Thursday, January 24
Missoula, Mont.
7:00 PM
Montana
vs
Idaho State
Photo by: Todd Goodrich
Griz bring show back to Dahlberg Arena
1/23/2019 1:28:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Montana vs. Idaho State / Thursday / 7 p.m. / Missoula, Mont.
Since mid-December, Montana's players and staff have spent nearly twice as many nights on the road than they have at home, including 15 consecutive days at one point. Montana sits in second place in the Big Sky standings – a game back of first-place Weber State, Saturday's opponent – but the Grizzlies feel good about where they're at.
After being the only team to play six games over the first 15 days of league play, Montana is one of just three (also Portland State and Sacramento State) to enter the week with just two home Big Sky games already under its belt.
The Grizzlies have weathered the storm, and at 5-2, are playing well on both sides of the ball. During its past three wins, Montana is allowing opponents to score just 57.0 points per game. Dating back to Dec. 22, Montana is scoring 86.0 points per game over its past six victories.
The Grizzlies own the league's best scoring defense and field-goal defense, while also posting the top scoring margin and connecting on nearly half of their shots from the field, a figure which ranks 28th nationally.
Despite injuries and a challenging non-conference schedule, Montana is 12-6 overall. Of the nation's 351 Division-I basketball teams, 93 have won at least two-thirds of their games this season, as Montana has. The number can be looked at two ways. On one hand, 26.5 percent of Division-I teams have won two-thirds of their games, meaning there are a lot of good teams. On the flip, Montana has a better winning percentage than 73.5 percent of the country.
The stat becomes even more impressive considering where Montana is getting its victories. Twelve of Montana's 18 games, and seven of their wins, have been away from home.
Of the 93 schools with a 66.7-percent winning percentage or better, just five (Austin Peay, 3; Yale, 4; Abilene Christian, 5; Jacksonville State, 5; Radford, 5) have played fewer home games than Montana's six.
The average number of home games for the schools who have won two-thirds of their games is 10.3, with Houston (14) and Syracuse (13) leading the charge.
Of course some of this will even out, with eight of Montana's next 11 games coming at Dahlberg Arena. The Grizzlies will leave the state just one time over the next three weeks, a quick bus trip to Bozeman next Saturday.
"We're excited to be back," head coach Travis DeCuire said. "It's been a long time with a lot of travel, so it's nice to finally have a stretch where we feel like we can stay in one place and lock in on what's important."
Montana has had plenty of success at home, winning 20 in a row before its most-recent setback. All-time, Montana is 705-246 in its home arena (.742), including 123-26 (.831) over the past decade.
The Grizzlies are currently averaging 3,711 fans per game, better than three Pac-12 schools – Stanford, USC and Washington State – but they know that number needs to climb even higher for them to meet their lofty goals.
A year ago, Montana's attendance figure jumped by 60 percent in late January once students were back on campus.
"We rely on our fans to provide a home-court edge, and I think it's important for our fans to understand that," DeCuire said. "We're working hard to create something special on the court, and in order for us to take this thing to where we want it to go, we need everyone to buy in."
Tipoff vs. Idaho State is slated for 7 p.m. Thursday. Students get in free with a valid Griz Card, and free pizza and cash prizes will be presented at the game. In a gesture to those affected by the government shutdown, Montana is offering free tickets to furloughed employees for the remainder of the shutdown.
SERIES VS. THE BENGALS
Montana has plenty of success over the Bengals, posting a 103-46 record. The 103 victories are the second-most against any opponent. Montana has only played Montana State, Idaho and Gonzaga more times than Idaho State.
The Grizzlies have had success overall, but especially lately, winning 15 in a row in the series. Montana's last loss to Idaho State came in 2009-10 (67-65), and its last home loss to the Bengals game in 2007-08 (56-54). All-time in Missoula, Montana is 65-13 vs. Idaho State.
The two teams met just once a year ago, during the regular-season finale. The Grizzlies were victorious on senior night, 75-64. Michael Oguine recorded a double-double with 22 points and 15 rebounds, one of four players in double figures for scoring. In two games vs. the Bengals in 2016-17, Ahmaad Rorie combined for 51 points and 11 assists. As a freshman in 2015-16, Bobby Moorehead had a career night in Pocatello, scoring 24 points on 8-of-11 shooting from long range.
Michael Oguine and Ahmaad Rorie both joined the 1,000-point scoring club last year, and both continue to move up the school's all-time scoring list. Of the 33 members of the elusive club, Oguine and Rorie both now rank in the top 10.
If that weren't enough, Griz fans are witnessing history. Never before have two players combined for more than 2,800 career points and taken the floor at the same time.
Montana is one of 15 schools nationally who have two 1,000-point scorers on its current roster. Both are expected to finish their careers in the top five.
Complete Game Notes in PDF format, including more notes, charts and player pages
- Pluto TV (ch. 237) / WatchBigSky.com
- Listen / KGVO (1290 AM, 98.3 FM)
- Live Stats
Since mid-December, Montana's players and staff have spent nearly twice as many nights on the road than they have at home, including 15 consecutive days at one point. Montana sits in second place in the Big Sky standings – a game back of first-place Weber State, Saturday's opponent – but the Grizzlies feel good about where they're at.
After being the only team to play six games over the first 15 days of league play, Montana is one of just three (also Portland State and Sacramento State) to enter the week with just two home Big Sky games already under its belt.
The Grizzlies have weathered the storm, and at 5-2, are playing well on both sides of the ball. During its past three wins, Montana is allowing opponents to score just 57.0 points per game. Dating back to Dec. 22, Montana is scoring 86.0 points per game over its past six victories.
The Grizzlies own the league's best scoring defense and field-goal defense, while also posting the top scoring margin and connecting on nearly half of their shots from the field, a figure which ranks 28th nationally.
Despite injuries and a challenging non-conference schedule, Montana is 12-6 overall. Of the nation's 351 Division-I basketball teams, 93 have won at least two-thirds of their games this season, as Montana has. The number can be looked at two ways. On one hand, 26.5 percent of Division-I teams have won two-thirds of their games, meaning there are a lot of good teams. On the flip, Montana has a better winning percentage than 73.5 percent of the country.
The stat becomes even more impressive considering where Montana is getting its victories. Twelve of Montana's 18 games, and seven of their wins, have been away from home.
Of the 93 schools with a 66.7-percent winning percentage or better, just five (Austin Peay, 3; Yale, 4; Abilene Christian, 5; Jacksonville State, 5; Radford, 5) have played fewer home games than Montana's six.
The average number of home games for the schools who have won two-thirds of their games is 10.3, with Houston (14) and Syracuse (13) leading the charge.
Of course some of this will even out, with eight of Montana's next 11 games coming at Dahlberg Arena. The Grizzlies will leave the state just one time over the next three weeks, a quick bus trip to Bozeman next Saturday.
"We're excited to be back," head coach Travis DeCuire said. "It's been a long time with a lot of travel, so it's nice to finally have a stretch where we feel like we can stay in one place and lock in on what's important."
Montana has had plenty of success at home, winning 20 in a row before its most-recent setback. All-time, Montana is 705-246 in its home arena (.742), including 123-26 (.831) over the past decade.
The Grizzlies are currently averaging 3,711 fans per game, better than three Pac-12 schools – Stanford, USC and Washington State – but they know that number needs to climb even higher for them to meet their lofty goals.
A year ago, Montana's attendance figure jumped by 60 percent in late January once students were back on campus.
"We rely on our fans to provide a home-court edge, and I think it's important for our fans to understand that," DeCuire said. "We're working hard to create something special on the court, and in order for us to take this thing to where we want it to go, we need everyone to buy in."
Tipoff vs. Idaho State is slated for 7 p.m. Thursday. Students get in free with a valid Griz Card, and free pizza and cash prizes will be presented at the game. In a gesture to those affected by the government shutdown, Montana is offering free tickets to furloughed employees for the remainder of the shutdown.
SCOUTING IDAHO STATEAfter being on the road for what feels like forever...#GRIZHOOPS IS BACK!
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) January 21, 2019
🏀 Thursday vs. Idaho State
🏀 Saturday vs. Weber State
🎟️ https://t.co/eh6xk1o7Mt pic.twitter.com/LcWQTKO6Qg
- Idaho State is 7-9 overall, including 3-4 in Big Sky play. The Bengals began 2-1 before losing three of their next four. Most recently, ISU has lost to two of the top teams in the league (at Weber State, vs. Northern Colorado), by an average of 20.5 points.
- ISU averages 9.7 made three-pointers per game and is hitting at a .367 rate (72nd in NCAA).
- ISU's .744 free-throw percentage leads the Big Sky. Junior Jared Stutzman is a perfect 14-of-14 during league play.
- While UM has the league's best scoring defense, ISU isn't far behind (70.3, third).
- ISU ranks in the bottom 10 nationally (343rd), forcing just 10.44 turnovers per game.
- Junior Brandon Boyd leads the team with 13.9 points per game. He also adds a team-best 63 assists (3.6 per game during league play, sixth in the Big Sky).
- Junior Balint Mocsan is averaging 2.9 made three-pointers per league game (third) and is connecting at a .408 rate (10th).
- Junior Chier Maker is one of six Bengals with 8.0 or more points per game, also leading the team with 6.8 rebounds per game. Both he and Kelvin Jones (6.6) rank in the top 11 for rebounding during Big Sky play.
- In addition to his rebounding, Jones, a 6-11 junior, averages 9.2 points per game, is shooting .540 and averages 2.1 blocked shots per game (second in Big Sky).
- ISU is led by Bill Evans, who is in his seventh season with the Bengals after a lengthy career at Southern Utah.
SERIES VS. THE BENGALS
Montana has plenty of success over the Bengals, posting a 103-46 record. The 103 victories are the second-most against any opponent. Montana has only played Montana State, Idaho and Gonzaga more times than Idaho State.
The Grizzlies have had success overall, but especially lately, winning 15 in a row in the series. Montana's last loss to Idaho State came in 2009-10 (67-65), and its last home loss to the Bengals game in 2007-08 (56-54). All-time in Missoula, Montana is 65-13 vs. Idaho State.
The two teams met just once a year ago, during the regular-season finale. The Grizzlies were victorious on senior night, 75-64. Michael Oguine recorded a double-double with 22 points and 15 rebounds, one of four players in double figures for scoring. In two games vs. the Bengals in 2016-17, Ahmaad Rorie combined for 51 points and 11 assists. As a freshman in 2015-16, Bobby Moorehead had a career night in Pocatello, scoring 24 points on 8-of-11 shooting from long range.
GRIZ TRACKSWe enjoyed spending part of our day off celebrating #MLKDay at Hellgate Elementary!#GrizHoops #MLKDayOfService pic.twitter.com/lMwHxAeb6D
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) January 22, 2019
- Prior to Thursday, 12 of Montana's first 18 games were away from Missoula.
- Nine of Montana's 12 wins have come by double digits, including fifth by at least 20 points.
- Montana has held opponents under their season scoring average in 16 of 18 games, including by an average of 18.0 points in its last three wins.
- Montana is coming off of a win at Idaho in which the Griz tied a season high for rebounds (43) and posted a season-low six turnovers.
- Montana is shooting .487 on the season (28th in NCAA, 1st in Big Sky) and has made at least half of its shots 10 times.
- Montana is the only Big Sky team to have four players rank in the top 20 for scoring. Five different Grizzlies have scored at least 20 points in a game this season and four have made 10 or more field goals.
- Montana has out-rebounded its opponent in eight consecutive games. While Montana's 33.6 overall rebounding average ranks 11th in the Big Sky, during league play, the Grizzlies have the best rebounding margin (+6.6) and are giving up just 30.9 rebounds per game (first).
- With a veteran group, four starters have played in 100 or more career games.
- Montana has made at least eight three-pointers 10 times this season. The Grizzlies hit that number just four times in 2017-18.
- The Grizzlies have recorded fewer assists than their opponent just three times (0-3 in those games).
- 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 nine of their past 11 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.
DOUBLE THE TROUBLE🎥 A look back and some of the plays that led to our road win at Idaho! 🎥#GrizHoops #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/7rRik6JEtv
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) January 20, 2019
Michael Oguine and Ahmaad Rorie both joined the 1,000-point scoring club last year, and both continue to move up the school's all-time scoring list. Of the 33 members of the elusive club, Oguine and Rorie both now rank in the top 10.
If that weren't enough, Griz fans are witnessing history. Never before have two players combined for more than 2,800 career points and taken the floor at the same time.
Montana is one of 15 schools nationally who have two 1,000-point scorers on its current roster. Both are expected to finish their careers in the top five.
Complete Game Notes in PDF format, including more notes, charts and player pages
US Government employees on furlough during the shutdown may show a valid government ID for complimentary tickets to @MontanaGrizBB and @montanagrizwbb games for the duration of the shutdown.
— Montana Grizzlies (@UMGRIZZLIES) January 18, 2019
More info here: https://t.co/fTr8QZCiEV#GoGriz pic.twitter.com/qhN2dwWb2e
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballMarch Madness Denver Pep Rally - 3/19/25
Thursday, March 20
Montana? Yes, Montana!
Wednesday, March 19
Griz Basketball Open Practice [March Madness] - 3/19/25
Wednesday, March 19
Griz Basketball Arrival To Denver [March Madness] - 3/18/25
Tuesday, March 18
