Montana welcomes NCAA tourney team to Missoula

MONTANA VS. SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
Tuesday, Dec. 6 / 7 p.m. / Missoula, Mont.
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The non-conference schedule for Montana men's basketball has been a gauntlet to begin the 2022-23 season, and it doesn't let up as the Griz return home this week to take on South Dakota State. The Jackrabbits were an NCAA Tournament team last year following a 30-win season and a Summit League championship.

This is just the second opponent Montana has faced this season with a sub-.500 record, as the opponents that the Griz have faced so far combine for a 40-22 record. Outside of 1-8 Merrimack, Griz opponents are 39-14 with five of the losses to ranked opposition. The tests they faced in November will hopefully make them better come March, but has also led to a 3-5 record out of the gates.

Montana returns home for the first time in a couple weeks to a place they have been very successful this season. The Grizzlies shared the title of the Zootown Classic earlier this year and have a combined 3-1 record overall.

This is the last chance for Montana fans to get a look at the Grizzlies at home before conference play starts, as they hit the road for the final three games of the non-conference slate. It will be capped off with a trip to Spokane to take on national power Gonzaga.

SCOUTING SOUTH DAKOTA STATE (3-6)

The Jackrabbits have also had a tough start to their season, already with more losses than they had the entire season last year. SDSU finished 30-5, with a perfect 18-0 record in the Summit League, on their way to a 13 seed at the NCAA Tournament.
Missoula is the final leg of quite the road trip for SDSU. They played Kent State in Ohio on Friday, Alabama in Tuscaloosa Saturday before heading back north. It will be a nearly 4,000 mile trip featuring three games in five days.
South Dakota State is 1-3 on the road with the lone win against Boise State of the Mountain West.
They lost a pair of First Team Summit League performers this year, including the 2023 Summit League Player of the Year Baylor Scheierman. They return the other three starters and six letter winners overall from last year's 30-win team.
They do return a couple of award winners from last season. Luke Appel won the Sixth Man of the Year award and Zeke Mayo was named to the All-Newcomer Team in the Summit League.
Mayo leads the Jackrabbits this season with just over 12 points per game. He has attempted nearly 50 threes this year, but is connecting on just a 26.5 percent rate. The 6-3 guard also leads the team with 7.0 rebounds per game.
SDSU has started the exact same lineup in all nine of their games this year. All five starters average at least 25 minutes per game.
Charlie Easley and Matt Mims provide a great outside threat for SDSU. They have both made at least 13 threes this season on better than 44 percent shooting.
Head Coach Eric Henderson is in his 4th season at SDSU with a 68-22 overall record.
They reached the NCAA Tournament last year, their fourth trip to March Madness since 2015.

SERIES HISTORY VS. THE JACKRABBITS
Montana is 5-1 in the all-time series against South Dakota State. The two teams last met in 2018, when Montana went to Brookings for an 85-74 win. The only loss for Montana came in 2012-13 in a double-overtime game in Missoula.

ALL-BIG SKY BANNAN

Preseason All-Big Sky selection Josh Bannan has been off to a tremendous start this season, averaging a near double-double for the year. He currently averages 14.3 points and 9.8 rebounds per game.
Bannan also leads Montana this season with 31 assists (3.9 per game). The Griz have operated through him often, and his playmaking ability has been on full display. He is now over 100 assists in his career.
Bannan ranks in the top 10 of the Big Sky in all the major categories. He leads the league in rebounding (9.8), is 10th in scoring (14.3), and seventh in assists (3.9).
The best rebounder in the Big Sky, Bannan also holds his own in the national standings. Bannan's 9.8 rebounds per game is the 22nd best mark in the entire country.
In Montana's win against St. Thomas at the Zootown Classic, Bannan had a career day with 23 points, 17 rebounds and six assists. He is one of just eight players to reach those numbers in the same game, according to the website sports-reference.com.
Bannan earned the Zootown Classic MVP award for the second consecutive season. He averaged 14.3 points and 13.3 rebounds per game as Montana went 2-1 to share the tournament title.
The workhorse for Montana, Bannan is currently third in the Big Sky in minutes and is 75^th in the nation at over 35 minutes per contest.
With three double-doubles in the first eight games, Bannan is tied for seventh in the category.

BEAT THE BEST TO BE THE BEST

Head Coach Travis DeCuire said this season's schedule was designed to test the Grizzlies early on so that when conference play rolls around they are well prepared for it. The opponents have certainly delivered so far. Montana's division one opponents are a combined 40-21 overall. Outside of 1-7 Merrimack (whom the Griz beat by double-digits), Montana's opponents are 39-14 (.736) with five of the losses to ranked opponents.

Duquesne: 7-1 with only loss to nationally ranked Kentucky.
Xavier: 6-3 with all three losses to ranked opponents.
St. Thomas: 7-3 with loss to #9 Creighton.
Troy: 6-3 with win vs. Florida State
Merrimack: 1-7
Air Force: 5-4
Southern Miss: 8-0

FEELING WHITNEY

Brandon Whitney missed the second half of the Merrimack game and the following two games with an injury, but returned for Montana's 'game against Air Force. He had a big impact, scoring 17 points in a season-high 39 minutes and pacing the Grizzly offense through the first half.

Against Southern Miss, he scored eight points and pulled down a team-high six rebounds. The point guard has at least two assists in every game that he has finished this season.

GRIZ NOTES

Josh Bannan reached several career milestones at Southern Miss. He made his 200^th career free throw and also pulled down his 500^th career rebound. At the current rate he's rebounding the ball, he will clear 700 rebounds by the end of the season and could be in Montana's top 10 with another full season to play.
Lonnell Martin Jr. scored a season-high 18 points against Southern Miss (11/29). He also played well against the Golden Eagles last year, scoring a career-high 20 points against them in a Griz win in Missoula.
Martin Jr. is three minutes away from 1,000 in his Montana career. He has started all eight games this season, averaging over 30 minutes per game while making at least one three in six games.
Josh Vazquez, making his first start of the season, made the 100^th three pointer of his career vs. MSU-Northern (11/22). The start was the first for Vazquez since Feb. 18, 2021 against Eastern Washington in the COVID shortened season. He is closing in on 100 career games with Montana. His next appearance will be the 99^th of his career, and he needs just five more minutes to eclipse 2,000 as a Grizzly.
Brandon Whitney matched his career-high with six rebounds against Southern Miss (11/29). On the same road trip, he set a season-high with 17 points against Air Force (11/27).
Jonathan Brown earned his first start at Montana in the loss at Southern Miss.
Dischon Thomas has scored in double-figures in six of Montana's eight games this year. The redshirt-junior is also closing in on 100 career appearances across his two schools. His next appearance will be the 99^th of his career.
The Griz are 0-4 on the road this year. The road woes are nothing new, as Montana went 4-10 when playing on the road last season. Despite all the success of the Grizzly program, they have not had a winning record on the road since the 2018-19 season.
While Montana's shooting percentage doesn't change at all based on result (41% in both wins and losses), there is a significant difference in field goal percentage allowed. Montana's opponents are shooting 51 percent in Griz losses and only 34 percent in Griz wins.

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Players Mentioned

Josh Bannan

Jonathan Brown

Lonnell Martin Jr.

Dischon Thomas

Josh Vazquez

Brandon Whitney

University of Montana Athletics