Grizzlies turn attention to 2nd season

Montana at Northern Arizona / Saturday / 2 p.m. / Flagstaff, Ariz.

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GRIZZLIES TURN ATTENTION TO 2ND SEASON
A year ago, Montana won two of its final three non-conference games before opening Big Sky play at Northern Arizona and Southern Utah. The Grizzlies were dominant in both road contests, setting the course for a 13-0 start to league play and a Big Sky Conference title.

This year, Montana also won two of its final three non-conference games and this week will again open Big Sky play at Northern Arizona and Southern Utah. The results and the trajectory of the next several weeks is still to be seen, but Montana is seemingly beginning to peak at the right time.

For one, Montana is beginning to get back to full strength. The Grizzlies have had their full roster available just once this season, but starting forward Jamar Akoh has started three of the past four games.

Perhaps bigger, Montana has momentum. During the month of December, opponents are averaging just 60.0 points against Montana's defense. On the flip side, the Grizzlies scored 85 points in their most-recent game – their biggest win of the season – snapping South Dakota State's nation-leading 26-game home winning streak.

Montana's seven non-conference victories led the Big Sky. The team's 7-4 record was its best since 2010-11, doing so against the 43rd-toughest strength of schedule nationally.

"It was a successful non-conference," head coach Travis DeCuire said. "Our goals were to win more than we did, and I think if we were healthy early on we'd win another one or two, maybe even three. But everyone we lost to was a good team, potentially NCAA tournament teams. To be 7-4, with the adversity we faced, we're in a good spot, and hopefully we weathered the storm and can go into conference and make the most of it."

Montana knows it will have to be at its best night in and night out, though. Over the next 20 games, the target will be on the Grizzlies' back each night. Montana was the unanimous favorite to win the Big Sky Conference and make a return trip to the NCAA tournament.

"Survival mode is hard to sustain when the bullseye is on your back," DeCuire said. "We have to find ways to compete and get better every day, and I think we'll be ready to do that."

The Grizzlies will kick off Big Sky play at Northern Arizona, a team that has lost seven consecutive games overall. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m. MT and can be watched on Pluto TV.

SCOUTING NORTHERN ARIZONA

Enters Big Sky play with a 2-8 record overall, losing seven in a row dating back to its Nov. 14 win at Omaha.
The Lumberjacks are playing at home for just the third time this season, beating Jacksonville (Nov. 10) and losing to Utah Valley (Dec. 8).
NAU has four players averaging double figures for scoring, led by sophomore Carlos Hines (13.0) and transfer Bernie Andre (12.7). Hines leads NAU for three-pointers and steals, while Andre is the team's leading rebounder (12th in Big Sky).
Freshman Luke Avdalovic leads the Big Sky with a .571 three-point field-goal percentage. He is averaging 2.2 made threes per game.
The Lumberjacks have three players rank in the top 15 in the Big Sky for free-throw percentage.
NAU's best statistical category is steals, ranking fifth in the Big Sky with 6.4 per game. Hines ranks sixth in the league with 1.6 per game.
NAU ranks 300th or worse nationally for scoring defense, field-goal defense, rebounding margin and turnover margin.
Under Jack Murphy, NAU went 5-27 in 2017-18, finishing last in the Big Sky (2-16).

SERIES VS. THE LUMBERJACKS
In a series that dates back to 1970-71, the Griz and Lumberjacks have played 101 times. Montana holds a 69-32 edge, including a 7-0 record under Travis DeCuire. In fact, over the past 10 seasons, Montana is 17-3 against the Lumberjacks.

A year ago in Flagstaff, Jamar Akoh had a double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds, as the Griz limited NAU to 32.7 percent shooting and forced the Lumberjacks into 19 turnovers. Akoh had17 points in the meeting in Missoula. In five career games vs. NAU, Michael Oguine is averaging 15.4 points.

GRIZ TRACKS

Montana's 7-4 non-conference record was its best since 2010-11, and came against the nation's 43rd-toughest schedule.
Montana is 7-4 despite having its full roster available for just one game all season. Most notable, starting forward Jamar Akoh has missed seven games.
The Grizzlies are allowing just 60.0 points per game over the past five contests.
Montana is shooting .480 on the season (54th in NCAA, 1st in Big Sky) and has made at least half of its shots in six games.
Montana has made at least eight three-pointers seven times this season. The Grizzlies hit that number just four times in 2017-18.
Five different players have led Montana for scoring. Four players are averaging at least 12.0 points per game.
The Griz are coming off of their two-best nights from the charity stripe, connecting on 77.1 percent of their free-throw attempts at Arizona and South Dakota State.
Just four players all season have made more than five field goals against the Griz.
Montana's four losses have come to opponents with a combined record of 37-15 (.706).
After being one of two teams to use the same starting lineup for every game in 2017-18, the Grizzlies have used four different combinations in 2018-19.
After posting a +4.6 rebounding margin (47th in NCAA) in 2017-18, Montana has been out-rebounded seven times this season. While Montana's 31.2 rebounding average is last in the Big Sky, the Grizzlies rank second by allowing just 33.2 rebounds per game. They also rank in the upper third of the conference for scoring defense, blocked shots and steals.
Montana owns the nation's fourth-longest home winning streak, winning 19 consecutive games inside Dahlberg Arena.
Montana's 4-0 start was its best since 1995-96.
Seven players have made their collegiate or Grizzly debuts.

Montana is allowing just 67.6 points per game. The Griz have done so against the 12th-best offensive schedule in the NCAA, facing 3 of the nation's top 16 scoring teams. #GrizHoops https://t.co/niGhdsHPhm
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) December 27, 2018

NO PROBLEM IN NON-CONFERENCE
Montana knocked off South Dakota State (Dec. 22) to close non-conference play with a 7-4 record. Not only was the winning percentage Montana's best since 2010-11, but it was made even more impressive considering who the games were played against. Montana played the 43rd-toughest non-conference schedule in the entire country. Never before have the Grizzlies had a winning record against such steep competition (for comparison, 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). Overall, seven of Montana's nine Division-I non-conference opponents posted a winning record.

Since the turn of the century, Montana has had a winning non-conference record in five previous seasons (2005-06, 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2017-18), advancing to the NCAA tournament in four of those seasons and the CBI in the other.

In 2018-19, Montana beat the preseason favorite to win the Summit League (South Dakota State) and Sun Belt (Georgia State), in addition to a narrow road loss at the Big West favorite UC Irvine. The Grizzlies also played in front of more than 16,000 fans at Creighton (BIG EAST) and nearly 13,000 fans at Arizona (Pac-12). Of the 68 NCAA tournament teams from 2018, just seven played more tournament teams in non-conference than Montana (four: Arizona, Creighton, Georgia State, South Dakota State).

DOMINANT DEFENSE
During the month of December, Montana's opponents are averaging just 60.0 points per game, and on the season, the Griz are giving up just 67.6 (93rd in the NCAA). The figure is impressive, but becomes even more remarkable considering who Montana has played.

Collectively, Montana's defense has gone up against the 12th-toughest offensive schedule in the country, with three of its opponents ranking in the top 16 nationally for scoring: Georgia Southern (87.0 points per game, 11th), Creighton (84.8, 14th) and South Dakota State (84.7, 16th).

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.

HOT SHOOTING
Montana remains one of the top shooting teams in the country. The Grizzlies' .480 shooting percentage leads the Big Sky and ranks in the top 15 percent of all Division-I schools (54th). The Grizzlies made at least half of their shots in six consecutive games from Nov. 12 through Dec. 3 and led the entire nation as late as Dec. 9.

Junior Sayeed Pridgett is making nearly 60 percent of his shots from the floor (.577), the sixth-best percentage in the Big Sky, while senior Michael Oguine ranks 10th (.522).

OFFENSIVE WEAPONS
Not only does Montana hold one of the nation's top field-goal percentages, but the Grizzlies are also getting production from multiple weapons. Montana is the only school to have three players rank in the top 20 in the Big Sky for scoring: Ahmaad Rorie (14.9, eighth); Michael Oguine (14.3, 12th); and Sayeed Pridgett (12.5, 19th). Jamar Akoh (13.3 points per game) would rank 14th, if he played in enough games to qualify.

THREE-POINT IMPROVEMENT
One of Montana's only Achilles' heels during the 2017-18 season was its lack of ability to shoot from deep. The Grizzlies made just 5.5 treys per game a year ago, a figure which ranked 331st nationally. A year later, Montana is now averaging 8.1 threes per game and is hitting at a .357 clip (118th). The Grizzlies have made at least eight three-pointers in seven of 11 games this season. The team reached that total just four times in all of 2017-18.

STREAK SNAPPERS
Montana went into Frost Arena on Dec. 22 and did something no team had done in nearly two years, coming away with a victory over host South Dakota State. The Jackrabbits entered the contest having won 26 consecutive home games, the longest active streak in the NCAA.

Dating back to 2010-11, SDSU is 95-6 on its home court, the nation's best record during that stretch. Prior to Montana's 86-75 win over SDSU, the last time the Jackrabbits lost a non-conference game on their home court was in November 2013, to... Montana. At that point, the Grizzlies snapped SDSU's 30-game home winning streak.

Montana was impressive on both sides of the ball, scoring 14 points above SDSU opponents' season average. On defense, Montana held the 13th-best scoring offense 11 points below its season average.
The Jackrabbits entered the night ranked in the top seven nationally for shooting, three-point shooting and free-throw shooting, but were held below their season averages in all three categories.
Montana closed the first half on a 15-5 run and led for the remainder of the contest.
After being out-rebounded in six consecutive games against Division-I opponents, Montana out-rebounded SDSU, 37-34. The Jackrabbits ranked 35th in the NCAA for rebounding margin (+6.7) and had been out-rebounded just three times this season.
Opponents entered the game shooting just .292 from deep against SDSU, but Montana made 11 three-pointers on .393 efficiency. The 11 treys were UM second-most this season.

LOOKING AHEAD
Montana will continue conclude its four-game road trip Monday at Southern Utah. The Grizzlies will then return to Missoula for its next two games.

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

#GrizHoops moves up 4 spots in the #MidMajorTop25 after closing non-conference with a big road win! https://t.co/8Lb9UneaiH
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) December 26, 2018

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Players Mentioned

Jamar Akoh

Michael Oguine

Sayeed Pridgett

Ahmaad Rorie

University of Montana Athletics