Portland State will present challenge to conference-leading Grizzlies

MONTANA VS. PORTLAND STATE
Thursday, Feb. 8 / 7 p.m. MT / Missoula, Mont.
Watch / Pluto TV (ch. 237) / Listen (1290 AM, 98.3 FM) / Live Stats

Seemingly every night, the Montana men's basketball team rewrites history in one form or another, most recently setting a school record for consecutive road victories (seven) and head coach Travis DeCuire becoming the fastest coach in Big Sky history to 50 conference wins.

The Grizzlies have won 11 consecutive games overall, and will look to push that to a dozen on Thursday vs. Portland State.

The Vikings have hit some adversity since the two teams met less than a month ago, losing three of their last four games – three of which came without leading scorer Deontae North. Still, though, Portland State presents one of Montana's toughest challenges on both sides of the ball.

"They still have a lot of fire power, it's just how they manage it," assistant coach Jay Flores said. "They're a very dangerous team when they're clicking, and no one else in the conference does what they do."

The Vikings rank fourth nationally, averaging 88.3 points per game. Aside from North, they have seven other players averaging 6.0 points per game or better, including their top three-point shooter in Bryce Canda. The senior leads the Vikings for three-point shooting, rebounding and steals, and ranks second for assists and scoring. Freshman Holland Woods leads the entire conference for assists.

While the Vikings' offense has the pieces to score – they scored 89 points last month vs. Montana in Portland – it's their defense that is scarier. Portland State plays a trap-style of defense, trying to force turnovers and prevent shots from being taken. The Vikings are incredibly good at it, as well, leading all of Division I basketball for steals (10.7 per game) and turnover margin (+7.4). Against the Grizzlies in January, Portland State forced Montana into 19 turnovers.

Despite that, however, Montana was still able to score 91 points on 55-percent shooting. If Montana can get past the press, it will have good opportunities to score.

"The key is taking care of the ball and getting it across half court," head coach Travis DeCuire said. "If we're able to do that, we should be able to run our offense and get the ball to the rim."

The three-point win was Montana's slimmest of conference play, doing so behind a record-setting night from junior Michael Oguine.

Oguine scored a career-high 39 points as Montana overcame a six-point halftime deficit to hand the Vikings their first home loss of the season. The Grizzlies made six consecutive free throws over the final minute to ice the game.

"In November and December, we weren't winning these games," DeCuire said after the win. "We learn from losses, and now that it counts and matters, these guys are believing in each other and finding ways to make it happen."

Thursday night is 80s night at Dahlberg Arena, with fans encouraged to wear 80s attire. Students always get in free with their Griz Card, and will receive free pizza while supplies lasts prior to the game. Tickets can be purchased online or at the Adams Center ticket office. Montana is a perfect 9-0 at Dahlberg Arena this season.

We're back in town this week! Let's pack Dahlberg for 80s night!

For the record, #GrizHoops won nearly 70% of their games in the 1980s! pic.twitter.com/6ZMMevYhPG
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) February 6, 2018

JUST KEEP WINNING
Montana's 11-game win streak is the longest under Travis DeCuire, and is tied for the eighth-longest active streak in the NCAA.

In more than a century of basketball at the university, Montana has reached 11 consecutive victories six times (five times against all-Division-I teams).

"We're just trying to stay hungry," Travis DeCuire recently said. "Any hint of complacency we deal with it right away, but I haven't seen much of it. They're playing for the bigger picture. They're playing together. When you get a group willing to give up for the better of the whole, you've always got a chance to win, and right now we have a lot of guys doing that."

STARTING STRONG
Montana is off to an 11-0 start to begin Big Sky Conference play, marking the second time in the Grizzlies' 55-year history in the league. The Grizzlies also did it in 2012-13, winning their first 14 games.

The streak is the fourth-best start in Big Sky history, trailing only Weber State 15-0 start in 1969), Weber State (14-0 start in 2003) and Montana (14-0 start in 2013).

ROAD STREAK
While Montana owns an 11-game winning streak overall, the Grizzlies' seven game road winning streak is a school record and is tied for the third-longest actively in the NCAA. Nationally, the Grizzlies trail Saint Mary's (13) and Purdue (8).

FIRST TO 50
In four seasons in the Big Sky Conference, Travis DeCuire has won at an historic pace. DeCuire holds a 50-15 mark in Big Sky action (.769), by far the best of any Montana coach in school history. However, with Saturday's win over North Dakota, DeCuire became the fastest coach in Big Sky history to reach 50 conference wins. Weber State's Randy Rahe accomplished the feat in his 67th game with the Wildcats (50-17).

Additionally, DeCuire's current conference winning percentage is the third-best in Big Sky history, and the best among coaches with at least 40 wins.

With a record of 50-15 (.769), Montana's Travis DeCuire is the fastest coach in Big Sky history to 50 @BigSkyMBB wins!

Congrats, @CoachDeCuire! pic.twitter.com/dPC2PT58z0
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) February 4, 2018

23 GAMES IN
At 18-5 through 23 games, Montana is off to one of its better starts in school history. The Grizzlies have begun a season 18-5 or better eight times prior to this season, most recently in 2012-13 (19-4 through 23 games).

18 AND COUNTING
With 18 wins, Montana has already surpassed last year's 16-16 mark and is well on its way to a third 20-win season under Travis DeCuire. Montana is also guaranteed a .500 record or better for the 10th consecutive season.

SCOUTING PORTLAND STATE

Portland State enters Thursday's game with a 14-9 mark, including a 4-6 record in Big Sky contests.
After going 10-3 in non-conference play, including wins over Stanford and Cal and respectable losses to Duke, Butler and Oregon, the Vikings have lost six of their last 10 and three of their last four.
All six of Portland State's conference losses have been by single digits.
PSU has one of the nation's strongest defenses, leading the NCAA for steals (10.7 per game) and turnover margin (+7.4).
PSU also ranks fourth nationally, averaging 88.3 points per game.
The Vikings lead the Big Sky Conference overall for scoring (88.3), steals (10.7), assists (17.2), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.4), blocked shots (3.7), offensive rebounds (14.1), three-pointers made (9.7 per game), turnovers forced (19.7) and turnover margin (+7.4).
The Vikings are led by Deontae North (21.1 points per game; 25th in NCAA). However, the senior has missed the last three games.
Senior Bryce Canda averages 14.8 points per game and ranks in the top 15 in the Big Sky for rebounding, steals, assists and three-pointers.
PSU has four players with at least 33 steals on the season.
Barret Peery is in his first season at PSU. The Vikings went 15-16 a year ago.

SERIES VS. THE VIKINGS
Montana and Portland State first met in 1965-66 and played at least once in 13 of the next 16 seasons. The two teams then took a 16-year hiatus before the series resumed in 1996-97, and have played every season since. Montana holds a 39-23 edge in the series, including a 24-5 mark in Missoula.

From 2008-09 through 2012-13, Montana won nine consecutive in the series, and under Travis DeCuire the Grizzlies are 6-1.

Montana's core has had plenty of success against the Vikings:

In the only meeting between the two teams in 2014-15, Fabijan Krslovic, then a freshman, had eight points and six rebounds in the Grizzlies' 19-point win.
Montana shot 56 percent in a home win over Portland State in 2015-16, led by 20 points and four assists from Michael Oguine.
On the road in 2015-16, Montana overcame a nine-point halftime deficit, receiving five points, three rebounds and three assists from Krslovic.
In UM's only loss under DeCuire, Portland State went on a 18-3 run to open the second half, after a first half in which there were 16 lead changes. The Griz lost despite 29 points, seven rebounds and five assists from Ahmaad Rorie, 24 points and seven rebounds from Krslovic, and a double-double from Oguine.
Montana split with the Vikings in 2016-17, holding on for a three-point win at home. In the victory, Rorie had 28 points and five assists, Oguine had 15 points and four assists, Bobby Moorehead had 10 points and six boards, and Krslovic had six points and 11 rebounds.
Led by Michael Oguine's 39 points, Montana shot 55.1 percent to win earlier this season on the road.

LEADING THE BIG SKY
Through 11 games, Montana holds a 2.5-game lead in the Big Sky standings. The Grizzlies, though, also are atop the conference for many offensive and defensive statistical categories. The Grizzlies rank first for:

Scoring offense (83.1)
Scoring defense (67.4)
Scoring margin (+15.7)
Field-goal percentage (.503)
Field-goal percentage defense (.389)
Three-point field-goal percentage defense (.315)
Rebounding (36.9)
Steals (8.7)
Turnover margin (+4.4)

The Grizzlies also rank second for three-point shooting (.427) and turnover margin (+4.1).

NATIONAL RANKING
Montana cracked the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll for the first time this season on Jan. 15, and has steadily moved up each week since. The Grizzlies are No. 14 in this week's Mid-Major Top 25 and No. 15 in the Mid-Major Madness power rankings.

#GrizHoops is ranked No. 14 in this week's @collegeinsider Mid-Major Top 25, No. 15 in the @mid_madness power rankings! pic.twitter.com/3eqCTjZBiG
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) February 5, 2018

The Mid-Major Top 25 ranks the top teams from the America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Horizon, Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, Mid-Eastern, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Southwestern, Summit, Sun Belt, West Coast and Western Athletic conferences, in addition to independents. The poll, now in its 19th season, is voted on by 31 head coaches.

HOME SWEET HOME
The Grizzlies hold a perfect 9-0 mark at home this season, and over the past decade has won more than 80 percent of its contests inside Dahlberg Arena, going 113-25 (.819). All-time, the Grizzlies boast one of the best home-court advantages, going 687-240 (.741) in their home arena.

PLAYING FROM IN FRONT
Through 11 Big Sky games, the Grizzlies have trailed for just 56 minutes, 9 seconds out of 440 total minutes (12.8 percent). More impressive, they have trailed for just 9:49 in the second half (4.5 percent).

TERRIFIC TRIO
Montana is the only school in Big Sky play to have three players rank in the top 15 for scoring, with juniors Ahmaad Rorie (17.5; seventh), Jamar Akoh (16.7; 10th) and Michael Oguine (16.2; 11th) accomplishing the feat.

Rorie has been in double figures 20 times this season – including 20-plus on 11 occasions. Oguine has been in double figures in all but three contests, while Akoh has accomplished the feat in 14 of his past 16 contests, including five double-doubles.

TRENDING

Montana is undefeated at home this season (9-0).
The Grizzlies are a perfect 16-0 when leading or tied at halftime, compared to 2-5 when trailing.
UM is 12-2 in games decided by double digits.
The Grizzlies are 9-0 when scoring 80 or more points, and 16-1 when scoring at least 70 points.
Montana is 1-1 when opponents score fewer than 70 points, with the exception coming in a three-point loss at Washington.
Montana is 13-0 when shooting above .450.
Montana is 6-0 when opponents shoot .400 or worse.
The Grizzlies are 9-0 when holding a better three-point percentage and 10-1 when shooting more free throws.
Ironically, the Grizzlies are 5-0 when opponents make eight or more three-pointers.
Montana is 14-2 when turning the ball over less than its opponent.

FORCING TURNOVERS
Montana has forced at least 12 turnovers in every game this season and ranks among the nation's best, forcing 16.7 turnovers per game (16th in NCAA). The Grizzlies have turned the ball over more times than their opponent just five times in 23 games and hold a +3.7 turnover margin (20th in NCAA).

On four 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.

SIMPLE ROUTINE
Montana was one of 11 NCAA Division I schools to use the same starting lineup in every game this season, using guards Michael Oguine and Ahmaad Rorie, and forwards Jamar Akoh, Fabijan Krslovic and Bobby Moorehead.

The other schools to use the same starting lineup every game are: Army, Central Michigan, Davidson, Duke, Elon, Northern Kentucky, Old Dominion, Penn, Purdue and Virginia.

THREE-POINT SUCCESS
Through non-conference play, Montana ranked last in the Big Sky Conference for three-point field-goal defense (.388) and second-to-last for three-point offense (.284). However, the Grizzlies have turned things around and now lead the league for both three-point defense (.315) and rank second for three-point shooting (.427) during Big Sky action.

The key for the Grizzlies on offense has been shot selection. Montana ranks second in the league for three-point shooting, despite making the fewest three-pointers in the league. Translation: Montana is only shooting treys when it's they're a good shot.

The improvement was best seen in wins over Southern Utah and Northern Arizona in late January. The Thunderbirds entered the contest averaging nearly 9 makes and 24 three-point attempts per game, but were held to just 1-of-11 shooting, with Montana's mindset on taking away SUU's go-to shot. Two nights later vs. the Lumberjacks, the Grizzlies made a season-most 12 three-pointers (42.9 percent) en route to victory.

50%
Montana is shooting better than 50 percent (.503) from the floor during its 11 conference games, a league best. At home this season, the Grizzlies have made at least half of their shots in seven of their past eight games, including a season-high 62 percent vs. North Dakota (Jan. 4).

HALFTIME ADJUSTMENTS
Over the past seven games, Montana has entered halftime tied or trailing on four occasions. In fact, during that span, the Grizzlies have led by an average of just 2.1 points per game. They have come out of the break strong, however, winning those seven games by an average of 12.3 points.

THE 1,000-POINT CLUB
Guard Michael Oguine became the 32nd member of Montana's 1,000-point club on Jan. 27, scoring 23 points against Northern Arizona. The junior now sits in 30th place and is one of 14 players in UM history to reach the milestone in his third season. At his current pace, Oguine could finish his junior season with more than 1,200 points, which would rank in the top 16.

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), followed by 39 at Portland State (Jan. 13).

Oguine does it all for the Griz, leading the team with 36 steals and ranking second with 15.3 points per game. He also ranks second for assists (44) and blocks (13), and third for rebounding (4.8 per game).

During Big Sky play, Oguine leads the league with 20 steals and ranks 11th for scoring (16.2 points per game). He is the only player to rank in the top 15 for shooting (.536; 13th), three-point shooting (.463; seventh) and free-throw percentage (.813; 12th).

ALL-AROUND RORIE
Ahmaad Rorie is among the nation's elite for minutes played, scoring and steals, ranking in the top 150 nationally for all three categories.

Among Big Sky athletes specifically, Rorie is the only player in the conference to rank in the top 10 for scoring (17.5 points per game; seventh), assists (3.5 per game; seventh) and steals (1.1 per game; 15th). Rorie also ranks third in the conference with a 2.4 assist-to-turnover ratio, ninth with a .455 three-point shooting percentage and eighth with 33.6 minutes played per game.

NEARLY PERFECT FROM THE LINE
Ahmaad Rorie made his first 24 free-throw attempts to begin Big Sky action. He is now 31-of-33 and ranks third in the league with a .939 free-throw percentage. On the season, he is making a team-best 83.9 percent of his free-throw attempts (73-of-87).

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.

Over the next 21 games, Akoh has taken over down low, averaging 15.2 points and 7.4 rebounds, and shooting 60.9 percent. He has 17 double-figure scoring games during that 21-game span, including 13 of the past 15 games

During conference play, Akoh ranks 10th in the league for scoring (16.7 points per game), fourth for rebounding (6.7) and ninth for steals (1.2). He is the only player to rank in the top 10 for all three categories. Akoh also ranks third with a .594 field-goal percentage.

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

16.7 turnovers forced per game: 16th in NCAA (2nd in BSC)
+3.7 turnover margin: 20th (2rd)
8.1 steals per game: 19th (2nd)
+4.0 rebounding margin: 67th (2nd)
68.3 points allowed per game: 82nd (2nd)
.423 field-goal percentage defense: 95th (3rd)

CRASHING THE GLASS
Montana has out-rebounded its opponents in 17 of its last 22 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.

More than one-third of Montana's rebounds have come from the offensive end (33.6 percent); that number was 28.6 percent a year ago. The Grizzlies are currently averaging 12.3 offensive rebounds per game this season (47th in NCAA).

FABULOUS PLAY
Lone senior Fabijan Krslovic has stepped up his game of late, averaging 8.3 points and 4.6 rebounds over the past 10 games, including back-to-back double-digit scoring games at Northern Colorado (Feb. 1) and North Dakota (Feb. 3). Krslovic is shooting 68.9 percent during that span.

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 (31:46), three-pointers (39) and rebounding (5.2 per game). His 12 blocked shots rank third, while his 26 steals rank fourth.

Recently, Travis DeCuire called Moorehead his team's 'toughest' player, and following the first double-double of his career (10 points, career-high 12 rebounds at Montana State), he called his a 'beast', referencing his Twitter handle. More impressive than the double-double, Moorehead locked down preseason player of the year Tyler Hall, limiting him to zero field goals in the second half.

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 7.5 points per game, Pridgett is shooting at a 44.2-percent clip and ranks second on the team with 32 steals. His 18 steals during conference play are tied for third in the Big Sky.

Pridgett also ranks third for blocked shots (12), fourth for assists (32) and fifth for rebounding (4.3 per game).

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 is averaging 22 minutes and 5.5 points per game. He's also added 33 assists and 12 steals during the 13-game stretch.

Portland State will present challenge to conference-leading Grizzlies

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Players Mentioned

Jamar Akoh

Timmy Falls

Fabijan Krslovic

Bobby Moorehead

Michael Oguine

Sayeed Pridgett

Ahmaad Rorie

University of Montana Athletics

Portland State will present challenge to conference-leading Grizzlies

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jamar Akoh

Timmy Falls

Fabijan Krslovic

Bobby Moorehead

Michael Oguine

Sayeed Pridgett

Ahmaad Rorie

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