After detour in L.A., Montana travels country to take on strong Georgia State team

MONTANA AT GEORGIA STATE
Saturday, Dec. 9 / 12 p.m. MT / Atlanta, Ga.
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The Montana men's basketball team traveled 1,200 miles by air on Tuesday, anticipating a game at No. 23 UCLA on Wednesday evening. The game, however, was canceled due to nearby wildfires – including one that shut down UCLA's campus. So instead, Montana held a workout at a nearby facility, Shoot 360 LA, before traveling 2,200 miles to Atlanta.

What was expected to be a two-game road trip was cut in half to one, but not all was lost. In addition to the two practices in California – the first coming Tuesday evening at famed Pauley Pavilion – Montana also got some extra recruiting in. Assistant coaches Chris Cobb and Jay Flores were in nearby gyms on Tuesday scouting future Griz, but head coach Travis DeCuire joined them on Wednesday to get extra eyes on area prep stars. The Grizzlies' roster features four players from the state of California, including two from southern California.

That's what made the canceled game even more difficult for a few Grizzlies. In addition to missing out on a chance to play – and beat – a nationally ranked team on national television, juniors Jamar Akoh (Rancho Cucamonga) and Michael Oguine (Los Angeles) were anticipating the opportunity to play in front of friends and family.

"It took about 30 minutes for it to sink in that we weren't going to play," DeCuire said. "It was a little difficult to swallow. Our guys wanted to play UCLA, and then we had a couple guys where it was a homecoming who had family boarding flights or traveling to watch us play."

Without a game, in addition to time on the recruiting trail, Montana got an extra day to prep for Georgia State, a team it will take on Saturday afternoon (12 p.m. MT, ESPN3.com/WatchESPN app). The Panthers deserve every bit of Montana's attention, too. They'll enter this weekend's contest with an identical 5-3 record, including an 18-point win over Big Sky member Eastern Washington. The Panthers don't score a ton, but do have a scorer in D'Marcus Simmonds, who averages 20.5 points per game – 39th in the NCAA.

More impressive, though, is Georgia State's defense. The Panthers limit opponents to 61.4 points per game (17th in NCAA) on just .382 shooting (34th).

"Georgia State plays multiple defenses and very little man," DeCuire said. "Preparation is always going to be key. If you don't put time into offensive execution against their defense you're going to struggle because it's so much different than everyone else's."

Similar to Montana, Georgia State finds success by forcing turnovers. Montana ranks 13th nationally, forcing 18.6 turnovers per game. The Grizzlies have a +5.3 turnover margin (18th). It's much of the same for Georgia State, a team that enters the weekend with a +6.8 turnover margin (sixth) and averages 9.0 steals per game (23rd).

"You look at the stats, and they're pretty similar," DeCuire said. "We're similar at the free-throw line, similar for turnovers, similar assist-to-turnover ratio. I think the biggest difference for us is that we've been out-rebounding opponents. If we can continue to do that, I think that can be a difference."

Georgia State plays more of a zone-changing defense with traps, while Montana plays more of a rules defense, trying to deflect balls. The Grizzlies are averaging 34.4 rebounds per game and have out-rebounded their opponents in six of eight contests.

The Grizzlies haven't played a game since Sunday, but are coming off one of their most impressive games of the season, beating CSUN by 18 points. In the win, Montana tied a season high with 18 points on 52 percent shooting while the defense forced 16 turnovers.

The trip to Georgia was going to be a long one, even without a detour in Los Angeles. DeCuire, though, noted the importance of setting up a contract with a strong mid-major team that was willing to return to Missoula next season. The Panthers have won 20-plus games four times in the past six seasons and have advanced to a postseason tournament in three of the past four years. Most memorable, they upset No. 3-seed Baylor in the 2015 NCAA tournament.

"Without playing on Wednesday, it gives us an opportunity to talk through some stuff and actually get two good, full days of practice in," DeCuire said. "It probably makes us a little fresher, too."

SCOUTING GEORGIA STATE

Georgia State is 5-3 on the season, picking up an 18-point win over Eastern Washington, in addition to notable victories over Rice and Tulane.
The Panthers are coming off an overtime loss to Liberty, just their eighth home loss in the past five seasons (50-8). GSU has lost back-to-back home games just once during that span.
GSU has three players averaging double figures for scoring, led by sophomore D'Marcus Simonds (20.5, 39th in NCAA DI). Simonds is also the team leader for assists and ranks second for rebounding and steals. He recorded a triple-double in the season opener.
Simmonds was the 2016-17 Sun Belt Freshman of the Year and is on the 2017-18 Lute Olson National Player of the Year Watch List.
Junior Malik Benlevi is averaging 12.6 points and a team-best 6.5 rebounds per game. He has a team-most 16 steals and ranks 18th nationally with a .512 three-point field-goal percentage.
GSU is averaging just 71.0 points per game, but is limiting its opponents to 61.4 (17th in NCAA DI). Opponents are shooting just .382 against the Panthers.
GSU's defense also forces the 23rd-most turnovers in the NCAA, averaging 9.0 per game. The Panthers rank sixth nationally with a +6.8 turnover margin.
GSU has had plenty of recent success, playing in the postseason in three of the past four seasons. In 2015, the Panthers upset No. 3-seed Baylor in the NCAA tournament.
The Panthers were picked to finish second in the Sun Belt preseason poll.
Now in his seventh season, Ron Hunter has led the Panthers to a 128-77 mark, playing in four postseason tournaments and posting four 20-win seasons.

SERIES VS. THE PANTHERS
Montana and Georgia State have met just once before, back in 1984-85. The Grizzlies defeated the Panthers, 74-62, in the Champion Holiday Classic tournament in Missoula.

Finally A SATURDAY
Montana will play at least 11 games on Saturdays this season – more than any other day of the week. However, a full month into the season, the Grizzlies have yet to play on that day of the week. That will change this weekend at Georgia State. Prior to tipoff, Montana and Oklahoma are believed to be the only two Division-I teams to not play on a Saturday this season.

LOOKING AHEAD
After six of its last eight games have come on the road, Montana will return home for its next two games, vs. UC Riverside (Dec. 17) and UC Irvine (Dec. 19). But first, the Grizzlies will catch up on classwork, with final exams fast approaching.

Complete game notes, including stats, rankings, tables and more.

After detour in L.A., Montana travels country to take on strong Georgia State team

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Players Mentioned

Jamar Akoh

Michael Oguine

University of Montana Athletics

After detour in L.A., Montana travels country to take on strong Georgia State team

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jamar Akoh

Michael Oguine

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