Griz travel to Weber State with 1st place in sight

Montana at Weber State
Thursday, Feb. 3 at 7 p.m.

Watch: ESPN+
Listen: KGVO (1290 AM/98.3 FM) / The Varsity Network
Live Stats: SIDEARM Stats

Montana at Idaho State
Saturday, Feb. 5 at 6 p.m.

Watch: ESPN+
Listen: KGVO (1290 AM/98.3 FM) / The Varsity Network
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast

Riding a four-game winning streak, Montana is sitting in a nice spot entering the midpoint of the 2022 conference basketball season. At 8-2, the Grizzlies are tied for second place and one of five teams with realistic hopes of winning the regular-season title.

The next step in that journey comes Thursday, when the Grizzlies travel to face first-place Weber State (Thursday at 7 p.m. in Ogden, Utah). The Grizzlies and Wildcats have long been rivals, with many familiar of the numbers. Throughout the history of the Big Sky Conference, Montana and Weber State rank first and second for total wins, Big Sky titles and NCAA tournament berths.

In the conference tournament, the two teams have been even more dominant, with Montana and Weber State combining for 21 Big Sky tournament titles. Meanwhile, every other Big Sky school – past and present – has combined to win 24 tournaments. From 2010-19 alone, at least one of the two teams played in the tournament finals every season – including both teams four times. The two teams have met in the conference tournament in eight of the past 11 seasons overall, including last year's Grizzly win in the quarterfinals.

Weber State owns 22 regular-season conference championships (first), 10 tournament titles (second) and 16 NCAA tournament appearances (first). Montana owns 12 regular-season conference championships (second), 11 tournament titles (first) and 12 NCAA tournament appearances (second). Since the Grizzlies' first title in 1975, however, they rank first for combined conference championships and NCAA tournament berths during that 46-year stretch.

A conference championship won't directly be on the line on Thursday, with six weeks still to play in the regular season, but it could go a long way in deciding who ultimately comes out on top. A Wildcats win would put Weber State 2.5 games ahead of Montana. A Montana victory, however, would put the Griz and Wildcats in a virtual tie, both with two league losses.

Montana would also own the tiebreaker, having swept the season series, including a thrilling, 74-72 win on Jan. 1 in Missoula, the Wildcats' only conference loss to date.

Saturday won't carry the same weight, but it's just as important, as Montana will need to take care of teams it is supposed to beat in order to play for a title. Idaho State enters Saturday's game in last place, at just 1-9 in league play. Montana beat the Bengals on Dec. 30, 78-54, starting a stretch in which the Grizzlies have since won seven of their past eight games.

Idaho State was scheduled to play Montana State on Thursday but will now have a full week to prep for the Grizzlies after the Bobcats went on pause due to COVID-19 precautions. Dating back more than a decade, Montana has won 22 consecutive games over Idaho State, including a season road sweep last year in Pocatello, Idaho.

Fans can follow both games this week with an ESPN+ subscription or by listening to the Grizzly Radio Network.

GRIZ BITS

Montana has won four consecutive games, its longest winning streak of the season. Previously, Montana had won three straight games three times, but could never get past that.
During Montana's four-game winning streak, two of the wins have come by double figures while the other two have been decided by just two points.
At 8-2 in Big Sky play, Montana is in the hunt for a conference title. During the Grizzlies' last championship season (2018-19), Montana was also 8-2 through 10 league games.
Montana went 6-1 during the month of January, its best record during that month since going 7-0 in 2018, a year in which the Grizzlies won the Big Sky regular-season and tournament titles.
Eleven of Montana's 15 wins this season have been by double figures, but perhaps more impressive, after beginning the year 0-2 in games decided by six points or fewer, Montana has since won three in a row (all by two points).
Montana's 81 points scored vs. Idaho last Thursday were the second-most this season against Division-I competition.
The Grizzlies beat Eastern Washington despite shooting .389 from the floor, their lowest percentage in a win this season. That's in large part because Montana's defense limited the Eagles to .368 shooting. Montana is now 8-0 this season when opponents shoot below 40 percent and 11-0 when they shoot below 45 percent.
Montana is 14-0 on the season when recording a better shooting percentage than its opponent.
Montana has recorded more turnovers than its opponent just once in the past 11 games. The Grizzlies rank 11th nationally with just 9.8 turnovers per game and 15th with a +4.5 turnover margin.
A season after setting a school record at the free-throw line, Montana ranks sixth nationally with a .796 free-throw percentage.
Opponents are averaging just 62.2 points per game against the Grizzlies, a figure that ranks 28th nationally (top eight percent). The Grizzlies are 15-1 when allowing 77 or fewer points and haven't allowed more than 66 points in any of their past five games.
Additionally, Montana has held five consecutive opponents below their season scoring average, for an average of 13.8 points per game (Montana State, -11.8; Portland State, -4.2; Northern Arizona, -21.7; Idaho, -12.5; Eastern Washington, 19.1).
After ranking 348th out of 350 teams for 3-point defense entering January (.424), the Grizzlies have moved up nearly 100 spots in the national rankings in just a month (.350, 267th). Over the past eight games, opponents are a combined .248 (32-of-129) from deep against the Griz, a percentage that would lead the nation if spread out through the entire season.
The Grizzlies have been out-scored in the second half of just two Big Sky games this season (both of their losses).
The Grizzlies are a perfect 5-0 this year in games played on Thursdays.

Gallery: (1-29-2022) MBB: vs. Eastern Washington (1.29.22)

WINNING WITH DEFENSE
Opponents are averaging just 62.2 points per game against Montana's stout defense, putting the Grizzlies in the top 30 nationally (top eight percent) for scoring defense.

Through 10 Big Sky games, just two teams (Northern Colorado, +4.0; and Eastern Washington, +2.1) have scored more points against Montana than their season average entering the game. It's an impressive feat for the Griz defense, which, on average, is holding Big Sky opponents 8.1 points below their season average this season. That has been magnified over the past five games, however, as the Grizzlies have held four of their last five opponents at least 11 points below their season average, an average of 13.9 points per game over the past five games and 17.8 per game of the past three games.

Idaho's Mikey Dixon came into tonight's game leading #BigSkyMBB with 21.8 points per game.

Brandon Whitney held Dixon to 0 points on 0-of-6 shooting!#GrizHoops #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/fwYhIEpYi0
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) January 28, 2022

UPCOMING MILESTONES

Last week was a big week for eighth-year head coach Travis DeCuire, who on Thursday passed College Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Mike Montgomery for third on Montana's all-time wins list and on Saturday became the fourth coach in Big Sky history to win 100 league games. With two wins this week, DeCuire will tie Wayne Tinkle (158 overall wins) for second on the Grizzlies' all-time list.
Saturday is expected to be senior Cameron Parker's 100th career game played, including his 51st as a Grizzly. He reached 600 career assists last week vs. Eastern Washington and is now 13 points shy of 800 for his career.
Sophomore guard Robby Beasley III is just 31 points shy of 500 for his career, despite playing in just 43 career games. Sophomore forward Josh Bannan reached 500 points last week, needing just 48 games to do so.
Senior forward Mack Anderson's next rebound will be the 250th of his career.

SERIES VS. THE WILDCATS
In a series that dates back to 1962-63 – the inaugural season of the Big Sky Conference – Weber State holds a 72-64 edge. Montana has been dominant recently, however, beating the Wildcats on Jan. 1 to claim their ninth win in their past 11 tries over the Wildcats dating back to March 2017. Under Travis DeCuire, Montana is 11-6 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).

For as dominant as Weber State head coach Randy Rahe has been, ranking first in league history with nearly 200 conference wins, the Grizzlies have been the thorn in his side. Including the postseason, Rahe is 200-71 (.738) against all Big Sky opponents (past and present) except for Montana. He owns a 16-20 record against the Griz, however, the only league opponent with a winning record against Rahe.

While Montana has had plenty of recent success over Weber State, games played in Ogden are a different story, with the Grizzlies owning a 17-46 record on Weber State's campus. Montana will be making its first trip to Ogden since January 2020, an 87-85 overtime loss in which the Grizzlies led for 38 minutes of regulation and by six with under 2 minutes to play, before the Wildcats closed the second half on an 8-1 run.

Last month in Missoula, Montana won 74-72, handing Weber State its only conference loss of the season. The Grizzlies led for 21 minutes, but the score was knotted at 72-72 going into the final possession of regulation. The play was originally drawn up for Josh Bannan, but after he was covered, the ball went to Lonnell Martin Jr., who made an acrobatic spin move while in mid-air before laying the ball into the hoop as the shot clock expired. In the game, Montana shot .519 from the floor, including .526 (10-of-19) from deep. The Grizzlies won despite committing 15 uncharacteristic turnovers, and were led by sophomore Robby Beasley III (19 points, including five 3-pointers), Bannan (13 points, 10 rebounds) and senior Cameron Parker (12 points, eight assists).

Last February in Missoula, Kyle Owens scored 27 points in an 80-67 win over the Wildcats, before scoring 12 points two days later. Parker was in double figures in both games (15.0 average) while Bannan and Brandon Whitney each had double-digit scoring games, as well. The Griz got 23 points from 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.

SERIES VS. THE BENGALS
Montana is a perfect 13-0 against Idaho State under Travis DeCuire, and dating back more than a decade has won 22 consecutive games in the series. The Grizzlies' last loss to Idaho State came in December 2009, 67-65. Overall, Montana owns a 110-46 record against Idaho State, including an impressive 68-13 mark in Missoula. The 110 wins in the series are the second-most against any opponent (trailing only Montana State).

Under DeCuire, 10 of Montana's 13 wins have been by double figures. However, three of the past five 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.

During its Dec. 30 win over the Bengals, Montana trailed for just 20 seconds in the opening minute and led by as many as 24 points. The Grizzlies out-shot the Bengals .474 to .383 and were plus-10 in the turnover column (16 to six). Five Grizzlies were in double figures for scoring, led by a double-double effort from Bannan (19 points, 10 rebounds).

HISTORY FOR DECUIRE

With Montana's win over Eastern Washington (Jan. 29), DeCuire became the fourth coach in Big Sky Conference history to win 100 Big Sky games. Only Weber State's Randy Rahe (125 games) reached triple-digits faster than DeCuire (138 games), who was also the fastest to 50 league wins in Big Sky history.
At 100-38, DeCuire's current .725 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.
With Montana's win over Idaho (Jan. 27), head coach Travis DeCuire surpassed Mike Montgomery (156 wins from 1978-86) on Montana's all-time wins list. DeCuire, the 25th coach in Griz history, is 157-90 (.636) in seven-plus seasons. Montgomery, a College Basketball Hall of Fame inductee who DeCuire coached under while at California, is now fourth on Montana's all-time wins list.
With two more wins, DeCuire will tie Wayne Tinkle (158 wins from 2006-14) for second on Montana's all-time wins list. 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.

We're proud of you, Coach!@CoachDeCuire becomes the 4th coach in #BigSkyMBB history to win 100 Big Sky games!#GrizHoops #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/P505q9QCn0
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) January 30, 2022

BANNAN TAKING OVER
Montana has featured a balance scoring offense, with eight different Grizzlies leading the team in scoring in a game this season. While the Grizzlies still feature some parity, sophomore forward Josh Bannan is quickly becoming the team's go-to threat, leading the team for scoring in each of its past four games (all wins).

In fact, since returning from the holiday break, Bannan has been in double figures in all eight games, recording two 20-point contests and four double-doubles. During that span, Bannan is averaging 17.3 points and 9.0 rebounds per game.

During league play, the Aussie is averaging 15.7 points (10th) and 8.1 rebounds (fourth), the only player in the Big Sky to average 15/8. He is also shooting .504 from the floor (sixth).

COOL FROM THE FREE-THROW LINE
Montana is connecting on an impressive 79.6 percent of its free-throw attempts this season (293-of-368), a figure that ranks sixth in all of Division-I college basketball. Montana has shot a better percentage than its opponent in all but three 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.

PROTECTING THE BASKETBALL
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 15th nationally for turnover margin (+4.5) and 13th 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 (9-1 record).

77 IS THE MAGIC NUMBER
Montana, which leads the Big Sky Conference and ranks 28th nationally for scoring defense, is a near-perfect 14-1 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 ranked 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 35.0 and their national ranking to 267th.

Over the past eight games, Montana's opponents are shooting .248 (32-of-129), with just one shooting above .333. Extracted over an entire season, Montana's .248 3-point defense in the month of January would lead the nation.

DISHIN' OUT DIMES
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 19th in the NCAA with 5.5 assists per game and 11th with a 3.0 assist-to-turnover ratio. For his career, he has accumulated 601 assists (11th among active players nationally), an average of 6.1 assists per game (fourth). He also has a career assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.04 (22nd).

LOOKING AHEAD
Following this week's road trip, the Grizzlies will play six of their final eight games at home, where they are unbeaten this season. Montana will have a busy week next week, returning home to host preseason favorite Southern Utah (Monday, Feb. 7), Northern Arizona (Thursday, Feb. 10) and Portland State (Saturday, Feb. 12), in the 1,000th game in Dahlberg Arena history.

Complete Game Notes in PDF format, including additional notes, stats, charts and player pages

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Players Mentioned

Mack Anderson

Josh Bannan

Robby Beasley III

Lonnell Martin Jr.

Kyle Owens

Cameron Parker

Josh Vazquez

Brandon Whitney

University of Montana Athletics