Saturday, November 28
Los Angeles, Calif.
7 PM (MT)
Montana
at
Southern California
Montana opens 2020-21 basketball season at USC
11/26/2020 9:55:00 AM | Men's Basketball
MONTANA AT USC
Saturday / 7 p.m. (MT) / Los Angeles, Calif.
After 266 days – including an abrupt ending to the 2020 season and a delayed start to the 2021 campaign – Montana will make its long-awaited return on Saturday. The Grizzlies will travel to Los Angeles, California, to face the USC Trojans, who are coming off a 95-87 overtime win over California Baptist on Wednesday night.
Originally slated for an afternoon tip, the game has been pushed back to a 7 p.m. MT start. Fans can watch the game on the Pac-12 Network or listen anywhere in the world on the Grizzly Radio Network, with Voice of the Griz Riley Corcoran on the call for the fifth straight season.
HOLLYWOOD HOMECOMING
While fans won't be allowed inside the Galen Center on Saturday, the Grizzlies will be feeling at home. In addition to three coaches who hail from the state of California, Montana has nine student-athletes who call California home.
Included in the group are southern California natives Derrick Carter-Hollinger (San Diego), Eddy Egun (Woodland Hills), Darius Henderson (Pasadena), Kyle Owens (Calabasas), Cameron Satterwhite (Ventura), Josh Vazquez (Torrance) and Brandon Whitney (Mission Hills). All but Carter-Hollinger and Satterwhite grew up within 30 miles of the Galen Center, with several players attending USC games regularly. Owens' father, Keith, played for crosstown rival UCLA before spending time with the Los Angeles Lakers in the early 1990s.
OPENING NIGHT
Montana will try to reverse a trend when it opens the season Saturday night at USC. While the Grizzlies have won six straight openers when the game is played in Missoula, when they're on the road it tells a different story. Montana hasn't won a season opener on the road since 1974 at Colorado State. Since then, the Grizzlies have lost 13 consecutive season openers on the road, including in 2016 at USC and 2019 at Stanford.
Montana is 1-2 all-time against USC, splitting a pair of games during the 1930-31 season, before falling, 75-61, to open the 2016-17 season.
In the November 2016 meeting, Montana jumped out to a 14-3 lead behind a hot start from Ahmaad Rorie, who was making his Griz debut, but the Trojans used a 13-0 run late in the first half to take the lead, which they would hold for the remainder of the contest. The Trojans' zone defense held Montana without points for at least 4 minutes on three separate occasions. USC attempted 27 more free throws than Montana, connecting on 27-of-38 attempts, compared to 7-of-11 for Montana.
After losing to the Trojans, 28-21, in 1930-31, the Grizzlies bounced back the following game with a 29-25 victory.
SERIES VS. THE PAC-12
Montana has played at least one Pac-12 team every season since 2013-14, and once again has three on its schedule this year. The Grizzlies are looking for their first win over a Pac-12 program since beating both Oregon State and UCLA in 2010-11. Since then, the Grizzlies have lost 13 in a row. All-time, Montana is 56-221 against current members of the Pac-12.
Four Grizzlies made their collegiate debuts last year against the Pac-12, while playing at Stanford, just like several players will debut against the Pac-12 this year. Against the Cardinal, Josh Vazquez scored 11 points while earning a start, while Derrick Carter-Hollinger scored 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting off the bench. Eddy Egun, who also was making his collegiate debut, scored nine points in 19 minutes.
Later in the year against Pac-12 competition, Egun sparked Montana off the bench with a team-high six rebound and back-to-back made 3-pointers during a 14-3 Griz run to tie No. 25 Washington. Against the Huskies, Vazquez scored nine points on 3-of-5 shooting from deep.
Mack Anderson has the most experience against the Conference of Champions, playing in four games over the past two seasons, including scoring four points on 2-of-2 shooting last year vs. No. 8 Oregon.
NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS
With a shortened non-conference slate, in addition to four games against Power-5 competition, Montana won't be doing itself any favors early on. However it is the way Travis DeCuire and his staff have become known to schedule. In 2019-20, Montana played the eighth-toughest non-conference schedule in the country, according to KenPom's respected rankings. Montana's six Division-I losses last year all came on the road, where its competition went a combined 45-1 during non-conference play. A year prior, Montana played the 43rd-toughest non-conference schedule, securing wins over 2019 NCAA tournament teams Georgia State and North Dakota State, in addition to snapping South Dakota State's nation's-leading 26-game home win streak.
With dates at USC, Georgia, Washington and Arizona, the Grizzlies will likely again be facing one of the nation's toughest slates. If the Grizzlies can have some success, it could be telling for what's to come. Consider, since the turn of the century, Montana has had a winning non-conference record six times. The Grizzlies have played in the NCAA tournament in five of those seasons (2006, 2010, 2012, 2018 and 2019) and the CBI in the other (2011).
Complete Game Notes in PDF format, including additional notes, stats, charts and player pages
Additional Preseason Links:
Saturday / 7 p.m. (MT) / Los Angeles, Calif.
- TV: Pac-12 Networks
- Listen: KGVO (1290 AM, 98.3 FM) / Worldwide on TuneIn
- Live Stats
After 266 days – including an abrupt ending to the 2020 season and a delayed start to the 2021 campaign – Montana will make its long-awaited return on Saturday. The Grizzlies will travel to Los Angeles, California, to face the USC Trojans, who are coming off a 95-87 overtime win over California Baptist on Wednesday night.
Originally slated for an afternoon tip, the game has been pushed back to a 7 p.m. MT start. Fans can watch the game on the Pac-12 Network or listen anywhere in the world on the Grizzly Radio Network, with Voice of the Griz Riley Corcoran on the call for the fifth straight season.
HOLLYWOOD HOMECOMING
While fans won't be allowed inside the Galen Center on Saturday, the Grizzlies will be feeling at home. In addition to three coaches who hail from the state of California, Montana has nine student-athletes who call California home.
Included in the group are southern California natives Derrick Carter-Hollinger (San Diego), Eddy Egun (Woodland Hills), Darius Henderson (Pasadena), Kyle Owens (Calabasas), Cameron Satterwhite (Ventura), Josh Vazquez (Torrance) and Brandon Whitney (Mission Hills). All but Carter-Hollinger and Satterwhite grew up within 30 miles of the Galen Center, with several players attending USC games regularly. Owens' father, Keith, played for crosstown rival UCLA before spending time with the Los Angeles Lakers in the early 1990s.
OPENING NIGHT
Montana will try to reverse a trend when it opens the season Saturday night at USC. While the Grizzlies have won six straight openers when the game is played in Missoula, when they're on the road it tells a different story. Montana hasn't won a season opener on the road since 1974 at Colorado State. Since then, the Grizzlies have lost 13 consecutive season openers on the road, including in 2016 at USC and 2019 at Stanford.
SCOUTING USCKnow where to watch #GrizHoops at USC tomorrow, 11/28!
— Montana Grizzlies (@UMGRIZZLIES) November 27, 2020
📺 Pac-12 Network
💻 https://t.co/JDpeSQQL7o#GoGriz #BigSkyMBB pic.twitter.com/1rQZc9MF5l
- While Montana will be opening its season on Saturday, USC has a game under its belt, needing overtime to beat California Baptist on Wednesday night. The Lancers led 79-74 with under 2 minutes to play, before USC closed regulation on a 5-0 run and took control in overtime.
- All five of USC's starters scored in double figures, led by Evan Mobley's 21 points on 10-of-15 shooting and Tahj Eaddy's 18.
- Cal Baptist knocked down a school-record 20 3-pointers against the Trojans, but USC out-rebounded the Lancers, 48-28.
- After winning 22 games in 2019-20, USC was picked to finish sixth in the Pac-12 preseason poll.
- Despite being a freshman, Evan Mobley is receiving plenty of national attention, being named to the NABC Player of the Year Watch List, the Naismith Trophy Watch List, the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Watch List and the Pac-12 Media All-Conference first team. The 7-0 center was named the Morgan Wooten National High School Player of the Year and was considered the No. 1-ranked recruit by 247Sports, ESPN and Rivals.
- Evan Mobley is the younger brother of sophomore forward Isaiah Mobley, who is USC's top returning scorer. Their father, Eric, is an assistant coach for the Trojans.
- Tahj Eaddy, a graduate transfer from Santa Clara, scored 18 points in his Trojans debut on Wednesday, eclipsing 1,000 points for his career.
- USC lost eight players from last year's roster, including its top five scorers. Isaiah Mobley is the Trojans' top returning scorer, averaging 6.2 points per game as a freshman.
- Sophomore Ethan Anderson is USC's lone returning starter. The 6-1 guard started 28 of 31 contests, averaging 25.0 minutes per game. He chipped in with 5.5 points per game, in addition to a team-high 131 assists and 25 steals (tops among returners).
- USC ranked in the top 50 nationally for rebounding a season ago, but lost two players who each averaged more than 8.0 boards per game. Isaiah Mobley is the Trojans' top returning rebounding (5.3). He also added 20 blocked shots and 20 steals.
- USC lost its top four 3-point shooters, but returns Anderson (14 made 3's on .378 shooting) and sophomore forward Max Agbonkpolo (11 triples on .333 shooting).
- USC went 22-9 a season ago, and was once again in line to qualify for the postseason. It was USC's fourth 20-win season in the past five years. Overall, the Trojans have won 109 games over the past five seasons, the best five-year stretch in school history.
- Andy Enfield – who rose to fame while leading Florida Gulf Coast to upset wins over Georgetown and San Diego State in 2013, and becoming the first No. 15 seed to qualify for the Sweet 16 – is in his eighth season in Los Angeles. Enfield, who also has NBA assistant coaching experience, has guided the Trojans to two NCAA tournaments and one NIT appearances.
Montana is 1-2 all-time against USC, splitting a pair of games during the 1930-31 season, before falling, 75-61, to open the 2016-17 season.
In the November 2016 meeting, Montana jumped out to a 14-3 lead behind a hot start from Ahmaad Rorie, who was making his Griz debut, but the Trojans used a 13-0 run late in the first half to take the lead, which they would hold for the remainder of the contest. The Trojans' zone defense held Montana without points for at least 4 minutes on three separate occasions. USC attempted 27 more free throws than Montana, connecting on 27-of-38 attempts, compared to 7-of-11 for Montana.
After losing to the Trojans, 28-21, in 1930-31, the Grizzlies bounced back the following game with a 29-25 victory.
SERIES VS. THE PAC-12
Montana has played at least one Pac-12 team every season since 2013-14, and once again has three on its schedule this year. The Grizzlies are looking for their first win over a Pac-12 program since beating both Oregon State and UCLA in 2010-11. Since then, the Grizzlies have lost 13 in a row. All-time, Montana is 56-221 against current members of the Pac-12.
Four Grizzlies made their collegiate debuts last year against the Pac-12, while playing at Stanford, just like several players will debut against the Pac-12 this year. Against the Cardinal, Josh Vazquez scored 11 points while earning a start, while Derrick Carter-Hollinger scored 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting off the bench. Eddy Egun, who also was making his collegiate debut, scored nine points in 19 minutes.
Later in the year against Pac-12 competition, Egun sparked Montana off the bench with a team-high six rebound and back-to-back made 3-pointers during a 14-3 Griz run to tie No. 25 Washington. Against the Huskies, Vazquez scored nine points on 3-of-5 shooting from deep.
Mack Anderson has the most experience against the Conference of Champions, playing in four games over the past two seasons, including scoring four points on 2-of-2 shooting last year vs. No. 8 Oregon.
NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS
With a shortened non-conference slate, in addition to four games against Power-5 competition, Montana won't be doing itself any favors early on. However it is the way Travis DeCuire and his staff have become known to schedule. In 2019-20, Montana played the eighth-toughest non-conference schedule in the country, according to KenPom's respected rankings. Montana's six Division-I losses last year all came on the road, where its competition went a combined 45-1 during non-conference play. A year prior, Montana played the 43rd-toughest non-conference schedule, securing wins over 2019 NCAA tournament teams Georgia State and North Dakota State, in addition to snapping South Dakota State's nation's-leading 26-game home win streak.
With dates at USC, Georgia, Washington and Arizona, the Grizzlies will likely again be facing one of the nation's toughest slates. If the Grizzlies can have some success, it could be telling for what's to come. Consider, since the turn of the century, Montana has had a winning non-conference record six times. The Grizzlies have played in the NCAA tournament in five of those seasons (2006, 2010, 2012, 2018 and 2019) and the CBI in the other (2011).
Complete Game Notes in PDF format, including additional notes, stats, charts and player pages
Maroon vs. Silver tuneup.
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) November 26, 2020
It all starts Saturday!#GrizHoops #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/4FMXa6oPp0
Additional Preseason Links:
- 2020-21 season preview
- Inside The Den: Assistant coaches roundtable podcast
- Montana announces TV broadcasts, tip times
- Video update with Owens
- Recruiting in holding pattern for Griz Hoops
- Basketball to start season without fans
- Video update with Parker
- Inside The Den: Basketball preview podcast
- Montana to challenge itself during non-conference play
- Video: Big Sky Digital Media Day
- Coaches, media pick Montana 2nd in preseason polls
- Transformed Steadman named to preseason team
- Video update with Anderson
- Freshmen eager to make immediate impact
- Big Sky Digital Media Day to be held Nov. 12
- Video update with Whitney
- Get To Know The Griz: Brown & Parker
- Video update with Bannan
- Big Sky Conference announces 2020-21 schedule
- First practice video
- Patience, flexibility remain paramount in 2020-21
- Get To Know The Griz: Carter-Hollinger & Owens
THIS⬇️ @CoachDeCuire on if he hopes his team/athletes could get a vaccine when it's available pic.twitter.com/orUJ5grvJC
— Shaun Rainey (@ShaunRainey) November 19, 2020
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