Griz face tough test at Creighton

Montana at Creighton / Wednesday / 6:30 p.m. (MT) / Omaha, Neb.

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Montana played five games in 10 days to open the season, including a cross-country flight to the Bahamas to play in a three-game tournament. Following was a 10-day layoff which will end Wednesday when the Grizzlies face a hot Creighton team in Omaha, Neb.

Montana knows it will get opportunities to score. Through five games, the Grizzlies are averaging 80.6 points per game, and the Bluejays are giving up nearly as many to their opponents (72.8). The key for Montana will be limiting Creighton's opportunities.

While the Bluejays allow 72.8 points per game, they score 81.2 per contest, and do so at a .521 clip. In fact, Creighton (seventh) and Montana (.520, eighth) rank in the top 10 in the entire country for shooting percentage, setting up a potential high-scoring affair.

"They're a high-octane basketball team," head coach Travis DeCuire said. "They can put 100 on the board on any given night. They're a high-level basketball team, so our defense will have to challenge them. It will be a good measuring stick for where we're at."

But Montana, under DeCuire, has been known for his defensive tenacity, which will be all the more important against Creighton.

"We have to continue to play good defense and create turnovers," DeCuire said. "The more turnovers we create, the more opportunities we'll have on offense. If we take good shots, we'll see what happens."

Wednesday will be Montana's toughest test of the young season. Not only have the Bluejays qualified for the NCAA tournament 12 times in the past two decades, including in both 2017 and 2018. They're 5-1 in 2018-19, with a 25-point win over Georgia State and most recently an upset victory over then-No. 16 Clemson. More so, Creighton is averaging 16,700 fans per game, and annually ranks among the nation's top five for attendance.

Tipoff is slated for 6:31 p.m. (MT) with a national broadcast on FS1.

Back at it. Ready to take on Creighton on Wednesday! #GrizHoops pic.twitter.com/sT8CXDZj9g
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) November 27, 2018

SCOUTING CREIGHTON

Creighton enters Wednesday with a 5-1 record. The Bluejays' lone loss came to Ohio State (69-60). They own victories over Boise State, Georgia State and No. 16 Clemson. The team is receiving top-25 votes in both major polls (No. 29 in AP poll, No. 32 in USA Today Coaches poll).
The Bluejays have four players averaging double figures for scoring, led by Ty-Shon Alexander's 19.2 per game. The sophomore is shooting .514 from the floor and .479 from deep (3.8 per game, 19th in NCAA).
Alexander was named MVP of the Cayman Islands Classic after scoring 36 points vs. Clemson.
Sophomore Damien Jefferson leads the team with 5.5 rebounds per game. He also is scoring 10.8 points per game on a team-best .667 shooting.
The Bluejays are among the nation's leader for shooting, ranking sixth with a .455 three-point shooting percentage and seventh with a .521 overall shooting percentage.
Junior Martin Krampelj earned Preseason All-BIG EAST honorable mention while sophomore Mitch Ballock earned BIG EAST All-Freshman Team recognition in 2017-18.
Creighton went 21-12 a year ago, advancing to the NCAA tournament for the second consecutive season.

SERIES VS. THE BLUEJAYS
Montana is 2-4 all-time against Creighton, last meeting in 1993-94. All six contests have been decided by single digits, with the Grizzlies winning two of the last three. Head coach Travis DeCuire played in the two most-recent games.

HOT SHOOTING
Montana has made at least half of its shots in four consecutive games, and on the season is connecting on 52.0 percent of its attempts, the eighth-best shooting percentage in the entire country.

The Grizzlies have nine players shooting better than 50 percent, including junior Sayeed Pridgett, whose .628 percentage leads all Big Sky players.

STARTING STRONG
Montana opened the year with four consecutive victories for the first time since 1995-96. It was tied for the ninth-best start in school history.

GRIZ TRACKS

After taking just 10 combined attempts over the first two games, senior Michael Oguine has averaged 10.3 over the last three. On the season, the senior ranks second on the team for scoring, first for rebounding, first for assists, first for steals and tied for first for blocked shots. His 3.3 assist-to-turnover ratio is the 48th-best in the NCAA.
Kendal Manuel is averaging 11.2 points per game and has made at least two three-pointers in all five contests. The junior is converting more than half of his three-point attempts on the season (11-of-21) and led the team with 17 points vs. Miami (Ohio).
Junior Sayeed Pridgett has scored in double figures in four of five games this season, averaging 12.2, in addition to 5.2 rebounds and a team-high-tying four blocks.
Ahmaad Rorie has scored at least 14 points in every game this season and is shooting 68.8 percent of his shoots from inside the arc.
Senior Bobby Moorehead missed his first 13 three-point attempts to begin the season, but since has made four of his last seven shots from deep.
Seven players have made their collegiate or Grizzly debuts this season.
Montana is averaging 8.6 three-pointers made per game, compared to 5.5 a year ago.
The Grizzlies are averaging 31.6 rebounds per game and have been out-rebounded three times already this season. They were out-rebounded just 10 times in 32 games a year ago.

GRIZ IN PARADISE
Montana went 2-1 at the Islands of the Bahamas Showcase (Nov. 16-18), defeating Incarnate Word and Miami (Ohio) before falling to Georgia Southern in the championship game.

"We felt like we left a little on the table, and we wish we would have finished better," Travis DeCuire said. "Going into it, though, we wanted a chance to play for a championship, which we did, we wanted to grow as a team, which we did, and we wanted to see what depth we had and what our young guys could do, which we did."

Montana shot better than 50 percent from the field in all three games, including 62.3 percent vs. Incarnate Word, the team's highest percentage since March 2016.
Senior Ahmaad Rorie was named to the all-tournament team, averaging 17.3 points on .500 shooting, in addition to 4.7 assists over three games. His biggest impact came against Miami (Ohio), when he knocked down three three-pointers over the final 3 minutes, including a clutch shot as the shot clock was winding down, from way past NBA range, to give Montana a 71-69 lead with 13 seconds to play.
Senior Michael Oguine averaged 18.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game during the tournament, including 25 points vs. Incarnate Word (10-of-11 shooting from the floor).
Freshman Mack Anderson made his collegiate debut vs. Incarnate Word, scoring seven points on 3-of-4 shooting. Fellow freshman Freddy Brown III made his first collegiate basket, a three-pointer.
Donaven Dorsey had his best game as a Griz vs. Miami (Ohio), scoring 14 points on 4-of-6 shooting (3-of-5 from deep).
Montana trailed Georgia Southern by 20 points at the half before fighting back to get within a single point. The Grizzlies had two shots in the final seconds to try and tie the game.

Complete Match Notes in PDF format, including more notes, charts and player pages

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Players Mentioned

Mack Anderson

Freddy Brown III

Donaven Dorsey

Kendal Manuel

Bobby Moorehead

Michael Oguine

Sayeed Pridgett

Ahmaad Rorie

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