Homestand concludes with pair against Northern Arizona

Thursday, January 14

Missoula, Mont.

5 PM

Montana

Northern Arizona

Photo by: Tommy Martino

Homestand concludes with pair against Northern Arizona

1/13/2021 12:02:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Game Notes (PDF)Schedule Roster

By: Montana Sports Information

MONTANA VS. NORTHERN ARIZONA
Thursday / 5 p.m. / Missoula, Montana
Saturday / 11 a.m. / Missoula, Montana

TV: SWX Montana (Thursday only)
Stream: Pluto TV (ch. 1056) (both games)
Listen: KGVO (1290 AM, 98.3 FM) / Worldwide on TuneIn
Live Stats

Montana's five-game homestand to begin January concludes this week, with a pair of games against Northern Arizona. The Grizzlies have had plenty of success over the Lumberjacks, owning a 10-1 mark under Travis DeCuire and a spotless 6-0 record at home during that span. Montana has won back-to-back contests, while Northern Arizona is coming off of a pair of home losses to Idaho State.

SCOUTING NORTHERN ARIZONA

Northern Arizona enters the week with a 3-8 mark, defeating Denver on the road before a road sweep over Idaho. All three of the Lumberjacks wins are on the road.
NAU has one of the league's top players in Cameron Shelton. The junior and All-Big Sky third-team pick from 2020 averages 22.2 points (12^th in NCAA), 5.6 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. He scoring average leads the league, while he ranks fifth for assists, eight for shooting (.431) and 13^th for rebounding.
Shelton has led NAU for scoring in 10 consecutive games, reaching 20 points or more in the last eight
Junior Nik Mains has been in double figures in three consecutive games, averaging 14.0 points per game during that span. During that span, he has made 53 percent of his 3-point attempts.
Junior Luke Avdalovic missed last week's game vs. Idaho. In the 10 games he has played – all starts – he has averaged 10.0 points and 30.0 minutes per contest.
NAU is one of 11 teams nationally without a senior on its roster.
Out of 338 Division-I teams, NAU ranks second to last for opponent field-goal percentage, and in the bottom 10 for blocks, rebounding and 3-point shooting, and in the bottom 10 percent for scoring, scoring defense, scoring margin, field-goal shooting, rebounding margin, assists and steals.
Just twice this season has an opponent failed to shoot 50 percent or better from the floor against NAU, with every opponent eclipsing at least 44 percent.
The Lumberjacks do rank 43^rd nationally for turnovers, giving the ball away fewer than 12 times per contest.
Shane Burcar is in his second season as head coach of the Lumberjacks, after having his interim tag pulled following last year's 16-14 record. It marks NAU's first winning season since 2014-15, and snapped four straight years of 20-plus losses.
Montana assistant coach Zach Payne has a connection to the Lumberjacks, with his father, Harry, playing in Flagstaff from 1984-87 and ranking in the top 12 in Big Sky history for career assists.

SERIES VS. THE LUMBERJACKS
In a series that dates back to 1970-71, the Griz and Lumberjacks have played 106 times. Montana holds a strong 74-32 advantage, including a 10-1 record under Travis DeCuire. In fact, since 2009 Montana is 20-4 against the Lumberjacks. However the last defeat came in Montana's most-recent game against Northern Arizona, last February in Flagstaff.

In that loss, Montana led by seven with just more than 3 minutes to play, but didn't score again, allowing NAU to close the game on an 8-0 run to win, 57-56, and severely damage Montana's chance of a Big Sky Conference three-peat. The Grizzlies had two chances from the free-throw line, but missed the front end of two one-and-ones in the final 30 seconds. After the second failed execution, NAU's Cameron Shelton was fouled with 2.2 seconds remaining, making both shots to give NAU the lead and the win. Montana lost despite leading for more than 33 minutes and shooting .556 from the floor.

The Grizzlies have won six in a row over NAU on their home court, including a 79-72 victory in December 2019. In that contest, the Grizzlies erased an eight-point second-half deficit, using a 15-2 run over 5:26 to take control of the game. Then a freshman, Kyle Owens had back-to-back buckets during the run. Owens finished the game with eight points, along with fellow freshman Derrick Carter-Hollinger. Freshman Josh Vazquez had five assists. The year prior, Montana won 66-64 as NAU's Carlos Hines missed a game-winning 3-point attempt at the buzzer.

FULLY BACK INTO BIG SKY PLAY
After a non-conference tilt against Whitworth last Saturday, Montana is now fully into Big Sky Conference play, with the team's final 16 regular-season contests coming against league opponents, before 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 full 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 86-30 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).

WINNING IN NON-CONFERENCE
In a weird, roundabout way, Montana wrapped up its non-conference slate last Saturday, defeating Whitworth 84-67. The win gave the Grizzlies a winning non-conference record (4-3) for the third time in four seasons (the other two were Montana's 2018 and 2019 NCAA tournament squads). The Grizzlies started the year with just four non-conference games on their schedule, before adding three non-Division-I home games throughout December and January.

TRENDING

While still looking for consistency, senior Michael Steadman is starting to find his form for the Griz. He has led Montana for scoring in three of the past seven games, eclipsing 18 points in each of the three instances. He has also led Montana for rebounding in the team's last two games, recording his first double-double as a Grizzly, with 19 points and 10 boards in a win over Northern Colorado. Steadman ranks in the top 15 in the Big Sky for both rebounding and blocked shots.
In just five games, freshman Robby Beasley III is already making his mark. The California native is averaging 9.6 points per game (third on the team), in addition to seven assists and three steals.
Junior Cameron Parker, who set an NCAA single-game assists record in December 2019, has led Montana for the category in eight of 11 contests. His 4.0 assists-per-game average ranks fourth in the Big Sky, while his 1.6 assist-to-turnover ratio ranks third. Including his two-year career at Sacred Heart, Parker enters the week with 398 career assists, two shy of 400; for comparison Travis DeCuire holds Montana's career assists record with 435.
Parker has multiple assists in five consecutive games and in 10 of 11 contests overall. When not dishing the ball out to teammates, Parker has made 51 percent of his shot attempts and has at least two made field goals in every game this season.
Sophomore Kyle Owens ranks fifth in the Big Sky for rebounding (7.1 per game), including third with 2.7 offensive rebounds per game. He has at least five rebounds in eight consecutive games, and 10 of 11 on the season.
Freshman Josh Bannan ranks 10^th in the Big Sky for rebounding (6.2 per game) and is one of nine players in the league with multiple double-doubles already.
Sophomore Josh Vazquez has connected on nearly half of his 3-point attempts this season (17-of-35), making several clutch late-game triples. Five times he has made multiple 3-pointers in a game, and just once (2-of-5 shooting at Washington on Dec. 16) has he missed more than two attempts in a game.
On the season, Vazquez has a strong 3:1 assist-to-turnover ratio. After a respectable 2:1 number through the first six games, since Dec. 18, Vazquez has 13 assists compared to just three turnovers (4.3:1).
While still trying to find his form after missing time in the preseason and in December due to injuries, sophomore Derrick Carter-Hollinger has been effective on the defensive end. He has led Montana for blocking in three consecutive games, recording seven in a three-game span from Dec. 18-Jan. 2. In Montana's win over Whitworth last week, he also had a career-high three steals.
Since the start of January, Egun has made the most of some steady playing time (10.7 minutes per game). The sophomore has scored 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting, in addition to a 3-of-3 mark from the free-throw line. Even bigger has been his presence on defense, collecting eight rebounds and two steals and playing solid defense.
Montana has used the same starting lineup in nine consecutive games.
While Montana shoots the ball relatively well overall, ranking in the top-third of the country (.458) and eclipsing 50 percent four times, the Grizzlies have also won two games (at Washington, vs. Northern Colorado) when shooting under 40 percent.
In addition to Montana's strong shooting from the free-throw line as a team (the Grizzlies rank 13^th nationally, making 78.9 percent of their attempts), several individuals stand out. Freshman Robby Beasley III is a perfect 18-of-18 from the line. Sophomore Josh Vazquez has made 14 of his 15 attempts on the season, while fellow sophomore Kyle Owens has made 19 in a row dating back to Dec. 22 at Arizona.
Montana currently has three players averaging at least 5.0 rebounds per game, compared to one player a season ago.
Montana is 4-1 in day games, versus 1-5 at night.
Montana has shot a better percentage than its opponent from the 3-point line seven times this season, but has made more 3-pointers just three times (twice by one, once by two).
Montana ranks in the bottom six nationally with just 4.3 made 3-pointers per game, and shot just 3-of-15 in its two games last week against Northern Colorado.
Montana is unbeaten when out-rebounding its opponents, but has only done it three times. The Grizzlies have a +2.3 rebounding margin overall on the season, but a -6.1 margin against Division-I opponents, being out-rebounded by all eight. With that said, Montana's rebounding margin in its past four DI games has been -1.5, and never by more than two.
The Grizzlies are 0-4 when recording fewer assists than their opponent.
At this point a season ago, entering its fifth league game of the year, Montana was at a similar point, with a losing record. The Grizzlies evened their overall mark that night with a resounding win, 90-63, at eventual champion Eastern Washington.

DOWN TO THE WIRE
All four of Montana's Big Sky Conference games have been decided by three points or fewer, with the winning basket coming in the closing seconds. The Grizzlies were on the losing end of the first three tight games, before closing in Game 2 vs. Northern Colorado (Jan. 4).

Dec. 3 at Southern Utah – Montana led for 31:35, by as many as eight points. The Grizzlies tied the game with a 3-pointer with 31 seconds to play, before losing at the free-throw line with 2.6 seconds remaining.
Dec. 5 at Southern Utah – Montana led for 20:37, by as many as 13 points. The Grizzlies tied the game with a 3-pointer with 9.7 seconds to play, before losing at the free-throw line with 1.3 seconds remaining.
Jan. 2 vs. Northern Colorado – Montana led for 7:47, by as many as five points. The Grizzlies tied the game with three free throws with 15.4 seconds to play, before losing on a layup with 1.0 seconds remaining.
Jan. 4 vs. Northern Colorado – Northern Colorado used an 8-0 run to take a 54-53 lead, but over the final 7 seconds, Montana forced two turnovers and scored four points to earn the win. Down one and needing to foul, the Grizzlies got the ball back when UNC was whistled for an in-bound violation on the pass. On Montana's in-bound pass, Josh Bannan connected on an elbow jumper to give the Grizzlies the lead with 4.9 seconds to play. Freshman Brandon Whitney then forced a steal at midcourt and made both free throws to ice the game.

Prior to the win, Montana had lost its first here Big Sky games by four combined points. It marked just the second time in 50 years, and first time since 1997, that Montana started conference play 0-3.

CLOSE CONTESTS
In two games last week against Northern Colorado, neither team could find separation. In fact, after Montana closed to within six points late in the first half of the first game against the Bears, the two teams went 61 consecutive game minutes without either team leading by more than two possessions.

Six of Montana's eight Division-I games have been decided by single digits, including the last four.

GROWING UP FAST
Montana's freshman class set a school record with 40 combined starts in 2019-20, and this year's trio is looking to eclipse that mark, already making a combined 21 starts. Montana's freshmen and sophomores account for the majority of the team's production this season, totaling more than 70 percent of the Grizzlies' minutes played and points.

STARTING THEM YOUNG
True freshmen Josh Bannan (11) and Brandon Whitney (10) have combined to accumulate 21 total starts already this season, which ranks fifth in the country. Only Kentucky, Kansas State, North Carolina and Washington State 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 27 total games, with a freshman scoring in double figures 15 times (six times by Josh Bannan, six times by Brandon Whitney and three times in five games for Robby Beasley III). A Grizzly has scored 16 or more points in a game 10 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. All three are averaging at least 9.0 points per game. In Montana's two-point loss to Northern Colorado (Jan. 2), the trio of freshmen were clutch down the stretch, scoring 19 consecutive Griz points over the game's final 12 minutes.

KEEP IT ROLLING
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). Entering the week, Montana has been able to play all of its scheduled games (and even added three competitions).

Toledo (14), Indiana (13), Purdue (13), Louisiana Tech (13), South Alabama (13), Auburn (12), Mississippi State (12) and Oklahoma State (eight) are believed to be the only others schools who have also been able to play their respective seasons, so far, 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. Eight different players are averaging at least 18 minutes per contest, with that group accounting for 53 of Montana's 55 starts.

After using a different starting lineup in each of the first three contests, DeCuire has used the same starters in every game since Dec. 5 at Southern Utah (nine in a row entering this week).

MONEY FROM THE LINE
Montana owns the nation's 13^th-best free-throw shooting percentage, connecting on 78.9 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 at a clip better than 80 percent.

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 eight consecutive games, and on the season rank 56th nationally for total free throws made; a season ago, they ranked 313th.

In this week's episode of Get To Know The Griz, Brandon Whitney asks his freshman teammate Robby Beasley III a series of questions, including about the time he met Michael Jordan.#GrizHoops #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/LZLMwPrLfN
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) January 11, 2021

DEFENSIVE DOMINATION
Montana ranks high national for a variety of defensive categories:

Scoring defense: 62.2 (28^th)
3-point field-goal defense .284 (29^th)
Field-goal defense: .407 (84^th)

During Montana's three-game winning streak (Dec. 12-18), opponents averaged just 50.3 points per game on .351 shooting, with the Grizzlies out-rebounding their opponents 129 to 68.

STARTING SOUTHPAWS
Not only does Montana have three left-handed players on its roster, but all three are contributing factors. Freshman Josh Bannan has started every game for the Grizzlies, while sophomore Kyle Owens has started all but the first two and is the team-leader for minutes and points. Junior southpaw Cameron Parker is generally the first player off the bench, averaging more than 24 minutes per game and leading the team in assists.

Entering January, the Grizzlies were one of five teams nationally to have had at least three different lefties start in a game this season. Ironically, this week's opponent, Northern Arizona, is one of the others, starting Jay Green, Isaiah Lewis and Cameron Shelton.

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

You're with us in spirit, #GrizNation!

There's still time to join the crowd in Dahlberg Arena! ⤵️ https://t.co/0Rn2PTzKIc #GrizHoops #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/BvuC0SypM2
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) January 8, 2021