Griz, Vikings set for Saturday-night tilt in Missoula

Montana vs. Portland State / Saturday / 7 p.m. / Missoula, Mont.

Pluto TV (ch. 237) / WatchBigSky.com
Listen / KGVO (1290 AM, 98.3 FM)
Live Stats

Basketball fans and non-basketball fans alike, it's time to take full notice of the Montana Grizzlies.

Montana put on a show Thursday night in Dahlberg Arena, lighting up the scoreboard for 87 points and dominating both down low and along the perimeter, with post Jamar Akoh recording 21 points and 18 rebounds while the Grizzlies shot 65 percent from deep, connecting on 13 triples.

All of that came against the nation's 31st-best defense, as Montana cruised to its largest margin of victory of the season.

The Grizzlies have now won four consecutive games overall, averaging 86.8 points per game during that stretch, and 20 in a row on their home court dating back to the 2016-17 season. Only two current teams in all of college basketball have gone a longer period of time since losing on their home court.

Montana is the runaway favorite to win the Big Sky Conference – again – and return to March Madness for the second consecutive season. There's still a lot of time before that happens, as the team prepares for just its fourth of 20 conference games on Saturday night, but now is the time to be part of the action and witness an historic stretch of Grizzly basketball.

"As well as these guys are playing, I'm just hoping that at some point in time we can fill this place up," head coach Travis DeCuire said during his postgame radio interview on Thursday night.

Coming to Dahlberg on Saturday night will be Portland State, a team that leads the nation with 18.62 offensive rebounds per game and ranks in the top 10 nationally for total rebounds (44.0 per game) steals (10.1) and turnovers forced (18.2).

The Vikings are just 5-8 overall and are coming off of a 10-point loss to Montana State on Thursday, but have two players – Holland Woods (14.1) and Michael Nuga (13.7) – who rank in the top 15 of the Big Sky for scoring. Woods also ranks second in the league for assists and is one of five Vikings in the top 15 for steals. Robert McCoy is the team leader for rebounding, posting nearly half of his boards on the offensive end.

"We're going to have to block off and rebound," DeCuire said. "If we do that, we'll get off in transition. We're also going to have to handle ball screens, because they have one of the better passers in the league, and we've got to contain him. If we take care of the ball and share the ball we should be OK."

🎥 Back home and boy did it feel good! 🎥

We'll be back at it again tomorrow night vs. Portland State! #GrizHoops #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/Q8c9TcHrcp
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) January 4, 2019

SCOUTING PORTLAND STATE

PSU is 5-8 on the year, having lost five consecutive games dating back to Dec. 12. The Vikings are 0-4 on the road this season.
The Vikings have seven players average at least 7.5 points per game, led by Holland Woods (14.1) and Michael Nuga (13.7).
Woods, the 2017-18 Big Sky Freshman of the Year, ranks second in the Big Sky for assists (5.2 per game), second for minutes played (34.8), ninth for steals (1.4) and 12th for scoring.
The Vikings lead the nation with 18.62 offensive rebounds per game, including 3.0 from Robert McCoy (leads Big Sky). Overall, PSU ranks fourth nationally for total rebounds per game (44.0), seventh for steals per game (10.1) and ninth for turnovers forced (18.2).
Sal Nuhu ranks among the Big Sky leaders for blocked shots (1.8 per game, third), field-goal percentage (.571, fifth), rebounding (5.9, 13th) and scoring (10.6, 27th).
PSU went 20-13 and advanced to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament in 2017-18 under first-year head coach Barret Peery.

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 40-23 edge in the series, including a 25-5 mark in Missoula.

From 2008-09 through 2012-13, Montana won nine consecutive in the series, and under Travis DeCuire the Grizzlies are 7-1.

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

Perhaps most notable was Michael Oguine's 39-point performance last year on the road. As a team, Montana shot 55.1 percent from the floor in the 92-89 win.
A month later in Missoula, Oguine and Jamar Akoh both recorded double-doubles as Montana held Portland State to season lows for points (60) and steals (four).
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 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 and Bobby Moorehead had 10 points and six boards.
Montana shot 56 percent in a home win over Portland State in 2015-16, led by 20 points and four assists from Oguine.

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

What a night for Jamar Akoh! The senior had 21 points and 18 rebounds, the most boards by a Grizzly since 2015! #GrizHoops #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/dKbSO1d0oI
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) January 4, 2019

Griz, Vikings set for Saturday-night tilt in Missoula

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jamar Akoh

Bobby Moorehead

Michael Oguine

Ahmaad Rorie

University of Montana Athletics

Griz, Vikings set for Saturday-night tilt in Missoula

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jamar Akoh

Bobby Moorehead

Michael Oguine

Ahmaad Rorie

Related Videos