Eagles come to town in battle for 1st place

Montana vs. Eastern Washington
Thursday / 7 p.m. / Missoula, Mont.

TV: SWX Montana
Stream: Pluto TV (ch. 537)
Listen: KGVO (1290 AM, 98.3 FM) / Worldwide on TuneIn
Live Stats

Montana at Idaho
Saturday / 7:30 p.m. (MT) / Moscow, Idaho

Stream: Pluto TV (ch. 542)
Listen: KGVO (1290 AM, 98.3 FM) / Worldwide on TuneIn
Live Stats

Travis DeCuire's formula for success during his tenure at Montana – which has included back-to-back Big Sky titles and three regular-season championships in five seasons – has been pretty simple: win at home and sweep the bottom half of the league.

It's a strategy that has worked pretty well, too.

During the Grizzlies' three championship seasons under DeCuire (2015, 2018, 2019), Montana has protected its home court to a tune of 24-4 (.857 winning percentage).

Perhaps even more impressive, though, is that Montana went 21-7 (.750) on the road during those three seasons. Not once did Montana lose a road game to a team that finished in the bottom half of the league standings.

Montana has dominated the Big Sky Conference under DeCuire's leadership, making Dahlberg Arena one of the toughest venues in the western United States while also winning away from home at an unprecedented clip. Since 2015, when DeCuire joined the league, Montana is 37-15 (.712) in Big Sky road games. Eastern Washington (30-22) and Weber State (29-23) are the next closest.

Just once under DeCuire has Montana lost a road contest to a team that finished the season in the bottom half of the league standings.

The bottom half will be tougher to distinguish in 2020, however. With nearly one-third of Big Sky games being decided by a single possession, a handful of teams could be much better – or worse – than their current records indicate. For example, Idaho is in last place, but on Monday went on the road and beat a Sacramento State team that won its first eight home games of the season and has won more than 70 percent of them dating back to 2012. Idaho State is in 10^th place, but earlier this year beat first-place Eastern Washington, while Weber State, currently in ninth, beat the Griz two weeks ago in Ogden.

"There's not a lot of separation, at the top or in the middle," DeCuire said. "You look at the middle and one win changes everything. Anything can happen, especially with how things are playing out this year. You look at the top six, and I think any of them could finish at the top."

With how congested the league is, it makes DeCuire's formula all the more important. Montana hosts first-place Eastern Washington on Thursday. A win over the Eagles would vault the Grizzlies back into first place. Then, it's a quick bus trip to Moscow, Idaho, to take on the Vandals on Saturday night (7:30 p.m. MT). That will give Montana another opportunity to take care of business against a bottom-tier team on the road.

"We shared the ball last time, with 21 assists," DeCuire said about last month's meeting against Eastern Washington. "Offensive patience will be key, but the biggest thing is defense and limiting 3-point attempts. If we can do that again I think it will be difficult for them to rack up a ton of points like they try to do. If we can keep them in the 60s we should have a chance."

"It was a matter of time before they exploded on someone," DeCuire said about Idaho's road win on Monday. "They're a good team. They play well together, they defend, they have a plan offensively and they execute it. They had just fallen short in a lot of close games, but Trevon Allen is a monster to guard."

Following Montana's 78-64 win over rival Montana State on Saturday, the Grizzlies have now seen every Big Sky team. The good news for Montana, is that the majority of the Grizzlies' remaining games – and arguably the biggest – are at home, where Montana has won 36 of its past 39 contests dating back to February 2017. The Grizzlies are in the midst of four home games in a five-game span, which began last week against the Bobcats; Montana hosts Weber State and Idaho State next week.

Of Montana's five remaining home games, three are against the three teams directly behind Montana in the standings (Eastern Washington, Northern Colorado and Southern Utah). Montana went 2-1 against those teams on the road in January, and will now get the benefit of playing them at home the second time around.

"We're in a good spot and it's all in front of us," DeCuire said. "Our guys have to show up every night with championship energy."

Tipoff on Thursday is slated for 7 p.m. on SWX Montana and Pluto TV (channel 537). Saturday's game will tip at 7:30 p.m. (MT) on Pluto TV (channel 542). Both games can also be heard on the Montana Grizzly Radio Network.

SCOUTING EASTERN WASHINGTON

EWU leads the Big Sky with an 8-2 record (15-6 overall)
Since Montana beat the Eagles on Jan. 9, EWU has won six consecutive games, including four on the road. Overall, the Eagles are 5-1 against Big Sky opponents on the road.
EWU ranks sixth nationally, averaging 82.0 points per game. The Eagles are also among the nation's leaders for assists (17.7 per game, fifth); assist-to-turnover ratio (1.3, 14th); 3-pointers (9.3 per game, 33rd); rebounding (38.8 per game, 49th); field-goal percentage (.460, 62nd); steals (7.8 per game, 63rd) and blocked shots (4.0 per game, 81st).
The Eagles have three players averaging 15 points per game or better, led by Jacob Davison's 17.9 average (82nd in NCAA). The junior ranks sixth in Big Sky play for scoring, in addition to the top 15 for shooting percentage, 3-pointers, free-throw percentage, steals, assists and blocked shots.
Kim Aiken Jr. (10) and Mason Peatling (seven) lead the Big Sky for double-doubles. During Big Sky play, the duo ranks first and second for rebounding, averaging nearly 20 boards combined.
The versatile Aiken ranks high nationally for a handful of categories, including rebounding (10.2 per game, 21st); steals (1.9 per game, 66th); 3-pointers (2.6 per game, 77th); and 3-point shooting (.346, 93rd). In Big Sky play, he is second for rebounding and 3-pointers, fourth for steals and eighth for blocked shots.
Peatling leads the league with 10.5 rebounds per Big Sky contest, including 22 last week vs. Northern Colorado. The senior also ranks in the top 10 in Big Sky play for shooting (third, 68th in NCAA); blocked shots (third); scoring (ninth), and assists (10th).
Freshman Ellis Magnuson averages 4.8 assists per league game (third), in addition to a 1.8 assist-to-turnover ratio (fourth).
While the Eagles have one of the nation's top offenses, they rank ninth in Big Sky play for scoring defense and 10th for free-throw percentage and rebounding defense.
Shantay Legans is in his third season leading the Eagles. He has helped EWU advance to the Big Sky title game in each of his first two seasons, in addition to a CBI invitation in 2018.

SERIES VS. THE EAGLES
Montana and Eastern Washington will meet for the 115th time on Thursday. The Grizzlies own a 70-44 advantage over the Eagles, an impressive feat considering they lost the first 14 games in the series. Montana has won three in a row, including in last year's Big Sky championship game, and last month in Cheney.

Facing the nation's third-best offense, Montana held EWU to 63 points, nearly 23 points below its season average. On the flip side, the Grizzlies scored a season-high 90 points while shooting a season-best .542. The Grizzlies led for the final 33 minutes, including the final 24 by double digits, and were led by a breakout game from Derrick Carter-Hollinger, who scored 20 points while pulling down 14 rebounds and blocking four shots.

Last February, Montana earned a 75-74 home victory over EWU, which had a thrilling finish. The Grizzlies trailed for just 1:43 in the contest, and held a 12-point lead with 7 minutes to play, but the Eagles used a 14-2 run to tie the game at 68-68. Over the closing minutes, the game featured ties at 70-70, 72-72 and 74-74, before Michael Oguine gave Montana a 75-74 lead at the free-throw line. With the chance to win the game in the final possession, Jacob Davison's floater was soft, giving Travis DeCuire his 100th career win.

DeCuire is 7-5 vs. EWU, including 2-1 in the Big Sky title game. Over his past five games vs. the Eagles, Sayeed Pridgett is averaging 17.4 points per game.

SCOUTING IDAHO

Idaho enters Thursday's game at Montana State with a 6-15 record overall, including a 2-8 mark in Big Sky play. The Vandals are in last place, despite earning a surprising win at Sacramento State on Monday. The victory was Idaho's first since Jan. 2, snapping a six-game losing skid, and was just the Hornets' second home loss of the season.
During Idaho's six-game losing skid, four losses were by five points or fewer.
Idaho is 4-6 on its home court, but has lost four in a row dating back to a Jan. 2 win over Portland State.
Idaho has already surpasses last year's win total (five).
Trevon Allen is one of the league's top shooters, averaging 21.5 points per league game (second in Big Sky, 21st in NCAA). The senior is shooting .444 from the field (10th) and is also in the top 10 for steals (1.7 per game, seventh); 3-pointers made (2.0 per game, sixth); and free-throw percentage (.804, 10th).
Allen takes nearly three times more shots than any other Vandal, accounting for 27 percent of his team's shots.
Graduate transfer Quinton Forrest is averaging 6.2 rebounds per game.
Idaho is allowing teams to make 7.8 three-pointers per game, despite opponents shooting just .320 against the Vandals' 3-point defense (125th in NCAA).
Idaho ranks 300th or worse nationally for scoring, 3-pointers made per game, turnover margin and blocks.
Zac Claus is in his fourth season at Idaho, and his first season as interim head coach. Claus has been around the Big Sky, playing at Eastern Washington before coaching stops at Sacramento State and Portland State.

SERIES VS. THE VANDALS
The series between Montana and Idaho dates back more than a century, to the 1915-16 season. The Grizzlies have played Idaho more than any other opponent besides Montana State, and have beaten the Vandals more than any team aside from the Cats and Idaho State. Overall, Montana is 90-110 against Idaho, one of only two Big Sky schools the Grizzlies do not have a winning record against (also Weber State). Montana is 6-5 since Idaho rejoined the conference in 2014, and after losing three consecutive games through 2017-18, Montana swept the series in 2018-19 and won again last month in Missoula. Senior Sayeed Pridgett has been in double figures in all three of those wins, averaging 16.0 points per contest.

In last month's meeting, Montana held on for a 67-63 win for the program's 1,000th home victory. Montana never trailed in the second half, but the Vandals were always within nine points, including two with the ball and less than 1 minute on the clock. At that point, freshman Derrick Carter-Hollinger earned one of his four blocks, leading to a big bucket on the other end by Jared Samuelson, who totaled a career-high 23 points. Montana's three seniors accounted for 52 of the team's 67 points (77.6 percent).

Last year in Moscow, Montana's defense held Idaho without a point for 5 minutes or more three separate times, with the Grizzlies using a 13-0 run late to pull away for good in a 69-51 win. Overall, DeCuire is 2-2 against the Vandals in Moscow, with both losses coming in overtime (2015, 2OT; 2018).

BACK ON TRACK
After dropping back-to-back games to close January, Montana got back on track with a win last Saturday over Montana State. Three of Montana's next four games are at home, where the Grizzlies have won eight straight games.

BIG SKY UPDATE

Following Montana's loss at Portland State, Eastern Washington jumped the Grizzlies atop the Big Sky standings. Entering Thursday, EWU, Montana and Northern Colorado are all within a game of each other at the top.
Southern Utah (6-4), Northern Arizona (6-5) and Montana State (5-5) are all .500 or better and make up the next tier, looking to finish in the top five and earn a bye in next month's conference tournament. The Lumberjacks had won five straight games prior to Monday's loss to Eastern Washington.
Of the 58 Big Sky games entering Thursday, 36 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.

MILESTONE WEEK
Two of Montana's seniors are approaching milestone point totals.

Sayeed Pridgett, who last week moved into 10th place in Montana history, is expected to eclipse 1,500 career points on Thursday, needing just 13 points to do so. Teammate Kendal Manuel, who began his collegiate career at Oregon State, is 44 points shy of 1,000 for his career, with more than two-thirds of them coming as a Griz.

CONSISTENT SAYEED
Senior Sayeed Pridgett has accomplished plenty in his career, as the versatile player is expected to finish his career ranked in the top 10 in Montana history for points and steals, and near the top 10 for rebounding.

He has also been consistent, scoring in double figures in 36 straight games, starting last Feb. 7 vs. Idaho. Nationally, only Oregon State's Tres Tinkle (88), Detroit's Antoine Davis (51), College of Charleston's Grant Riller (54), CSUN's Lamine Diane (45) and Hampton's Jermaine Marrow (37) have longer active streaks than Pridgett.

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 74.5 points per game (second) on .483 shooting (first). The Grizzlies are hitting at a .402 clip from deep (first) and .753 from the free-throw line (second).

HITTING FROM DEEP
On Jan. 1, Montana ranked 310th nationally (out of 353 Division-I teams) with a .296 3-point field-goal percentage. The Grizzlies now rank 101st, in the upper-third nationally. After connecting at a better clip than its opponents just three times through 13 games in November and December, Montana has done so in five of nine games since, making at least half of its shots in three of its past seven games.

Montana hit a season-high 11 triples vs. Montana State, including 10 in the first half alone.

MORE ON THE OFFENSE

Montana has a positive scoring margin for the first time since the Grizzlies were at +1.5 following their second game of the season.
The Grizzlies are averaging 80.4 points per game on .516 shooting (211-of-409) over their past seven contests.
Five of Montana's seven highest point totals have come in the past month, with the Grizzlies eclipsing 80 points four times.
After shooting .353 during non-conference play, including .254 from deep (17-of-67), Kendal Manuel ranks seventh in Big Sky play for scoring (17.4), while shooting seventh (.478), including .446 from deep.
Montana scored 70 or more points just twice through the first eight games of the season, but has done so eight times since then, including four in a row.
Montana has shot above .450 in seven of its past eight games, including over .500 five times. The Grizzlies shot a season-best .604 vs. Portland State.
Montana has out-shot its opponent in nine consecutive games.
Montana has shot .500 or better eight times this season.
Montana has shot .450 or better from three-point range in five of its past nine games, and has connected on at least five triples in 10 contests in a row, including a season-high 11 vs. Montana State. Montana made five 3-pointers in just five of its first 12 games to begin the season.
The Grizzlies are 7-1 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.
Montana scored 78 points in a win over Montana State, the most by a Big Sky team against the Cats this season. The Grizzlies scored 54 points in the first half alone, connecting on 10 3-pointers against the nation's ninth-best 3-point defense.
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.

DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS

Montana has held 16 of its 22 opponents under their season scoring average.
Montana is 10-1 when limiting opponents to 70 points or fewer, with the lone exception being a 66-48 loss at Arkansas.
Just twice has Montana given up more than 74 points in regulation.
The Grizzlies are 12-3 when holding opponents under .450 shooting, compared to 0-7 when teams shot .450 or better against the Griz.
Montana has twice held an opponent without a made 3-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 just once in the past 12 games, and twice in the past 16.
The Grizzlies rank in the top 90 nationally for turnover margin, at +1.6.
The Grizzlies forced a season high 10 steals vs. Sacramento State and again vs. Idaho.
Montana is 12-5 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 six of the past seven games, after doing so just three times through the first 15 contests. The Grizzlies are 8-1 when leading at the break.
Montana has scored 40 or more points by halftime in five of its past seven contests, including a season-high 54 vs. Montana State.

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 36:23 in each of their past six victories. Montana never trailed in a win over Southern Utah and for just 14 seconds against Montana State. In wins over Eastern Washington, Portland State, Idaho and Idaho State, Montana never trailed by more than six points. Additionally, the Grizzlies led for 38 minutes of regulation at Weber State, despite later falling in overtime.

RAZOR-THIN MARGIN

Montana has played 13 contests decided by single digits, including eight in Big Sky play and four in a row prior to a 14-point win over Montana State.
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 13 consecutive games, with the Grizzlies averaging 20.8 fouls during that span, compared to 16.3 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 10 straight games. In eight of them, Montana's opponent has made more free throws than Montana has attempted.

LOOKING AHEAD
Montana returns home next week to host Weber State (Thursday, Feb. 13) and Idaho State (Saturday, Feb. 15).

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

The 300th Brawl of the Wild did not disappoint!#GrizCat #GrizHoops #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/m65DdJ0kq5
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) February 3, 2020

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Players Mentioned

Derrick Carter-Hollinger

Kendal Manuel

Michael Oguine

Sayeed Pridgett

Jared Samuelson

University of Montana Athletics