Thursday, December 30
Missoula, Mont.
7 PM
Montana
vs
Idaho State
Photo by: Derek Johnson
Montana closes 2021, opens 2022 with Big Sky homestand
12/28/2021 9:38:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Montana vs. Idaho State
Thursday, Dec. 30 at 7 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 1 at 7 p.m.
On Thursday, Montana faces an Idaho State team that it has beaten 21 consecutive times, including a perfect 12-0 record under Travis DeCuire. The Bengals of new aren't the Bengals of the past, however, with Idaho State tying for fourth place in the Big Sky a season ago and posting its best record in 26 seasons. Last year in Pocatello, both games came down to the wire, including a 59-58 Griz win after a Kyle Owens steal on the game's final possession.
After Thursday, things get even tougher.
Weber State comes to town on New Year's Day. Montana won two of the three meetings a season ago – including an 80-75 upset win in the Big Sky quarterfinals – but the Wildcats currently sit atop the league standings at 9-4 entering the week and are ranked in the Mid-Major Top 25 poll. Montana and Weber State rank No. 1 and No. 2 all-time in the Big Sky for wins, conference championships and NCAA tournament berths.
The following week, it's a trip to Cheney, Washington (Jan. 6), to face the defending Big Sky tournament champs. Eastern Washington is under new leadership and has an entirely new roster, but the Eagles beat Washington State earlier this month and, as Griz fans know well, anything goes when these two teams meet on the hardwood.
Later that week, the rivalry matchups continue as Montana faces Montana State in Bozeman (Jan. 9), as the two teams play for the first time in nearly two years after last year's meetings were canceled. Montana State was picked one spot ahead of the Griz in the preseason polls and also boasts a league-best 9-4 record, led by a pair of Preseason All-Big Sky picks.
Then, the Griz will return home to face Southern Utah (Jan. 13), a team that won the Big Sky regular-season title a year ago and was a near-unanimous favorite to repeat as champs. The Thunderbirds are currently 8-4, ranked No. 19 in the Mid-Major Top 25 and have the preseason player of the year in Tevian Jones.
As tough as that grueling stretch sounds, the good news for Montana – aside from getting an early feel as to where it stands – is that three of the five games are inside Dahlberg Arena, a place that Montana is a perfect 7-0 at this season and has won nine in a row dating back to last March.
Montana, no doubt, feeds off Griz Nation, and will need the home crowd in full force this week as it takes on Idaho State (Thursday, 7 p.m.) and Weber State (Saturday, 7 p.m.). Mini plans and other ticket packages are available.
SERIES VS. THE BENGALS
Montana is a perfect 12-0 against Idaho State under Travis DeCuire, and dating back more than a decade has won 21 consecutive games in the series. The Grizzlies' last loss to Idaho State came in December 2009, 67-65. Overall, Montana owns a 109-46 record against Idaho State, including an impressive 67-13 mark in Missoula. The 109 wins in the series are the second-most against any opponent (trailing only Montana State).
Under DeCuire, nine of Montana's 12 wins have been by double figures. However, three of the past four meetings have been decided by single digits, including a 77-74 Griz win in January 2020 and a 59-58 victory last February.
Last year against Idaho State, Montana won back-to-back games in Pocatello to earn its first series sweep of the season, the start of the Grizzlies' six-game winning streak which extended into the Big Sky tournament. In the opener at Idaho State, Montana used a 15-0 run early in the game before holding on late, 64-58. Josh Bannan reached double figures for scoring just 7 minutes into the contest and finished the night with 19 points and a career-most 13 rebounds. Two days later, the game came down to the final possession, despite Montana only trailing at 2-0 and leading by as many as 15 points in the second half and by 10 with 3 minutes to play. Idaho State tied the score at 58-58 with 68 seconds to play and had a chance to take the lead after blocking a Griz attempt. The Bengals missed, though, and Brandon Whitney made one of two free throws with 2.0 seconds to play before Kyle Owens stole the Bengals' in-bounds pass to secure the win. Robby Beasley III led all players with 16 points while Mack Anderson added a then-career-high 15.
SCOUTING IDAHO STATE
In a series that dates back to 1962-63 – the inaugural season of the Big Sky Conference – Weber State holds a 72-63 edge. Montana has been dominant in Missoula, however, holding a 41-24 advantage and winning 13 of the past 15 home meetings.
The Grizzlies have also had their way with the Wildcats recently, winning eight of the past 10 meetings overall dating back to March 2017. Under Travis DeCuire, Montana is 10-6 against the Wildcats. The Grizzlies have five double-digit wins over Weber State during that span, while DeCuire has never lost to Weber State by more than nine points (three of his six losses have come in overtime).
Last February in Missoula, Kyle Owens scored 27 points in an 80-67 win over the Wildcats, before scoring 12 points two days later. Cameron Parker was in double figures in both games (15.0 average) while Josh Bannan and Brandon Whitney each had double-digit scoring games, as well. The Griz got 23 points from Robby Beasley III in an 80-75 upset win over No. 3-seed Weber State in the Big Sky quarterfinals, in addition to a career-high 16 points on 8-of-10 shooting, plus seven rebounds and three blocked shots, including a big block in the final minute, from Mack Anderson.
CLASS OF THE BIG SKY
During the first month of the season, Montana earned a tournament championship and beat opponents from the Mountain West (Air Force) and Conference USA (Southern Miss). That resulted in a 7-4 non-conference record, the Grizzlies' fourth winning non-conference slate in the past five seasons. Prior to its current stretch, Montana went five consecutive seasons with a losing non-conference record.
77 IS THE MAGIC NUMBER
Montana, which leads the Big Sky Conference and ranks 55th nationally for scoring defense, is a perfect 8-0 this season when allowing 77 or fewer points. Conversely, opponents have surpassed 77 points in all five of Montana's losses.
Montana is also unbeaten this season when leading at halftime (8-0, compared to 0-5 when trailing); out-shooting its opponents (8-0, compared to 0-5 when being out-shot); holding opponents under .450 shooting (7-0); shooting more free throws (5-0); shooting a better 3-point percentage (4-0); and out-rebounding its opponents (4-0).
PROTECTING THE BASKETBALL
The Grizzlies are among the nation's leaders for turnovers, ranking ninth in the NCAA with just 9.8 giveaways per game. The Grizzlies also rank 21st nationally for turnover margin (+4.3) and eighth with a 1.7 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Montana has recorded more turnovers than its opponent just twice this season and has recorded fewer than 10 turnovers in more than half of its games (6-1 record). The Grizzlies are also 5-1 when forcing 15 or more turnovers.
Montana is connecting on an impressive 81.3 percent of its free-throw attempts this season (178-of-219), a figure that ranks third in the NCAA, one make away from leading the country (Portland, 81.4; Colorado State, 81.3). Montana has shot a better percentage than its opponent in all but one game this season.
All 10 of Montana's rotation players are shooting at least 71.4 percent from the free-throw line.
A season ago, Montana owned the nation's 15th-best free-throw percentage, connecting on a school-record 78.2 percent of its attempts from the charity stripe. Both Robby Beasley III (.929) and Josh Vazquez (.929) broke individual school records, which now rank second in Big Sky Conference history.
DOMINANT DEFENSE
Opponents are averaging just 61.8 points per game against Montana, putting the Grizzlies in the top 60 nationally for scoring defense. Montana has held five opponents under 50 points, including three straight opponents at home (Dec. 8-13).
BALANCED SCORING
Sophomore Josh Bannan leads Montana for scoring, but his 11.7 points-per-game average only ranks 19th in the Big Sky Conference. Instead, the Grizzlies have used a balanced offense that features five players averaging at least 8.0 points per game and all rotation players scoring 4.0 points or more. Eight different Grizzlies have led Montana for scoring in a game this season, with none doing so more than twice.
Senior guard Cameron Parker was one of the nation's best passers prior to his arrival in Missoula, setting an NCAA single-game record while playing for Sacred Heart with 24 assists in a win over Pine Manor, but he has continued to elevate his game in his second season in Missoula.
Parker was named the Big Sky Conference Player of the Week in mid-December after an historic week that saw him average 10.7 points on .526 shooting, in addition to 13.0 assists, 7.3 rebounds and 1.0 steals across three Griz wins.
In a 19-point win over Air Force, he scored a team-high 20 points, before recording the third triple-double in school history vs. Yellowstone Christian (10 points, 11 rebounds, 14 assists). Three nights later, vs. SAGU AIC, Parker played just 19 minutes but set Montana and Big Sky records with 20 assists.
On the season, Parker ranks seventh in the NCAA with 6.6 assists per game and 11th with a 3.6 assist-to-turnover ratio. For his career, he has accumulated 572 assists (10th among active players nationally), an average of 6.36 assists per game (third). He also has a career assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.04 (19th).
HOME-COURT ADVANTAGE
Montana is a perfect 7-0 at home this season, and dating back to last March has won nine consecutive games inside Dahlberg Arena. A win on Thursday would make Montana one of 30 active teams with a double-digit home winning streak.
Strong play at home is nothing new for the Grizzlies, however:
Thursday, Dec. 30 at 7 p.m.
- Watch: ESPN+
- Listen: KGVO (1290 AM/98.3 FM) / The Varsity Network
- Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
Tickets
Saturday, Jan. 1 at 7 p.m.
- Watch: ESPN+
- Listen: KGVO (1290 AM/98.3 FM) / The Varsity Network
- Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
- Tickets
On Thursday, Montana faces an Idaho State team that it has beaten 21 consecutive times, including a perfect 12-0 record under Travis DeCuire. The Bengals of new aren't the Bengals of the past, however, with Idaho State tying for fourth place in the Big Sky a season ago and posting its best record in 26 seasons. Last year in Pocatello, both games came down to the wire, including a 59-58 Griz win after a Kyle Owens steal on the game's final possession.
After Thursday, things get even tougher.
Weber State comes to town on New Year's Day. Montana won two of the three meetings a season ago – including an 80-75 upset win in the Big Sky quarterfinals – but the Wildcats currently sit atop the league standings at 9-4 entering the week and are ranked in the Mid-Major Top 25 poll. Montana and Weber State rank No. 1 and No. 2 all-time in the Big Sky for wins, conference championships and NCAA tournament berths.
The following week, it's a trip to Cheney, Washington (Jan. 6), to face the defending Big Sky tournament champs. Eastern Washington is under new leadership and has an entirely new roster, but the Eagles beat Washington State earlier this month and, as Griz fans know well, anything goes when these two teams meet on the hardwood.
Later that week, the rivalry matchups continue as Montana faces Montana State in Bozeman (Jan. 9), as the two teams play for the first time in nearly two years after last year's meetings were canceled. Montana State was picked one spot ahead of the Griz in the preseason polls and also boasts a league-best 9-4 record, led by a pair of Preseason All-Big Sky picks.
Then, the Griz will return home to face Southern Utah (Jan. 13), a team that won the Big Sky regular-season title a year ago and was a near-unanimous favorite to repeat as champs. The Thunderbirds are currently 8-4, ranked No. 19 in the Mid-Major Top 25 and have the preseason player of the year in Tevian Jones.
As tough as that grueling stretch sounds, the good news for Montana – aside from getting an early feel as to where it stands – is that three of the five games are inside Dahlberg Arena, a place that Montana is a perfect 7-0 at this season and has won nine in a row dating back to last March.
Montana, no doubt, feeds off Griz Nation, and will need the home crowd in full force this week as it takes on Idaho State (Thursday, 7 p.m.) and Weber State (Saturday, 7 p.m.). Mini plans and other ticket packages are available.
SERIES VS. THE BENGALS
Montana is a perfect 12-0 against Idaho State under Travis DeCuire, and dating back more than a decade has won 21 consecutive games in the series. The Grizzlies' last loss to Idaho State came in December 2009, 67-65. Overall, Montana owns a 109-46 record against Idaho State, including an impressive 67-13 mark in Missoula. The 109 wins in the series are the second-most against any opponent (trailing only Montana State).
Under DeCuire, nine of Montana's 12 wins have been by double figures. However, three of the past four meetings have been decided by single digits, including a 77-74 Griz win in January 2020 and a 59-58 victory last February.
Last year against Idaho State, Montana won back-to-back games in Pocatello to earn its first series sweep of the season, the start of the Grizzlies' six-game winning streak which extended into the Big Sky tournament. In the opener at Idaho State, Montana used a 15-0 run early in the game before holding on late, 64-58. Josh Bannan reached double figures for scoring just 7 minutes into the contest and finished the night with 19 points and a career-most 13 rebounds. Two days later, the game came down to the final possession, despite Montana only trailing at 2-0 and leading by as many as 15 points in the second half and by 10 with 3 minutes to play. Idaho State tied the score at 58-58 with 68 seconds to play and had a chance to take the lead after blocking a Griz attempt. The Bengals missed, though, and Brandon Whitney made one of two free throws with 2.0 seconds to play before Kyle Owens stole the Bengals' in-bounds pass to secure the win. Robby Beasley III led all players with 16 points while Mack Anderson added a then-career-high 15.
SCOUTING IDAHO STATE
- ISU enters the week with a 2-9 record, including an 0-2 mark in Big Sky play. The Bengals lost by eight points to Portland State and three to Northern Arizona.
- ISU is searching for its first win away from Pocatello this season (0-6).
- Robert Ford III (10.9) and Tarik Cool (10.8) lead ISU offensively. Ford is also the team leader for 3-pointers made (19) and rebounding (4.6 per game), while Cool leads ISU for minutes played (32.8 per game) and is second for assists (24).
- While ISU ranks last in the Big Sky for scoring (61.5 points per game), the Bengals rank third for scoring defense (67.8).
- Of the 21 statistical categories that the Big Sky tracks, ISU ranks last in seven of them, including scoring offense, field-goal defense, rebounding offense, blocked shots and assists.
- Ryan Looney is in his third season in Pocatello. A season ago, the Bengals went 13-10 and tied for fourth in the Big Sky standings. It was ISU's best winning percentage since 1994-95.
In a series that dates back to 1962-63 – the inaugural season of the Big Sky Conference – Weber State holds a 72-63 edge. Montana has been dominant in Missoula, however, holding a 41-24 advantage and winning 13 of the past 15 home meetings.
The Grizzlies have also had their way with the Wildcats recently, winning eight of the past 10 meetings overall dating back to March 2017. Under Travis DeCuire, Montana is 10-6 against the Wildcats. The Grizzlies have five double-digit wins over Weber State during that span, while DeCuire has never lost to Weber State by more than nine points (three of his six losses have come in overtime).
Last February in Missoula, Kyle Owens scored 27 points in an 80-67 win over the Wildcats, before scoring 12 points two days later. Cameron Parker was in double figures in both games (15.0 average) while Josh Bannan and Brandon Whitney each had double-digit scoring games, as well. The Griz got 23 points from Robby Beasley III in an 80-75 upset win over No. 3-seed Weber State in the Big Sky quarterfinals, in addition to a career-high 16 points on 8-of-10 shooting, plus seven rebounds and three blocked shots, including a big block in the final minute, from Mack Anderson.
CLASS OF THE BIG SKY
- Over the league's history, Montana and Weber State have been the class of the Big Sky Conference, and it hasn't been close:
- Montana and Weber State rank first and second in Big Sky Conference history for all-time wins, conference championships, NCAA tournament appearances and average attendance.
- Montana and Weber State have combined to win 21 Big Sky Conference tournament titles. Every other Big Sky school has combined to win 24.
- From 2010-19, at least one of the two teams played in the Big Sky Conference tournament finals every season – including both teams four times, with Montana going 3-1 in those games. The two teams have met in the conference tournament eight times in the past 11 seasons overall.
- Montana owns 12 regular-season conference championships, 11 tournament titles and 12 NCAA tournament appearances. Since the Grizzlies won their first title in 1975, they rank first for combined conference championships and NCAA tournament berths during that 45-year stretch.
- Weber State owns 22 regular-season conference championships (first), 10 tournament titles (second) and 16 NCAA tournament appearances (first).
- Weber State won its first eight games of the season and enters the week 9-4 and atop the Big Sky standings. Its past four Division-I games, though, have been double-digit defeats (23.3 average).
- WSU has four players who have started every game this season, with all four averaging at least 28.7 minutes per game. All four are also averaging double figures for scoring.
- Koby McEwen leads the Wildcats with 15.9 points per game, also adding 4.7 rebounds per game and 20 assists.
- Dillon Jones, last year's Big Sky Conference Freshman of the Year, is averaging a double-double with 12.7 points and 10.4 rebounds. He ranks third in the NCAA for double-doubles this season (eight) and ninth for rebounding. He is also shooting .585 from the floor and ranks second on the team for both assists (38) and steals (22).
- WSU ranks fourth in the Big Sky for both scoring offense and defense and ranks in the top four for seven different statistical categories. Montana (9.8 per game) and WSU (11.7) rank first and second for turnover margin (both top 40 nationally).
- Randy Rahe is in his 16th season in Ogden. Earlier this fall he won his 300th career game. He also ranks first in Big Sky history with 187 league victories. Rahe has a winning record over every Big Sky opponent except for Montana (17-19).
NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS#GrizHoops is back inside Dahlberg Arena ✌️ times this week.
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) December 28, 2021
🎟 https://t.co/UGSKYqThPp pic.twitter.com/x9cHLqGkVj
During the first month of the season, Montana earned a tournament championship and beat opponents from the Mountain West (Air Force) and Conference USA (Southern Miss). That resulted in a 7-4 non-conference record, the Grizzlies' fourth winning non-conference slate in the past five seasons. Prior to its current stretch, Montana went five consecutive seasons with a losing non-conference record.
77 IS THE MAGIC NUMBER
Montana, which leads the Big Sky Conference and ranks 55th nationally for scoring defense, is a perfect 8-0 this season when allowing 77 or fewer points. Conversely, opponents have surpassed 77 points in all five of Montana's losses.
Montana is also unbeaten this season when leading at halftime (8-0, compared to 0-5 when trailing); out-shooting its opponents (8-0, compared to 0-5 when being out-shot); holding opponents under .450 shooting (7-0); shooting more free throws (5-0); shooting a better 3-point percentage (4-0); and out-rebounding its opponents (4-0).
PROTECTING THE BASKETBALL
The Grizzlies are among the nation's leaders for turnovers, ranking ninth in the NCAA with just 9.8 giveaways per game. The Grizzlies also rank 21st nationally for turnover margin (+4.3) and eighth with a 1.7 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Montana has recorded more turnovers than its opponent just twice this season and has recorded fewer than 10 turnovers in more than half of its games (6-1 record). The Grizzlies are also 5-1 when forcing 15 or more turnovers.
COOL FROM THE CHARITY STRIPE𝐀𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧!
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) December 21, 2021
8⃣th: Assist-to-turnover ratio (1.7)
🔟th: Turnovers per game (9.7)
1⃣2⃣th: Total assists (212)
1⃣9⃣th: Turnover margin (+4.9)#GrizHoops #BigSkyMBB #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/mMCymjA9yG
Montana is connecting on an impressive 81.3 percent of its free-throw attempts this season (178-of-219), a figure that ranks third in the NCAA, one make away from leading the country (Portland, 81.4; Colorado State, 81.3). Montana has shot a better percentage than its opponent in all but one game this season.
All 10 of Montana's rotation players are shooting at least 71.4 percent from the free-throw line.
A season ago, Montana owned the nation's 15th-best free-throw percentage, connecting on a school-record 78.2 percent of its attempts from the charity stripe. Both Robby Beasley III (.929) and Josh Vazquez (.929) broke individual school records, which now rank second in Big Sky Conference history.
DOMINANT DEFENSE
Opponents are averaging just 61.8 points per game against Montana, putting the Grizzlies in the top 60 nationally for scoring defense. Montana has held five opponents under 50 points, including three straight opponents at home (Dec. 8-13).
BALANCED SCORING
Sophomore Josh Bannan leads Montana for scoring, but his 11.7 points-per-game average only ranks 19th in the Big Sky Conference. Instead, the Grizzlies have used a balanced offense that features five players averaging at least 8.0 points per game and all rotation players scoring 4.0 points or more. Eight different Grizzlies have led Montana for scoring in a game this season, with none doing so more than twice.
DISHIN' OUT DIMESWith #BigSkyMBB play starting this week, we thought it would be an appropriate time to resurface this graphic.#GrizHoops #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/827BfaDhX9
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) December 27, 2021
Senior guard Cameron Parker was one of the nation's best passers prior to his arrival in Missoula, setting an NCAA single-game record while playing for Sacred Heart with 24 assists in a win over Pine Manor, but he has continued to elevate his game in his second season in Missoula.
Parker was named the Big Sky Conference Player of the Week in mid-December after an historic week that saw him average 10.7 points on .526 shooting, in addition to 13.0 assists, 7.3 rebounds and 1.0 steals across three Griz wins.
In a 19-point win over Air Force, he scored a team-high 20 points, before recording the third triple-double in school history vs. Yellowstone Christian (10 points, 11 rebounds, 14 assists). Three nights later, vs. SAGU AIC, Parker played just 19 minutes but set Montana and Big Sky records with 20 assists.
On the season, Parker ranks seventh in the NCAA with 6.6 assists per game and 11th with a 3.6 assist-to-turnover ratio. For his career, he has accumulated 572 assists (10th among active players nationally), an average of 6.36 assists per game (third). He also has a career assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.04 (19th).
HOME-COURT ADVANTAGE
Montana is a perfect 7-0 at home this season, and dating back to last March has won nine consecutive games inside Dahlberg Arena. A win on Thursday would make Montana one of 30 active teams with a double-digit home winning streak.
Strong play at home is nothing new for the Grizzlies, however:
- Montana has gone 53-9 inside Dahlberg Arena dating back to February 2017, a winning percentage of .855.
- During a decade span from 2011-21 through 2020-21, Montana went 121-26 at home (.823), the nation's 37th-best home winning percentage during that period.
- All-time, Montana is 1,019-415 on its home court (.711), including 739-254 (.744) inside Dahlberg Arena. The Grizzlies are one of just 10 Division-I schools nationally to have won at least 70 percent of its home games while playing in its current facility for at least 60 years.
- In the most-recent season with fans, in 2019-20, Montana averaged more than 4,000 fans per game, a better figure than three Pac-12 schools.
- Montana will play 17 regular-season home contests in 2011-12, its highest number since the 1992-93 season.
It's been a fun start to the season!
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) December 20, 2021
With a Zootown Classic title, home wins over Air Force and Omaha and seven non-conference wins overall, Montana posted its fourth winning non-conference slate in the past five seasons!#GrizHoops #BigSkyMBB #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/4TeJMu7bzh
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