. 16, a week after the Griz. It will be the Sooners' ninth game of the season, however. Montana plays its ninth game this Wednesday.

ALL-AROUND RORIE
Ahmaad Rorie played in all 40 minutes vs. UC Santa Barbara and ranks 17th nationally for minutes played per game. He also ranks highly, however, for points (18.0 per game) and steals (1.9 per game). In fact, Rorie is one of nine NCAA Division I players to average at least 18.0 points per game and total 15 or more steals.

FORCING TURNOVERS
Montana has forced more turnovers than its opponents in seven of eight games, tying Penn State with 15 turnovers apiece in the other. The advantage has led to a +5.3 turnover margin (18th in NCAA). On two occasions, Montana has forced 20 or more turnovers in a game, and in a win at Pitt (Nov. 13), the Grizzlies forced the Panthers into 19 turnovers, converting them into 30 points – an average of 1.58 points per turnover.

CRASHING THE GLASS
Montana has out-rebounded its opponents in six of its last seven games, which is particularly impressive considering three of those contests have come against Power-5 teams. Well over one-third of Montana's rebounds have come from the offensive end (37.8 percent). That number was 28.6 percent a year ago.

Michael Oguine, UM's leading rebounder, has more offensive boards (25) than defensive (22), as does freshman Karl Nicholas (13 to 12). Over their last four games, the Grizzlies have out-rebounded their opponents 58-28 on the offensive glass. They are averaging 13.0 offensive rebounds per game this season (45th in NCAA). Nearly one-fifth of Montana's points have been second-chance opportunities (108 points; 18.6 percent).

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.

18.6 turnovers forced per game: 17th in NCAA
+5.3 turnover margin: 18th
4.9 blocked shots per game: 69th
7.6 steals per game: 79th

DYNAMIC DUO, PART I
Junior guards Michael Oguine and Ahmaad Rorie enter Wednesday's contest each averaging more than 16.0 points per game, both ranking in the top 250 of all NCAA Division I scorers.

Oguine has scored in double figures in all eight games, while Rorie has accomplished the feat seven times – including 20-plus on four occasions. Montana is one of 36 Division-I teams nationally to have two scorers averaging 16.0 points or more per game.

WELL CONDITIONED
Montana has three players who rank among the top 100 for minutes played. Ahmaad Rorie is averaging 36:52 per game, including all 40 vs. UC Santa Barbara (Nov. 21). Fellow juniors Michael Oguine (35:45) and Bobby Moorehead (34:37) are also among the nation's leaders. In fact, Montana is one of 10 Division-I schools nationally to have three players average 34:00 per game or better (also: Arizona State, Duquesne, George Mason, Holy Cross, La Salle, Mt. St. Mary's, Ohio, Santa Clara and Toledo).

Twelve different Grizzlies played at Penn State (Nov. 15), but just six played more than 7 minutes. It was the same two nights prior at Pitt (Nov. 13), as Travis DeCuire used the same five players throughout the final 7:34 of the second half and all 5 minutes of overtime.

LOOKING AHEAD
Montana will make a rare coast-to-coast flight from Los Angeles to Atlanta – spanning more than 2,000 miles and three time zones. Montana will face Georgia State on Saturday at noon. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app.

Griz head back to California to face ranked UCLA team

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jamar Akoh

Bobby Moorehead

Karl Nicholas

Michael Oguine

Sayeed Pridgett

Ahmaad Rorie

University of Montana Athletics

Griz head back to California to face ranked UCLA team

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jamar Akoh

Bobby Moorehead

Karl Nicholas

Michael Oguine

Sayeed Pridgett

Ahmaad Rorie

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