Photo by: John Sieber
Griz host big-time game against No. 1 Southern Utah
1/11/2022 5:18:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Montana vs. Southern Utah
Thursday, Jan. 13 at 7 p.m.
That's how competitive the top half of the league standings are through three weeks of conference action.
While it would be easy to feel like some air was let out following Sunday's loss to rival Montana State – just the Grizzlies' second loss in the series in the past 21 games dating back to 2010-11 – the truth is, Montana is still in a great spot, especially considering who it has already faced.
Aside from the Grizzlies, who sit at 4-2 in league action, there are five other teams with a winning Big Sky record. Montana has already played four of those teams, and will have played all five following Thursday's showdown with preseason No. 1 Southern Utah.
It's a stretch that no other team has been on, playing four consecutive games against teams that hold a combined record of 40-22 (.645).
Which leads us back to Thursday.
After playing three consecutive games against teams that could be considered rivals – Weber State, Eastern Washington and Montana State – Southern Utah doesn't hold the same cachet to Griz fans as the others do. But it's just as big of a game in significance:
It has now been more than 13 months since the two teams have played, and the two early-December results from last year – a 64-63 loss on Dec. 3 and 75-74 defeat on Dec. 5 in just Montana's second and third games of an altered season – have left a bad taste in Montana's mouth.
A win on Thursday would put the Grizzlies right back where they need to be in their hunt for a conference championship.
Fans can purchase tickets for the Grizzlies' only home game in a 26-day stretch online. Additionally, with students not back in town, fans can purchase $5 tickets in the student section.
During the game, all fans will also have the opportunity to have their photo taken with the Great Divide Trophy, earned this year by Montana's football team with a 29-10 win over Montana State. Also new this year, all fans 21 and older can watch games from the beer garden, offering beverages with a great view of the action.
SERIES VS. THE THUNDERBIRDS
Travis DeCuire began his career 9-0 against Southern Utah, but is looking to right the ship against the Thunderbirds, having since lost three in a row in the series. The two teams, however, haven't played since December 2020 after playing three times in a four-game stretch to close the 2019-20 season and open the 2020-21 campaign.
All three losses were dramatic, with all three coming down to the final seconds or overtime.
Montana held a double-digit lead over the Thunderbirds less than 4 minutes into a March 2020 game inside Dahlberg Arena, and again led by double figures in the second half, only to go cold, missing 10 consecutive shots at one point. In a back-and-forth game over the final several minutes, Sayeed Pridgett – playing his final game as a Grizzly – gave Montana a 69-68 lead with under 2 minutes to play in regulation. It would be Montana's final basket, though, as its final two points came from the free-throw line and the game went to overtime after the Thunderbirds missed two close-range shots in the final seconds of regulation. The two teams were tied at 78-78 with 1:00 to play in overtime, before Southern Utah went on a 7-2 run to close the period and win, in what would end up being the Grizzlies' final game of 2019-20 after the Big Sky tournament and all postseason tournaments were canceled.
Recapping the December 2020 losses are equally as painful, as Montana led by double figures in both games before falling behind, tying the game in the final minute on a Josh Vazquez 3-pointer, and then losing on the final possession at the free-throw line.
In the series opener, Montana led for more than 31 minutes, including by as many as 11 points. Vazquez's 3-pointer tied the score at 63-63 with 31 seconds to play, with the Grizzlies needing just one more stop to send the game to overtime. Instead, Montana was whistled for a foul, sending Southern Utah to the free-throw line with 2.6 seconds remaining. In the next game, Montana used a 13-0 run to close the first half and led for nearly the entire second half. After Vazquez hit a game-tying 3-pointer with 11 seconds remaining, Montana once again couldn't get a final stop, with the Thunderbirds making a free-throw with 1.3 seconds left to win the game. It marked the first time since 1984 that the Grizzlies lost back-to-back games by a single point.
The Grizzlies played well enough to win both games, shooting a combined .500 from the floor, including .400 (14-of-30) from 3-point range. For comparison, Southern Utah shot a combined .385 from the field and .296 from distance, but won both games. In addition to Vazquez, who scored 14 points in the first game, Kyle Owens had a big weekend, scoring in double figures in both contests (15.5 average). He had 21 points in the second game, followed by Cameron Parker with 19.
SCOUTING SOUTHERN UTAH
GRIZ BITS
PLAYING FROM IN FRONT
Montana has trailed in the second half just twice in nine home games this season, for a total of 10:10 (out of 180 second-half minutes). The Grizzlies trailed Southern Miss for 6:49, by as many as four points, and Weber State for 3:21, by as many as three). In the other seven home games, the Grizzlies built a halftime advantage and never let up.
HOME-COURT ADVANTAGE
Montana is a perfect 9-0 at home this season, and dating back to last March has won 11 consecutive games inside Dahlberg Arena. The Grizzlies are one of 22 teams nationally, entering Tuesday, with an undefeated home record and at least nine wins (also: Gonzaga, Houston, Baylor, Louisiana Tech, LSU, Providence, Kentucky, Texas Tech, Drake, Xavier, Indiana, Texas, Saint Mary's, SMU, California Baptist, San Francisco, Wake Forest, Texas A&M, West Virginia, Princeton, East Carolina). The Grizzlies are one of 28 teams with an active home win streak of 11 or more games.
TRENDING
WE'RE NUMBER 1!
Montana is connecting on an impressive 81.7 percent of its free-throw attempts this season (241-of-295), a figure that ranks first in all of Division-I college basketball. Montana has shot a better percentage than its opponent in all but two games 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.
PROTECTING THE BASKETBALL
The Grizzlies are among the nation's leaders for turnovers, ranking 14th in the NCAA with just 10.0 giveaways per game. The Grizzlies also rank 20th nationally for turnover margin (+4.4) and 12th with a 1.5 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Montana has recorded more turnovers than its opponent just three times this season and has recorded fewer than 10 turnovers in nearly half of its games (7-1 record). The Grizzlies are also 7-1 when forcing 15 or more turnovers.
77 IS THE MAGIC NUMBER
Montana, which leads the Big Sky Conference and ranks 60th nationally for scoring defense, is a near-perfect 10-1 this season when allowing 77 or fewer points (the only exception is last week's 66-59 loss at Montana State). Conversely, opponents have surpassed 77 points six times this season, five being Griz losses.
DOMINANT DEFENSE
Opponents are averaging just 63.2 points per game against Montana, putting the Grizzlies in the top 60 nationally for scoring defense. Montana has held five opponents under 50 points.
HEATING UP FROM DEEP
A season ago, Montana shot .362 from 3-point range, good for the 61st-best percentage in the nation (top 18 percent), but ranked 313th with just 5.5 makes per game (bottom 8 percent). It was similar the year before, in 2019-20, when the Grizzlies shot .358 from distance (53rd) but averaged just 5.6 makes per game (312th).
This year, Montana is combining accuracy with frequency, shooting at a .359 clip (80th) while averaging 7.9 makes per game (148th). Over the past seven contests, the Grizzlies are averaging 10.0 made 3-pointers per game while shooting .380 from distance.
Already this year, Montana has made at least eight 3-pointers in nine of its 17 games (7-2 record), a stark contrast from 2020-21, when the Grizzlies did so five times in 28 games, or 2019-20, when they did so six times out of 31 contests. That's a good sign for Montana considering in 2018-19, the last time it made the NCAA tournament, Montana averaged 8.2 makes per game on .367 shooting, connecting on eight or more treys 22 times (19-3 record).
BALANCED SCORING
Sophomore Josh Bannan leads Montana for scoring, but his 12.5 points-per-game average only ranks 16th in the Big Sky Conference. Instead, the Grizzlies have used a balanced offense that features five players averaging at least 7.8 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 four times.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Grizzlies will play just one game this week, getting the weekend off before facing Portland State (Jan. 20) and Northern Arizona (Jan. 22) on the road. That starts a stretch in which seven of Montana's next nine games are against teams with sub-.500 records.
Complete Game Notes in PDF format, including additional notes, stats, charts and player pages
Thursday, Jan. 13 at 7 p.m.
- TV: SWX Montana
- Watch: ESPN+
- Listen: KGVO (1290 AM/98.3 FM) / The Varsity Network
- Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
Tickets
That's how competitive the top half of the league standings are through three weeks of conference action.
While it would be easy to feel like some air was let out following Sunday's loss to rival Montana State – just the Grizzlies' second loss in the series in the past 21 games dating back to 2010-11 – the truth is, Montana is still in a great spot, especially considering who it has already faced.
Aside from the Grizzlies, who sit at 4-2 in league action, there are five other teams with a winning Big Sky record. Montana has already played four of those teams, and will have played all five following Thursday's showdown with preseason No. 1 Southern Utah.
It's a stretch that no other team has been on, playing four consecutive games against teams that hold a combined record of 40-22 (.645).
Which leads us back to Thursday.
After playing three consecutive games against teams that could be considered rivals – Weber State, Eastern Washington and Montana State – Southern Utah doesn't hold the same cachet to Griz fans as the others do. But it's just as big of a game in significance:
- Southern Utah enters the week at 3-1 in Big Sky action, tied for first place along with Weber State and Northern Colorado.
- The Thunderbirds won the 2021 regular-season championship and were picked as near-unanimous favorites to repeat as champs in 2022.
- Southern Utah held three of the seven spots on the Preseason All-Conference Team, including preseason MVP Tevian Jones.
- After starting his career 9-0 against Southern Utah, Travis DeCuire has lost three straight to the Thunderbirds, all by five points or fewer. The Grizzlies led SUU by double figures in their March 2020 regular-season finale before the visitors came racing back to win, 85-80, in overtime, in what ended up being Montana's final game of the season, after COVID-19 canceled all postseason tournaments. Last year, the Grizzlies dropped back-to-back one-point games at Southern Utah, falling in nearly the same way both times, with Josh Vazquez tying the game with a 3-pointer in the final 30 seconds before the Thunderbirds won the game in the closing seconds at the free-throw line.
It has now been more than 13 months since the two teams have played, and the two early-December results from last year – a 64-63 loss on Dec. 3 and 75-74 defeat on Dec. 5 in just Montana's second and third games of an altered season – have left a bad taste in Montana's mouth.
A win on Thursday would put the Grizzlies right back where they need to be in their hunt for a conference championship.
Fans can purchase tickets for the Grizzlies' only home game in a 26-day stretch online. Additionally, with students not back in town, fans can purchase $5 tickets in the student section.
During the game, all fans will also have the opportunity to have their photo taken with the Great Divide Trophy, earned this year by Montana's football team with a 29-10 win over Montana State. Also new this year, all fans 21 and older can watch games from the beer garden, offering beverages with a great view of the action.
SERIES VS. THE THUNDERBIRDS
Travis DeCuire began his career 9-0 against Southern Utah, but is looking to right the ship against the Thunderbirds, having since lost three in a row in the series. The two teams, however, haven't played since December 2020 after playing three times in a four-game stretch to close the 2019-20 season and open the 2020-21 campaign.
All three losses were dramatic, with all three coming down to the final seconds or overtime.
Montana held a double-digit lead over the Thunderbirds less than 4 minutes into a March 2020 game inside Dahlberg Arena, and again led by double figures in the second half, only to go cold, missing 10 consecutive shots at one point. In a back-and-forth game over the final several minutes, Sayeed Pridgett – playing his final game as a Grizzly – gave Montana a 69-68 lead with under 2 minutes to play in regulation. It would be Montana's final basket, though, as its final two points came from the free-throw line and the game went to overtime after the Thunderbirds missed two close-range shots in the final seconds of regulation. The two teams were tied at 78-78 with 1:00 to play in overtime, before Southern Utah went on a 7-2 run to close the period and win, in what would end up being the Grizzlies' final game of 2019-20 after the Big Sky tournament and all postseason tournaments were canceled.
Recapping the December 2020 losses are equally as painful, as Montana led by double figures in both games before falling behind, tying the game in the final minute on a Josh Vazquez 3-pointer, and then losing on the final possession at the free-throw line.
In the series opener, Montana led for more than 31 minutes, including by as many as 11 points. Vazquez's 3-pointer tied the score at 63-63 with 31 seconds to play, with the Grizzlies needing just one more stop to send the game to overtime. Instead, Montana was whistled for a foul, sending Southern Utah to the free-throw line with 2.6 seconds remaining. In the next game, Montana used a 13-0 run to close the first half and led for nearly the entire second half. After Vazquez hit a game-tying 3-pointer with 11 seconds remaining, Montana once again couldn't get a final stop, with the Thunderbirds making a free-throw with 1.3 seconds left to win the game. It marked the first time since 1984 that the Grizzlies lost back-to-back games by a single point.
The Grizzlies played well enough to win both games, shooting a combined .500 from the floor, including .400 (14-of-30) from 3-point range. For comparison, Southern Utah shot a combined .385 from the field and .296 from distance, but won both games. In addition to Vazquez, who scored 14 points in the first game, Kyle Owens had a big weekend, scoring in double figures in both contests (15.5 average). He had 21 points in the second game, followed by Cameron Parker with 19.
SCOUTING SOUTHERN UTAH
- SUU enters Thursday's game with a 9-5 record overall, including a 3-1 mark in Big Sky play that has the Thunderbirds in a three-way tie for first place in the league standings.
- The Thunderbirds lost their most-recent game, however, a 91-81 home defeat to Northern Colorado (also tied for first place). SUU hasn't played since Jan. 1, however; ironically, both missed games – vs. Portland State and Northern Arizona – were due to COVID-19 issues with the opposing teams.
- The hype going into the 2021-22 season was high for SUU, which returned 93 percent of its scoring from a team that a year ago ranked third nationally for scoring offense. The group of returners include Preseason All-Big Sky selections Tevian Jones (MVP), John Knight III and Maizen Fausett.
- Last year, Jones was named to both the NABC All-District 6 first team and the Big Sky All-Conference first team. Knight and Fausett were both named to the all-conference second team, while Dre Marin, who is also back, was named honorable mention. All four players are currently seniors for SUU.
- This season, SUU ranks first in the Big Sky for scoring offense (78.4, 51st in NCAA), rebounding (41.6, 15th) and rebounding margin (+5.3, 62nd), and is second for field-goal (.416) and 3-point defense (.308).
- SUU is one of two Big Sky schools with two players ranked in the top 10 for scoring (Knight, 15.4 points per game; Jones, 13.5). Knight also leads the league with a .579 shooting percentage (31st in NCAA) and 1.9 steals per game, while Fausett ranks fifth in the league for rebounding (8.6 per game, including 3.6 offensive boards per game (15th in NCAA)).
- Behind a top-five scoring offense nationally, SUU went 20-4 in 2020-21, winning the Big Sky Conference regular-season title with a 12-2 mark and advancing to the semifinals of the conference tournament. The .833 winning percentage was a school record as head coach Todd Simon was the recipient of the Jim Phelan Award, an honor which annually recognizes the nation's top coach.
GRIZ BITS
- Montana is looking to get back on track following a 66-59 road loss at Montana State, just the Grizzlies' second to the Bobcats in the past 21 meetings dating back to the 2010-11 season. Montana has won three straight games three times this season, but has lost each time trying to get to four.
- During the Grizzlies' three-game winning streak (Dec. 30-Jan. 6), Montana shot .485 from the floor while opponents shot just .424, including .208 from deep (10-for-48).
- Montana will be playing on regional or national television for the fifth time this season on Thursday (SWX Montana), but the first time at home.
- With its win over Eastern Washington last Thursday, Travis DeCuire now has a winning record over ever Big Sky opponent.
PLAYING FROM IN FRONT
Montana has trailed in the second half just twice in nine home games this season, for a total of 10:10 (out of 180 second-half minutes). The Grizzlies trailed Southern Miss for 6:49, by as many as four points, and Weber State for 3:21, by as many as three). In the other seven home games, the Grizzlies built a halftime advantage and never let up.
HOME-COURT ADVANTAGE
Montana is a perfect 9-0 at home this season, and dating back to last March has won 11 consecutive games inside Dahlberg Arena. The Grizzlies are one of 22 teams nationally, entering Tuesday, with an undefeated home record and at least nine wins (also: Gonzaga, Houston, Baylor, Louisiana Tech, LSU, Providence, Kentucky, Texas Tech, Drake, Xavier, Indiana, Texas, Saint Mary's, SMU, California Baptist, San Francisco, Wake Forest, Texas A&M, West Virginia, Princeton, East Carolina). The Grizzlies are one of 28 teams with an active home win streak of 11 or more games.
TRENDING
- Montana is a perfect 11-0 this season when out-shooting its opponents, compared to 0-6 when being out-shot.
- Montana is 11-0 in games this season in which it scores more second-half points (compared to 0-6 when being out-scored in the second half).
- Montana is 9-2 when leading at halftime, also overcoming two halftime deficits.
- The Grizzlies are 11-1 this season when giving up 77 or fewer points.
- Montana is 11-1 this season when recording more assists than its opponent (0-5 when failing to do so).
- The Grizzlies are 7-1 when turning the ball over fewer than 10 times, compared to 4-5 when turning the ball over more than 10 times. They also are 7-1 when forcing opponents into 16 or more turnovers.
- Montana is 9-0 when holding opponents under .450 shooting, compared to 2-6 when the opposition shoots .450 or better. Conversely, the Grizzlies are 11-2 when shooting .400 or above, compared to 0-4 when failing to do so.
- Montana is 7-0 when shooting a better 3-point percentage and 6-0 when making more free throws than its opponents.
WE'RE NUMBER 1!
Montana is connecting on an impressive 81.7 percent of its free-throw attempts this season (241-of-295), a figure that ranks first in all of Division-I college basketball. Montana has shot a better percentage than its opponent in all but two games 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.
PROTECTING THE BASKETBALL
The Grizzlies are among the nation's leaders for turnovers, ranking 14th in the NCAA with just 10.0 giveaways per game. The Grizzlies also rank 20th nationally for turnover margin (+4.4) and 12th with a 1.5 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Montana has recorded more turnovers than its opponent just three times this season and has recorded fewer than 10 turnovers in nearly half of its games (7-1 record). The Grizzlies are also 7-1 when forcing 15 or more turnovers.
77 IS THE MAGIC NUMBER
Montana, which leads the Big Sky Conference and ranks 60th nationally for scoring defense, is a near-perfect 10-1 this season when allowing 77 or fewer points (the only exception is last week's 66-59 loss at Montana State). Conversely, opponents have surpassed 77 points six times this season, five being Griz losses.
DOMINANT DEFENSE
Opponents are averaging just 63.2 points per game against Montana, putting the Grizzlies in the top 60 nationally for scoring defense. Montana has held five opponents under 50 points.
HEATING UP FROM DEEP
A season ago, Montana shot .362 from 3-point range, good for the 61st-best percentage in the nation (top 18 percent), but ranked 313th with just 5.5 makes per game (bottom 8 percent). It was similar the year before, in 2019-20, when the Grizzlies shot .358 from distance (53rd) but averaged just 5.6 makes per game (312th).
This year, Montana is combining accuracy with frequency, shooting at a .359 clip (80th) while averaging 7.9 makes per game (148th). Over the past seven contests, the Grizzlies are averaging 10.0 made 3-pointers per game while shooting .380 from distance.
Already this year, Montana has made at least eight 3-pointers in nine of its 17 games (7-2 record), a stark contrast from 2020-21, when the Grizzlies did so five times in 28 games, or 2019-20, when they did so six times out of 31 contests. That's a good sign for Montana considering in 2018-19, the last time it made the NCAA tournament, Montana averaged 8.2 makes per game on .367 shooting, connecting on eight or more treys 22 times (19-3 record).
BALANCED SCORING
Sophomore Josh Bannan leads Montana for scoring, but his 12.5 points-per-game average only ranks 16th in the Big Sky Conference. Instead, the Grizzlies have used a balanced offense that features five players averaging at least 7.8 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 four times.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Grizzlies will play just one game this week, getting the weekend off before facing Portland State (Jan. 20) and Northern Arizona (Jan. 22) on the road. That starts a stretch in which seven of Montana's next nine games are against teams with sub-.500 records.
Complete Game Notes in PDF format, including additional notes, stats, charts and player pages
Players Mentioned
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