Offense vs. defense highlights premier mid-major matchup

Montana at UC Irvine / Saturday / 8 p.m. (MT) / Irvine, Calif.

Stream
Listen (KGVO (1290 AM, 98.3 FM)
Live Stats

When Montana and UC Irvine met on the hardwood in December 2017, it was a turning point for the Grizzlies. The team entered the pre-Christmas homestand with a 5-4 record through a difficult non-conference schedule, but beat UC Riverside on Dec. 17, before dismantling the Anteaters two nights later.

Montana would lose just once more over the next nine weeks, jumping out to a 13-0 start to Big Sky play.

At the time, Travis DeCuire said it was the first time his team had put together 40 minutes of basketball on both sides of the ball all season, and perhaps in his then-three-plus seasons in Missoula. Against the nation's fourth-best defense, Montana made more field goals (32) than any other opponent all season, shooting 52.5 percent from the floor. On defense, the Grizzlies held UC Irvine – the nation's No. 2 rebounding team – to 29 boards, a season low.

The game was also Timmy Falls' breakout moment. The freshman had just 12 total points through the team's first 10 games before shooting 4-for-4 from deep and tallying 14 points, three rebounds and a pair of assists.

The Anteaters ended up one win shy of reaching the NCAA tournament in 2017-18, and are the favorites to make it from the Big West Conference in 2018-19, returning 94 percent of its offense and two-time Big West Defensive Player of the Year Jonathan Galloway.

UC Irvine is off to an 8-2 start to the season, including wins at Texas A&M and St. Mary's and a 20-point victory over Idaho. The Anteaters again have one of the nation's top defenses, ranking in the top 100 for scoring defense, field-goal defense, rebounding, turnovers forced and blocked shots.

"They have a top defense and are going to try and hold you to 50 points," DeCuire said. "We're going to need to execute offensively and shoot the ball well, but the biggest thing is we need to rebound."

While UC Irvine has one of the nation's top defenses, Montana currently owns the nation's top field-goal percentage. The two teams are next to each other in this week's CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll (No. 17 and 18).

Tipoff is slated for 8 p.m. MT on Saturday. The game can be streamed at www.BigWest.tv. The Anteaters' top assistant coach is former Grizzly Blaine Taylor. As a player in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Taylor led the Grizzlies for assists three consecutive seasons and still holds the school's fourth-best career free-throw percentage. He then coached Montana from 1991-92 through 1997-89 and holds the school's best winning percentage (.680).

SCOUTING UC IRVINE

UC Irvine is 8-2 on the season, already posting road victories at Texas A&M and St. Mary's. The Ant-eaters also beat Idaho by 20 points. UC Irvine's two losses were to Toledo and Utah State.
Led by two-time Big West Defensive Player of the Year Jonathan Galloway, the Anteaters rank in the top 100 nationally for scoring defense, field-goal defense, defensive rebounds, turnovers forced and blocked shots.
UC Irvine returned 94.3 percent of its offense from a year ago, including all five starters and 12 letter-winners overall.
All four All-Big West selections are back, including 2018-19 preseason picks Tommy Rutherford and Eyassu Worku.
No player is in double figures for scoring, but six players average at least 8.0 points per game.
No player plays more than 26.1 minutes per game, but nine average at least 15.6, including five with at least 22 minutes.
Galloway is averaging a team-best 8.5 rebounds per game, including 3.6 offensive boards (22nd in NCAA).
Elston Jones ranks second in the Big West (90th in NCAA) with 1.7 blocks per game.
Montana played against grad transfer Robert Cartwright, who scored 11 points vs. the Griz in 2018 while playing for Stanford.
After being one win away from reaching the NCAA tournament a year ago, the Anteaters were picked to win the Big West Conference in 2018-19. UC Irvine has posted a winning record in six consecutive seasons.
Top assistant coach Blaine Taylor played for the Grizzlies before becoming the school's winningest coach (.690 winning percentage). His seven-year head coaching stint included coaching current head coach Travis DeCuire.

SERIES VS. THE ANTEATERS
Montana and UC Irvine are playing for the second consecutive season, with the Grizzlies earning an 86-68 victory last December in Missoula. In that game, the Grizzlies shot 52.5 percent from the floor, 46.7 percent from three-point range and out-rebounded the nation's No. 2 rebounding team, 37-29. Jamar Akoh led all players with 23 points. Michael Oguine had 16 points, while Timmy Falls had 14 on a career-high four treys.

Prior to last year's meeting, the two teams hadn't met since facing off in six consecutive seasons from 1981-86. Montana is 3-4 all-time vs. the Anteaters and is looking for its first win in Irvine (0-2).

WE'RE NO. 1
Montana has made at least half of its shots in six consecutive games, and on the season is connecting on 53.2 percent of its attempts, the nation's best shooting percentage.

The Grizzlies currently have the top two shooters in the Big Sky Conference, with junior Sayeed Pridgett connecting at a 66.7 percent clip (14th in NCAA) and Ahmaad Rorie hitting on 50.0 percent of its shots (fifth in Big Sky).

THREE-POINT SUCCESS
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 a year ago, a figure which ranked 331st nationally. A year later, Montana is now averaging 8.6 threes per game (107th) and is hitting at a .377 clip (66th). The Grizzlies have made at least eight three-pointers in six consecutive games. The team reached that total just three times in all of 2017-18.

WINNING NOVEMBER
Montana posted a 4-2 record during the opening month of the season, the program's best November winning percentage since also going 4-2 in 2011-12. That year, the Grizzlies finished the year 26-7 and in the NCAA tournament.

GRIZ TRACKS

Through Wednesday, Montana's .532 field-goal percentage ranks No. 1 nationally. The Grizzlies have made at least half of their shots in six consecutive games.
Montana has made at least eight three-pointers in six consecutive games. The Grizzlies hit that number just three times in 2017-18.
Five different players have led Montana for scoring through seven games.
The Grizzlies posted their best November record (4-2) since 2011-12.
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 through seven games in 2018-19.
Montana has turned the ball over fewer times than its opponents five times in seven games.
Only two opposing players have made more than six field goals in a game vs. Montana's defense.
After posting a +4.6 rebounding margin (47th in NCAA), Montana has been out-rebounded four times this season.
Montana's 4-0 start was its best since 1995-96.
Montana owns the nation's fourth-longest home winning streak, winning 18 consecutive games inside Dahlberg Arena.
Seven players have made their collegiate or Grizzly debuts this season.
Montana's two losses have come short-handed to opponents with a combined record of 11-4, including a Creighton team who is receiving top-25 votes and was within a few possessions of upsetting No. 1 Gonzaga.

RECAP: #GrizHoops returns to win column with dominant victory

📰 https://t.co/DKS0OKzKq6 pic.twitter.com/11yO4YV502
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) December 4, 2018

MICHAEL OGUINE

Is seven points away from moving into the top 10 in school history for career scoring.
Has scored in double figures against all five Division-I opponents this sea-son.
Ranks first on the team for minutes played, rebounding and blocking; second for assists and scoring; and third for steals.
Scored 25 points vs. Incarnate Word (the most by a Grizzly this season) on 10-of-11 shooting.
Had a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds vs. Georgia State.
Played in his 100th career game vs. College of Idaho. He has made 96 starts, including 61 in a row.

TIMMY FALLS

Missed two games (Georgia Southern and Creighton), but returned to the court vs. College of Idaho, scoring 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting, in addition to three assists and three steals.
Ranks second on the team with eight steals, despite missing two games.

DONAVEN DORSEY

Earned back-to-back starts (Nov. 18 vs. Georgia Southern, Nov. 28 at Creighton).
Appearance vs. Georgia State was his first game since March 2016. He scored two points, his first in 975 days, after missing the 2016-17 season due to transfer rules and 2017-18 due to hip surgery.
Scored 14 points vs. Miami (Ohio), knocking down three three-pointers.

SAYEED PRIDGETT

Ranks 14th in the NCAA with a .667 shooting percentage.
Biggest breakout player, averaging 14.4 points after averaging 8.4 off the bench in 2017-18.
Has a team-most 11 steals, leading the Grizzlies three times, including a career high five at Creighton.
Has scored at least eight points in every game, including 23 at Creighton (21 in the first half).
During his first two seasons, he made four total three-pointers, the same number he had in the first half vs. the Bluejays (4-of-5).

KENDAL MANUEL

Received a waiver from the NCAA to play this year, despite transferring from Oregon State.
Leads Montana with 14 three-pointers made, making at least two in six of seven games.
Had a team-high 17 points on 5-of-5 shooting vs. Montana Tech. Recorded 16 points vs. Miami (Ohio).

AHMAAD RORIE

Leads the team for scoring (15.9 points per game) and assists (29).
His 4.1 assists-per-game average ranks fourth in the Big Sky, while his 2.4 assist-to-turnover ratio ranks third.
Has led UM for scoring three times and for assists five times.
Has scored in double figures six times, including 20 vs. Montana Tech.
Biggest moment came vs. Miami (Ohio), when he made three three-pointers in the final 3 minutes of the game, including one with 13 seconds to play to give Montana a 71-69 lead.

JAMAR AKOH

Scored 22 points in Montana's season-opening win over Georgia State, but has missed the past six contests with a wrist injury.

MACK ANDERSON

Expected to redshirt, he instead made his collegiate debut Nov. 16 vs. Incarnate Word, scoring seven points on 3-of-4 shooting.

BOBBY MOOREHEAD

Missed his first 13 field-goal attempts to begin the season, but since is 14-of-26 (.538), including a 5-of-9 performance in the most-recent game vs. College of Idaho (season-high 14 points).
Had team-high nine rebounds vs. Incarnate Word.

KELBY KRAMER

Earned his first career start vs. College of Idaho, tallying career highs for blocks (3) and rebounds (6).

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

When Montana's game at UCLA last December was canceled, the staff discovered @eddy_egun.

One year later, the stud freshman is bringing a hard-working mentality to #GrizHoops

📰 https://t.co/6QgMFruofN pic.twitter.com/Etqtiz6E1Y
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) December 5, 2018

Offense vs. defense highlights premier mid-major matchup

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jamar Akoh

Timmy Falls

Michael Oguine

Sayeed Pridgett

Ahmaad Rorie

University of Montana Athletics

Offense vs. defense highlights premier mid-major matchup

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jamar Akoh

Timmy Falls

Michael Oguine

Sayeed Pridgett

Ahmaad Rorie

Related Videos