Photo by: John Sieber
It wasn’t supposed to be this way
3/11/2020 5:20:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Montana arrived to Boise on Tuesday afternoon, held an off-site practice Wednesday and then watched to see Idaho State earn a trip to the quarterfinals to play the No. 3 seed Grizzlies on Thursday night.
It wasn't supposed to be this way.
Naysayers will see that statement and look for the negatives. Montana held the No. 1 position for more days than any team this season. The Grizzlies were on the cusp of a title, needing only to take care of business at home in the last week of the season. How could the Grizzlies fall to No. 3?
It wasn't supposed to be this way.
It's true, it wasn't.
Not after graduating five seniors, four starters and two of the best players to ever wear a Montana uniform. How could it be, after returning less than 25 percent of its on-court minutes, not to mention the majority of its scoring, rebounding and just about every other statistical category?
It wasn't supposed to be this way.
Not after returning just four players who logged minutes a season ago, or after playing with three true freshmen on the floor — sometimes at the same time. The trio of freshmen combined for a school-record 40 starts. At least one has started in all but one game, 10 times two have started in the same game.
It wasn't supposed to be this way.
Not after how the season began, with a 4-7 non-conference record, even if it came against the seventh-toughest schedule in the entire country, with games against two top-25 teams, including the Pac-12 champion. The Grizzlies played in front of 10,000 fans at New Mexico and 13,000 at Arkansas, another NCAA tournament bubble team. So is Stanford.
But be honest, who thought the team would be at this spot in late November, when the Grizzlies were 1-4 and had lost at home to Montana Tech of the NAIA?
Maybe there's a reason no Montana team has ever won three straight titles, and it hasn't been done in the Big Sky Conference in nearly 50 years.
It's really, really hard to do.
But as the calendar turned from December to January, something clicked. Montana began to find its footing, with second, third and sometimes fourth scoring options joining Sayeed Pridgett, one of the top players in the league. The offense became one of the nation's best in the entire country. The Grizzlies started connecting from deep. The defense shut down opposing offenses. Montana didn't turn the ball over. The freshmen grew up quickly.
So now, here the Grizzlies are in Boise, the same location where they cut down nets a season ago, with the chance to do it again.
Montana will play as the No. 3 seed, but what does that matter? The Grizzlies have won as the No. 1, 2, 3, and 4 seeds.
They've won a lot — in fact, more tournament titles than any other team.
So who would bet against a program like that? One that has won five tournament championships in the past decade.
Who would bet against a coach like Travis DeCuire, who has shown he knows how to win. He's guided the Grizzlies to four tournament championship game appearances in five years, including back-to-back titles.
So now just three wins stand in the way of Montana returning to the Big Dance for a school-record third straight year.
Three wins in a row. It's something Montana has done 24 times under DeCuire, including four times this season alone. Two times this season — and seven times under DeCuire — Montana has won three straight following back-to-back losses.
It wasn't supposed to be this way. Yet again, maybe it was.
Montana will host No. 11 seed Idaho State on Thursday (approximately 8 p.m.) in the quarterfinals of the Big Sky Championship. The Bengals upset No. 6 seed Northern Arizona on Wednesday, jumping out to a 15-point halftime lead and hanging on in the closing minutes. Montana beat Idaho State in both meetings in 2020 and has beaten the Bengals 19 consecutive times dating back more than a decade. In January's meeting in Pocatello, the Grizzlies led by double digits in the first half before winning 77-74. Last month in Missoula, Sayeed Pridgett was one assist shy of a triple-double as the Grizzlies won 78-63.
It wasn't supposed to be this way.
Naysayers will see that statement and look for the negatives. Montana held the No. 1 position for more days than any team this season. The Grizzlies were on the cusp of a title, needing only to take care of business at home in the last week of the season. How could the Grizzlies fall to No. 3?
It wasn't supposed to be this way.
It's true, it wasn't.
Not after graduating five seniors, four starters and two of the best players to ever wear a Montana uniform. How could it be, after returning less than 25 percent of its on-court minutes, not to mention the majority of its scoring, rebounding and just about every other statistical category?
It wasn't supposed to be this way.
Not after returning just four players who logged minutes a season ago, or after playing with three true freshmen on the floor — sometimes at the same time. The trio of freshmen combined for a school-record 40 starts. At least one has started in all but one game, 10 times two have started in the same game.
It wasn't supposed to be this way.
Not after how the season began, with a 4-7 non-conference record, even if it came against the seventh-toughest schedule in the entire country, with games against two top-25 teams, including the Pac-12 champion. The Grizzlies played in front of 10,000 fans at New Mexico and 13,000 at Arkansas, another NCAA tournament bubble team. So is Stanford.
But be honest, who thought the team would be at this spot in late November, when the Grizzlies were 1-4 and had lost at home to Montana Tech of the NAIA?
Maybe there's a reason no Montana team has ever won three straight titles, and it hasn't been done in the Big Sky Conference in nearly 50 years.
It's really, really hard to do.
But as the calendar turned from December to January, something clicked. Montana began to find its footing, with second, third and sometimes fourth scoring options joining Sayeed Pridgett, one of the top players in the league. The offense became one of the nation's best in the entire country. The Grizzlies started connecting from deep. The defense shut down opposing offenses. Montana didn't turn the ball over. The freshmen grew up quickly.
So now, here the Grizzlies are in Boise, the same location where they cut down nets a season ago, with the chance to do it again.
Montana will play as the No. 3 seed, but what does that matter? The Grizzlies have won as the No. 1, 2, 3, and 4 seeds.
They've won a lot — in fact, more tournament titles than any other team.
So who would bet against a program like that? One that has won five tournament championships in the past decade.
Who would bet against a coach like Travis DeCuire, who has shown he knows how to win. He's guided the Grizzlies to four tournament championship game appearances in five years, including back-to-back titles.
So now just three wins stand in the way of Montana returning to the Big Dance for a school-record third straight year.
Three wins in a row. It's something Montana has done 24 times under DeCuire, including four times this season alone. Two times this season — and seven times under DeCuire — Montana has won three straight following back-to-back losses.
It wasn't supposed to be this way. Yet again, maybe it was.
Montana will host No. 11 seed Idaho State on Thursday (approximately 8 p.m.) in the quarterfinals of the Big Sky Championship. The Bengals upset No. 6 seed Northern Arizona on Wednesday, jumping out to a 15-point halftime lead and hanging on in the closing minutes. Montana beat Idaho State in both meetings in 2020 and has beaten the Bengals 19 consecutive times dating back more than a decade. In January's meeting in Pocatello, the Grizzlies led by double digits in the first half before winning 77-74. Last month in Missoula, Sayeed Pridgett was one assist shy of a triple-double as the Grizzlies won 78-63.
Players Mentioned
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