First-place Griz face toughest test yet

MONTANA AT PORTLAND STATE
Saturday, Jan. 13 / 2 p.m. MT / Portland, Ore.
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Montana is off to one of its best starts in program history, beginning Big Sky play 5-0 for just the fourth time in its 55-year history in the league. The Grizzlies are winning by an average margin of nearly 20 points per game, but that will get a big challenge Saturday afternoon at Portland State.

"For the most part, we're winning the games we're supposed to win," Travis DeCuire said about his team's start. ""I think the team that can get the most sweeps on the road is the team that tends to pull away."

Montana already has one road sweep under its belt and has the opportunity for another, after picking up its first win at Sacramento State under the DeCuire era.

Even though Sac State beat Portland State two weeks ago, Portland State will present a bigger test than the Hornets. In addition to the challenges of traveling to another state, plus a quick turnaround with a 1 p.m. local start time, the Vikings are among the nation's best in a handful of different categories.

They rank first out of 351 NCAA Division I teams for steals per game (12.0) and turnover margin (+9.2). Their press defense troubled some of the nation's top teams during November and December, with the Vikings defeating Stanford and Cal, and hanging tough with Duke, Oregon and Butler.

A key for the Griz offense will be breaking the press and getting past midcourt.

"As long as we take care of the ball and get it across half court at a high rate, we should get shots." DeCuire said.

While Portland State's defense is tough, Montana also has confidence in its offense. The unit ranks first during Big Sky play for scoring (88.4 points per game) and second for field-goal percentage (.505).

Conversely, the Vikings' offense is equally as tough as their defense.

PSU ranks fourth nationally, averaging 90.1 points per game, in addition to 18.4 assists (ninth in NCAA) and 14.24 offensive rebounds (eighth). Deontae North ranks 29th in the country with 21.0 points per game, followed by Bryce Canda's 15.8. Canda is also the team leader for rebounding, steals and three-point shooting.

Once again, though, Montana's defense could match up with the Vikings' offense. While PSU puts up points at ease, Montana leads Big Sky play with a .380 opponent field-goal percentage and ranks second, holding opponents to 68.6 points per game. The Grizzlies don't press the way Portland State does, but they've been nearly as good at forcing turnovers – often times through deflections and matchup defense. Montana ranks 17th nationally with 17.12 turnovers forced per game and 22nd with a +4.0 turnover margin.

"We do it our way, they do it theirs," DeCuire said. "There will be a lot of transition, up and down the court. Hopefully we can continue to play basketball the way we have been on the defensive end."

Following the long trip, and with just one game next week, the team will take Sunday and Monday to rest and recover. DeCuire's message to his team is simple: "Give us what you've got and earn that extra day off."

RECAP: @CoachDeCuire picks up 1st win at Sacramento State, #GrizHoops sits alone atop #BigSkyMBB standings https://t.co/ZlKz8EUQGm pic.twitter.com/tGA1tssMRn
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) January 12, 2018

SERIES VS. THE VIKINGS
Montana and Portland State first met in 1965-66 and played at least once in 13 of the next 16 seasons. The two teams then took a 16-year hiatus before the series resumed in 1996-97, and have played every season since. Montana holds a 38-23 edge in the series, but the Vikings lead the meetings in Portland (16 to 14).

From 2008-09 through 2012-13, Montana won nine consecutive in the series. Since then, the Grizzlies are 5-3, including 4-1 under Travis DeCuire. The lone loss came last year in Portland.

Montana's core has had plenty of success against the Vikings:

In the only meeting between the two teams in 2014-15, Fabijan Krslovic, then a freshman, had eight points and six rebounds in the Grizzlies' 19-point win.
Montana shot 56 percent in a home win over Portland State in 2015-16, led by 20 points and four assists from Michael Oguine.
On the road in 2015-16, Montana overcame a nine-point halftime deficit, receiving five points, three rebounds and three assists from Krslovic.
In UM's only loss under DeCuire, Portland State went on a 18-3 run to open the second half, after a first half in which there were 16 lead changes. The Griz lost despite 29 points, seven rebounds and five assists from Ahmaad Rorie, 24 points and seven rebounds from Krslovic, and a double-double from Oguine.
Montana split with the Vikings in 2016-17, holding on for a three-point win at home. In the victory, Rorie had 28 points and five assists, Oguine had 15 points and four assists, Bobby Moorehead had 10 points and six boards, and Krslovic had six points and 11 rebounds.

SCOUTING PORTLAND STATE

Picked to finish eighth and ninth in the preseason polls, Portland State was the surprise of non-conference season, going 10-3 and defeating Pac-12 opponents Stanford and Cal. The Vikings also hung close with Duke, Butler and Oregon.
PSU is coming off of back-to-back wins after beginning Big Sky play with losses at Sacramento State and Eastern Washington. The Vikings rallied for a win at preseason favorite Idaho before thumping Montana State on Thursday.
PSU is a perfect 5-0 at home this season.
The Vikings are led by Deontae North (21.0 points) and Bryce Canda (15.8 points and a team-high 6.8 rebounds).
PSU leads the nation with 12.0 steals per game and a +9.2 turnover margin, and ranks second with 21.5 forced turnovers per game.
The Vikings' offense is also among the nation's best, ranking fourth nationally for scoring (90.1 points per game)
The Vikings average 18.4 assists per game (ninth in NCAA) and own a 1.5 assist-to-turnover ratio (14th). Holland Woods has 100 assists (5.9 per game; 26th in NCAA).
Four players have at least 28 steals on the year, with each member of the quartet ranking in the top 140 nationally.
Barret Peery is in his first season at PSU. The Vikings went 15-16 a year ago.

STARTING STRONG
Montana is off to a 5-0 start to begin Big Sky Conference play, marking the fourth time in the Grizzlies' 55-year history in the league. Travis DeCuire has been a part of three of those, twice as a coach and once as a player.

The Grizzlies have begun Big Sky play with five consecutive victories in 2017-18, 2015-16 (six), 2012-13 (12) and 1991-92 (seven).

LEADING THE BIG SKY
Through five games, Montana is at the top of the conference in many offensive and defensive categories. The Grizzlies rank first for:

Scoring offense (88.4)
Scoring margin (+19.8)
Field-goal defense (.380)
Three-point percentage (.433)
Rebounding margin (+8.0)
Steals (10.2)

Additionally, the Grizzlies rank second in the league for scoring defense (68.6), field-goal percentage (.505), rebounding (39.0), turnover margin (+5.8) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.5), and rank third for free-throw percentage (.805) and assists (14.6).

WINNING STREAK
Montana is not only 5-0 to begin Big Sky play, but its five-game winning streak is its largest of the season. The Grizzlies have won five in a row and seven of their last eight.

After winning back-to-back games to open the season (Nov. 10 and 13), Montana alternated wins and losses over its next nine games before winning back-to-back contests vs. UC Riverside and UC Irvine (Dec. 17 and 19). The Grizzlies narrowly lost at Washington (Dec. 22) before rattling off five wins in a row.

ROAD STREAK
After losing four consecutive road games, Montana has strung together three consecutive road wins, defeating Northern Arizona (Dec. 28), Southern Utah (Dec. 30) and Sacramento State (Jan. 11). It marks the team's first three-game road winning streak since last December/January.

ALWAYS IN FRONT
Of Montana's five Big Sky games, the Grizzlies have trailed for just 7 minutes, 36 seconds out of 200 total minutes. Montana never trailed against Northern Arizona or North Dakota, and has never trailed by more than two possessions.

TRENDING

Montana is undefeated at home this season (7-0).
The Grizzlies are a perfect 11-0 when leading at halftime, compared to 1-5 when trailing. Thursday marked their first win in which they trailed at the intermission.
UM is 9-2 in games decided by double digits.
The Grizzlies are 7-0 when scoring 80 or more points.
Montana is 8-1 when opponents score fewer than 70 points, with the exception coming in a three-point loss at Washington.
Montana is 9-0 when shooting above .450.
Montana is 4-0 when opponents shoot .400 or worse.
Ironically, the Grizzlies are 4-0 when opponents make eight or more three-pointers.
Montana is 11-2 when turning the ball over less than its opponent.
Montana is 7-1 when shooting more free throws.

ALL-AROUND RORIE
Ahmaad Rorie played in all 40 minutes vs. UC Santa Barbara and ranks 56th nationally for minutes played per game (35:26). He also ranks highly, however, for scoring (18.8 per game) and steals (27). In fact, Rorie is one of 16 NCAA Division I players to average at least 18.0 points and 1.5 steals per game.

He is one of two Big Sky players to rank in the top 10 in league play for scoring (sixth), field-goal percentage (ninth) and assists (seventh). He also ranks in the top 10 for free-throw percentage (first), three-point shooting (fourth), steals (13th) and assist-to-turnover ratio (first).

PERFECT FROM THE LINE
Ahmaad Rorie is a perfect 19-for-19 from the free-throw line during conference play. On the season, he is making a team-best 83.6 percent of his free-throw attempts (61-of-73).

BE LIKE MIKE
Junior guard Michael Oguine, a third-team All-Big Sky selection in 2016-17, scored in double figures in the first 11 games of the season, including 29 in a win at Pitt (Nov. 13).

Oguine does it all for the Griz, averaging 14.2 points per game and ranking second on the team for assists (36), steals (25) and blocked shots (11). Despite standing at just 6-2, he also ranks second for rebounding, averaging 4.8 boards per game.

AKOH TAKING OVER
The Grizzlies had high hopes for Jamar Akoh, a transfer from Cal State Fullerton who redshirted a year ago. In his first two games, however, he combined for just four points and two rebounds, being limited to 28 total minutes due to foul trouble.

Over the next 14 games, Akoh took over down low, averaging 16.1 points and 7.7 rebounds, and shooting 59.4 percent. He has 12 double-figure scoring games during that 14-game span, including nine in a row prior to Thursday night's nine-point performance at Sacramento State. In the win, he did record eight rebounds and a career-high-tying three steals.

During conference play, Akoh ranks eighth in the league for scoring (20.0 points per game), fourth for rebounding (8.2) and seventh for steals (1.6). He is one of three players to rank in the top 10 for all three categories.

STOUT DEFENSE
Montana ranks in the top-100 nationally for the majority of defensive statistical categories:

17.12 turnovers forced per game: 17th in NCAA (2nd in BSC)
+4.0 turnover margin: 22nd (2rd)
8.4 steals per game: 26th (2nd)
+5.4 rebounding margin: 50th (2nd)
69.1 points allowed per game: 100th (3rd)

FORCING TURNOVERS
Montana has forced at least 13 turnovers in every game this season and ranks among the nation's best, forcing 17.12 turnovers per game (17th in NCAA). The Grizzlies have turned the ball over more times than their opponent just three times in 17 games and hold a +4.0 turnover margin (22nd in NCAA).

On three 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 14 of its last 16 games, which is particularly impressive considering four of those contests have come against Power-5 teams and another came against a UC Irvine team that ranked No. 2 nationally for total rebounds at the time.

Well over one-third of Montana's rebounds have come from the offensive end (35.5 percent); that number was 28.6 percent a year ago. Freshman Karl Nicholas has as many offensive boards (26) than defensive (26).

They are currently averaging 13.12 offensive rebounds per game this season (25th in NCAA). Nearly one-fifth of Montana's points have been second-chance opportunities (216 points; 17.5 percent).

TERRIFIC TRIO
Montana is the only school in the Big Sky to have three players rank in the top 15 for scoring, with juniors Ahmaad Rorie (18.8; sixth), Michael Oguine (14.2; 14th) and Jamar Akoh (14.1; 15th) accomplishing the feat. Entering the week, Montana was one of 20 players nationally to have three players average at least 14.0 points per game.

Rorie has been in double figures 15 times – including 20-plus on eight occasions. Oguine has been in double figures in all but one contest, while Akoh has accomplished the feat in nine of his past 10 contests, including four double-doubles.

WIDE MARGIN
The Grizzlies recorded back-to-back 30-point victories (at Southern Utah, Dec. 30; vs. North Dakota, Jan. 4), marking the first time in 44 years that Montana had won consecutive games by 30 or more points. The last time the Grizzlies did it was in 1973-74, under Jud Heathcote. In the midst of a 13-game win streak, Montana defeated Gonzaga by 35 and Northern Arizona by 32.

In five conference games, Montana is out-scoring its opponents 442-343, winning by an average of 19.8 points per game.

Additional game notes, including statistics, tables and more...

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Players Mentioned

Jamar Akoh

Fabijan Krslovic

Bobby Moorehead

Karl Nicholas

Michael Oguine

Ahmaad Rorie

University of Montana Athletics