Montana caps 3-game road swing at Portland State

Montana at Portland State
Thursday / 8 p.m. (MT) / Portland, Ore.

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Montana has three separate three-game road trips during Big Sky Conference play, more than any other team. The first one went better than expected, with the Grizzlies going 2-1 against the three teams closest to Montana in the standings. To begin Big Sky play in that fashion, not to mention having Eastern Washington, Northern Colorado and Southern Utah return to Missoula during the back half of league play, is a bonus. Montana will now look to cap its second extended road trip with a winning record, after splitting with Idaho State and Weber State on the road last week.

Montana and Portland State will play for the second time in 17 days on Thursday (8 p.m. MT). Following a meeting with the Vikings, Montana will return home to prepare for rival Montana State. The Bobcats, who will be extra rested with no other game this week, will invade Dahlberg Arena on Saturday.

SCOUTING PORTLAND STATE

Portland State is 10-12 on the season, including 4-6 in Big Sky Conference play. The Vikings have won two in a row at home, but have lost two consecutive games overall.
Six of the Vikings' past eight games have been on the road, but the Vikings are 6-2 at home this season, where the majority of their remaining games will be.
PSU has three Big Sky losses by two points.
PSU leads the nation with 15.3 offensive rebounds per game. The Vikings had 18, compared to four for Montana, in a mid-January meeting in Missoula.
The Vikings rank among the nation's leaders for scoring offense (53rd), blocks (52nd) and steals (50th). Like Montana, Portland State takes care of the ball (13.0 turnovers per game, 130th) and has a strong turnover margin (+1.5, 94th).
On the flip side, teams are averaging 74.7 points per game (294th) on .466 shooting (327th) against the Vikings. In the last meeting, Montana scored 85 points, its second-highest regulation total of the season.
Junior guard Holland Woods is one of the Big Sky's top players, ranking sixth for scoring (17.1 points per game) and third for assists (5.5 per game).
Woods is PSU's career leader for assists and steals, and ranks seventh for scoring.
6-8 center Sal Nuhu missed seven consecutive games earlier this month, including the meeting in Missoula. He is healthy and has recorded three straight double-doubles, averaging 16.3 points, 12.3 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game during that span, while shooting .533. He ranks third in the Big Sky for rebounding and second for blocks.
Matt Hauser has missed the past six games due to an ankle injury, but his return his expected soon. The Santa Clara graduate transfer is averaging 15.3 points per game while leading the Vikings with 42 made three-pointers, accounting for 44.2 percent of his made shots.
Barrett Peery is in his third season in Portland, where he is 46-42. He led the Vikings to the CollegeInsider.com postseason tournament during his first season, before helping PSU to its best conference finish (fourth place) since 2011-12 a season ago.

SERIES VS. THE VIKINGS
After losing both meetings last season, Montana earned an 85-70 victory over Portland State earlier this month. In the victory, Montana shot .604, which is a season high and the best by a Vikings opponent this season. The Grizzlies used a 13-2 second-half run to earn the victory, getting 27 points from Kendal Manuel (five made three-pointers) and a near-triple-double from Sayeed Pridgett (17 points, 10 assists, eight rebounds). Portland State shot 0-for-11 from three-point range.

A season ago, Manuel had a 22-point performance against the Vikings in Missoula, while Pridgett scored 28 last March in Portland.

All-time, Montana holds a 41-25 advantage over the Vikings, but the Grizzlies are 15-17 in Portland, including 0-1 in the newly constructed Viking Pavilion. 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. From 2008-09 through 2012-13, Montana won nine consecutive in the series, and under DeCuire the Grizzlies are 8-3. First-year assistant coach Zach Payne was an assistant coach for Portland State last season.

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 seven of its past nine contests and sits in first place in the Big Sky standings.

BIG SKY UPDATE

Montana is alone in first place as the only team with seven victories. The Grizzlies have a half-game lead over Eastern Washington (6-2), and a 1.5-game lead over Northern Colorado and Southern Utah (5-3).
The other seven teams in the Big Sky all have four or more losses.
Of the 48 Big Sky games entering Thursday, 32 have been decided by single digits, including 18 by a single possession.
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.

OFFENSIVE UPTICK
Through non-conference play, Montana was averaging 64.8 points per game (10th out of 11 teams) on .429 shooting (10th). The Grizzlies were shooting .296 from deep (11th) and .686 from the free-throw line (sixth). Midway through Big Sky play, the Grizzlies are averaging 73.4 points per game (third) on .473 shooting (first). The Grizzlies are hitting at a .385 clip from deep (second) and .754 from the free-throw line (second).

MORE ON THE OFFENSE

The Grizzlies are averaging 80.8 points per game on .510 shooting over their past five contests.
Montana's three highest point totals have come in the past five games, with the Grizzlies reaching 85 points three times.
After shooting .353 during non-conference play, including .254 from deep (17-of-67), Kendal Manuel ranks fourth in Big Sky play for scoring (17.8), while shooting eighth (.474), including .444 from deep.
Montana scored 70 or more points just twice through the first eight games of the season, but has done so six times since then.
Montana has shot above .450 in five of its past six games, including over .500 three times. The Grizzlies shot a season-best .604 vs. Portland State.
Montana has out-shot its opponent in seven consecutive games.
Montana has shot .500 or better six times this season.
Montana has shot .450 or better from three-point range in four of its past seven games, and has connected on at least five triples in eight contests in a row, including a season-high-tying nine vs. Portland State. Montana made five three-pointers in just five of its first 12 games to begin the season.
The Grizzlies are 6-1 when posting a better three-point shooting percentage than their opponent.
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.

RISING IN THE RANKINGS
In just three weeks, Montana has risen significantly in several 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. 28    Rank Difference
Scoring                  64.7 315th 67.3 251st       +74
FG% .428 228th      .449 117th +111
3FG% .307 289th      .335 164th     +127
FT% .692 198th      .715 138th +60
Scoring Margin -3.5   284th      -0.2 233nd +51

DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS

Montana has held 15 of its 20 opponents under their season scoring average.
Montana is 9-1 when limiting opponents to 70 points or fewer, with the lone exception being a 66-48 loss at Arkansas.
Just once (No. 8 Oregon) has Montana given up more than 74 points in regulation.
The Grizzlies are 11-3 when holding opponents under .450 shooting, compared to 0-6 when teams shot .450 or better against the Griz.
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.

TALKING TURNOVERS

Montana hasn't turned the ball over more times than its opponents in any of the past 10 games, and has done so just once in the past 14.
The Grizzlies rank in the top 75 nationally for turnover margin, at +1.8.
The Grizzlies forced a season high 10 steals vs. Sacramento State (Dec. 30) and again vs. Idaho (Jan. 18).
Montana has turned the ball over 13 or fewer times in 10 consecutive games.
Montana is 10-3 when turning the ball over 15 times or fewer, compared to 0-5 when turning the ball over 16 or more times.
Montana has committed fewer than 10 turnovers in a game seven times, but is just 3-4 in those contests.

STARTING HOT

Montana has led at halftime in five consecutive games, after doing so just three times through the first 15 contests. Saturday marked the first time Montana has lost after holding a halftime lead (7-1).
Montana has scored 40 or more points by halftime in five of its past six contests.

START TO FINISH
After leading for just 18 minutes, 26 seconds combined in wins over Northern Arizona and Sacramento State to open Big Sky play, the Grizzlies have led by an average of 35:30 in each of their past five victories. Montana never trailed in a win over Southern Utah and hasn't trailed by more than six against Eastern Washington, Portland State, Idaho or Idaho State. Additionally, the Grizzlies led for 38 minutes of regulation at Weber State, despite later falling in overtime.

RAZOR-THIN MARGIN

Montana has played 12 contests decided by single digits, including seven in Big Sky play and three in a row.
The Grizzlies have had seven contests decided by two possessions or fewer (4-3) and five decided by one possession (3-2).

FOUL COUNT

Montana has been called for more fouls than its opponent in 11 consecutive games, with the Grizzlies averaging 20.2 fouls during that span, compared to 15.8 for their opponents. Those figures don't include several early-season discrepancies against high majors (33-18 at Washington and 29-15 at New Mexico).
Montana has shot fewer free throws than its opponent in eight straight games. In six of them, Montana's opponent has made more free throws than Montana has attempted.

SPREADING IT OUT
Senior Sayeed Pridgett is one of the league's top players, ranking third in the Big Sky for scoring and rebounding, as well as in the top seven for shooting, assists and steals. In Montana's first 13 games, Pridgett led Montana for scoring nine times.

With teams double, and sometimes triple, teaming Pridgett, Montana has been able to spread the love in recent games, with someone other than Pridgett leading the Grizzlies for scoring in six consecutive games prior to an overtime loss at Weber State: Kendal Manuel three times, Jared Samuelson twice and Derrick Carter-Hollinger once. Montana hasn't had the same player lead the Griz for scoring in back-to-back games since Pridgett did so on Dec. 28 and 30.

FRESH FACES

Of Montana's eight-man rotation, three are true freshmen.
Montana has started at least one freshman in all but one game this season.
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's trio of true freshmen account for 32.8 percent of the Grizzlies' rebounding and 24.2 percent of their scoring.
Of the 10 players who have seen the court this season, just four played a season ago. In Montana's lineup are three true freshmen, a redshirt freshman and two transfers.

START IT OFF

The Grizzlies have used the same combination each of the past eight contests (6-2): Timmy Falls, Sayeed Pridgett, Kendal Manuel, Jared Samuelson, Josh Vazquez.
Montana has used six different starting lineup combinations, including a different one in four consecutive games in December.
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. Both rank in the top 60 nationally for minutes played per game.

INDIVIDUALLY SPEAKING

#0 Kyle Owens – Has started nine contests, but has averaged just 8.7 minutes over past six games... Has not made a field goal in past three games (0-for-4), but was shooting .583 (14-of-24) in seven previous games... Averaged 8.7 ppg and 5.7 rpg over final three games of December… Had seven rebounds and six points in win over Northern Arizona, scoring four straight points during Griz run that put UM on top for good… Scored eight points and pulled down six rebounds in comeback win at Sacramento State… Scored 12 points (career high vs. DI competition) in addition to stealing three passes at Omaha... Ranked second on team with 14 points vs. Montana Tech, including perfect 10-for-10 from free-throw line... Reached double figures for first time with 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting vs. MSU Northern... Made collegiate debut at Stanford, scoring three points.
#1 Timmy Falls – Ranks sixth in Big Sky play for assists (3.6) and ninth for steals (1.4)... Has league's second-best assist-to-turnover ratio (3.1)... Has started last 16 contests... Over past 10 games has 31 assists compared to 10 turnovers... Has multiple assists in last nine games... Leads UM with one assist every 9.4 minutes played... Has a steal in nine of past 10 games, averaging 1.4... Has two made three-pointers in last two games, after doing so twice in first 18... Scored in double figures in back-to-back road games at Idaho State (10) and Weber State (career-high-tying 16)... Against Wildcats, made 7-of-9 shots and scored 14 points in first half alone... Had missed 14 consecutive shots before 4-of-9 performance (12 points) at Eastern Washington... Stole inbounds pass in closing seconds at Southern Utah to seal two-point victory... Added season-high six assists, three steals and two blocks in win... In comeback win over Sacramento State, had four assists… Had assist and blocked shot in first two possessions of second half, during 8-0 UM run… Had steal late in game to keep UM on top… Was in double figures for scoring in four of six games from Nov. 18-Dec. 6, after averaging 2.0 ppg through first three contests... Had 3+ assists four times during that span... Totaled 15 points vs. North Dakota... Scored seven straight points against Coppin State to help UM jump out to early lead; scored 11 points through game's first 10 minutes and 14 overall... Earned first start of season at Washington, leading UM with four assists and two steals... Played career-high 38 minutes vs. Montana Tech, scoring 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting, in addition to three steals.
#2 Kendal Manuel – Named Big Sky Player of the Week on Jan. 7... Ranks first in Big Sky play for free-throw percentage (.914), fourth for scoring (17.8), fourth for three-pointers made (2.2 per game), fourth for minutes played (37.4), eighth for field-goal percentage (.474) and 15th for steals (1.1)... Has six assists to zero turnovers in past three games... Has made multiple three-pointers in six of last seven games, and 13 times overall... Ranks sixth in NCAA for free-throw shooting (.909)… Made 40 of 41 including 23 in a row at one point.. Has been in double figures for scoring in 16 of last 17 games, including nine in a row... Has played 35+ minutes in 10 straight games... Has 16 steals in past 12 games... Scored 500th point at UM earlier this month... Is on pace to reach 1,000 overall by mid-February... Led UM with 21 points at Idaho State... Led the Griz with 27 points vs. Portland State, making five three-pointers... Had career night at Northern Colorado, scoring 30 points... Also tied or established career high for shots made (13), rebounds (six), steals (three) and minutes (39)... With game tied at 50-50, knocked down two free throws with 2.5 seconds remaining to seal win over Sacramento State… Led UM with 15 points at Oregon... Had 2+ steals in three consecutive games (Dec. 6-21)… Had 10:2 assist-to-turnover ratio over two games (Nov. 25-29), including six vs. Coppin State… Connected on three three-pointers vs. Eagles, leading to 11 points… Scored 15 points at Washington and career-high 25 vs. Montana Tech, making 10 shots.
#3 Josh Vazquez – Ranks ninth in Big Sky play for steals (1.4) and 15th for assists (2.2)... Has started 13 games, including last nine... Negative assist-to-turnover ratio once in past 10 games, after doing so twice over first 10 contests... Has at least one steal in eight of nine Big Sky games... Over past three games has 10 assists and 16 rebounds... Had strong performance at Weber State, recording career highs for steals (four) and minutes played (39)... Made all four three-point attempts, plus four assists and zero turnovers... Prior to scoring outburst vs. Wildcats, had made just 6 of 36 shots during Big Sky play, including 1 of 19 from deep... Led UM with four assists vs. Idaho, also pulling down career-high six rebounds... Blocked career-best two shots at Southern Utah... Led UM for minutes (37) vs. Northern Arizona, also leading team with five assists… Had a career day at Omaha, scoring 14 points (3-for-3 from deep) while dishing out career-high five assists... Made 15 of 30 three-point attempts over final seven non-conference games, after starting career 2 for 13... Has made at least two triples in seven games, including four makes at New Mexico... Scored career-high 16 points against the Lobos... Shot 3-of-5 from deep at Washington, totaling nine points... Prior to that performance, had missed 10 consecutive shots over three games... Had at least one steal in first five games... Scored 11 points in collegiate debut at Stanford.
#4 Sayeed Pridgett – Ranks third in Big Sky play for scoring (18.9), sixth for assists (3.4), seventh for assist-to-turnover ratio (1.0)... eighth for rebounding (7.2), 10th for minutes played (34.8) and 11th for field-goal percentage (.447)... Named Big Sky Player of the Week on Dec. 31… Has 11+ points in every game this season... Has led UM for rebounding 14 times and scoring in 10 games... Has 26 assists in past five games, surpassing career high twice... Has 8+ rebounds in eight of past 11 games... Scored career-high 33 points on 14-of-29 shooting at Weber State, playing all 45 minutes... Nearly had a triple-double vs. Portland State, totaling 17 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds... Has three times scored 30+ points, reaching 32 at Omaha and 30 vs. MSU Northern... Ranks third in Big Sky with four double-doubles, doing so in back-to-back games (Nov. 29-Dec. 1)... Has three times scored 10 consecutive UM points; each instance turned a Griz deficit into a lead... Led UM for every statistical category in season opener at Stanford, including 17 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.
#10 Eddy Egun – Scored five points in 4 minutes of action at Eastern Washington, his first made field goal since Coppin State (Nov. 29)... Was 3-for-3 from free-throw line... Hasn't been in double figures for minutes since Dec. 1 (played 10+ minutes in seven of first eight games)... Recorded team-high six rebounds at Washington (career best)... Shot 2-of-3 from deep vs. the Huskies, making back-to-back three-pointers during 14-3 UM run to tie game... Made collegiate debut at Stanford, shooting 2-of-3 from deep for six points.
#22 Yagizhan Selcuk – Made UM debut at Omaha, coming off bench to score 14 points on 6-of-13 shooting... Scored five consecutive points, including three-point play that gave UM a 62-60 lead with less than 3 minutes to play... Since debut has played 23 minutes across six games, making 4-of-10 shot attempts... In 3 minutes of action, scored six consecutive points before halftime at Idaho State... Missed first 10 games due to NCAA transfer rules.
#23 Mack Anderson – Started first four games, the first starts of his career... Also earned starts vs. Northern Arizona (Dec. 28) and at Omaha (Dec. 21)... Has led UM for rebounding twice and blocked shots three times... Has made 15 of last 21 shot attempts over past five games, after making eight shots in first 15 games (.320 shooting)... Scored nine points on 3-of-4 shooting at Weber State, while playing career-high 27 minutes... Made all five shots vs. Portland State, scoring 10 points, including eight consecutive in the second half... Added two blocked shots... Scored eight points on 4-of-5 shooting at Eastern Washington, scoring six straight Griz points in second half... Had attempted just eight shots over previous 11 games... Made both shot attempts at Oregon (Dec. 18)... Had team-high seven rebounds at Stanford (career best), also scoring nine points and blocking two shots.
#33 Jared Samuelson – Leads league during Big Sky play with .625 field-goal percentage... Ranks 21st in Big Sky play for scoring (12.2) and 11th for three-pointers made (1.7 per game)... Has earned starts in nine of past 10 games... Is 15-of-26 from deep after making one triple during freshman season at UM… Has made multiple three-pointers in four games... Averaging 11.9 points per game on .625 shooting during Big Sky play, after averaging 3.3 points per game in seven non-conference games... Had a career night vs. Idaho, setting personal bests for points (23), minutes (32), field goals made (9), field goals attempted (15) and three-pointers made (5)... Led Grizzlies with 21 points at Southern Utah... Had breakout game against Sacramento State, scoring 14 points while blocking three shots (career high) and pulling down eight rebounds (career high)… Led UM in all three categories... During 8-0 scoring run to begin second half, recorded three points, three rebounds, two blocked shots, one assist and one steal in just 3:24… In just 10 minutes, scored nine points on 4-of-4 shooting vs. Northern Arizona… Scored six points on 3-of-6 shooting vs. North Dakota, while also playing strong defense... Played eight minutes at Washington (one rebound), his first game action with UM since March 7, 2017... Missed first four games with preseason knee injury.
#35 Derrick Carter-Hollinger – Ranks sixth in Big Sky play for blocked shots (1.6) and 19th in Big Sky play for rebounding (5.3)... Big Sky Conference Player of the Week on Jan. 14 after averaging 16.5 points per game on .789 shooting (15-of-19), in addition to 9.0 rebounds, 3.0 blocks and 2.0 assists across two wins... Started seven consecutive games through Dec. 18, playing 31 minutes at New Mexico... Has 13 blocks in past five games, after blocking seven shots through first 15 contests... Has been in double figures for scoring six times this season... Has at least five rebounds in 11 games... Has a block in 12 games... Had three straight games with two assists in January... Made six of seven shots vs. Portland State, scoring 13 points in career-high 34 minutes off the bench... Had career night at Eastern Washington, leading UM for scoring (20 points) and rebounding (14)... Added career-high four blocked shots in victory... Shot 9-of-12 from field, including 2-for-2 from deep... Scored eight points and pulled down seven rebounds in win over Northern Arizona (Dec. 28)… Made 16-of-22 shot attempts during four-game span (Nov. 25-Dec. 6), averaging 8.3 ppg and 5.8 rpg... Recorded double-double (10 points, 10 rebounds) vs. Coppin State, including four offensive rebounds... Tied for team lead with six rebounds at Washington... Made collegiate debut at Stanford, ranking second on team with 15 points (5-of-6 shooting)... Scored five consecutive Griz points to get UM within a possession in second half.

LOOKING AHEAD
Montana returns home to host rival Montana State on Saturday. The double-header begins with the Lady Griz at 2 before the men play at 7. Saturday will be the 300^th all-time meeting between Montana and Montana State.

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

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— Montana Grizzlies (@UMGRIZZLIES) January 28, 2020

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Players Mentioned

Mack Anderson

Derrick Carter-Hollinger

Eddy Egun

Timmy Falls

Kendal Manuel

Kyle Owens

Sayeed Pridgett

Jared Samuelson

Yagizhan Selcuk

Josh Vazquez

University of Montana Athletics