
Griz finally return home, host regional rivals Idaho and Eastern Washington
1/25/2022 4:36:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Thursday, Jan. 27 at 7 p.m.
- Watch: ESPN+
- Listen: KGVO (1290 AM/98.3 FM) / The Varsity Network
- Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
Tickets
Saturday, Jan. 29 at 7 p.m.
- Watch: ESPN+
- Listen: KGVO (1290 AM/98.3 FM) / The Varsity Network
- Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
Tickets
The Grizzlies have been suburb on their home floor this season, posting a sparking 9-0 record. In fact, Montana is currently one of 22 teams nationally with an 11-game home winning streak or better, having not lost since February 2020.
It's been nearly a month since the Grizzlies hosted another team – having played four consecutive games on the road, and going 3-1 during that span – but the last time they did was a good one, as Montana defeated Weber State, 74-72, getting a game-winning bucket from Lonnell Martin Jr. that was featured that night on SportsCenter's Top 10 plays.
Weber State now stands alone in first place following a road win over Southern Utah on Monday night, with the Wildcats' lone league loss coming against Montana. The Grizzlies are sitting pretty, too, as one of three teams with six or more wins so far, and one of five teams with two or fewer losses in an unbalanced (due to COVID-19 postponements) and stacked top-half of the standings.
The top six teams – all 5-3 or better – could make an argument as to why they will be hoisting the Big Sky championship trophy in another six weeks, and while a lot still has to play out between now and March, the Grizzlies like where they're sitting.
- Montana is the only team to beat first-place Weber State, handing the Wildcats their only Big Sky loss this season.
- Additionally, four of Montana's eight Big Sky games so far have come against the top-half of the league, including a grueling stretch in which the Grizzlies played Weber State, Eastern Washington and Montana State back-to-back-to-back.
- Montana has six games remaining against the top six in the standings, with four of those games coming at home.
- In fact, beginning Thursday, eight of Montana's final 12 games will be played in Missoula.
- The bottom-five of the league is a combined 9-32 (.220). Compare that to the top six that is 34-11 (.756). Montana is 4-0 against the bottom-five and still has six remaining games against that group.
- As good as Montana has been at home, the team is learning to win on the road too. After starting the year 1-5 away from Dahlberg Arena, Montana is now 4-6 on the year, having won three of its past four road games, including a road sweep last week at Portland State and Northern Arizona.
Montana now ranks 29th nationally for scoring defense (62.4 points per game, in addition to ranking among the nation's leaders for free-throw shooting (second), turnovers per game (11th), assist-to-turnover ratio (14th) and turnover margin (20th).
Tipoff for both games this week will be at 7 p.m. Those who are unable to make it to Dahlberg Arena can follow the action on ESPN+ and the Grizzly Radio Network. Fans who attend Thursday's contest will have the chance to get their photo taken with the Great Divide Trophy, won by Montana's football team in November with a 29-10 victory over Montana State.
HISTORIC WEEK FOR DECUIREIt's been too long Griz Nation. Can't wait to be back in Dahlberg Thursday Night!
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) January 25, 2022
Idaho 🎟 https://t.co/DWDtm97WdM
EWU 🎟 https://t.co/LWrIxuHnCR pic.twitter.com/mc5hw5w7Bo
- With a win on Thursday, head coach Travis DeCuire would surpass Mike Montgomery (1978-86) on Montana's all-time wins list. DeCuire, the 25th coach in Griz history, is 155-90 (.633) in seven-plus seasons. Montgomery, a College Basketball Hall of Fame inductee who DeCuire coached under while at California, is currently third on Montana's all-time wins list at 156. DeCuire is expected to pass both Montgomery and Wayne Tinkle (158 wins from 2006-14) in the coming weeks. George 'Jiggs' Dahlberg, who the Grizzlies' home arena is named after, is the school's all-time wins leader with 221 victories over two stints from 1937-42 and 1944-55.
- DeCuire is also two wins shy of 100 Big Sky victories for his career, which could come as soon as Saturday. Only Weber State's Randy Rahe (125 games) will reach 100 wins quicker than DeCuire, who was also the fastest to 50 league wins in Big Sky history.
- At 98-38, DeCuire is looking to become the fourth coach in Big Sky history to win 100 league games. His current .721 Big Sky winning percentage also ranks fourth in league history (regardless of total wins), including first among coaches who spent more than five years in the conference.
Coach, School | Years | Record (Win %) |
Randy Rahe, Weber State | 2006-Present | 192-79 (.708) |
Mick Durham, Montana State | 1990-06 | 123-117 (.513) |
Bobby Dye, Boise State | 1983-95 | 102-76 (.573) |
Neil McCarthy, Weber State | 1975-85 | 99-52 (.656) |
Mike Adras, Northern Arizona | 1999-11 | 99-83 (.544) |
Travis DeCuire, Montana | 2014-Present | 98-38 (.721) |
Wayne Tinkle, Montana | 2006-14 | 97-39 (.713) |
TRENDING
- Montana has won five of six games since returning from the holiday break, with the last three wins coming on the road.
- The Grizzlies are coming off of a road sweep at Portland State and Northern Arizona. Against the Vikings, Montana won 66-64, improving to 2-2 in games decided by six points or fewer (the Griz started 0-2). The won for the first time this season while being out-shot. Against the Lumberjacks, Montana recorded a season-low-tying six turnovers while winning despite scoring just 58 points (fewest points in a win).
- Sophomore Josh Bannan ranks sixth in the Big Sky with 8.1 rebounds per game, in addition to also being the team-leader for scoring (13.2, 13th). His current 8.1 rebounds-per-game average would be Montana's highest since Martin Breunig (9.0 in 2015-16) and would be just the third time a Grizzly has averaged 8.0 boards or more since 2000.
- Travis DeCuire continues to tighten the Grizzlies' rotation, with just nine players seeing the floor against both Portland State and Northern Arizona last week. Just seven players played more than 7 minutes in either game.
- Montana is a perfect 12-0 this season when out-shooting its opponents, compared to 1-6 when being out-shot.
- Montana is 13-0 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 10-2 when leading at halftime, also overcoming three halftime deficits.
- The Grizzlies are 13-1 this season when giving up 77 or fewer points.
- Montana is 13-1 this season when recording more assists than its opponent (0-5 when failing to do so).
- The Grizzlies are 8-1 when turning the ball over fewer than 10 times, compared to 5-5 when turning the ball over more than 10 times. They also are 7-1 when forcing opponents into 16 or more turnovers.
- Montana is 10-0 when holding opponents under .450 shooting, compared to 3-6 when the opposition shoots .450 or better. Conversely, the Grizzlies are 13-2 when shooting .400 or above, compared to 0-4 when failing to do so.
- Montana is 8-0 when shooting a better 3-point percentage and 7-0 when shooting more free throws than its opponents.
The series between Montana and Idaho dates back more than a century, to the 1915-16 season. The Grizzlies have played Idaho more than any other opponent besides Montana State, and have beaten the Vandals more than any team aside from the Cats and Idaho State. Overall, Montana is 92-110 against Idaho, including 8-5 since the Vandals rejoined the conference in 2014. After losing three consecutive games through 2017-18, Montana has won four in a row in the series since January 2019.
Montana won both meetings during the 2018-19 season, including a 100-58 win in Missoula that February, before winning again in Missoula in the only meeting in 2019-20 (67-63 in Montana's 1,000th all-time home win). The two teams were scheduled to play in a two-game series last March in Missoula, but both games were wiped out due to COVID-19 issues within the Vandals' program. Instead, the two teams met in the first round of the Big Sky tournament, where the No. 6-seed Grizzlies won 69-64.
Idaho jumped out to an 11-2 lead in that contest, but the Grizzlies scored the next 11 points to regain control and would lead for the final 29 minutes. Still, the game wasn't without drama, as Idaho cut a 15-point deficit to just three points with 31 seconds to play. Montana, though, locked down defensively and forced two misses while making four free throws to keep control of the game. Brandon Whitney (13 points, four assists) and Robby Beasley III (12 points) were in double figures for Montana offensively, but no one was bigger than Josh Vazquez, who scored a career-high 21 points, knocking down five 3-pointers.
Current Griz forward Scott Blakney played in that game for Idaho, totaling 17 points and eight rebounds. Blakney began his collegiate career at Idaho, playing in 101 games and scoring more than 700 points over four seasons.
SCOUTING IDAHOGet your 📸 taken with The Great Divide 🏆 this Thursday against Idaho 🏀.
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) January 25, 2022
📍 Dahlberg Arena
🗓 Thursday, January 27
⌚️ 7 PM
🎟 https://t.co/DWDtm97WdM #GrizHoops | #BigSkyMBB pic.twitter.com/LNmjxP6LD6
- Idaho enters Thursday just 5-14 on the season but is on a two-game winning streak, beating Sacramento State and Portland State to earn its first two Big Sky wins of the season.
- The Vandals have the league's top 3-point shooting team, averaging 8.8 makes per game on .376 shooting (27th in NCAA). The Vandals have six players who have made at least 19 3-pointers this season, including Mikey Dixon (34 makes on .430 shooting) and Rashad Smith (37 makes on .446 shooting).
- That tandem, along with Trevante Anderson (12.6 per game) are also Idaho's top scorers, led by Dixon's 18.3 points-per-game average (third in the Big Sky).
- Idaho has three players who average at least 4.8 rebounds per game, led by Tanner Christensen (6.2).
- Phillip Pepple Jr. ranks third in the Big Sky with 1.47 blocked shots per game.
- Idaho ranks near the bottom of the Big Sky for most defensive categories, including scoring defense (81.2 points allowed per game, fifth-worst in NCAA) and field-goal defense (.480, 10th-worst). The Vandals also rank second-worst in the nation with just 3.8 steals per game.
- Zac Claus is in his third season as head coach of the Vandals after four seasons as an assistant coach.
Montana and Eastern Washington will meet for the 120th time on Saturday. The Grizzlies own a 72-47 advantage over the Eagles, an impressive feat considering they lost the first 14 games in the series. Travis DeCuire is 9-8 against Eastern Washington, impressively his lowest winning percentage against any Big Sky team. The Grizzlies won four in a row in the series from February 2019 through February 2020 – including in the 2019 Big Sky championship game – but the Eagles won all three meetings a season ago.
The Grizzlies got back to their winning ways earlier this month with a 90-78 road victory at Eastern Washington, out-scoring the Eagles by 10 (54 to 44) in the second half. Montana shot .491 from the floor, led by 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting from sophomore guard Brandon Whitney. He was one of four Grizzlies in double figures for scoring, joining Robby Beasley III (19 points, career-high nine rebounds), Josh Bannan (16 points, 11 rebounds) and Derrick Carter-Hollinger (12 points). Beasley and Bannan have now been in double figures for scoring three times in their young careers vs. Eastern Washington.
NO. 1 VS. NO 2
Since Travis DeCuire joined the Big Sky Conference in 2014-15, Montana and Eastern Washington have been the two best programs. Montana (98 wins) and Eastern Washington (95) have the most wins during that span, with Weber State next on the list, at a distant 84 victories. Additionally, Montana and Eastern Washington have combined to win the past three Big Sky tournament championships (and three of the past four regular-season titles), with the Grizzlies winning both in 2018 and 2019 before the Eagles won the regular-season championship in 2020 (there was no tournament due to COVID-19) and the tournament title in 2021.
SCOUTING EASTERN WASHINGTON
- After losing nearly its entire roster from last year's championship team, EWU was picked to finish eighth in both preseason polls, but has exceeded expectations so far at 11-8 overall, including 5-3 in Big Sky action.
- Since Montana beat EWU, 90-78, on Jan. 6, the Eagles are 3-1, with the lone loss coming by four points to a strong Northern Colorado team. Most-recently, EWU traveled to Idaho State on Monday and beat the Bengals on the road by 26 points.
- The Eagles can score, ranked second in the Big Sky and 45th nationally with 78.1 points per game. They also can defend, though, ranked first in the Big Sky for field-goal defense and 3-point defense.
- EWU averages 9.0 3-pointers per game (53rd nationally) while defending the 3-point line at a .307 clip (65th). The Eagles could also pose a threat with rebounding, averaging 39.2 per game (42nd).
- EWU brought in 12 newcomers in the offseason, including several Division-I transfers. Among them is senior guard Rylan Bergersen (previously at BYU and Central Arkansas), who is averaging 13.9 points per game on .485 shooting, also adding 5.3 rebounds per game and a team-best 82 assists and 28 steals.
- Steele Venters is the team leader for scoring, averaging 18.1 points per game on .498 shooting (.491 from deep).
- San Francisco State transfer Linton Acliese III, a senior forward, was named the Big Sky Player of the Week earlier this month. Acliese is averaging 15.4 points and a team-high 6.9 rebounds per game this season, also shooting effectively at .497.
- EWU returned just six players from last year's squad, with only Ellis Magnuson (3.6 points per game across 13 starts) being a rotation player.
- EWU went 16-8 a season ago and won the Big Sky Conference tournament, before giving Kansas a strong fight in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
- David Riley is in his first season as head coach, taking over after Shantay Legans departed in the offseason for Portland. Riley, though, is a veteran in Cheney, now in his 11th season overall with the program.
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.
WE'RE NUMBER 2!
Montana is connecting on an impressive 80.4 percent of its free-throw attempts this season (266-of-331), a figure that ranks second in all of Division-I college basketball (Villanova is first at 82.4). Montana has shot a better percentage than its opponent in all but two games this season. The Grizzlies have six rotation players who are making at least 80 percent of their free-throw attempts, including two players who have yet to miss a shot.
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.
MILESTONE WATCH
- Senior Cameron Parker is five assists shy of 600 for his career. He is expected to become the eighth active player nationally to reach 600 assists for his career. His career 6.20 assists-per-game average ranks fourth among all active players.
- Sophomore forward Josh Bannan needs just seven points to reach 500 for his career (10.5 average).
- Senior forward Scott Blakney is one rebound shy of 400 for his career (3.5 average).
The Grizzlies are among the nation's leaders for protecting the basketball, ranking 11th in the NCAA with just 9.8 giveaways per game. The Grizzlies also rank 20th nationally for turnover margin (+4.4) and 14th 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 (8-1 record).
WINNING WITH DEFENSE
- Opponents are averaging just 62.4 points per game against Montana, putting the Grizzlies in the top 30 nationally (top eight percent) for scoring defense.
- Montana has held six opponents under 50 points.
- In Montana's past eight wins, opponents have shot below .400 five times. On the season, the Grizzlies are 10-0 when holding opponents under .450 shooting.
- Montana has forced opponents into double-digit turnovers in all but one game, including 15 or more eight times.
- In a season-opening win over Dickinson State (Nov. 9), Montana held the Blue Hawks to 27 points, the best defensive performance since 1977, the fewest points allowed at home since 1936 and the fewest ever inside Dahlberg Arena.
77 IS THE MAGIC NUMBERWe led for the final 37 minutes of Saturday's road win at Northern Arizona, completing a road sweep!
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) January 23, 2022
📰 https://t.co/vb7sECsiEy #GrizHoops #BigSkyMBB #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/5Ogv1SyTH8
Montana, which leads the Big Sky Conference and ranks 29th nationally for scoring defense, is a near-perfect 12-1 this season when allowing 77 or fewer points (the only exception being its 66-59 loss at Montana State). Conversely, opponents have surpassed 77 points six times this season, five being Griz losses.
CLAMPING DOWN FROM DEEP
Entering January, Montana ranks 348th out of 350 teams for 3-point field-goal defense, allowing opponents to make 42.4 percent of their 3-point attempts. The Grizzlies have drastically improved over the past month, however, improving their season percentage to 35.9 and their national ranking to 303rd.
Over the past six games, Montana's opponents are shooting .237 (22-of-93), with just one shooting above .300. In its past five wins, the numbers are even better (.198, 16-of-81).
LOOKING AHEAD
The Grizzlies will make their second-to-last road trip next week, traveling to first-place Weber State (Thursday, Feb. 3) and Idaho State (Saturday, Feb. 5). Montana will then have a quick turnaround, returning home to host preseason favorite Southern Utah (Monday, Feb. 7).
Students back ✅
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) January 24, 2022
8 of our final 12 games at home ✅
Montana once again contending for a Big Sky title ✅
Let's show our opponents what 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗭𝗼𝗼 is all about!#GrizHoops #BigSkyMBB #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/vww19Bn4v8