Montana heads to Weber seeking momentum

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The Montana men's basketball team returns to the road this week looking to rebound from a loss at Montana State with one of the best possible opportunities to make a statement ahead of the Big Sky tournament: beat Weber State at home.

THE GAME: The Grizzlies (14-15, 9-7 BSC) head to Ogden to face the Wildcats (16-11, 11-5 BSC) on Thursday at the Dee Events Center to open their final road trip of the regular season.

The Griz face Weber as winners in four of their last six games but are coming off a loss to a white-hot shooting Montana State team in Bozeman where guard Tyler Hall went 6-for-8 from behind the arc and scored 37 points, good enough to win the Big Sky Player of the Week and National Mid-Major Player of the Week awards.

Weber State enters the game on an uncharacteristic three-game losing streak, falling to league-leaders North Dakota at home on Feb. 18, then dropping two more games on the Idaho/Eastern Washington road trip, a trip the Grizzlies swept back in January.

Make no mistake, though, the Wildcats are dangerous. Weber State guard Jeremy Senglin enters the game as the nation's number one three-point shooter, averaging 4.04 triples per game.

Griz fans will remember Senglin from their earlier matchup on New Year's Eve in Missoula when he drained a step-back three in overtime to give the Wildcats the 84-81 win.

Tipoff from Ogden is set for 7 p.m.

IMPLICATIONS: Montana enters the game sitting at No. 6 in the Big Sky standings at 9-7, one place away from an all-important first-round bye at the looming conference tournament in Reno, set to tip-off on March 7.

After occupying the top spot in the standings for much of the season, Weber State has dropped to No. 3 at 11-5 in Big Sky play. But with two games remaining on the league schedule, the final standings are far from decided.

Multiple scenarios exist that could see the Griz through to the second round in Reno, but UM needs to claim a victory in Ogden to make it a reality – something the Griz haven't done since the 2009-10 Big Sky Championship when Anthony Johnson scored 42 points to claim a 66-65 win for Montana.

"It's time for us to go to Weber and play well. We haven't done that," said Montana head coach Travis DeCuire. "I think both teams are limping in a little bit, licking our wounds a little bit, but are excited about an opportunity to create a little bit of a streak heading into the tournament.

"So, it's going to be entertaining, it's going to be interesting, and I think our guys are excited about this chance because they kind of feel like they let one get away last time."

Despite the loss at Montana State, DeCuire and the Griz know they are still in a position to make a run at a conference championship. Of the five teams ahead of them on the league table, UM has beaten all of them, save the overtime loss to Weber State.

With the Road to Reno looming, DeCuire says the time is right for his team to go out and achieve the goals they set for themselves at the beginning of the season.

"We've got a group that expects to win a championship. We're going to continue to talk that way and walk that way, but it's going to be up to us to play that way," said DeCuire.

"I'm very confident in our abilities, and I'm going to do what I can to keep our guy's heads right, keep the confidence high and turn them loose."

WATCH/LISTEN: Fans around the world can watch UM vs. WSU game live and free of charge on the league's digital video streaming platform WatchBigSky.com, and via the Big Sky Conference Mobile App, available to download free from the App Store and on Google Play. If you live in the Salt Lake area, you can also watch the game live on KJZZ.

The "Voice of the Griz" Riley Corcoran will bring you the statewide radio call on the Montana Grizzlies Radio Network. An audio-only stream of the radio call is also available at GoGriz.com. Fans can also follow live twitter updates @UMGRIZZLIES_BB, and a link to live stats is available at GoGriz.com.

SERIES HISTORY: Weber leads the all-time series 70-55 and has won the last three meetings between the two Big Sky powerhouses. The Wildcats also lead the all-time series 45-15 when played in Ogden.

UM's last regular season win at Weber was back in the '03-'04 season under Pat Kennedy. The Wildcats have rattled off 12 straight regular season home wins against the Griz.

LAST MATCHUP: Senior guard Walter Wright scored 25 points, and Ahmaad Rorie followed close behind with 22, but the Griz missed a chance at a win when Wright 1-of-2 from the free throw line to send the game into overtime, where Senglin drained a three with time expiring to win it for WSU.

GRIZ BITS: Sophomore wing Bobby Moorehead made his first start against the Bobcats since Nov. 27 at South Dakota, the seventh start of his career at UM.

Junior forward Fabijan Krslovic will make career start No. 30 at Weber State. The Sydney, Australia native is the only Grizzly to start every game this season and has made 78 career starts.

Montana is ranked No. 27 nationally in fewest turnovers per game, averaging 11 giveaways. Weber comes in ranked No. 43 in the same category. Last time Montana faced Weber, the Griz only gave up a single turnover the entire game.

Montana's loss to Montana State marked only the 15th Big Sky Conference loss of Travis DeCuire's three-year career at his alma mater. His overall league record is 36-15, a 70.5 percent winning average.

SCOUTING WEBER: Senglin ranks No. 1 in the nation in average threes per game at 4.04, and is ranked No. 3 in the nation in total threes made with 109.

The Wildcats rank No. 16 in fewest total turnovers, but the Griz are close behind ranked No. 29 in the nation.

At 20.6 points per game, Senglin is Weber's leading scorer. The Wildcats have three players averaging double figures, with forward Kyndahl Hill averaging 10.2 PPG and center Zach Braxton averaging an even 10 PPG.

MAKE PLANS FOR RENO: A gathering for University of Montana alumni who are making the trip to the Big Sky Championship in Reno is planned for March 7 at Club Novi in the El Dorado from 9 p.m. to midnight. All are invited to attend.

LOOKING AHEAD: Montana wraps up the regular season in Pocatello on Saturday against Idaho State.

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Players Mentioned

Fabijan Krslovic

Bobby Moorehead

Ahmaad Rorie

Walter Wright

University of Montana Athletics