Homestand begins Saturday vs. Omaha

Montana vs. Omaha
Saturday, Nov. 20 at 7 p.m.

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Listen: KGVO (1290 AM/98.3 FM) / The Varsity Network
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
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After a wild road trip that took Montana more than 2,000 miles away, to Starkville, Mississippi, and then up to Grand Forks, North Dakota, Montana returns to Missoula to play four home games in a seven-day period, beginning Saturday vs. Omaha (7 p.m. tip).

Following Saturday's contest vs. the Mavericks – part of the Big Sky Conference-Summit League Challenge – the Grizzlies will host UC San Diego, UNC Wilmington and Southern Mississippi in the Zootown Classic (Nov. 24-26).

GRIZ BITS

Through three games, Montana has done well at a handful of things, including limiting turnovers (the Grizzlies' 11.0 turnovers-per-game average ranks 64^th nationally) and free-throw shooting (Montana ranks 52^nd nationally, making 76.8 percent of its free-throw attempts after setting a school record from the charity stripe in 2020-21).
Montana, though, ranks 344^th nationally (out of 350 teams) for offensive rebounding (6.0 per game) and 294^th for rebounding margin (-4.7). The Grizzlies also rank in the bottom 60 nationally for 3-point defense (.371).
Montana has used the same starting lineup each game this season, featuring three sophomores, a junior transfer who is new to the program this year and a senior forward. Interestingly, three players have come off the bench to average more minutes (all 19 or more) than two of Montana's starters.
Montana has three players averaging double figures for scoring, with the trio accounting for 52 percent of the team's points (Brandon Whitney, 13.7; Derrick Carter-Hollinger, 11.0; Josh Bannan (10.0).
Sophomore guard Brandon Whitney is a perfect 11-of-11 from the free-throw line, one of 41 players nationally to have not missed a shot yet. Whitney also leads the team for minutes (28.2 per game) and scoring (13.7 per game) and ranks second for assists (2.3 per game).
Whitney is coming off of a career-high 30 points at North Dakota. He scored 14 of Montana's final 16 points, being the only Grizzly to make a field goal over the game's final 11 minutes (Montana's other two points came from Cameron Parker at the free-throw line with 5:42 to play).
Junior forward Derrick Carter-Hollinger has been in double figures for scoring in all three games this year and is shooting .632 while averaging 20.6 minutes played per game. He is also 4-of-6 from deep, making two triples in each of the past two games.
Carter-Hollinger is doing all of this despite scoring in double figures just once in 2020-21. He also has made four field goals in all three games this season (once last year) and is shooting 4-of-6 from deep (2-of-11 all of last year). After battling injuries most of last season, he looks very much like the player who earned Big Sky Freshman of the Year honors in 2019-20.
Sophomore forward Josh Bannan leads Montana with 8.0 rebounds per game, to go along with his 10.0 points-per-game average. He had a double-double vs. Dickinson State (15 points, 10 rebounds) and narrowly missed another at North Dakota (nine points, nine rebounds).
In a win over Dickinson State, Montana held the Blue Hawks to 0-of-12 shooting from 3-point range. Against DI competition, though, opponents are averaging 11.0 made 3's per game on .524 shooting. This comes after the Grizzlies ranked 52^nd nationally in 2020-21, holding opponents to 31.2-percent shooting from deep. On the plus side, Montana did make second-half adjustments at North Dakota, holding the Fighting Hawks to 2-of-11 shooting from deep after they started 7-of-8.
Senior Mack Anderson has four blocked shots through three games, averaging a block for every 9.3 minutes on the floor. He also ranks second on the team for rebounding (5.3 per game) but is shooting just 1-of-6 to start the season.
Junior guard Josh Vazquez averaged 9.0 points per game over Montana's two-game road trip, shooting 4-of-7 from deep while also adding two steals at North Dakota.
Senior guard Cameron Parker has only attempted six shots this season, but he's made five of them. He also leads the team with 3.3 assists per game.

QUICK RECAPS

In Montana's season-opening win over Dickinson State, the Grizzlies scored 12 seconds into the contest and never trailed. More impressive, though, was the defense. The 27 points allowed were the fewest by a Griz defense since 1977, the fewest at home since 1936 and the fewest ever inside Dahlberg Arena.
Montana's 37-point defeat at Mississippi State was the Grizzlies' largest margin of loss since November 2015, when Montana lost by 42 points at Kansas. Montana scored just 12 points in the paint, instead attempting 31 3-pointers (nine makes), which was eight more than the Griz took in any game last season. Montana shot just .291 as a team overall (its lowest percentage since December 2018 at Arizona) while allowing Mississippi State to make 13 3-pointers (the most allowed since November 2018 at Creighton).
Montana led for more than 24 minutes at North Dakota, including 21 consecutive minutes until the Fighting Hawks took a lead with 2:55 to play. The Griz led for all but 1:21 in the second half, including by 14 points with under 8 minutes to play and by eight points with under 5 to go.

SCOUTING OMAHA

Like Montana, Omaha sits at 1-2 on the young season, beating a non-DI in its opener before falling in back-to-back road contests – one to a Power-5 team (Kansas State). The Mavericks also suffered a four-point road loss at Ball State. Omaha trailed by as many as 29 points before getting as close as one point late in the game.
Through three games, Omaha is turning the ball over just 10.3 times per game (42^nd nationally) for a +3.7 turnover margin (85^th).
Junior guard Kyle Luedtke scored a career-high 16 points earlier this week at Kansas State. The Omaha native has been in double figures in all three games this season, and five consecutive dating back to last year.
As a freshman, guard La'Mel Robinson averaged 9.3 points, 2.3 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.0 steals per game. The Mavericks also return starting forward Wanjang Tut, now a senior. In 2020-21, Tut averaged 8.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, 0.6 steals and 0.6 blocks per game.
Omaha was tabbed eighth in the Summit League preseason poll. The Mavericks finished 2020-21 with a 5-20 record, playing as the No. 8 seed in the league's postseason tournament.
Derrin Hansen is in his 17^th season at Omaha. The 2019 Summit League Coach of the Year could earn his 250^th career win on Saturday.

Gallery: (11-13-2021) MBB: at Mississippi State (11.13.21)

SERIES VS. THE MAVERICKS
Saturday will be the second-ever meeting between Montana and Omaha, with the first matchup being an instant classic. The Grizzlies dropped a December 2019 game in Omaha, 87-82 in overtime, after holding a late lead.

Montana led that contest 69-64 with 29 seconds to play in regulation, before Omaha closed on an 8-3 run, tying the game with a deep 3-pointer in the closing seconds, while also being aided by four Griz misses (plus two missed free throws) over the final 90 seconds. Montana held a 79-77 lead with 1:49 to play in overtime, but was out-scored 8-1 down the stretch.

Four current Grizzlies played in that game, including then-freshmen Josh Vazquez (14 points on 3-of-3 shooting from deep) and Kyle Owens (12 points, then a career-high against DI competition).

BIG SKY-SUMMIT LEAGUE CHALLENGE
Established prior to the 2017-18 season to aid in scheduling, the Big Sky Conference-Summit League Challenge is now in its third of four seasons (the series got pushed back a year after no games were held during the COVID-19-altered 2020-21 season). The series features Eastern Washington, Idaho, Montana and Montana State from the Big Sky and North Dakota, North Dakota State, Omaha and South Dakota State from the Summit League.

Montana started the series 3-0 but has since lost its two most-recent games – the 2019 contest at Omaha and Monday's defeat at North Dakota. In both of those games, Montana held second-half leads before falling late.

The Grizzlies are 52-36 all-time against current members of the Summit League, including 14-5 under Travis DeCuire. He had won eight in a row prior to the two recent losses.

LOOKING AHEAD
Montana will stay at home next week to host the Zootown Classic, a round-robin tournament featuring UC San Diego, UNC Wilmington and Southern Mississippi. The tournament will be held Wednesday through Friday, with two games taking place each day (5 and 7:30 p.m.). The Grizzlies' current four-game homestand is part of their 17 home-game home schedule, their most since 1992-93.

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

How we feel about 4⃣ home games in 7⃣ days, starting tomorrow night!#GrizHoops #BigSkyMBB #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/FK5dGGJIj4
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) November 19, 2021

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Players Mentioned

Mack Anderson

Josh Bannan

Derrick Carter-Hollinger

Kyle Owens

Cameron Parker

Josh Vazquez

Brandon Whitney

University of Montana Athletics