Griz host Vandals in final home game of January

Montana vs. Idaho
Saturday / 7 p.m. / Missoula, Mont.

TV: SWX Montana
Stream: Pluto TV (ch. 537)
Listen: KGVO (1290 AM, 98.3 FM) / Worldwide on TuneIn
Live Stats

WINNING WAYS
Playing one of the nation's most challenging non-conference schedules, the Grizzlies got off to a slow start to the season and went 4-7 in non-league play. Since, Montana has won five of its past six games to move above .500 (9-8) for the first time this season.

GOING FOR NO. 1,000
A win on Saturday would give Montana its 1,000th home win in program history. The Grizzlies are currently 999-409 (.710) on their home court, including 719-248 (.744) inside Dahlberg Arena.

Montana began playing inside Dahlberg Arena since 1953. Just 10 Division-I schools nationally have been playing in their current home venue for at least 60 years and have won at least 70 percent of their games.

RISING IN THE RANKINGS
In just 10 days, Montana has risen significantly in several shooting and defensive shooting categories. Below is a look at Montana's figures and national rankings prior to playing at Eastern Washington (Jan. 9) to now:

Category	Jan. 8	Rank	Jan. 17	Rank	Difference
Scoring	64.7	315th	67.4	281st	+34
FG%	.428	228th	.444	139th	+85
FG% D	.426	197th	.422	169th	+28
3FG%	.307	289th	.326	213th	+76
3FG% D	.330	196th	.316	121st	+75

SOLES4SOULS
Montana's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) – which is comprised of student-athletes from each of the university's athletics programs – is holding a shoe drive. Those who participate will receive a free general admission ticket to Saturday's men's basketball game vs. Idaho for every pair of shoes donated. Any type of new or gently worn shoe will be collected, and any size from youth to adult. Through the non-profit Soles4Souls, shoes will then be delivered to a variety of people and groups in need all across the world. SAAC is asking for fans to participate to help lower the world's poverty rate while also helping the environment from unnecessary waste.

Help support @GrizSAAC and @Soles4Souls by bringing a new or gently used pair of shoes to Saturday's #GrizHoops game.

A pair of shoes will get you a FREE general admission ticket!

📰 https://t.co/GUL1gWOdHu pic.twitter.com/ugz6GOBxAP
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) January 16, 2020

SCOUTING IDAHO

Idaho enters Saturday with a 5-11 record overall, including a 1-4 mark in league play, which ranks last.
All four of Idaho's Big Sky losses have been by single digits, with the Vandals losing four games by a combined nine points.
The Vandals are 0-6 in true road environments.
While Idaho's 5-11 record isn't strong, the Vandals have already matched last year's season win total.
Idaho nearly upset Eastern Washington on Thursday night. The Vandals held a one-point lead in the closing seconds, before EWU's Jack Perry connected on a three-pointer with 10.4 seconds remaining. In the loss, Idaho's Trevon Allen scored 23 points.
Allen ranks 31st nationally with 19.6 points per game (second in Big Sky). The senior also ranks seventh in the Big Sky with a .447 shooting percentage.
Graduate transfer Quinton Forrest is averaging 6.8 rebounds per game (8th in Big Sky).
Idaho is allowing teams to make 7.8 three-pointers per game.
Zac Claus is in his fourth season at Idaho, and his first season as interim head coach. Claus has been around the Big Sky, playing at Eastern Washington before coaching stops at Sacramento State and Portland State.

SERIES VS. THE VANDALS
The series between Montana and Idaho dates back more than a century, to the 1915-16 season. The Grizzlies have played Idaho more than any other opponent besides Montana State, and have beaten the Vandals more than any team aside from the Cats and Idaho State. Overall, Montana is 89-110 against Idaho, including 5-5 since the Vandals rejoined the conference in 2014. After losing three consecutive games through 2017-18, Montana swept the series in 2018-19.

The Grizzlies scored 100 points in the meeting in Missoula, beating the Vandals by 41 points. It was the Grizzlies' largest margin of victory in a Big Sky contest since 1997. Montana shot 56.3 percent from the floor while knocking down 13 three-pointers and forcing 22 turnovers. Sayeed Pridgett scored 21 points in the blowout. Last year in Moscow, Montana's defense held Idaho without points for 5 minutes or more three separate times, with the Grizzlies using a 13-0 run late to pull away for good.

BIG SKY UPDATE

Montana is alone in first place as the only team with five victories.
Following Southern Utah's loss to Northern Arizona on Thursday, Northern Colorado is the only other team with just one loss (4-1).
In a tight middle-of-the-pack race, five other teams have three wins already.
By Jan. 4 every team had at least one win and one loss. It marked the first time in 12 seasons that every team had a loss by the third week of league play.

INCREASING OFFENSIVE EFFICIENCY

Montana has averaged 87.5 points per game over the past two contests, doing so on .571 shooting. Montana's two highest scoring totals and shooting percentages have come in the past two contests. The Grizzlies scored 90 points on .542 shooting at Eastern Washington before scoring 85 points at a .604 clip vs. Portland State.
The Grizzlies are averaging 20.5 assists per game over the past two contests (top two totals of the season), assisting on 41 of 64 made baskets (64.1 percent). The percentage through the first 15 games of the season was 43.3 percent.
Montana has shot .450 or better from three-point range in three of its past four games, connecting on at least six triples in all four contests, including a season-high-tying nine vs. Portland State. The Grizzlies are 6-1 when posting a better three-point shooting percentage than its opponent.
Montana has made at least two-thirds of its free-throw attempts in every conference game this season, shooting .750 or better in four of the past five games. Montana is shooting .765 from the charity stripe in Big Sky play, compared to .686 in non-conference.
Montana has shot better than its opponent in nine of the past 12 games, including five of six in Big Sky play. The Grizzlies' have twice been victorious (Sacramento State, at Southern Utah) while being out-shot.
Despite reaching 70 points just seven times this season, five have come in the past nine contests.
Montana scored 66 points at Northern Colorado (nation's 35th-best scoring defense), more than any other opponent had at Bank of Colorado Arena up to that point.
Facing the nation's third-best defense, Montana beat Sacramento State, despite scoring just 52 points. It was the Grizzlies' lowest scoring output in a win since beating the Hornets – by the exact same 52-50 score – in January 1998.

BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK
Through three weeks of Big Sky action, Montana has cleaned up the hardware, winning all three player-of-the-week awards. It marks the first time since 2012-13 that one team has won three consecutive awards with three different players.

Derrick Carter-Hollinger helped Montana to a pair of victories on the week, averaging 16.5 points per game on an incredible .789 shooting (15-of-19), in addition to 9.0 rebounds, 3.0 blocks and 2.0 assists per game. He had a breakout performance in a 90-63 road win at Eastern Washington, scoring 20 points, pulling down 14 rebounds and blocking four shots – all career highs. Carter-Hollinger is the first freshman to earn player-of-the-week honors since Dec. 12, 2017 (Portland State's Holland Woods). He is the first Montana freshman to win the award in at least a decade, as far back as the Big Sky's records go.

What a week for @DJ_Carter35! A well-deserved honor for the freshman!

📰 https://t.co/sgAgjEJ6ka #GrizHoops #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/iOMKsuH8JO
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) January 14, 2020

Kendal Manuel (Jan. 7) averaged 23.5 points per game across two road contests, including a win at Southern Utah. In addition to leading the Grizzlies for scoring on the week, he was also the team's top rebounder (6.0 per game) and swiped a team-most four passes. Manuel made 6-of-9 three-point attempts, and despite shooting nearly one-third of his shots from beyond the arc, Manuel still shot .633 overall on the week (19-of-30).

At Northern Colorado, Manuel scored a career-high 30 points. He made 13-of-16 shots, including all three three-point attempts. His shots came at clutch times, too. Of his 13 makes, seven either gave Montana the lead, tied the game or cut the deficit to a single possession. Against the Bears, Manuel also led Montana for rebounding (six) and steals (three). Two nights earlier, Montana earned a road win at Southern Utah, handing the Thunderbirds their first home loss of the season. Manuel scored 17 points, including two second-half three-pointers that extended the Grizzlies' lead after Southern Utah had cut the score to a single possession.

Sayeed Pridgett was named the Big Sky Conference Player of the Week on Dec. 31, his first award of the season and fourth of his career. In two come-from-behind wins to begin league play, Pridgett averaged 20.5 points and 9.0 rebounds per game, in addition to a team-high five steals.

The senior had 27 points and 10 boards on vs. Northern Arizona (Dec. 28), recording his fourth double-double of the season. With Montana trailing by eight in the second half, the Grizzlies used a 15-2 run to take control of the contest. Pridgett had seven of his team's points during that stint and 18 overall during the second half. Two nights later, Montana pulled off a 52-50 win over Sacramento State (Dec. 30), winning in the closing seconds. Pridgett tied for the team lead with 14 points and eight rebounds, in addition to a game-high four steals. He scored six of Montana's final 10 points as the Grizzlies rallied from a six-point deficit with under 10 minutes to play.

FRESH FACES

Of the six players who average at least 17.0 minutes played per game, three are true freshmen.
In a variety of combinations, Montana started multiple true freshmen in its first 10 games. It marked the first time since 2014 that a pair of Montana true freshmen had started in the same game and the first time ever that two freshmen started more than five times in the same season.
Montana has started at least one freshman in all but one game this season.
Montana's trio of true freshmen account for 33.1 percent of the Grizzlies' rebounding and 26.4 percent of their scoring.
Of the 10 players who have seen the court this season, just four played a season ago. In Montana's rotation are three true freshmen, a redshirt freshman and two transfers.

DOMINANT DEFENSE

Montana has held all but three of its opponents under their season scoring averages.
Montana has held nine opponents to 70 points or fewer (8-1).
Montana has twice held an opponent without a made three-pointer. Both No. 25 Washington (Nov. 22) and Portland State (Jan. 13) shot 0-for-11 from deep against the Griz.
Eastern Washington ranked third nationally for scoring offense when Montana played in Cheney (Jan. 9), but the Grizzlies held the Eagles to 63 points, nearly 23 points below their season scoring average and 38 points below their season average at home.
Just once (No. 8 Oregon) has Montana given up more than 74 points in regulation.

TALKING TURNOVERS

Montana has turned the ball over more times than its opponent just one time in the past 13 games.
The Grizzlies have turned the ball over 10 or fewer times in six of the past 10 games.
The Grizzlies forced a season high 10 steals vs. Sac State (Dec. 30).
Montana is 9-3 when turning the ball over 15 times or fewer, compared to 0-5 when turning the ball over 16 or more times.

START IT OFF

Montana has used six different starting lineup combinations, including a different one in four consecutive games in December.
The Grizzlies have used the same combination each of the past five contests (4-1): Timmy Falls, Sayeed Pridgett, Kendal Manuel, Jared Samuelson, Josh Vazquez.
Montana started two true freshmen in each of the first 10 games, and has had at least one true freshman start in all but one contest.
Seniors Kendal Manuel and Sayeed Pridgett have started every game this season.

SPREADING THE GAP

Montana has won its past two games by an average of 21.0 points per contest, winning both by double digits.
Prior to its win at Eastern Washington (Jan. 9), Montana's previous five games, and eight of their last nine, had been decided by single digits.
Montana won back-to-back games against Sacramento State and at Southern Utah by two points apiece.
Montana is 2-1 in one-possession games and 2-3 in two-possession contests.

LOOKING AHEAD
Montana's next three games will be on the road, with the Grizzlies traveling to Idaho State, Weber State and Portland State. Montana's next home game will be against rival Montana State (Feb. 1).

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

"We have a really strong bond with the three of us."

Had some fun speaking with @JoshVazquez3, @kodoesit and @DJ_Carter35 about how the three true freshmen have adjusted (and grown) in life as D1 basketball players for @MontanaGrizBB.

Story and video: https://t.co/omBwV3znFy pic.twitter.com/Tsnfk2VY0t
— Kyle Hansen (@khansen406) January 16, 2020

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Derrick Carter-Hollinger

Timmy Falls

Kendal Manuel

Sayeed Pridgett

Jared Samuelson

Josh Vazquez

University of Montana Athletics