Sunday, February 27
Missoula, Mont.
3 PM
Montana
vs
Montana State
Photo by: Todd Goodrich
Griz welcome Cats, national audience to Missoula
2/25/2022 8:45:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Montana vs. Montana State
Sunday, Feb. 27 at 3 p.m.
The biggest exposure, though, will come on Sunday, when Montana's rivalry basketball game vs. Montana State will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU. It is the first time a basketball game from Dahlberg Arena will be on national TV since the 2015 Big Sky finals vs. Eastern Washington, and is believed to be Montana's first regular-season Big Sky game on this type of platform.
The elevation to ESPNU resulted in a move from Saturday night to Sunday afternoon, but after two years of waiting, what's one more day?
The Brawl of the Wild – the fifth-most-played series in college basketball history – returns to Missoula for the first time since Feb. 1, 2020 – pre-COVID-19 – in a must-see contest.
The national audience will draw fans and casual observers near and far, but those residing in – or near – Missoula will want to make sure they are in attendance.
On the line for Montana is its winning streak. The Grizzlies have won 10 straight home games in the Griz-Cat series, have won 15 of their past 16 home games overall and are closing in on a first-round bye in next month's Big Sky tournament.
Of course, Montana wouldn't mind trying to spoil Montana State's championship hopes, either. The first-place Bobcats hold a 1.5-game lead in the Big Sky standings and are looking for their first title in 20 years.
Tickets for Sunday's rivalry game can be purchased online. Fans, which will receive a free pom when entering the arena, are encouraged to wear maroon. Additionally, Montana students – who receive free admission – will also get free pizza and a free T-shirt prior to the game.
Montana's sophomore trio of Josh Bannan, Robby Beasley III and Brandon Whitney are the Grizzlies' top-three scorers, accounting for more than 50 percent of the team's scoring. It shouldn't be a surprise, then, to see that those three are also leading the team for minutes played, with all three averaging at least 29.8 minutes per contest. In fact, One of the three sophomores has led Montana for minutes played in all but one Division-I game this season, with Beasley leading Montana in each of the past three (37 or more in each game).
As freshmen in 2020-21, the trio was historic, setting freshman school records for starts (60, fifth-most by a freshman class in the NCAA in 2020-21) and points accounted for (37.9 of the team's scoring). All three scored at least 200 points – becoming the 10th, 11th and 12th true freshmen in program history to do so – and combined, they played more than 2,000 minutes (second nationally for a freshman class in 2020-21).
MILESTONE NUMBER AT HOME
Montana played its 1,000th game inside Dahlberg Arena on Feb. 12, an 85-76 win over Portland State. The Grizzlies are 745-255 (.745) all-time inside Dahlberg Arena and 1,025-416 (.711) overall on their home floor.
In fact, Montana is one of just 10 Division-I schools nationally to have won at least 70 percent of its home games while playing in its current facility for at least 60 years.
HOME-COURT ADVANTAGE
Montana is a near-perfect 13-1 at home this season, and prior to an overtime loss to Northern Arizona (Feb. 10), had won 14 consecutive games inside Dahlberg Arena, which at the time was the eighth-longest active streak in the nation.
Strong play at home is nothing new for the Grizzlies, however:
With a 17-11 record entering the final week of February, Montana is guaranteed a winning record for the 14th consecutive season.
Entering 2021-22, the Grizzlies were one of 19 teams nationally to boast a .500 or better record in 13 straight seasons: Arizona, Baylor, Belmont, Cincinnati, Duke, Florida State, Gonzaga, Kansas, Louisville, Maryland, Memphis, Michigan State, Montana, Ohio State, Saint Mary's, San Diego State, Vermont, VCU and Xavier.
PLAYING FROM IN FRONT
Montana has trailed in the second half or overtime just six times in 14 home games this season, for a total of 27:17 (out of 285 second-half minutes). Never has Montana fallen behind by more than six points.
The Grizzlies trailed Southern Miss for 6:49, by as many as four points; Weber State for 3:21, by as many as three; Eastern Washington for 1:14, by as many as two; Southern Utah for 3:47, by as many as three; Northern Arizona for 9:57 (including overtime), by as many as six; and Portland State for 1:59, by as many as three. In the other eight home games, the Grizzlies built a halftime advantage and never let up.
COOL FROM THE FREE-THROW LINE
Montana is connecting on an impressive 79.6 percent of its free-throw attempts this season (429-of-539), a figure that ranks fourth in all of Division-I college basketball. Montana has shot a better percentage than its opponent in all but five games this season.
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 15th in the NCAA with just 10.2 giveaways per game. The Grizzlies also rank 30th nationally for turnover margin (+3.2) and 31st with a 1.3 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Montana has recorded more turnovers than its opponent just six times this season and has recorded fewer than 10 turnovers in nearly half of its games (10-3 record).
77 IS THE MAGIC NUMBER
Montana, which leads the Big Sky Conference for scoring defense, is a near-perfect 16-2 this season when allowing 77 or fewer points. Conversely, opponents have surpassed 77 points 10 times this season, nine being Griz losses.
SHOOTING PROVES TO BE A GOOD INDICATOR
Perhaps not surprising, considering the team that shoots at a higher percentage generally wins games, but Montana is 16-1 this season when out-shooting its opponents, compared to 1-10 when being out-shot. The Grizzlies have made half of their shots six times (6-0) and have held their opponents to under 40 percent shooting 10 times (10-0).
LOOKING AHEAD
Montana's final two games of the regular season will be at home, as the Grizzlies host Northern Colorado (Thursday, March 3) and Sacramento State (Saturday, March 5), before traveling to the Big Sky tournament in Boise, Idaho (March 9-12).
Complete Game Notes in PDF format, including additional notes, stats, charts and player pages
Gallery: (2-12-2022) MBB: vs. Portland State (2.12.22)
Sunday, Feb. 27 at 3 p.m.
- Watch: ESPNU
- Listen: KGVO (1290 AM/98.3 FM) / The Varsity Network
- Live Stats: StatBroadcast
- Tickets
The biggest exposure, though, will come on Sunday, when Montana's rivalry basketball game vs. Montana State will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU. It is the first time a basketball game from Dahlberg Arena will be on national TV since the 2015 Big Sky finals vs. Eastern Washington, and is believed to be Montana's first regular-season Big Sky game on this type of platform.
The elevation to ESPNU resulted in a move from Saturday night to Sunday afternoon, but after two years of waiting, what's one more day?
The Brawl of the Wild – the fifth-most-played series in college basketball history – returns to Missoula for the first time since Feb. 1, 2020 – pre-COVID-19 – in a must-see contest.
The national audience will draw fans and casual observers near and far, but those residing in – or near – Missoula will want to make sure they are in attendance.
On the line for Montana is its winning streak. The Grizzlies have won 10 straight home games in the Griz-Cat series, have won 15 of their past 16 home games overall and are closing in on a first-round bye in next month's Big Sky tournament.
Of course, Montana wouldn't mind trying to spoil Montana State's championship hopes, either. The first-place Bobcats hold a 1.5-game lead in the Big Sky standings and are looking for their first title in 20 years.
Tickets for Sunday's rivalry game can be purchased online. Fans, which will receive a free pom when entering the arena, are encouraged to wear maroon. Additionally, Montana students – who receive free admission – will also get free pizza and a free T-shirt prior to the game.
BRAWL OF THE WILD HISTORYThe cats are coming to town... We need you to show up and bring the energy 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙠𝙚𝙣𝙙, #GrizNation!
— Montana Grizzlies (@UMGRIZZLIES) February 23, 2022
🎟️ https://t.co/Bk0XNkHTiC#GoGriz pic.twitter.com/PXaqmJvkVs
- With 302 all-time meetings, the Brawl of the Wild series is the fifth-most-played rivalry in college basketball history. Only four series have been played more times: Oregon/Oregon State; Oregon/Washington; Oregon State/Washington; and Oregon State/Washington State.
- The series dates back more than a century, with the first meeting coming in 1902.
- The series has been played in all but five seasons dating back to 1912, with last year's cancelations (both games were canceled due to COVID-19 protocols) being the first season without the rivalry game since 1943-44 (World War II).
- Montana holds a 153-149 advantage in the series, winning 19 of the past 21 meetings.
- Montana has won 10 consecutive home games in the series, last falling in February 2010. Sunday will be the first time the game will be played in Missoula in more than two years (78-64 Griz win on Feb. 1, 2020).
- Montana State won the first nine games of the series, and in the 1930s held a 45-16 advantage. The Grizzlies took their first lead in series history in 2018.
- Travis DeCuire is 18-3 against Montana State, going 6-2 as a player and 11-2 so far as a coach. The rivalry is coached by two men leading their alma maters, with DeCuire playing for Montana from 1991-94 and MSU's Danny Sprinkle suiting up for the Bobcats from 1995-99.
THE GRIZ OF LATENext up in Dahlberg, Griz/Cat!
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) February 22, 2022
🎟 https://t.co/XiyUXJJyav pic.twitter.com/X2RKkxwgN1
- While Montana's defense has suffered over the past three weeks, its offense has risen. Over seven games in February, Montana has scored 74 or more points five times. For comparison, Montana hit that number just seven times through it first 18 Division-I contests.
- Montana is shooting .542 from 3-point range of the past three games, and even bigger, the Grizzlies are averaging 8.7 makes per game. Over its previous nine games, the Griz were averaging just 4.9 3-point makes per game.
- Montana has won the rebounding battle just six times in 25 Division-I games, but two of them have come in the past three contests, including a plus-18 showing against Portland State (Feb. 12).
- Montana has turned the ball over more than 11 times just once in the past 13 games dating back to Jan. 6.
- Montana, which has one of the nation's top assist-to-turnover ratios (1.3, 31st in NCAA) has won its last two games when posting a positive ratio, but has recorded a negative ratio in four of its past six contests (all losses).
- An opponent reached 80 points against the Griz just twice through the first 21 games (both Power-5 teams in Mississippi State and Oregon). Over the past seven games, however, opponents have reached the threshold four times, including back-to-back contests.
- Montana has scored 40 or more points before halftime in three consecutive games, including a season-high-tying 44 on Thursday at Southern Utah. Montana has held a halftime lead in all three games, but is just 1-2 during that span. On the season, the Grizzlies are 14-6 when leading at the break.
- During its past two games (both losses), Montana has out-scored its opponents 86-62 in the first half (+24, 12.0 average) but has been out-scored 102-68 in the second half (-34, 17.0 average).
- Through 17 Big Sky games, the Griz are allowing 99 more points in the second half than the first half (31.6 points allowed in the first half compared to 37.4 allowed in the second half).
- Montana has had eight different players lead them in scoring this season. No one has led the Griz in scoring in back-to-back games since Josh Bannan did so in five straight games from Jan. 20-Feb. 3.
- Montana will play a home game on national TV (ESPNU) for the first time since the 2015 Big Sky title game vs. Eastern Washington. The Grizzlies are 3-3 this season while playing on TV, but 2-0 inside Dahlberg Arena.
- Montana will look for its first Sunday win of the season, previously falling at Santa Clara (Dec. 19) and Montana State (Jan. 9).
- Montana would improve to 20-2 against Montana State dating back to the 2010-11 season.
- Travis DeCuire would move into third place on the Big Sky Conference's all-time league wins list with 103. Currently, DeCuire sits at 102-43 (.703), the best winning percentage among Big Sky coaches with 100 or more league victories.
- Montana would improve to 14-1 at home this season, the 14th time in Dahlberg Arena history that the Griz have won 14 or more home games (with two more still to play).
WITH A LOSS SUNDAY…It's been 𝙩𝙬𝙤 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙨 since the cats have played in front of our home crowd 🔊
— Montana Grizzlies (@UMGRIZZLIES) February 25, 2022
Lady Griz | Saturday | 7 PM
Griz Hoops | Sunday | 3 PM#GoGriz pic.twitter.com/4bWtVX9ee4
- Montana would lose to Montana State at home for the first time since 2010, snapping a 10-game home winning streak in the series.
- Montana State would sweep the series for the first time since 2009-10, and for just the fifth time in the past 40 years.
- Montana would lose three consecutive Big Sky contests for just the fourth time in eight seasons under Travis DeCuire (once in 2016-17, twice in 2020-21).
- Montana would drop to 2-6 over its last eight games, the worst stretch since the Griz opened the 2016-17 season 1-6, and the worst stretch of Big Sky losses since going 1-7 – with six straight defeats – in 2003-04 under Pat Kennedy.
- Montana is 13-1 at home this season, and prior to its Feb. 10 overtime loss to Northern Arizona had won 14 consecutive home games dating back to February 2021 (eighth-longest active streak in the NCAA at the time). Over the past five years, since February 2017, Montana is 58-10 on its home floor (.853).
- A year after setting a school record from the charity stripe, Montana is once again in line to set a record, currently making 79.6 percent of its free-throw attempts (fourth in NCAA).
- The Griz turn the ball over just 10.2 times per game, the 15th-best rate in the country. Montana's +3.2 turnover margin ranks 30th nationally while its 1.35 assist-to-turnover ratio ranks 31st.
- The Grizzlies rank in the top 25 percent of Division-I teams for defense, holding opponents to just 66.1 points per game. The Griz lead the Big Sky in that category while also ranking third for field-goal defense and third for scoring margin.
- Montana ranks 331st out of 350 teams for rebounding, averaging just 31.5 rebounds per contest. The Griz especially struggle on the offensive glass (6.5 per game, 345th).
- Montana ranks in the top 10 percent nationally for fouls committed, averaging 18.6 per game.
- While Montana's 3-point defense has improved drastically since the season began, the Grizzlies' 3-point shooting has taken a hit. During Big Sky play, Montana is averaging a league-worst 6.3 made 3-pointers per game (on .345 shooting).
- As good as Montana's defense has been throughout the season (see above), recently, it has been a different story. During the month of February (2-5 record), opponents are averaging 77.9 points per game on .475 shooting against the Griz. For comparison, in the previous eight games (7-1 record from Dec. 30-Jan. 29), opponents were averaging just 62.9 points per game on .429 shooting against the Griz.
- With Montana's win over Eastern Washington (Jan. 29), head coach Travis 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 102-43, DeCuire's current .703 Big Sky winning percentage also ranks fourth in league history (regardless of total wins), including first among coaches who have spent more than five years in the conference.
- With Montana's win over Idaho (Jan. 27), DeCuire surpassed College Basketball Hall of Famer Mike Montgomery (156 wins from 1978-86) for third on Montana's all-time wins list, and a few weeks later, with a win over Portland State (Feb. 12), he passed his predecessor, Wayne Tinkle (158 wins from 2006-14), for second. 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.
Montana's sophomore trio of Josh Bannan, Robby Beasley III and Brandon Whitney are the Grizzlies' top-three scorers, accounting for more than 50 percent of the team's scoring. It shouldn't be a surprise, then, to see that those three are also leading the team for minutes played, with all three averaging at least 29.8 minutes per contest. In fact, One of the three sophomores has led Montana for minutes played in all but one Division-I game this season, with Beasley leading Montana in each of the past three (37 or more in each game).
As freshmen in 2020-21, the trio was historic, setting freshman school records for starts (60, fifth-most by a freshman class in the NCAA in 2020-21) and points accounted for (37.9 of the team's scoring). All three scored at least 200 points – becoming the 10th, 11th and 12th true freshmen in program history to do so – and combined, they played more than 2,000 minutes (second nationally for a freshman class in 2020-21).
MILESTONE NUMBER AT HOME
Montana played its 1,000th game inside Dahlberg Arena on Feb. 12, an 85-76 win over Portland State. The Grizzlies are 745-255 (.745) all-time inside Dahlberg Arena and 1,025-416 (.711) overall on their home floor.
In fact, Montana is one of just 10 Division-I schools nationally to have won at least 70 percent of its home games while playing in its current facility for at least 60 years.
HOME-COURT ADVANTAGE
Montana is a near-perfect 13-1 at home this season, and prior to an overtime loss to Northern Arizona (Feb. 10), had won 14 consecutive games inside Dahlberg Arena, which at the time was the eighth-longest active streak in the nation.
Strong play at home is nothing new for the Grizzlies, however:
- Montana has gone 59-10 inside Dahlberg Arena dating back to February 2017, a winning percentage of .855.
- During a decade span from 2011-21 through 2020-21, Montana went 121-26 at home (.823), the nation's 37th-best home winning percentage during that period.
- In the most-recent season with fans, in 2019-20, Montana averaged more than 4,000 fans per game, a better figure than three Pac-12 schools.
- Montana will play 17 regular-season home contests in 2011-12, its highest number since the 1992-93 season.
With a 17-11 record entering the final week of February, Montana is guaranteed a winning record for the 14th consecutive season.
Entering 2021-22, the Grizzlies were one of 19 teams nationally to boast a .500 or better record in 13 straight seasons: Arizona, Baylor, Belmont, Cincinnati, Duke, Florida State, Gonzaga, Kansas, Louisville, Maryland, Memphis, Michigan State, Montana, Ohio State, Saint Mary's, San Diego State, Vermont, VCU and Xavier.
PLAYING FROM IN FRONT
Montana has trailed in the second half or overtime just six times in 14 home games this season, for a total of 27:17 (out of 285 second-half minutes). Never has Montana fallen behind by more than six points.
The Grizzlies trailed Southern Miss for 6:49, by as many as four points; Weber State for 3:21, by as many as three; Eastern Washington for 1:14, by as many as two; Southern Utah for 3:47, by as many as three; Northern Arizona for 9:57 (including overtime), by as many as six; and Portland State for 1:59, by as many as three. In the other eight home games, the Grizzlies built a halftime advantage and never let up.
COOL FROM THE FREE-THROW LINE
Montana is connecting on an impressive 79.6 percent of its free-throw attempts this season (429-of-539), a figure that ranks fourth in all of Division-I college basketball. Montana has shot a better percentage than its opponent in all but five games this season.
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 15th in the NCAA with just 10.2 giveaways per game. The Grizzlies also rank 30th nationally for turnover margin (+3.2) and 31st with a 1.3 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Montana has recorded more turnovers than its opponent just six times this season and has recorded fewer than 10 turnovers in nearly half of its games (10-3 record).
77 IS THE MAGIC NUMBER
Montana, which leads the Big Sky Conference for scoring defense, is a near-perfect 16-2 this season when allowing 77 or fewer points. Conversely, opponents have surpassed 77 points 10 times this season, nine being Griz losses.
SHOOTING PROVES TO BE A GOOD INDICATOR
Perhaps not surprising, considering the team that shoots at a higher percentage generally wins games, but Montana is 16-1 this season when out-shooting its opponents, compared to 1-10 when being out-shot. The Grizzlies have made half of their shots six times (6-0) and have held their opponents to under 40 percent shooting 10 times (10-0).
LOOKING AHEAD
Montana's final two games of the regular season will be at home, as the Grizzlies host Northern Colorado (Thursday, March 3) and Sacramento State (Saturday, March 5), before traveling to the Big Sky tournament in Boise, Idaho (March 9-12).
Complete Game Notes in PDF format, including additional notes, stats, charts and player pages
Players Mentioned
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