Griz travel to Sacramento eyeing 5-0 start

MONTANA AT SACRAMENTO STATE
Thursday, Jan. 11 / 8 p.m. MT / Sacramento, Calif.
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Montana opened Big Sky Conference play with back-to-back wins before coming home and earning two more. The Grizzlies are off to one of their best starts to conference play in school history, and this week, will look to take the next step.

The Grizzlies haven't won three consecutive Big Sky road games since 2016 and are just 2-4 on this difficult road trip over the past three seasons. Montana lost at both Sacramento State and Portland State a year ago.

"I think the team that can get the most sweeps on the road is the team that tends to pull away," head coach Travis DeCuire said. "We've got one under our belt, and another would be huge. This is a very difficult one. We have not won at Sac State in the last three years, and we got swept on this trip last year, so we have our own agenda and our own reasons as to why we want to perform at a high level."

This team is much different than last year's, however, and in some ways, different than any team DeCuire has had. They're playing together defensively – leading the league for field-goal defense, rebounding and steals – but are also in sync offensively – Montana ranks first in the Big Sky for scoring and field-goal percentage.

While at the beginning of the season, the Grizzlies had a 1-2 punch featuring Ahmaad Rorie (18.6 points per game) and Michael Oguine (14.1), they have now added a third piece to the group, with Jamar Akoh ranking fourth in league play for both scoring and rebounding. Earlier this week, he was named the Big Sky Conference Player of the Week.

It's not just those three, however. Looking at the Griz lineup one through eight, opponents will see players who are making an impact, and doing it consistently.

"Our depth has been huge for us," DeCuire said. "We're starting to see what chemistry, inside and outside, can look like, and our depth has been a reason why we've been able to win some games."

First up on the road trip, Montana will go up against one of the top players in the league. Along with Akoh and Eastern Washington's Bogdan Bliznyuk, Sacramento State senior Justin Strings is one of three players in the league to rank in the top 10 for both scoring and rebounding.

Strings has scored in double figures in 36 consecutive games, and during conference play is averaging 21.7 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.

Aside from Strings, the Hornets have the Big Sky leader for blocked shots, Joshua Patton, and the second-best three-point shooter, Jordan Tolbert.

"I see a well-coached basketball team that knows how to play," DeCuire said of Sacramento State. "They do a good job of preparing for you individually. They scout and will try to take away our strengths. We have to be prepared to make game-time adjustments, and sometimes go to second or third options."

They have pieces, and showed potential in an upset of a hot Portland State team to begin conference play and a near-upset of Idaho last week. However, Sac State also has its deficiencies, leading to its 4-12 overall record. All four of its victories, though, have been at home (4-1).

The Hornets could be a good matchup for the Griz, ranking 10th in the Big Sky for scoring, 11th for rebounding and 10th for turnover margin. The Grizzlies rank among the league and nation's best in each of those categories.

"We've found some success, now we have to sustain it," DeCuire said. "We have to be in tune and focused one game at a time."

SERIES VS. THE HORNETS
Montana has had plenty of success against Sacramento State, going 38-9 all-time vs. the Hornets. The series includes three separate winning streaks of at least eight games, including 15 Griz wins in a row from 2006-07 through 2013-14. Since then, however, Sacramento State has won four of six, including the last three meetings in Sacramento.

The two teams have met at least once every season since 1992-93. Montana holds a 14-7 all-time mark in Sacramento.

Five different Grizzlies have a double-figures scoring game in their careers vs. Sacramento State, including three by Michael Oguine and two in two games for Ahmaad Rorie. As a freshman in 2016-17, Sayeed Pridgett scored a career-high 28 points – in addition to four rebounds and three assists – last year in Sacramento.

SCOUTING SACRAMENTO STATE

Sacramento State enters Thursday's game with a 4-12 mark, including a 1-2 record in league play.
Both teams have common results against CSUN (win) and UC Santa Barbara (loss).
Sac State earned a surprising victory over Portland State to open Big Sky play, 80-75, before dropping games at Idaho (after leading by 11 in the closing minutes) and Eastern Washington.
Senior Justin Strings is one of the top players in the league, scoring in double figures in 36 consecutive games. Recently, he was the Mid-Major National Player of the Week.
Strings is one of three Big Sky players to rank in the top 10 for both scoring (21.7) and rebounding (8.3); UM's Jamar Akoh is one of the others.
Sophomore Joshua Patton leads the Big Sky with 30 blocks and ranks sixth in the league with a .546 field-goal percentage.
Sophomore Izayah Mauriohooho-Le'afa is the team leader for assists (55; seventh in BSC) and steals (15), also chipping in 7.6 points per game.
Junior Jordan Tolbert has made half of his three-point attempts (29-of-58; second in BSC). He ranks second on the team with 10.8 points per game, despite coming off the bench in most contests.
The Hornets rank 10th in the conference for scoring offense (65.9) and 11th for rebounding (30.7). Their best statistical category is assists (fourth in BSC).
Brian Katz is in his 10th season at Sac State. He is the school's Division-I-era wins leader (108) and was the 2015 Big Sky and Mid-Major Coach of the Year.

STARTING STRONG
Montana is off to a 4-0 start to begin Big Sky Conference play, marking the seventh time in the Grizzlies' 55-year history in the league. The feat has been accomplished twice in the past three seasons under Travis DeCuire and four times in the past seven.

The Grizzlies have begun Big Sky play with four consecutive victories in 2017-18, 2015-16 (six), 2012-13 (12), 2011-12 (four), 1991-92 (seven), 1984-85 (four) and 1980-81 (four).

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

Scoring offense (91.0)
Scoring margin (+21.8)
Field-goal offense (.516)
Field-goal defense (.354)
Rebounding (39.8)
Steals (9.3)

Additionally, the Grizzlies rank second in the league for three-point field-goal percentage (.407), rebounding margin (+6.5), assists (15.0), turnover margin (+6.0), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.6) and offensive rebounds (12.5), and third for scoring defense (69.2)

WINNING STREAK
Montana is not only 4-0 to begin Big Sky play, but its four-game winning streak is its largest of the season. The Grizzlies have won four in a row and six of their last seven.

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 four wins in a row.

ROAD STREAK
After losing four consecutive road games, Montana has strung together back-to-back wins on the road, defeating Northern Arizona (Dec. 28) and Southern Utah (Dec. 30). It marks the team's first road winning streak since closing the 2016-17 regular season with victories at Weber State and Idaho State.

ALWAYS IN FRONT
Of Montana's four Big Sky games, the Grizzlies have trailed for just 3 minutes, 41 seconds out of 160 total minutes. Montana never trailed against Northern Arizona or North Dakota, and never trailed by more than 2 points against either Southern Utah or Northern Colorado.

TRENDING

Montana is undefeated at home this season (7-0).
The Grizzlies are a perfect 11-0 when leading at halftime, compared to 0-5 when trailing.
UM is 8-2 in games decided by double digits.
The Grizzlies are 7-0 when scoring 80 or more points.
Montana is 7-1 when opponents score fewer than 70 points, with the exception coming in a three-point loss at Washington.
Montana is 8-0 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 10-2 when turning the ball over less than its opponent.
Montana is 7-1 when shooting more free throws.

AKOH EARNS WEEKLY HONORS
Junior forward Jamar Akoh was named player of the week by the Big Sky Conference and College Sports Madness on Monday. It was the first weekly honor of his career.

Akoh averaged 28.0 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. Against the Fighting Hawks, he had a double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds – both team highs – in addition to three assists and a steal. Two nights later, he scored 34 points, the most by a Grizzly in eight seasons (Anthony Johnson scored 42 in the 2010 Big Sky title game vs. Weber State).

The highlight of Akoh's double-double vs. North Dakota came in the second half when he scored four points in a four-second span. He took advantage of a Griz steal for a breakaway dunk, before stealing the in-bounds pass and laying it in. Montana scored 109 points vs. North Dakota, its highest total against a Division-I opponent since 1992. The Grizzlies trailed for just 1:52 vs. Northern Colorado, in large part due to Akoh's strong start. He scored 10 points in the first 10 minutes, scoring 10 of the team's first 18 points.

ALL-AROUND RORIE
Ahmaad Rorie played in all 40 minutes vs. UC Santa Barbara and ranks 56th nationally for minutes played per game (35:30). He also ranks highly, however, for scoring (18.6 per game) and steals (24). In fact, Rorie is one of 18 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 (seventh), field-goal percentage (ninth) and assists (10th). He also ranks in the top 10 for free-throw percentage (first), three-point shooting (sixth) and assist-to-turnover ratio (second).

PERFECT FROM THE LINE
Ahmaad Rorie is a perfect 14-for-14 from the free-throw line during conference play, going 8-for-8 in a win over Northern Colorado. On the season, he is making a team-best 82.4 percent of his free-throw attempts (56-of-68).

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 14.1 points per game and ranking second on the team for assists (33), steals (21) and blocked shots (11). Despite standing at just 6-2, he also ranks third 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.

Since those first two games, Akoh has begun to take 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 (nine in a row), including four double-doubles.

During conference play, Akoh ranks fourth in the league for scoring (22.8 points per game), fourth for rebounding (8.3) and eighth for field-goal percentage (.560). He is one of three players to rank in the top 10 for all three categories. Akoh also ranks tied for 14th with three blocked shots in four games.

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

17.1 turnovers forced per game: 19th in NCAA (2nd in BSC)
+3.9 turnover margin: 25th (2rd)
8.0 steals per game: 43rd (3rd)
+4.9 rebounding margin: 70th (2nd)
4.2 blocked shots per game: 96th (2nd)
69.3 points allowed per game: 104th (3rd)

FORCING TURNOVERS
Montana has forced at least 13 turnovers in every game this season and ranks among the nation's best, forcing 17.13 turnovers per game (19th in NCAA). The Grizzlies have turned the ball over more times than their opponent just three times in 16 games and hold a +3.9 turnover margin (25th 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 13 of its last 15 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 (35.1 percent); that number was 28.6 percent a year ago. Freshman Karl Nicholas has more offensive boards (26) than defensive (21).

Prior to their game at Southern Utah (Dec. 30), the Grizzlies had out-rebounded their opponents 134-69 on the offensive glass over a nine-game span. They are currently averaging 13.00 offensive rebounds per game this season (30th in NCAA). Nearly one-fifth of Montana's points have been second-chance opportunities (203 points; 17.5 percent).

PRIDGETT PERFORMING
Sophomore Sayeed Pridgett is Montana's first player off the bench, and he's quietly and consistently putting up strong performances for the Griz. In addition to 8.4 points per game, Pridgett is shooting at a 46-percent clip and ranks second on the team for steals (21), third for assists (23) and fourth for blocked shots (10). His seven steals during Big Sky play are tied for fourth in the league, and tied with Timmy Falls for the team lead.

MORE MOOREHEAD
Bobby Moorehead struggled offensively for much of his sophomore season in 2016-17, averaging 3.9 points per game on .320 shooting. The junior has turned things around in 2017-18, averaging 8.1 points per game and ranking second on the team for minutes played (32:36) and three-pointers (27). His 11 blocked shots are tied for second, while his 17 steals rank fourth.

In Montana's recent win over UC Riverside (Dec. 17), he scored six points in a 10-second span to spark a 17-0 Griz scoring run. In the previous game, at Georgia State (Dec. 9), Moorehead hit back-to-back three-pointers to get the Griz within a single possession. At Stanford (Nov. 29), he scored 11 consecutive UM points in the second half to give the Griz a 40-37 advantage.

FRESHMAN FALLS
Timmy Falls scored 12 points through Montana's first 10 games of the season before breaking out vs. UC Irvine (Dec. 19). The freshman played 22 minutes off the bench and scored 14 points, including 4-for-4 shooting from three-point range. Falls also had several no-look passes and took a charge on defense.

Since his breakout performance vs. UC Irvine, Falls has played at least 22 minutes in each game and is averaging 7.5 points. He's also added 17 assists and eight steals during the six-game stretch. During Big Sky play, Falls ranks 10th in the league for assists and fourth for steals. His 3.3 assist-to-turnover ratio is fifth-best in the league as well.

TERRIFIC TRIO
Junior guards Michael Oguine and Ahmaad Rorie enter Thursday's contest each averaging more than 14.0 points per game. Oguine has scored in double figures in 15 of 16 games, while Rorie has accomplished the feat 14 times – including 20-plus on eight occasions. Akoh has been in double figures in nine consecutive games.

Montana is the only school in the Big Sky to have three players rank in the top 20 for scoring: Rorie (18.6; sixth), Akoh (14.4; 15th) and Oguine (14.1; 16th).

LOOKING AHEAD
Montana will continue its road trip with a contest at Portland State (Saturday) and Montana State (Jan. 20), before returning home for seven of its final 11 contests.

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Players Mentioned

Jamar Akoh

Timmy Falls

Bobby Moorehead

Karl Nicholas

Michael Oguine

Sayeed Pridgett

Ahmaad Rorie

University of Montana Athletics