Griz finally able to work on themselves heading into road trip

Montana at Eastern Washington / Thursday / 7 p.m. (MT) / Cheney, Wash.

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Regardless of how much talent Travis DeCuire's roster has, he knew his team probably wouldn't go undefeated through Big Sky play – something that's happened just twice in the 55-year history of the league. So as much as it stings to lose, DeCuire knew at some point it was bound to occur, and he'd prefer for it to happen earlier than in the back end of conference play.

Now running the table isn't the team's focus. Neither is the team's 20-game home winning streak. Now, the focus can truly be a one-game-at-a-time mentality.

"I try to minimize our distractions. Expectations are enough, so we don't even discuss those. Part of me is glad it's over, because now we can focus on what we need to focus on and those extra things aren't there."

DeCuire feels confident in his team's ability to respond. Part of that is due to their determination and part has to do with the fact that the Grizzlies will finally get a couple days of practice in a row. The team practiced Monday and Tuesday in Missoula, and will spend Wednesday beginning to prep for their next opponent. Contrast that to the past several weeks when the Grizzlies had just one practice together in between games, and it was used to prep rather than work on themselves.

"All of our practices were preps, so we hadn't had the chance to work on the details, and I think we're seeing how important details are," DeCuire said. "We hadn't gotten back to the basics, and this week has given us a chance to do that."

Following Wednesday's practice, Montana will hit the road, continuing a stretch of seven road contests out of nine games. On Thursday, the Grizzlies face an Eastern Washington team they have recent history with.

In 2015, DeCuire's first season, the Griz and Eagles shared a conference title. Last year, the two teams met in the tournament championship game, with Montana overcoming a double-digit halftime deficit to win by 17 points and earn a trip to the NCAA tournament.

The last time the two teams met in Cheney, last February, EWU handed Montana its first loss of league play, snapping the Grizzlies' 13-0 start.

This Eagles team looks different from last year's however, and the biggest difference is the absence of Bogdan Bliznyuk. The 2018 Big Sky Conference Player of the Year and AP honorable mention All-American averaged 21.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game a year ago, setting the conference's all-time record for career points scored.

Without Bliznyuk, the Eagles are just 3-11, most-recently losing at Idaho and Northern Colorado. EWU turns the ball over just 11.7 times per game – 45th nationally – but ranks in the bottom 10 percent of the NCAA for scoring, field-goal percentage, field-goal defense and rebounding margin. Jesse Hunt will be the player to watch. The Australian senior ranks in the top 11 in the Big Sky for scoring, rebounding, assists, three-pointers, blocked shots and minutes played.

"They're back to where they were three years ago where they're going inside," DeCuire said. "Their size is their strength. The ball goes inside a lot, and they still shoot threes at a good percentage, but it's usually coming back out. The game won't be as up-tempo as the Portland State game was."

As for Montana, even coming off of a loss, the Grizzlies are beginning to hit their stride in many ways.

Montana's .487 field-goal percentage ranks 32nd nationally, with the Grizzlies making at least half of their shots nine times this season.
In nine games since the start of November, the Grizzlies have allowed just 64.7 points per game.
Montana has out-rebounded its opponent in five consecutive games, and now has a positive rebounding margin for the first time this season.
The Grizzlies have four players averaging at least 11.7 points per game, including Jamar Akoh (16.6) and Ahmaad Rorie (15.7). Akoh would lead the Big Sky for rebounding (9.1) and rank fifth for scoring, if he had played enough games to qualify.

Montana has won three consecutive true road contests and will look to extend it to four games Thursday at 7 p.m. MT. The game can be watched on SWX Montana and Pluto TV.

SERIES VS. THE EAGLES
Montana and Eastern Washington will meet for the 111th time on Thursday. The Grizzlies own a 67-43 advantage over the Eagles, an impressive feat considering they lost the first 14 games in the series.

Michael Oguine has scored in double figures four times vs. EWU, including a team-high 21 points in last year's championship game. Ahmaad Rorie scored 15 points in that game and a team-high 18 in last year's meeting in Cheney. Sayeed Pridgett had 15 points last year at EWU, while Bobby Moorehead scored 12 in the title game, in addition to 10 rebounds during a game as a sophomore.

GRIZ TRACKS

The Grizzlies have won three consecutive road games (at South Dakota State, Northern Arizona and Southern Utah).
Prior to Saturday's loss to Portland State, Montana had won four consecutive games overall.
Montana begin Big Sky play 3-0 for the third time in five seasons under Travis DeCuire and 10th time ever.
In nine games since the start of December, the Grizzlies have allowed just 64.7 points per game.
Montana is shooting .487 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.
Nine of Montana's 15 games have been away from Missoula.
Michael Oguine (131) needs six steals to match Kevin Kriswell and move into fifth place in school history for career steals.
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.
Montana has made at least eight three-pointers nine times this season. The Grizzlies hit that number just four times in 2017-18.
Six of Montana's top-seven free-throw percentages have come in the past six 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 eight games and are 7-2 when using their traditional lineup.
Montana has out-rebounded its opponent in five consecutive games. While Montana's 32.8 rebounding average ranks 11th in the Big Sky, the Grizzlies rank second by allowing just 32.7 rebounds per game (+0.1 margin). Additionally, through four conference games, Montana ranks second for rebounding offense (37.2) and first for rebounding defense (31.5).
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

Griz finally able to work on themselves heading into road trip

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jamar Akoh

Bobby Moorehead

Michael Oguine

Sayeed Pridgett

Ahmaad Rorie

University of Montana Athletics

Griz finally able to work on themselves heading into road trip

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jamar Akoh

Bobby Moorehead

Michael Oguine

Sayeed Pridgett

Ahmaad Rorie

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