Montana travels east in search of upset win over Georgia

MONTANA AT GEORGIA
Tuesday / 5 p.m. (MT) / Athens, Ga.

TV: SEC Network
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Less than 48 hours after concluding its second game at Southern Utah, the Grizzlies hit the road again, traveling on Monday afternoon to Athens, Georgia. Montana got two practices in in Missoula before its departure, giving the Grizzlies a brief amount of time to correct their late-game mistakes against the Thunderbirds, and start preparing for the Bulldogs, a 3-0 team from the SEC.

SCOUTING GEORGIA

Georgia enters the week with a perfect 3-0 record on the season, defeating Florida A&M, North Georgia and Jacksonville – all at home.
The Bulldogs have scored at least 84 points in each contest (89.0 average, 29th in NCAA) and have won all three games by double digits (21.7 average, 42nd). The Bulldogs are shooting .508 from the floor (34th), including .596 from 2-point range.
The Bulldogs have five players averaging double figures for scoring, led by sophomore guard Sahvir Wheeler (16.7) and sophomore forward Toumani Camara (14.0).
Wheeler has recorded a double-double in all three contests this season, leading the nation with 10.7 assists per game. A season ago, his 139 dimes set a Georgia single-season record by a freshman.
Five Bulldogs average at least four rebounds per contest, led by junior Tye Fagan's 6.7. In addition to crashing the glass, Fagan ranks third on the team with 11.7 points per game, shooting .692 (30th in NCAA) from the floor.
Fagan was named the SEC Player of the Week last Monday, after he scored 21 points on 9-of-10 shooting, in addition to 10 rebounds, in a win over Florida A&M.
The Bulldogs' size allows them to crash the glass, averaging 44.0 rebounds per game. In comparison, Georgia's opponents are averaging just 29.7 rebounds per game (+14.3 rebounding margin, 21st in NCAA).
Less than 20 percent of Georgia's shot attempts come from deep, with the Bulldogs connecting on 18 3-pointers through three games, despite scoring 89.0 points per game. Conversely, Georgia's opponents are shooting .232 from deep (27th-best 3-point defense in NCAA). Montana is shooting .383 from 3-point range this season, which ranks 52nd nationally.
Georgia has eight newcomers on its roster, six of which are transfers.
Tom Crean is in his third season in Athens. The veteran coach led Marquette to seven consecutive postseason appearances, including the 2003 Final Four, before spending a decade at Indiana, winning two Big Ten titles and earning three Sweet 16 berths. After going 11-21 in his first season at Georgia, Crean's Bulldogs went 16-16 in a shortened 2019-20 season.
Former Montana State head coach Brian Fish serves on Crean's coaching staff as director of player development.
Former Bulldog Anthony Edwards, the 2020 SEC Freshman of the Year and nation's leading freshman scorer a year ago, was the first pick in the 2020 NBA Draft last month.
The Bulldogs made four consecutive postseason appearances from 2014-17, including the 2015 NCAA tournament,
Georgia is playing with limited fans inside Stegeman Coliseum, recording an attendance of 1,638 in all three games.

SERIES VS. THE BULLDOGS
Montana and Georgia have never before met on the hardwood. The Grizzlies, however, will be making their second trip the Peach State in four seasons, playing at Georgia State in December 2017. Prior to this week, that is Montana's only game in the state of Georgia.

The Grizzlies are 3-2 all-time against teams from the state of Georgia, going 2-1 vs. Georgia State and 1-1 vs. Georgia Southern. Of those five games, three have come in the past four seasons (December 2017 at Georgia State; November 2018 vs. Georgia State; November 2018 vs. Georgia Southern).

SEC COUNTRY
Montana is looking for its first-ever win over an SEC school, holding an 0-9 record against current members of the conference. Tuesday will mark just the seventh time the Grizzlies have ventured into SEC territory, but four of those instances will have happened in the past six years, under head coach Travis DeCuire. Montana played at Texas A&M in the 2015 NIT; at Ole Miss in November 2016; and at Arkansas in November 2019.

Montana's last win over a Power-5 opponent came in November 2017 at Pitt.

STILL SEARCHING FOR A WIN
Montana is 0-3 on the young season and still in search of its first win. The Grizzlies are winless through three games for just the fourth time in the past 50 seasons, although like most things in 2020, it comes with an asterisk considering the Grizzlies have yet to play a home game, or a non-Division-I game, as they often do early in most seasons.

The good news for Montana? During that 50-year span, all three times that Montana has started a season 0-3 or worse, the Grizzlies have finished .500 or better each time (1971-72, 1973-74, 2016-17).

DÉJÀ VU
Montana fell in heartbreaking fashion not once, but twice, last week.

On Thursday at Southern Utah, the Grizzlies led for more than 31 minutes, including by as many as 11 points. The Grizzlies then fell behind, only to tie the game in the final minute on a Josh Vazquez 3-pointer. Needing one defensive stop to send the game to overtime, Montana, was called for a foul, sending Southern Utah to the free-throw line with 2.6 seconds remaining, and allowing the Thunderbirds to win the game at the line.

On Saturday at Southern Utah, the Grizzlies once again led by double figures in the second half. The Grizzlies then fell behind, only to tie the game in the final minute on a Josh Vazquez 3-pointer. Once again needing one defensive stop to send the game to overtime, Montana was once again called for a foul, sending Southern Utah to the free-throw line with 1.3 seconds remaining, and again allowing the Thunderbirds to win the game at the line.

The last time the Grizzlies played back-to-back games decided by one point came during the 1993-94 season (80-79 loss at Montana State, 70-69 win at Eastern Washington). The last time the Grizzlies lost back-to-back games by a single point came in February 1984, during the midst of a 23-7 season under Mike Montgomery (59-58 loss at Weber State, 60-59 loss at Montana State).

JOSH VAZQUEZ AGAIN!! pic.twitter.com/O8LhlDdmVg
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) December 5, 2020

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 minutes played (30.4 per game), scoring (14.0), field goals made (17), shooting percentage (.586) and steals (3, tie).

Owens has led Montana for rebounding twice, including a career-high eight boards last Thursday at Southern Utah, and followed that up with a career-high 21 points against the Thunderbirds on Saturday. He also has drawn four charges through three games, a year after leading the team with 21.

ROTATING ROTATION
Three games into the season, Montana is still looking for the right lineups. The Grizzlies have used a different starting lineup in all three games, with players seeing varying time on the court. In total, nine different players have earned a start for the Griz, with only Josh Bannan and Michael Steadman starting all three contests.

In Saturday's loss, the Grizzlies were playing short-handed. After playing 11 in the season opener at USC, just eight players saw the court against the Thunderbirds. Montana was without two of its highly touted freshmen, who have yet to make their debuts (Robby Beasley III and Hunter Clarke); a midyear transfer who will be eligible to play soon (Darius Henderson); and two of Thursday's starters who were unable to suit up on Saturday (Derrick Carter-Hollinger and Cameron Satterwhite). In total, eight players are averaging at least 20.0 minutes per game.

Gallery: (12-5-2020) MBB: at Southern Utah (12.05.20)

DECUIRE REACHES 200
Travis DeCuire coached his 200th game last Thursday at Southern Utah, becoming the fifth Griz coach to reach the milestone. DeCuire joins George Dahlberg (444), Wayne Tinkle (249), College Basketball Hall of Famer Mike Montgomery (231) and Blaine Taylor (207) as the only coaches to reach 200 games at Montana. DeCuire's win total (127) through 200 games trails only Taylor (137) and Montgomery (135).

DeCuire, who won more games through six seasons than any coach in Griz history and is the fastest in Big Sky history to 50 league wins, coached in his 100th game on Nov. 10, 2017, an 83-78 overtime win at Pitt of the ACC.

BIG SKY OPENERS
Thursday's loss at Southern Utah snapped a streak that dated back more than a decade. Prior to the defeat, Montana had won 11 consecutive Big Sky Conference openers.

Montana now sits at 0-2 in league play for the first time since 2007-08, and just the second time in the past 23 seasons. Prior to this year, Montana had never lost two Big Sky Conference within the first four league games under head coach Travis DeCuire.

DOMINANT DEFENSE

After USC shot .714 in the first half (15-of-21), Montana held USC 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.
Montana forced USC into 16 turnovers (six steals), leading to 16 Griz points
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. In USC's other two games, Mobley is averaging nine makes and 13.5 attempts.
Thursday 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 from the floor.

TRENDING

Montana shot a combined .500 (51-of-102) over its two games at Southern Utah, including .509 in Saturday's defeat.
The Grizzlies out-shot the Thunderbirds from the floor and 3-point range in both games.
Montana led for more than 52 combined minutes in two games at Southern Utah, and held a halftime lead in both contests. Last year, the Grizzlies were 12-3 when leading at halftime.
Montana lost on Saturday, despite scoring 74 points. A season ago, the Grizzlies were 8-1 when scoring at least 70 points.
After winning three consecutive one-possession games early in Big Sky play in 2019-20, the Grizzlies have now lost four consecutive games decided by three points or fewer, dating back to February 2020.
Montana has surrendered 38 offensive rebounds through three games (12.7 per game, including at least 10 in each contest).
The Grizzlies lost the turnover battle in both games at Southern Utah and have turned the ball over at least 12 times in every game this season. Last year, the Grizzlies lost the turnover battle just six times in 31 games.

LOOKING AHEAD
Montana will continue its stretch against Power-5 competition, traveling to Washington for the second consecutive season. The Grizzlies and Huskies will meet up on Wednesday, Dec. 16.

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

Back on the road tomorrow at Georgia! Tune in on the SEC Network at 5:00 pm (MT).#GoGriz pic.twitter.com/4Kn9qNrxdY
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) December 7, 2020

Montana travels east in search of upset win over Georgia

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Josh Bannan

Robby Beasley III

Derrick Carter-Hollinger

Hunter Clarke

Darius Henderson

Kyle Owens

Cameron Satterwhite

Michael Steadman

Josh Vazquez

University of Montana Athletics

Montana travels east in search of upset win over Georgia

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Josh Bannan

Robby Beasley III

Derrick Carter-Hollinger

Hunter Clarke

Darius Henderson

Kyle Owens

Cameron Satterwhite

Michael Steadman

Josh Vazquez

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