Grizzlies look to get back on track, knock undefeated Northern Colorado from perch

Montana at Northern Colorado / Saturday / 2 p.m. / Greeley, Colo.

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Montana knew the target would be on its back each and every night during Big Sky play. That's what happens when a team wins regular-season and tournament titles and returns four starters from a 26-win team.

That hasn't changed, with the Grizzlies getting the best from each of their opponents. What is different, now, is that Montana will be playing from behind. After dropping back-to-back contests – first in overtime to Portland State and then on Thursday at Eastern Washington – Montana is no longer in the driver's seat, a position it held all of last season.

The road doesn't get any easier Saturday, when Montana faces 4-0 Northern Colorado, a team alone atop the Big Sky standings. The Bears have won eight games in a row at home dating back to last February. The last team to beat UNC on its home court? Montana – 88-79 on Feb. 1.

The Grizzlies won all three meetings against Northern Colorado last year, and are 7-1 against the Bears under head coach Travis DeCuire. No Griz fan will forget the last meeting, when Montana pulled off the improbable to keep its NCAA tournament hopes alive.

The six-point deficit overcome in the final minute. Bobby's shot. The missed free throws on the other end.

DeCuire said afterward that no basketball moment in his career compared to that semifinal tilt vs. the Bears, and Saturday could be equally as exciting.

The matchup pits Montana – the defending champs and preseason favorites – against a UNC team that has the sixth-best scorer in all of college basketball. Jordan Davis averages 25.2 points per game, scored 30 in his most-recent game and has at least 20 points in 14 consecutive contests.

The Bears, though, are far more than a one-man team. Collectively, they rank in the top 60 nationally for scoring, shooting, three-point shooting and rebounding.

"Our pace and transition are areas where we should be able to get some stuff," DeCuire said. "Our biggest deal is defense. We got some stops (at Eastern Washington), but we didn't take advantage of the turnovers. Saturday we're going to need to do that, get down the court and score quickly."

Saturday will likely see plenty of offense: Montana ranks 32nd nationally with a .486 shooting percentage; Northern Colorado is at 57th at .477. The Bears are connecting on nearly 40 percent of their three-point attempts (36th in NCAA), but rank in the bottom 20 for opponent three-point shooting.

Montana knows it will have its hands full trying to snap a rare two-game skid. The season is long, though, and it's why DeCuire continues to preach getting better each day, competing with desperation and taking a one-game-at-a-time approach.

"We have to be ready to go every single night, no complacency. We need to have a better sense of urgency," DeCuire said. "You've got to have respect for your opponent and give them what you have every single night, no matter who it is and what their record is."

Northern Colorado is 10-5 on the year and has been off since a double-digit home win over Eastern Washington on Monday. After playing Thursday night in Cheney, Wash., Montana took a redeye flight to Greeley. Tipoff on Saturday is scheduled for 2 p.m.

SCOUTING NORTHERN COLORADO

Is 10-5 on the season, including a perfect 4-0 in Big Sky play. The Bears won at Sacramento State and Portland State before beating Idaho (in overtime) and Eastern Washington at home.
The Bears are 5-0 at home and have won eight consecutive home games since losing to Montana on Feb. 1, 2018.
UNC ranks in the top 20 percent nationally for scoring (81.6, 38th), field-goal percentage (.477, 57th), three-point field-goal percentage (.383, 36th) and rebounding margin (+5.0, 63rd).
Senior Jordan Davis ranks sixth in the NCAA with 25.2 points per game (first in the Big Sky). He also ranks in the top 20 nationally for field goals made (11th) and free throws made (17th), and ranks in the top 10 in the Big Sky for assists (4.7, fourth), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.1, eighth), rebounding (5.5, 16th), free-throw percentage (.805, ninth), three-point percentage (.397, 12th), and steals (1.2, 14th).
Davis, the Big Sky Player of the Week each of the past two weeks, has scored at least 20 points in 14 consecutive games. He is averaging 28.5 points through four Big Sky games.
In addition to Davis, Bodie Hume, Trent Harris and Jonah Radebaugh average double figures for scoring.
Hume and Harris rank in the top 70 nationally for three-point field-goal percentage, with both connecting on more than 40 percent of their attempts. Combined, they average 5.5 makes per game.
Radebaugh leads the conference with 36.5 minutes played per game.
The Bears have three players average at least 5.5 rebounds per game (top 16 in Big Sky), led by Kai Edwards (6.0).
UNC went 26-12 a year ago, becoming the first team in Big Sky history to win a postseason tournament (College Insider Tournament).
Jeff Linder is in his third season in Greeley.

SERIES VS. THE BEARS
Montana owns a 23-8 record against Northern Colorado, not including a 1976-77 victory that was vacated. The Grizzlies have won 12 of the last 15 and are 7-1 under Travis DeCuire.

In three games vs. the Bears in 2017-18, Montana averaged 89.3 points, with nearly half of them (49.2) coming in the paint. Jamar Akoh scored a career-high 34 points during the meeting in Missoula. He was one of four players in double figures during the last meeting in Greeley, including 18 for Bobby Moorehead and 17 for Ahmaad Rorie. Rorie has scored in double figures in all four games he has played against UNC, while Michael Oguine has done it in five of six, with the exception coming last February in Greeley, when he was limited to 21 minutes due to a knee injury.

GRIZ TRACKS

After winning four games in a row from Dec. 22-Jan. 3, Montana is now looking to snap a mini two-game losing skid. The Grizzlies have lost three consecutive games just three times under Travis DeCuire.
Montana made a season-low four three-pointers at Eastern Washington. The Grizzlies have just nine made three-pointers during the two-game skid; in the four previous games (all wins), Montana was averaging 10.25 made threes per game.
Montana has held opponents under their season scoring average in 14 of 16 games. In 10 games since the start of December, the Grizzlies have allowed just 66.0 points per game.
Montana is shooting .484 on the season (32nd in NCAA, 1st in Big Sky) and has made at least half of its shots nine times.
Montana is the only Big Sky team to have three players rank in the top 20 for scoring. Five different Grizzlies have scored at least 20 points in a game this season and three have made 10 or more field goals.
Montana has out-rebounded its opponent in six consecutive games. While Montana's 32.8 rebounding average ranks 11th in the Big Sky, the Grizzlies rank second by allowing just 32.6 rebounds per game (+0.2 margin). Additionally, through five conference games, Montana has a +4.8 margin.
Including Saturday, 11 of Montana's 17 games will have been played away from Missoula.
Montana has made at least eight three-pointers nine times this season. The Grizzlies hit that number just four times in 2017-18.
Seven of Montana's top-eight free-throw percentages have come in the past seven games.
Jamar Akoh is the only Big Sky player to rank in the top 10 in league play for scoring (17.6, sixth) and rebounding (8.8, fourth). He also has the second-best field-goal percentage (.623).
In addition to his 10.8 points per game (26th), Sayeed Pridgett and UNC's Jordan Davis are the only players to rank in the top 10 in league play for field-goal percentage, assists and steals.
Ahmaad Rorie is one of three Big Sky players to rank in the top 10 in league play for scoring (17.8, seventh), assists (3.2, eighth) and steals (1.6, fifth). He also ranks fourth for minutes played (35.4), fourth for assist-to-turnover ratio (1.8), ninth for three-pointers made (2.6 per game) and 14th for field-goal percentage (.493).
Michael Oguine has scored in double figures in all five Big Sky games, including a team-high 18 on Thursday at Eastern Washington.
Kendal Manuel ranks fourth in Big Sky play with a .944 free-throw percentage. He has made 12 attempts in a row and 21 of his last 22 dating back to the start of December.
Montana is the only school to have three players rank in the top 15 for assists during Big Sky play: Rorie (3.2, eighth), Pridgett (3.0, 10th) and Timmy Falls (2.8, 12th).
Oguine (131) needs six steals to match Kevin Kriswell and move into fifth place in school history for career steals.
Montana began Big Sky play 3-0 for the third time in five seasons under Travis DeCuire and 10th time ever.
Montana's 7-4 non-conference record was its best since 2010-11, and came against the nation's 43rd-toughest schedule. More impressive, the Grizzlies had their full roster available just twice, most notably being without all-conference forward Jamar Akoh for seven games.
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. However, they have used the same lineup in seven of their past nine games.
Montana's home loss to Portland State (Jan. 5) was its first home loss since February 2017, snapping its 20-game home winning streak.
Montana's 4-0 start was its best since 1995-96.
Seven players have made their collegiate or Grizzly debuts.

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

Grizzlies look to get back on track, knock undefeated Northern Colorado from perch

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jamar Akoh

Timmy Falls

Kendal Manuel

Bobby Moorehead

Michael Oguine

Sayeed Pridgett

Ahmaad Rorie

University of Montana Athletics

Grizzlies look to get back on track, knock undefeated Northern Colorado from perch

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jamar Akoh

Timmy Falls

Kendal Manuel

Bobby Moorehead

Michael Oguine

Sayeed Pridgett

Ahmaad Rorie

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