Photo by: Todd Goodrich
A deeper dive into Montana’s winning non-conference record
12/24/2018 9:03:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Montana closed out the non-conference portion of its season on Saturday with a big road win at South Dakota State, ending the nation's longest home winning streak and improving to 7-4 on the year. The record is impressive, without a doubt, but Montana, with all the talent the Grizzlies returned, were preseason favorites to have success and win the league.
So now, seven weeks into the 2018-19 basketball season, and with Big Sky Conference action set to begin next week, just how impressive is Montana's 7-4 record.
For starters, it marks just the sixth time in nearly two decades that the Grizzlies have finished non-conference play with a winning record, something that should be celebrated on its own right. The Grizzlies have now done it in back-to-back years after going 7-5 in 2017-18. As for the other winning non-conference records? The Grizzlies have made the postseason each year, including four NCAA tournament appearances and one CBI berth.
Montana's .636 non-conference winning percentage is the program's best since 2010-11 (.642).
Impressive.
Then there's the fact that Montana has battled adversity, using four different starting-lineup combinations and having its full roster available for just one game all season. Most notable, senior starter Jamar Akoh has missed seven games with a lingering wrist issue. There's also the fact that out of Montana's nine Division-I games, seven have come away from Missoula.
More impressive.
Perhaps the biggest eye opener, though? The team's strength of schedule. Out of 353 Division-I basketball programs across the country, Montana has the 43rd-toughest schedule in the entire nation, accoring to KenPom's highly respected rankings. Of the traditional teams in this region – programs from the Big Sky, Pac-12, Mountain West, Big West and West Coast conferences – Montana's strength of schedule ranks sixth.
Seven of Montana's nine Division-I opponents have winning records, and Montana now has victories over the favorites to win the Sun Belt (Georgia State) and Summit League (South Dakota State), and a narrow road loss to the Big West favorites (UC Irvine). All three of those teams, in addition to Arizona, Creighton and Georgia Southern, are projected to win at least 19 games this season. The Grizzlies' four losses have come to teams with a combined winning percentage of .706.
Defense, the staple of Travis DeCuire's programs year in and year out, has been as good as it's ever been.
Need proof? Opponents are averaging just 67.6 points against the Griz, and Montana is doing it against some of the top offensive teams in the nation. Seven of Montana's nine Division-I opponents rank in the upper half of the country for scoring, including three in the top 16, according to KenPom.
Think about that… Montana has played three of the top 16 offensive teams in the nation: Georgia Southern (87.0 points per game, 11th), Creighton (84.8, 14th) and South Dakota State (84.7, 16th).
Collectively, Montana's defense has gone up against the 12th-toughest offensive schedule in the country. Montana has held its DI opponents below their season scoring averages in eight of nine games, including by double digits in the last three games.
Really impressive.
So how does all of this compare to teams of the past? Montana has played some challenging non-conference schedules in the past – including the 10th-toughest during DeCuire's second season in 2015-16 – but never have the Grizzlies played as tough of a non-league schedule and had as much success.
A year ago, when Montana went 7-5, its non-conference strength of schedule ranked 98th. The time before that, when the Grizzlies had a winning record in 2011-12, their strength of schedule ranked 181st.
To have a 7-4 record, against the 43rd-toughest schedule, mostly on the road and while battling through adversity?
Remarkable.
Montana opens Big Sky Conference play with road games at Northern Arizona (Dec. 29) and Southern Utah (Dec. 31), before coming home to host Sacramento State (Jan. 3) and Portland State (Jan. 5). Tickets can be purchased here.
So now, seven weeks into the 2018-19 basketball season, and with Big Sky Conference action set to begin next week, just how impressive is Montana's 7-4 record.
For starters, it marks just the sixth time in nearly two decades that the Grizzlies have finished non-conference play with a winning record, something that should be celebrated on its own right. The Grizzlies have now done it in back-to-back years after going 7-5 in 2017-18. As for the other winning non-conference records? The Grizzlies have made the postseason each year, including four NCAA tournament appearances and one CBI berth.
Montana's .636 non-conference winning percentage is the program's best since 2010-11 (.642).
Impressive.
Then there's the fact that Montana has battled adversity, using four different starting-lineup combinations and having its full roster available for just one game all season. Most notable, senior starter Jamar Akoh has missed seven games with a lingering wrist issue. There's also the fact that out of Montana's nine Division-I games, seven have come away from Missoula.
More impressive.
Perhaps the biggest eye opener, though? The team's strength of schedule. Out of 353 Division-I basketball programs across the country, Montana has the 43rd-toughest schedule in the entire nation, accoring to KenPom's highly respected rankings. Of the traditional teams in this region – programs from the Big Sky, Pac-12, Mountain West, Big West and West Coast conferences – Montana's strength of schedule ranks sixth.
Seven of Montana's nine Division-I opponents have winning records, and Montana now has victories over the favorites to win the Sun Belt (Georgia State) and Summit League (South Dakota State), and a narrow road loss to the Big West favorites (UC Irvine). All three of those teams, in addition to Arizona, Creighton and Georgia Southern, are projected to win at least 19 games this season. The Grizzlies' four losses have come to teams with a combined winning percentage of .706.
Defense, the staple of Travis DeCuire's programs year in and year out, has been as good as it's ever been.
Need proof? Opponents are averaging just 67.6 points against the Griz, and Montana is doing it against some of the top offensive teams in the nation. Seven of Montana's nine Division-I opponents rank in the upper half of the country for scoring, including three in the top 16, according to KenPom.
Think about that… Montana has played three of the top 16 offensive teams in the nation: Georgia Southern (87.0 points per game, 11th), Creighton (84.8, 14th) and South Dakota State (84.7, 16th).
Collectively, Montana's defense has gone up against the 12th-toughest offensive schedule in the country. Montana has held its DI opponents below their season scoring averages in eight of nine games, including by double digits in the last three games.
Really impressive.
So how does all of this compare to teams of the past? Montana has played some challenging non-conference schedules in the past – including the 10th-toughest during DeCuire's second season in 2015-16 – but never have the Grizzlies played as tough of a non-league schedule and had as much success.
A year ago, when Montana went 7-5, its non-conference strength of schedule ranked 98th. The time before that, when the Grizzlies had a winning record in 2011-12, their strength of schedule ranked 181st.
To have a 7-4 record, against the 43rd-toughest schedule, mostly on the road and while battling through adversity?
Remarkable.
Montana opens Big Sky Conference play with road games at Northern Arizona (Dec. 29) and Southern Utah (Dec. 31), before coming home to host Sacramento State (Jan. 3) and Portland State (Jan. 5). Tickets can be purchased here.
RECAP: #GrizHoops ends nation's longest home winning streak, knocks off Jackrabbits #GoGriz
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) December 23, 2018
📰 https://t.co/vqZREbqkul pic.twitter.com/HbHRFqYBRi
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