Photo by: John Sieber
Montana to challenge itself on road during non-conference play
11/17/2020 12:46:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Montana head basketball coach Travis DeCuire keeps binders full of important items. The one he pulled out on Tuesday was for scheduling.
He starts counting… one, two, three …. four, five, six… seven…
Eight.
Over the past several months, DeCuire and his staff have had eight different schedules for the 2020-21 basketball season. The first seven, of course, were scrapped due to the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing his staff to cross out, start over and stay on the phone with coaches from across the country who – just more than a week until the start of the basketball season – are still scrambling to finalize a schedule.
DeCuire's eighth revision has four non-conference dates, all on the road against high-major opponents. The Grizzlies will open the 2020-21 season Nov. 28 at USC, before traveling to Georgia (Dec. 8), Washington (Dec. 16) and Arizona (Dec. 22).
"The uncertainty has definitely been the most difficult part," DeCuire said. "People want to limit how much they travel, and unfortunately for us, the teams that can be a bus trip or direct flight don't want to play us in Missoula. Going from needing 13 non-conference games to just five, it was still just as difficult."
He cautions fans that the current schedule won't be the final one, although even he is unsure what possible updates will look like.
The Grizzlies are hopeful they'll be able to schedule a home non-conference game. They thought they had a couple, but protocols fell through, leaving them empty handed.
So Montana is now at a point where it feels comfortable with the four it has on paper, and will continue to look to add one, two or up to three more non-conference games.
Could that be in December, before Montana's Big Sky slate starts in earnest? Ideally, but not necessarily.
Could that be in January, when Montana has an open week in its Big Sky schedule? Ideally, but not necessarily.
Could that be sometime in the next several months, say in theory, after a current game on its schedule gets canceled due to its opponent not being able to compete? Yes, all things are on the table this season.
There's even a company working with teams and last-minute changes throughout the season.
"We'll put our schedule into the database and wait and see," DeCuire said. "The reality is, a lot of games are going to get canceled, and we're going to try and replace as many of those games as possible."
Earlier this summer, after the Big Sky Conference moved from 20 league games to 16 – and before the conference pivoted back to 20 – DeCuire was putting the final touches on what would have been, in his opinion, his toughest non-conference schedule to date, which is saying something considering the way the veteran coach has become known to schedule.
Most exciting, of the 13 non-conference dates, seven of them were scheduled to be at home inside Dahlberg Arena, including a Mountain West opponent.
He was hopeful – and still is – that he will be able to schedule a home non-conference game or two, but given so many uncertainties, decided it was best for his program to start with the four road games.
"We got to a point where we decided to play the guarantee games that we could get and start there," DeCuire said. "We've got four games. We're moving forward and starting to prepare for those, and if the right thing presents itself, we'll figure that out."
The USC game is exciting because of the location. Montana has nine Californians on its roster, including several from southern California, who will be treated to a homecoming, even if it is without the typical fanfare. The Trojans went 22-9 a season ago, and were on their way to a postseason tournament for the fourth time in five seasons before the season was shut down.
After an early-season conference weekend (Dec. 3 and 5 at Southern Utah), Montana will make a trip to SEC country for the second year in a row. Montana has never played Georgia, who played in the NIT or NCAA tournament in four consecutive season from 2015-18, before going 11-21 in 2019 and 16-16 in 2020.
Montana's final two non-conference opponents will be familiar foes. The Grizzlies played at Washington a year ago and played at Arizona in December 2018. Washington ranked as high as No. 20 last season and was one of the nation's only team to beat Baylor, before finishing the year at 15-17. Arizona was also ranked for much of the season, peaking at No. 12, and finished the shortened season at 21-11. The Wildcats have played in all but three NCAA tournaments dating back to 1985, including eight Elite Eight appearances and a 1997 national title.
"Our guys get up for those games," DeCuire said of the non-conference schedule against Pac-12 and SEC competition. "For some of them, these games were impactful in their decision to come to Montana. Plus, you learn a lot from these games against very high-level competition, and every time there is an opportunity you never know what's going to happen.
"Additionally, if you're fortunate enough to win your league and find yourself in the postseason, you've played those games before, and your team doesn't go into shock."
Montana's 20-game league schedule will continue Dec. 31 vs. Northern Colorado. In total, the Grizzlies will host Northern Colorado (Dec. 31 and Jan. 2), Northern Arizona (Jan. 14 and 16), Montana State (Jan. 28), Weber State (Feb. 11 and 13), Eastern Washington (Feb. 20), and Idaho (March 4 and 6). Tip times and ticket information, if fans are allowed per city ordinance, have yet to be announced.
2020-21 Montana Griz Basketball Schedule
He starts counting… one, two, three …. four, five, six… seven…
Eight.
Over the past several months, DeCuire and his staff have had eight different schedules for the 2020-21 basketball season. The first seven, of course, were scrapped due to the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing his staff to cross out, start over and stay on the phone with coaches from across the country who – just more than a week until the start of the basketball season – are still scrambling to finalize a schedule.
DeCuire's eighth revision has four non-conference dates, all on the road against high-major opponents. The Grizzlies will open the 2020-21 season Nov. 28 at USC, before traveling to Georgia (Dec. 8), Washington (Dec. 16) and Arizona (Dec. 22).
"The uncertainty has definitely been the most difficult part," DeCuire said. "People want to limit how much they travel, and unfortunately for us, the teams that can be a bus trip or direct flight don't want to play us in Missoula. Going from needing 13 non-conference games to just five, it was still just as difficult."
He cautions fans that the current schedule won't be the final one, although even he is unsure what possible updates will look like.
The Grizzlies are hopeful they'll be able to schedule a home non-conference game. They thought they had a couple, but protocols fell through, leaving them empty handed.
So Montana is now at a point where it feels comfortable with the four it has on paper, and will continue to look to add one, two or up to three more non-conference games.
Could that be in December, before Montana's Big Sky slate starts in earnest? Ideally, but not necessarily.
Could that be in January, when Montana has an open week in its Big Sky schedule? Ideally, but not necessarily.
Could that be sometime in the next several months, say in theory, after a current game on its schedule gets canceled due to its opponent not being able to compete? Yes, all things are on the table this season.
There's even a company working with teams and last-minute changes throughout the season.
"We'll put our schedule into the database and wait and see," DeCuire said. "The reality is, a lot of games are going to get canceled, and we're going to try and replace as many of those games as possible."
Earlier this summer, after the Big Sky Conference moved from 20 league games to 16 – and before the conference pivoted back to 20 – DeCuire was putting the final touches on what would have been, in his opinion, his toughest non-conference schedule to date, which is saying something considering the way the veteran coach has become known to schedule.
Most exciting, of the 13 non-conference dates, seven of them were scheduled to be at home inside Dahlberg Arena, including a Mountain West opponent.
He was hopeful – and still is – that he will be able to schedule a home non-conference game or two, but given so many uncertainties, decided it was best for his program to start with the four road games.
"We got to a point where we decided to play the guarantee games that we could get and start there," DeCuire said. "We've got four games. We're moving forward and starting to prepare for those, and if the right thing presents itself, we'll figure that out."
The USC game is exciting because of the location. Montana has nine Californians on its roster, including several from southern California, who will be treated to a homecoming, even if it is without the typical fanfare. The Trojans went 22-9 a season ago, and were on their way to a postseason tournament for the fourth time in five seasons before the season was shut down.
After an early-season conference weekend (Dec. 3 and 5 at Southern Utah), Montana will make a trip to SEC country for the second year in a row. Montana has never played Georgia, who played in the NIT or NCAA tournament in four consecutive season from 2015-18, before going 11-21 in 2019 and 16-16 in 2020.
Montana's final two non-conference opponents will be familiar foes. The Grizzlies played at Washington a year ago and played at Arizona in December 2018. Washington ranked as high as No. 20 last season and was one of the nation's only team to beat Baylor, before finishing the year at 15-17. Arizona was also ranked for much of the season, peaking at No. 12, and finished the shortened season at 21-11. The Wildcats have played in all but three NCAA tournaments dating back to 1985, including eight Elite Eight appearances and a 1997 national title.
"Our guys get up for those games," DeCuire said of the non-conference schedule against Pac-12 and SEC competition. "For some of them, these games were impactful in their decision to come to Montana. Plus, you learn a lot from these games against very high-level competition, and every time there is an opportunity you never know what's going to happen.
"Additionally, if you're fortunate enough to win your league and find yourself in the postseason, you've played those games before, and your team doesn't go into shock."
Montana's 20-game league schedule will continue Dec. 31 vs. Northern Colorado. In total, the Grizzlies will host Northern Colorado (Dec. 31 and Jan. 2), Northern Arizona (Jan. 14 and 16), Montana State (Jan. 28), Weber State (Feb. 11 and 13), Eastern Washington (Feb. 20), and Idaho (March 4 and 6). Tip times and ticket information, if fans are allowed per city ordinance, have yet to be announced.
2020-21 Montana Griz Basketball Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Location |
| Saturday, Nov. 28 | at USC | Los Angeles, Calif. |
| Thursday, Dec. 3 | at Southern Utah* | Cedar City, Utah |
| Saturday, Dec. 5 | at Southern Utah* | Cedar City, Utah |
| Tuesday, Dec. 8 | at Georgia | Athens, Ga. |
| Wednesday, Dec. 15 | at Washington | Seattle, Wash. |
| Tuesday, Dec. 22 | at Arizona | Tucson, Ariz. |
| Thursday, Dec. 31 | Northern Colorado* | Missoula, Mont. |
| Saturday, Jan. 2 | Northern Colorado* | Missoula, Mont. |
| Thursday, Jan. 14 | Northern Arizona* | Missoula, Mont. |
| Saturday, Jan. 16 | Northern Arizona* | Missoula, Mont. |
| Thursday, Jan. 21 | at Sacramento State* | Sacramento, Calif. |
| Saturday, Jan. 23 | at Sacramento State* | Sacramento, Calif. |
| Thursday, Jan. 28 | Montana State* | Missoula, Mont. |
| Saturday, Jan. 30 | Montana State* | Bozeman, Mont. |
| Thursday, Feb. 4 | at Portland State* | Portland, Ore. |
| Saturday, Feb. 6 | at Portland State* | Portland, Ore. |
| Thursday, Feb. 11 | Weber State* | Missoula, Mont. |
| Saturday, Feb. 13 | Weber State* | Missoula, Mont. |
| Thursday, Feb. 18 | at Eastern Washington* | Cheney, Wash. |
| Saturday, Feb. 20 | Eastern Washington* | Missoula, Mont. |
| Thursday, Feb. 25 | at Idaho State* | Pocatello, Idaho |
| Saturday, Feb. 27 | at Idaho State* | Pocatello, Idaho |
| Thursday, March 4 | Idaho* | Missoula, Mont. |
| Saturday, March 6 | Idaho* | Missoula, Mont. |
| Wednesday, March 10 | Big Sky Tournament [Round 1] | Boise, Idaho |
| Thursday, March 11 | Big Sky Tournament [Quarterfinals] | Boise, Idaho |
| Friday, March 12 | Big Sky Tournament [Semifinals] | Boise, Idaho |
| Saturday, March 13 | Big Sky Tournament [Finals] | Boise, Idaho |
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