Saturday, January 2
Missoula, Mont.
5 PM
Montana
vs
Northern Colorado
Photo by: Tommy Martino
Montana steps back into Big Sky play, begins homestand against Northern Colorado
12/30/2020 4:47:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MONTANA VS. NORTHERN COLORADO
Saturday / 5 p.m. / Missoula, Montana
Monday / 9 a.m. / Missoula, Montana
BACK INTO BIG SKY PLAY
After a solo weekend of Big Sky Conference play in early December, Montana will fully jump back into Big Sky action this week, and is currently scheduled to play 18 league games in a row leading into the conference tournament March 10-13 in Boise, Idaho.
Monday's tilt vs. Northern Colorado will tip at 9 a.m., which is the earliest tip in school history, as far as records can show. The Grizzlies have played at 9 a.m. MT before, but all prior instances have come on the East Coast or an even later time zone.
The early tip is to allow Northern Colorado to travel home on Monday, rather than staying in Missoula an extra night.
Is Montana satisfied with where it is at entering January, eight games and approximately five weeks into the season? With a 3-5 record, not by a long shot. But it's also safe to say things could look plenty different if a couple of breaks went Montana's way. Montana lost back-to-back games at Southern Utah (who is 7-1, with its only loss coming on a buzzer-beater in the first game of the season, by the way) by one point. Switch those results around and all of a sudden the Grizzlies have a winning record, including a victory over a Pac-12 opponent.
The Grizzlies still have a long way to go, but it's safe to say that the team that opened the season 0-4 is vastly different from the one that followed with three wins in four games, and the lone defeat coming by six points at Arizona.
Accounting for varying levels of competition (two against Pac-12 foes and two against non-Division-I competition), it's easy to see why Montana is having more success over the past four games. Below is a statistical comparison from Montana's first four games (all losses) compared to the last four (three wins):
During Montana's last four games, several individuals have stood out in particular:
Montana owns a 24-11 record against Northern Colorado, not including a 1976-77 victory that was vacated. The Grizzlies have won 13 of the last 19 in the series and are 8-4 under Travis DeCuire. However, the Bears have given Montana trouble recently, winning three in a row and consecutive games in Missoula (March 2019 and March 2020). Over the past three seasons, Montana has lost just four Big Sky Conference home games, but two have come to Northern Colorado.
From 2018-20, Montana accumulated a league-best 46 Big Sky Conference wins, but second on that list, with 41 wins, was Northern Colorado. In 2018, Montana beat Northern Colorado in overtime of the tournament semifinals, in an instant classic. In 2019, the two teams entered the final day of the regular season tied for first place, before the Grizzlies beat Sacramento State to earn the No. 1 seed. A year ago, Northern Colorado beat Montana in the final week of the season to finish in second place and spoil the Grizzlies' chance at a three-peat.
In that game, Montana fell behind 23-16 early, with Northern Colorado out-shooting Montana 59 percent to 38 percent at that time. The Grizzlies worked their way back into the contest, however, tying the game on a Derrick Carter-Hollinger 3-pointer and taking the game seconds later on a Kyle Owens jumper as the shot clock was winding down. The shot gave Montana its first lead, 40-38, with 13:44 to play. Moments later, though, UNC followed with a 10-2 run to take the lead for good, as Montana went more than 5 minutes without a point.
In the January meeting in Greeley, UNC used a 13-0 scoring run early to build a double-digit lead. Montana took a brief 33-32 lead in the second half, and tied the game at 45-45 with 11:32 to play, before UNC answered with 13 of the next 15 points. In two games last season, Montana led UNC on just three occasions, for a total of 1:19, and never by more than two points.
STARTING THEM YOUNG
True freshmen Josh Bannan (eight) and Brandon Whitney (seven) have combined to accumulate 15 total starts already this season, which ranks third in the country. Only Kentucky (four true freshmen combining for 25 total starts) and Kansas State (three true freshmen earning 18 total starts) have more combined starts from true freshmen.
A season ago, Montana's trio of true freshmen (Derrick Carter-Hollinger, Kyle Owens and Josh Vazquez) started a combined 40 games – a school record.
MORE ON THE FRESHMEN
Montana's three true freshmen have combined to play 18 total games, with a freshman scoring in double figures nine times (four times by Josh Bannan, four times by Brandon Whitney and once in two games for Robby Beasley III). A Grizzly has scored 16 or more points in a game nine times this season, with the three true freshmen accounting for five of those occasions, with each player doing so at least once.
In total, the trio is accounting for more than 30 percent of the team's scoring, even with Beasley III missing the season's first six games.
KEEP TESTING NEGATIVE
The COVID-19 pandemic has wiped out games on a daily basis throughout the country, and nearly no team has been immune. Except for Montana (knocks on wood). Leading up to the New Year, Montana was able to play all of its scheduled games (and even added two competitions).
Purdue (11), Indiana (10), Toledo (10), Auburn (nine), Louisiana Tech (nine games), Mississippi State (nine), UNC Wilmington (nine), South Alabama (nine) and Oklahoma State (eight) are believed to be the only others schools who were able to play the first month-plus of the season without interruption.
DEFINING A ROTATION
After mixing and matching lineups through the first several weeks of the season, head coach Travis DeCuire seems to be finding his unit. Seven different players are averaging at least 21 minute per contest, with that group accounting for 38 of Montana's 40 starts. The only exception is freshmen Robby Beasley III, who has played in just two games but is quickly working his way into the rotation. Beasley III is averaging 16.5 minutes per contest, including 17 points in 22 minutes of action most-recently at Arizona.
DEFENSIVE DOMINATION
Montana ranks high national for a variety of defensive categories:
STRONG SHOOTING
Montana has made at least half of its shots in three of its last six contests, and shot .490 in another game. Overall, the Grizzlies are shooting .468 on the season, a figure which ranks 91st nationally (top 28 percent).
MONEY FROM THE LINE
Montana owns the nation's 35thbest free-throw shooting percentage (top 11 percent nationally), connecting on 76.0 percent of its attempts from the charity stripe. That number is even more impressive, considering the Grizzlies shot .581 during their first two games (both losses). Since then, Montana is shooting 92-of-111 (.829).
Not only is Montana making its shots, though, it is also getting to the line at a greater frequency. The Grizzlies have made more free throws than their opponents in five consecutive games, and on the season rank 76th nationally for total free throws made; a season ago, they ranked 313th.
KO DOES IT
There's no such thing as a sophomore slump for Kyle Owens. A year after averaging a solid 4.6 points and 2.3 rebounds per game as a true freshman, Owens has taken the next step early on in his sophomore season. The Calabasas, California, native leads the Grizzlies for scoring (13.1), rebounding (7.4) and minutes played (30.1).
Owens has led Montana for rebounding three times, including a career-high 13 boards vs. Yellowstone Christian (Dec. 12). A week prior, against Southern Utah, he scored a career-high 21 points (Dec. 5), and has been in double figures for scoring in every game this season, leading the Griz for scoring three times.
He also has drawn 10 charges through eight games, a year after leading the team with 21.
Montana led wire to wire in its two non-Division-I victories, and led for nearly 33 minutes against Washington. In total, the Grizzlies trailed for just 3:51 during their three-game winning streak, and never by more than four points.
Even in three of Montana's losses, the Grizzlies have led for the majority of the contests. Montana led for at least 20 minutes in both games against Southern Utah and for 23 minutes at Arizona.
HOME-COURT SUCCESS
Dating back to February 2017, Montana has won 41 of its past 46 home games, with the Grizzlies boasting the nation's 21st-best home winning percentage during that span.
In its history, the Grizzlies have a strong home-court advantage, averaging more than 4,000 fans per game in 2019-20, a better figure than three Pac-12 schools. In its history, Montana is 726-250 all-time inside Dahlberg Arena (.744), including 144-31 over the past decade (.823, 29th in NCAA). Additionally, Montana is one of just 10 Division-I schools nationally to have been playing in its current home venue for at least 60 years and winning at least 70 percent of its home games.
SOUTHPAWS
Not only does Montana have three left-handed players on its roster, but all three are contributing factors. Freshman Josh Bannan has started all eight games for the Grizzlies, while sophomore Kyle Owens has started the past six contests and leads the team with 30.1 minutes per game. Junior southpaw Cameron Parker is generally the first player off the bench, averaging 24.4 minutes per game.
FREQUENT FLYER MILES
Montana opened the 2020-21 season with eight games in a 25-day period, traveling more than 25,000 miles during that span. Before adding two home non-Division-I games once the season began, all six of Montana's games scheduled for November and December were on the road.
IN AND OUT
Of the 14 players who have seen game action this season, just six have played in all eight contests. The reasoning ranges from minor injuries to coaches' decisions, but none of the factors have been COVID-19.
HOME-COURT SUCCESS
Dating back to February 2017, Montana has won 41 of its past 46 home games, with the Grizzlies boasting the nation's 21st-best home winning percentage during that span.
In its history, the Grizzlies have a strong home-court advantage, averaging more than 4,000 fans per game in 2019-20, a better figure than three Pac-12 schools. In its history, Montana is 726-250 all-time inside Dahlberg Arena (.744), including 144-31 over the past decade (.823, 29th in NCAA). Additionally, Montana is one of just 10 Division-I schools nationally to have been playing in its current home venue for at least 60 years and winning at least 70 percent of its home games.
MORE ON THE DEFENSE
EARNING A DUB AT U-DUB
Montana earned a 66-58 road win at Washington on Dec. 16, beating a Pac-12 opponent for the first time since December 2010. The victory snapped a 14-game losing streak to the conference.
Montana used a 17-3 first-half run to build a double-digit lead, an advantage Montana would hold for 28 consecutive minutes until Washington took a brief 53-51 lead with 3:50 to play. The Grizzlies were unfazed, however, responding with a 10-0 run and holding the Huskies to 1-of-10 shooting over the game's final 6 minutes.
Over the past three seasons, Washington is 23-3 in non-conference games on its home court, with the three losses coming to No. 1 Gonzaga, No. 9 Gonzaga and Montana.
Complete Game Notes in PDF format, including additional notes, stats, charts and player pages
Saturday / 5 p.m. / Missoula, Montana
Monday / 9 a.m. / Missoula, Montana
- TV: SWX Montana
- Stream: Pluto TV (ch. 1056)
- Listen: KGVO (1290 AM, 98.3 FM) / Worldwide on TuneIn
- Live Stats
BACK INTO BIG SKY PLAY
After a solo weekend of Big Sky Conference play in early December, Montana will fully jump back into Big Sky action this week, and is currently scheduled to play 18 league games in a row leading into the conference tournament March 10-13 in Boise, Idaho.
- Montana has won 11 Big Sky Conference tournament titles in its history (including the last two), more than any other school. The Grizzlies have also won 12 regular-season championships, including three in six seasons under head coach Travis DeCuire.
- Over the past three seasons, Montana is 46-12 (.793) in Big Sky Conference play, which is the best winning percentage in the league during that span.
- Travis DeCuire is 85-29 in six-plus seasons against Big Sky Conference competition, hosting a winning record against every team. His .746 conference winning percentage ranks third in league history. His conference winning percentage also ranks seventh nationally, among active coaches with at least five seasons (ahead of DeCuire is Mark Few, .904 at Gonzaga; John Becker, .840 at Vermont; Nathan Davis, .825 at Bucknell; Bill Self, .817 at Kansas; and John Calipari, .786 at Kentucky).
Monday's tilt vs. Northern Colorado will tip at 9 a.m., which is the earliest tip in school history, as far as records can show. The Grizzlies have played at 9 a.m. MT before, but all prior instances have come on the East Coast or an even later time zone.
The early tip is to allow Northern Colorado to travel home on Monday, rather than staying in Missoula an extra night.
THEN VS. NOWWe're jumping back in to #BigSkyMBB play this week. Just a reminder how that's gone under @CoachDeCuire...#GrizHoops #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/jFWYSOqHge
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) December 30, 2020
Is Montana satisfied with where it is at entering January, eight games and approximately five weeks into the season? With a 3-5 record, not by a long shot. But it's also safe to say things could look plenty different if a couple of breaks went Montana's way. Montana lost back-to-back games at Southern Utah (who is 7-1, with its only loss coming on a buzzer-beater in the first game of the season, by the way) by one point. Switch those results around and all of a sudden the Grizzlies have a winning record, including a victory over a Pac-12 opponent.
The Grizzlies still have a long way to go, but it's safe to say that the team that opened the season 0-4 is vastly different from the one that followed with three wins in four games, and the lone defeat coming by six points at Arizona.
Accounting for varying levels of competition (two against Pac-12 foes and two against non-Division-I competition), it's easy to see why Montana is having more success over the past four games. Below is a statistical comparison from Montana's first four games (all losses) compared to the last four (three wins):
| Category | 1st 4 Games | Last 4 Games |
| Scoring Offense | 62.2 | 77.5 |
| Scoring Defense | 69.5 | 55.2 |
| Scoring Margin | -7.2 | +22.3 |
| Field-Goal Shooting | .419 | .516 |
| Field-Goal Defense | .413 | .370 |
| 3-Point Defense | .297 | .235 |
| Free-Throw Shooting | .676 | .826 |
| Free Throws Made/Game | 11.5 | 17.8 |
| Rebounding | 29.8 | 40.5 |
| Rebounding Margin | -10.7 | +14.8 |
During Montana's last four games, several individuals have stood out in particular:
- Seven players are averaging at least 8.0 points per game.
- Freshman Josh Bannan is averaging a double-double with a team-best 13.3 points (.545 shooting) and 10.0 rebounds per game. He has two double-doubles during that span, in addition to a team-high-tying six steals
- Sophomore Kyle Owens is also nearly averaging a double-double with 11.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game.
- Sophomore Josh Vazquez leads the team with 30.5 minutes per contest. He is averaging 10.5 points per game on .500 shooting, including .500 from 3-point range (7-of-14).
- In addition to his 9.0 points per game on .581 shooting, junior Cameron Parker is averaging 4.3 assists per contest.
- Senior Michael Steadman is averaging 13.0 points per game on .629 shooting.
- Freshman Brandon Whitney is averaging 8.0 points per game on .619 shooting, in addition to 1.8 assists and a team-high-tying 1.5 steals.
- Northern Colorado sits at 4-3 on the young season, picking up non-conference wins over Colorado Christian, Regis and Denver. The Bears split their early-season Big Sky matchup with Idaho State, winning 69-64 the first night before losing the following night, 71-56.
- UNC was hit with a positive COVID-19 test in November and had to delay its season until Dec. 9, forcing the Bears to cancel their first three contests.
- Junior Bodie Hume was named to the Preseason All-Big Sky Conference team in November. Hume was named the league's freshman of the year in 2019 and earned second-team all-conference recognition in 2020. A season ago, he averaged 13.9 points and 5.0 rebounds for the Bears, while totaling a team-best 30 blocks.
- UNC's offense runs through Hume, who is averaging 17.4 points per game on .524 shooting. He also has a team-most 16 3-pointers (.432 clip) and seven blocked shots, and ranks second on the team for rebounding (6.9 per game), assists (10) and steals (six).
- Hume has eclipsed 20 points in a game four times this season, including two double-doubles. The only time he didn't reach double figures for scoring was in UNC's loss to Idaho State, when Hume scored eight points in 27 minutes before fouling out.
- Daylen Kountz, a Colorado transfer, is also averaging double figures, totaling 14.1 points per game. The junior guard has been in double figures for scoring in six of seven games, including a 26-point outburst in UNC's win over Denver.
- Kur Jockurch leads the Bears with 7.0 rebounds per game, in addition to 8.4 points per contest. The junior forward from Canada had 11 rebounds and 10 points in UNC's win over Idaho State, one of three times this season he has recorded at least eight boards.
- Junior guard Matt Johnson II is averaging 8.9 points per game, in addition to a team-most 16 assists.
- UNC has used the same starting lineup in all seven contests.
- UNC ranks in the bottom 10 percent nationally for assists, assist-to-turnover ratio, steals and free-throw percentage.
- After entering the 2020 Big Sky tournament as the No. 2 seed, UNC was picked to finish third in the league's preseason media poll and fifth by the coaches.
- UNC has won 20 or more games in three consecutive seasons, but graduated the league's three-time defensive player of the year in Jonah Radebaugh. The Bears have seven new players on their roster, including five true freshmen and two transfers.
- Steve Smiley was named UNC's head coach in March, after Jeff Linder departed for Wyoming. Smiley had spent the previous four seasons as the Bears' associate head coach, with UNC going 80-50 during that stretch, including three 20-win seasons and a 2018 CollegeInsider.com Tournament title. He also has assistant coaching experience at Weber State, helping the Wildcats to a 2016 championship and NCAA tournament berth.
Montana owns a 24-11 record against Northern Colorado, not including a 1976-77 victory that was vacated. The Grizzlies have won 13 of the last 19 in the series and are 8-4 under Travis DeCuire. However, the Bears have given Montana trouble recently, winning three in a row and consecutive games in Missoula (March 2019 and March 2020). Over the past three seasons, Montana has lost just four Big Sky Conference home games, but two have come to Northern Colorado.
From 2018-20, Montana accumulated a league-best 46 Big Sky Conference wins, but second on that list, with 41 wins, was Northern Colorado. In 2018, Montana beat Northern Colorado in overtime of the tournament semifinals, in an instant classic. In 2019, the two teams entered the final day of the regular season tied for first place, before the Grizzlies beat Sacramento State to earn the No. 1 seed. A year ago, Northern Colorado beat Montana in the final week of the season to finish in second place and spoil the Grizzlies' chance at a three-peat.
In that game, Montana fell behind 23-16 early, with Northern Colorado out-shooting Montana 59 percent to 38 percent at that time. The Grizzlies worked their way back into the contest, however, tying the game on a Derrick Carter-Hollinger 3-pointer and taking the game seconds later on a Kyle Owens jumper as the shot clock was winding down. The shot gave Montana its first lead, 40-38, with 13:44 to play. Moments later, though, UNC followed with a 10-2 run to take the lead for good, as Montana went more than 5 minutes without a point.
In the January meeting in Greeley, UNC used a 13-0 scoring run early to build a double-digit lead. Montana took a brief 33-32 lead in the second half, and tied the game at 45-45 with 11:32 to play, before UNC answered with 13 of the next 15 points. In two games last season, Montana led UNC on just three occasions, for a total of 1:19, and never by more than two points.
STARTING THEM YOUNG
True freshmen Josh Bannan (eight) and Brandon Whitney (seven) have combined to accumulate 15 total starts already this season, which ranks third in the country. Only Kentucky (four true freshmen combining for 25 total starts) and Kansas State (three true freshmen earning 18 total starts) have more combined starts from true freshmen.
A season ago, Montana's trio of true freshmen (Derrick Carter-Hollinger, Kyle Owens and Josh Vazquez) started a combined 40 games – a school record.
MORE ON THE FRESHMEN
Montana's three true freshmen have combined to play 18 total games, with a freshman scoring in double figures nine times (four times by Josh Bannan, four times by Brandon Whitney and once in two games for Robby Beasley III). A Grizzly has scored 16 or more points in a game nine times this season, with the three true freshmen accounting for five of those occasions, with each player doing so at least once.
In total, the trio is accounting for more than 30 percent of the team's scoring, even with Beasley III missing the season's first six games.
KEEP TESTING NEGATIVE
The COVID-19 pandemic has wiped out games on a daily basis throughout the country, and nearly no team has been immune. Except for Montana (knocks on wood). Leading up to the New Year, Montana was able to play all of its scheduled games (and even added two competitions).
Purdue (11), Indiana (10), Toledo (10), Auburn (nine), Louisiana Tech (nine games), Mississippi State (nine), UNC Wilmington (nine), South Alabama (nine) and Oklahoma State (eight) are believed to be the only others schools who were able to play the first month-plus of the season without interruption.
DEFINING A ROTATION
After mixing and matching lineups through the first several weeks of the season, head coach Travis DeCuire seems to be finding his unit. Seven different players are averaging at least 21 minute per contest, with that group accounting for 38 of Montana's 40 starts. The only exception is freshmen Robby Beasley III, who has played in just two games but is quickly working his way into the rotation. Beasley III is averaging 16.5 minutes per contest, including 17 points in 22 minutes of action most-recently at Arizona.
DEFENSIVE DOMINATION
Montana ranks high national for a variety of defensive categories:
- Scoring defense: 62.4 (43rd)
- 3-point field-goal defense .270 (30th)
- Field-goal defense: .391 (52nd)
STRONG SHOOTING
Montana has made at least half of its shots in three of its last six contests, and shot .490 in another game. Overall, the Grizzlies are shooting .468 on the season, a figure which ranks 91st nationally (top 28 percent).
MONEY FROM THE LINE
Montana owns the nation's 35thbest free-throw shooting percentage (top 11 percent nationally), connecting on 76.0 percent of its attempts from the charity stripe. That number is even more impressive, considering the Grizzlies shot .581 during their first two games (both losses). Since then, Montana is shooting 92-of-111 (.829).
Not only is Montana making its shots, though, it is also getting to the line at a greater frequency. The Grizzlies have made more free throws than their opponents in five consecutive games, and on the season rank 76th nationally for total free throws made; a season ago, they ranked 313th.
KO DOES IT
There's no such thing as a sophomore slump for Kyle Owens. A year after averaging a solid 4.6 points and 2.3 rebounds per game as a true freshman, Owens has taken the next step early on in his sophomore season. The Calabasas, California, native leads the Grizzlies for scoring (13.1), rebounding (7.4) and minutes played (30.1).
Owens has led Montana for rebounding three times, including a career-high 13 boards vs. Yellowstone Christian (Dec. 12). A week prior, against Southern Utah, he scored a career-high 21 points (Dec. 5), and has been in double figures for scoring in every game this season, leading the Griz for scoring three times.
He also has drawn 10 charges through eight games, a year after leading the team with 21.
PLAYING FROM IN FRONT𝗦𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 [ sol-i-dar-i-tee ] 𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘯: an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes.#GrizHoops #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/V0lg8I0RSr
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) December 24, 2020
Montana led wire to wire in its two non-Division-I victories, and led for nearly 33 minutes against Washington. In total, the Grizzlies trailed for just 3:51 during their three-game winning streak, and never by more than four points.
Even in three of Montana's losses, the Grizzlies have led for the majority of the contests. Montana led for at least 20 minutes in both games against Southern Utah and for 23 minutes at Arizona.
HOME-COURT SUCCESS
Dating back to February 2017, Montana has won 41 of its past 46 home games, with the Grizzlies boasting the nation's 21st-best home winning percentage during that span.
In its history, the Grizzlies have a strong home-court advantage, averaging more than 4,000 fans per game in 2019-20, a better figure than three Pac-12 schools. In its history, Montana is 726-250 all-time inside Dahlberg Arena (.744), including 144-31 over the past decade (.823, 29th in NCAA). Additionally, Montana is one of just 10 Division-I schools nationally to have been playing in its current home venue for at least 60 years and winning at least 70 percent of its home games.
SOUTHPAWS
Not only does Montana have three left-handed players on its roster, but all three are contributing factors. Freshman Josh Bannan has started all eight games for the Grizzlies, while sophomore Kyle Owens has started the past six contests and leads the team with 30.1 minutes per game. Junior southpaw Cameron Parker is generally the first player off the bench, averaging 24.4 minutes per game.
FREQUENT FLYER MILES
Montana opened the 2020-21 season with eight games in a 25-day period, traveling more than 25,000 miles during that span. Before adding two home non-Division-I games once the season began, all six of Montana's games scheduled for November and December were on the road.
IN AND OUT
Of the 14 players who have seen game action this season, just six have played in all eight contests. The reasoning ranges from minor injuries to coaches' decisions, but none of the factors have been COVID-19.
HOME-COURT SUCCESS
Dating back to February 2017, Montana has won 41 of its past 46 home games, with the Grizzlies boasting the nation's 21st-best home winning percentage during that span.
In its history, the Grizzlies have a strong home-court advantage, averaging more than 4,000 fans per game in 2019-20, a better figure than three Pac-12 schools. In its history, Montana is 726-250 all-time inside Dahlberg Arena (.744), including 144-31 over the past decade (.823, 29th in NCAA). Additionally, Montana is one of just 10 Division-I schools nationally to have been playing in its current home venue for at least 60 years and winning at least 70 percent of its home games.
MORE ON THE DEFENSE
- None of Montana's opponents have scored more than 76 points, and five haven't surpassed 64.
- After USC (Nov. 28) shot .714 in the first half (15-of-21), Montana held the Trojans to .320 shooting the second half. USC went nearly 8 minutes late in the game without a made field goal, and shot 2-of-10 over the game's final 10 minutes.
- USC freshman Evan Mobley, the No. 1 high school recruit in the country and a projected NBA lottery pick, was limited to three made field goals and four shot attempts. Since, Mobley is averaging 7.2 makes and 11.4 attempts.
- On Dec. 3 at Southern Utah, the Grizzlies limited the Thunderbirds to .327 shooting (16-of-49), including a .286 clip from deep. Over the game's final 14 minutes, Southern Utah shot just 3-of-14.
- Georgia entered its matchup vs. Montana ranked in the top 30 nationally for scoring and shooting. The Bulldogs, however, were held 26 points below their season scoring average, and were limited to .397 shooting and 63 total points.
- Montana held Yellowstone Christian to .279 shooting and 42 points.
- In a win over Washington, Montana went on a 10-0 run down the stretch, holding the Huskies to one made field goal over the game's final 6 minutes (1-of-10).
- Quade Green, Washington's McDonald's All-American who was averaging 17.0 points per game, was held to 1-of-11 shooting and four total points.
- The Grizzlies beat Dickinson State, holding the Blue Hawks to 21.7-percent shooting in the second half, including a 9-minute stretch in which Dickinson State shot 0-for-11 from the floor.
EARNING A DUB AT U-DUB
Montana earned a 66-58 road win at Washington on Dec. 16, beating a Pac-12 opponent for the first time since December 2010. The victory snapped a 14-game losing streak to the conference.
Montana used a 17-3 first-half run to build a double-digit lead, an advantage Montana would hold for 28 consecutive minutes until Washington took a brief 53-51 lead with 3:50 to play. The Grizzlies were unfazed, however, responding with a 10-0 run and holding the Huskies to 1-of-10 shooting over the game's final 6 minutes.
Over the past three seasons, Washington is 23-3 in non-conference games on its home court, with the three losses coming to No. 1 Gonzaga, No. 9 Gonzaga and Montana.
Complete Game Notes in PDF format, including additional notes, stats, charts and player pages
9 #GrizHoops games will be televised on @SWXMontana!
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) December 29, 2020
TV schedule & tip times ⬇️https://t.co/8aQa5iKg3B #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/95XImQXL2N
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