Montana takes on North Dakota State

The road blues have taken their toll on the Montana basketball team, but the biggest win of the season – and the return of their starting backcourt – has given the Grizzlies momentum as they enter the closing stretch of the non-conference season.

After a dominant 81-56 win over South Dakota State on Tuesday night in Dahlberg Arena, the Griz now hit the road to Fargo for a matchup against North Dakota State. Montana will do so searching for its first road win of the year, while also trying to stay unbeaten against Summit League opposition after previous wins over St. Thomas and SDSU.

It's an opportunity for Montana against a Bison team that has struggled so far this season. They come into the game 2-8 on the year, one of just three teams Montana has faced with a losing record. They do enter fresh off a win against Portland, a good result against a team that entered 7-4.

This will also be just the third game at home for NDSU as they've started the year with six road games and a couple of neutral site matchups. The record isn't a full indicator of the talent level of a team that finished second in the Summit League last season.

The Griz put together their most complete game of the season against South Dakota State, and got some season-best performances from several key players. Brandon Whitney had a season-high 23 points, Dischon Thomas set a new Montana high with 17 points and Aanen Moody scored 20.

A 9-2 lead early expanded as the game went along, as Montana led by as many as 35 points. The first five made a difference, as it was the first time the Griz had their starting lineup all healthy and together since the Merrimack game at the Zootown Classic.

They have the chance to get back to .500 on the year now with just a couple non-conference games remaining. The game will tip at 6:00 p.m. MT and is available to stream on ESPN+.

SCOUTING NORTH DAKOTA STATE (2-8, 0-0 BSC)

The Bison are coming off their lone D-I win against Portland. They have played a difficult schedule, hitting the road against a couple of top 10 opponents in Arkansas and Kansas.
In 2021-22, NDSU finished 23-10 overall and 13-5 in the Summit League, good for a second-place finish behind rival South Dakota State (who the Griz beat by 25 on Tuesday).
Big Sky teams are 2-0 against the Bison this season. Northern Colorado defeated them 80-70 in the Lobo Classic in New Mexico in November and Eastern Washington won 78-70 last Saturday in Cheney.
This is the first game in a back-to-back weekend for North Dakota State. They close out the non-conference season on Sunday against Waldorf.
Defensively, the Bison give up 78.2 points per game, which ranks 345^th in the country. They have been outscored by nearly 10 points per game with a scoring margin that ranks 331^st.
Grant Nelson, last year's Summit League Sixth Man of the Year, returns for a Bison team that lost some significant contributors from last year's squad. He leads the team with 13.6 points per game and 6.7 rebounds, but has played in just seven of the 10 games so far.
Andrew Morgan is the only player to start all 10 games for the Bison. He's second on the team with 12.1 points and tied for the team lead with 6.7 rebounds.
Eight different players have started a game this season and they have 10 players averaging at least 13 minutes per game. Only one Bison player averages over 30 minutes. Montana, comparatively, has all five starters averaging at least 28 minutes.
NDSU has a hard time taking the ball away from opponents, recording just 3.9 steals per game, the third worst mark in the NCAA.

SERIES HISTORY VS. THE BISON
This is the 11^th all-time meeting between the Grizzlies and Bison. Montana holds a 7-3 advantage in the series, which dates back all the way to 1924 when the Griz won the first meeting between the two schools 25-24.

In Fargo, Montana is just 1-3. The last road game in the series for Montana came in Travis DeCuire's second season at the helm. The Griz lost 73-53 in that contest.

ALL-BIG SKY BANNAN

Preseason All-Big Sky selection Josh Bannan has been off to a tremendous start this season, averaging a double-double with 13.3 points and 10.2 rebounds per game.
Bannan also leads Montana this season with 32 assists (3.6 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 15 of the Big Sky in all the major categories. He leads the league in rebounding (10.2), is 15th in scoring (13.3), and sixth in assists (3.6).
The best rebounder in the Big Sky, Bannan also holds his own in the national standings. Bannan's 10.2 rebounds per game is the 15th 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 fourth in the Big Sky in minutes and is 88th in the nation at over 35 minutes per contest.
Bannan is tied for 36^th in the country three double-doubles so far this season.

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.

He hasn't slowed down since. In the three games he has played since returning from injury, he has 48 points on 20-for-26 shooting (76.9 percent). He also has seven assists and five steals in the stretch.

IN A GOOD MOODY
After missing the last three games, Aanen Moody made a fantastic return to the court for Montana in the win against South Dakota State (12/6). The guard scored 20 points on 60 percent shooting, becoming the leading season's leading scorer for Montana in the process by bumping up his average to 13.8 points per game.

Moody has scored at least 15 points in the last four games he has appeared in. His appearance against South Dakota State was also the 100^th game he has played in his career. He hasn't played in enough games to qualify in the national standings, but his 90.9 percent clip from the free throw line would be good for top 30 in the country if he did.

Saturday will also be a bit of a homecoming for Moody, who is from Dickinson, North Dakota. His brother and sister were both collegiate athletes for the Bison, while Moody started his career at rival North Dakota.

DOWNTOWN, DT
When Dischon Thomas transferred to Montana, the coaching staff hoped he would add a couple of things to the Montana squad. Size and shooting. The big man from Colorado State has delivered. Thomas has scored in double-figures in seven of Montana's games and has found his shot from beyond the arc lately.

In the last two games, Thomas is 6-of-15 (40 percent) from three-point range. He's also been key on the glass for the Griz, averaging 5.3 rebounds per game.

GRIZ NOTES

Josh Vazquez eclipsed 2,000 minutes played in a Montana uniform on Tuesday, and will make his 100^th appearance of his career in the next game.
Aanen Moody has been effective in getting to the charity stripe this season. He has attempted at least eight free throws in three consecutive games, and is shooting over 90 percent on the season.
Bannan needs just 19 minutes to eclipse 2,000 in his Grizzly career.
Thomas has made at least three three-point field goals in consecutive games. The stretch forward has added a dimension to the Montana offense, making 40 percent of his attempts from the arc in the two-game stretch.
Thomas will be making his 100^th career appearance in the game against North Dakota State. He played three seasons at Colorado State, playing in 91 games and starting 35 of them. He is two rebounds away from reaching 300 for his career.
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. He also eclipsed 1,000 career minutes in the win against South Dakota State.
The Grizzlies are back to the regularly scheduled starting five. After using four different lineups in the previous four games, the Griz brought back the original starting five against South Dakota State. It proved to be a difference maker, as they ran away with the largest win of the season against an NCAA Tournament team from a year ago.

AN EXPERIENCED SQUAD
For the first time in several seasons, Travis DeCuire has a roster full of upperclassmen and experienced players. If Dischon Thomas and Josh Vazquez – both currently at 99 games played - appear in Saturday's game against NDSU, the Griz will have four different players that have 100 D-1 appearances under their belts.

Mack Anderson (117), Aanen Moody (100), Thomas (99) and Vazquez (99) lead the way in total experience for Montana, while they also have a pair of three-year starters in Brandon Whitney and Josh Bannan that have combined for 127 career starts.

HAVE TO MAKE THE FREE ONES
Montana has broken the school record for team free throw percentage in back-to-back seasons. It may be early in the year, but the Grizzlies are in a good position to make yet another run at the record. The team is shooting 78.1 percent from the line this year. It is the 18th best percentage in D-1 this season.

They shot 78.5 in 2021-22, and 78.2 in 2020-21. The top six players in attempts on Montana's roster are all shooting at least 75 percent. Moody (90.3 percent), Martin Jr. (87.5), Thomas (83.3) and Whitney (82.6) have all been lights out from the stripe.

IMPROVING ON THE GLASS
One of the keys to the off season for Montana was to improve in the rebounding department. So far, it has been a success. The Grizzlies have outrebounded their opponent in five of the nine games. They are 4-1 when holding the advantage on the boards.

They have limited rebounding chances in games. Montana is giving up fewer than 30 rebounds per game to the opposition, and rank 18^th in the country in that department.

Bannan has been a big reason for the advantage on the glass. The junior set a new career high with 17 rebounds against St. Thomas and is currently averaging 9.8 on the season to lead the Big Sky and rank 22nd in the country. The added size of Dischon Thomas has also been helpful, as the transfer has grabbed 5.5 rebounds per game.

CONTROLLING THE TEMPO
Montana has controlled the pace of the game through the non-conference schedule, slowing it up and limiting chances for the tough opposition they have faced this season. The Griz are 318^th in field goals attempted this season, but are 50^th in shots allowed per game. They have limited chances by allowing just 62 offensive rebounds all year long, the 12^th best number in the country.

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.

The Griz have played the 83^rd most difficult schedule in the NCAA this year, according to the NET Rankings. Montana's D-I opponents are a combined 44-35 overall. Outside of 1-10 Merrimack (whom the Griz beat by double-digits), Montana's opponents are 43-25 (.632) with nine of the losses to nationally ranked opponents.

IT'S HOW YOU START
The first half has been very indicative of the final result for Montana. In the Grizzlies' four wins, they are outscoring their opponents by 52 points (13 points per game). On the other hand, in the five losses for Montana they have been outscored by 41 points in the opening 20 minutes (8.2 points per game).

HOMECOURT ADVANTAGE
Montana has been very good at home this season, compiling a 4-1 record inside of Dahlberg Arena. They are still searching for the first road win of the season, as they've had a difficult time slowing opposing teams down inside their own gyms.

In Dahlberg, the Griz are holding opponents to just 35.6 percent shooting from the floor and 23.7 percent from the arc. On the road, they are allowing 55.0 percent from the floor and 38.6 percent from three-point range. For a team that often wins or loses games on the defensive end of the floor, it has certainly made the difference.

The Griz, for comparison, are practically the same from the floor (43.2 percent at home, 42.1 on the road) and three-point range (31.0 at home, 32.0 on the road) regardless of venue.

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Players Mentioned

Mack Anderson

Josh Bannan

Lonnell Martin Jr.

Aanen Moody

Dischon Thomas

Josh Vazquez

Brandon Whitney

University of Montana Athletics