Thursday, March 3
Missoula, Mont.
7 PM
Montana
vs
Northern Colorado
Photo by: John Sieber
Basketball season ramps up with final week prior to Boise
3/2/2022 1:08:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Montana vs. Northern Colorado
Thursday, March 3 at 7 p.m.
Saturday, March 5 at 7 p.m.
With its win over the Bobcats, Montana locked up a top-five seed and a first-round bye in next week's tournament. The Grizzlies, though, could move as high as No. 2, depending on how everything shakes up in the final week. Montana hosts Northern Colorado – currently tied for third place, one game ahead of Montana – on Thursday night, before welcoming in Sacramento State on Saturday for Senior Night.
Montana opened its Big Sky slate against Northern Colorado and Sacramento State, but a lot has changed since then. While the Grizzlies played two games against the same opponent within three weeks of each other, it will have been three months between meetings with the Bears and Hornets. Montana beat Sacramento State on Dec. 2, never trailing in the contest, before suffering a three-point defeat at Northern Colorado. In that contest, Montana held an eight-point halftime lead before a back-and-forth second half which saw neither team lead by more than a possession over the final 8 minutes.
A win Thursday would be a big boost for Montana in terms of seeding and momentum, but also confidence. While the Grizzlies have experienced several peaks and valleys, a win on Thursday would mean that they can enter Boise with a win over every Big Sky opponent.
"We've outplayed everyone for 20 minutes, whether it's the first 20 or the second 20," head coach Travis DeCuire said. "When we play the way we're supposed to play, and we stick to the plan and we stick together, there's no one we can't beat if we do it for 40 minutes."
What makes Northern Colorado dangerous is its ability to shoot from deep. The Bears rank ninth nationally for 3-pointers made per game (10.6), doing so at a .384 clip (11th). The Bears also rank in the top 30 nationally for scoring (78.6 points per game, 29th) and shooting (.478, 25th), and lead the Big Sky for each of those categories.
Northern Colorado has won seven of its past nine games, including wins during that time over Southern Utah and Weber State.
Sacramento State has spent most of the season in the cellar, losing 13 of its first Big Sky contests under an interim head coach. The Hornets, though, have always been known to be pesky, and they are proving that once again, currently riding a league-best three-game winning streak.
Since Feb. 19, Sacramento State owns wins over Idaho State, Idaho and Eastern Washington, scoring at least 80 points in each contest despite never surpassing 65 points once in the previous eight games. During its three-game winning streak, Sacramento State has risen from 11th to eighth in the league standings.
Montana has been nearly perfect at home this season, holding a 14-1 record with the lone blemish being an overtime loss to Northern Arizona. If the Grizzlies can win both games this week, they will finish their home slate with 16 home wins for the ninth time in school history. It would mark the first time Montana has won at least 16 home games with zero or one loss since going a perfect 18-0 during its 1991-92 championship season with DeCuire on roster.
"Our fan base, our crowd, is just different here," DeCuire said. "It means a lot to these guys to run out there with that Montana uniform on and have 5, 6, 7,000 fans cheering for them and with them."
GRIZ BITS
Gallery: (2-27-2022) MBB: vs. Montana State (2.27.22)
Thursday, March 3 at 7 p.m.
- Watch: ESPN+
- Listen: KGVO (1290 AM/98.3 FM) / The Varsity Network
- Live Stats: StatBroadcast
- Tickets
Saturday, March 5 at 7 p.m.
- Watch: ESPN+
- Listen: KGVO (1290 AM/98.3 FM) / The Varsity Network
- Live Stats: StatBroadcast
- Tickets
With its win over the Bobcats, Montana locked up a top-five seed and a first-round bye in next week's tournament. The Grizzlies, though, could move as high as No. 2, depending on how everything shakes up in the final week. Montana hosts Northern Colorado – currently tied for third place, one game ahead of Montana – on Thursday night, before welcoming in Sacramento State on Saturday for Senior Night.
Montana opened its Big Sky slate against Northern Colorado and Sacramento State, but a lot has changed since then. While the Grizzlies played two games against the same opponent within three weeks of each other, it will have been three months between meetings with the Bears and Hornets. Montana beat Sacramento State on Dec. 2, never trailing in the contest, before suffering a three-point defeat at Northern Colorado. In that contest, Montana held an eight-point halftime lead before a back-and-forth second half which saw neither team lead by more than a possession over the final 8 minutes.
A win Thursday would be a big boost for Montana in terms of seeding and momentum, but also confidence. While the Grizzlies have experienced several peaks and valleys, a win on Thursday would mean that they can enter Boise with a win over every Big Sky opponent.
"We've outplayed everyone for 20 minutes, whether it's the first 20 or the second 20," head coach Travis DeCuire said. "When we play the way we're supposed to play, and we stick to the plan and we stick together, there's no one we can't beat if we do it for 40 minutes."
What makes Northern Colorado dangerous is its ability to shoot from deep. The Bears rank ninth nationally for 3-pointers made per game (10.6), doing so at a .384 clip (11th). The Bears also rank in the top 30 nationally for scoring (78.6 points per game, 29th) and shooting (.478, 25th), and lead the Big Sky for each of those categories.
Northern Colorado has won seven of its past nine games, including wins during that time over Southern Utah and Weber State.
Sacramento State has spent most of the season in the cellar, losing 13 of its first Big Sky contests under an interim head coach. The Hornets, though, have always been known to be pesky, and they are proving that once again, currently riding a league-best three-game winning streak.
Since Feb. 19, Sacramento State owns wins over Idaho State, Idaho and Eastern Washington, scoring at least 80 points in each contest despite never surpassing 65 points once in the previous eight games. During its three-game winning streak, Sacramento State has risen from 11th to eighth in the league standings.
Montana has been nearly perfect at home this season, holding a 14-1 record with the lone blemish being an overtime loss to Northern Arizona. If the Grizzlies can win both games this week, they will finish their home slate with 16 home wins for the ninth time in school history. It would mark the first time Montana has won at least 16 home games with zero or one loss since going a perfect 18-0 during its 1991-92 championship season with DeCuire on roster.
"Our fan base, our crowd, is just different here," DeCuire said. "It means a lot to these guys to run out there with that Montana uniform on and have 5, 6, 7,000 fans cheering for them and with them."
𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵!#GrizHoops #BigSkyMBB #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/3yhFOPHp0E
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) March 2, 2022
GRIZ BITS
- With an 18-11 record, Montana is guaranteed a .500 or better record for the 14th consecutive season. Entering the year, the Grizzlies were one of 19 schools nationally to do so in 13 straight seasons.
- If the Grizzlies can secure two wins this week, they will reach 20 wins for the sixth time in eight seasons under Travis DeCuire (even though the 2021-22 season was shortened to 26 regular-season games).
- Montana's trio of sophomores – Josh Bannan, Robby Beasley III and Brandon Whitney – not only ranks first, second and third on the team for scoring (accounting for a combined 37.2 points per game, more than half of the team's points) but also rank first, second and third for minutes, with all three averaging at least 30.0 minutes per game. One of the three sophomores has led the team for minutes played in all but one Division-I game this season.
- Over the past four games, Montana is averaging 9.3 made 3-pointers per game; previously, it was averaging 6.2 per game in 22 Division-I contests. The Grizzlies are shooting .487 from deep during the four-game stretch, including at least .393 in all four games.
- Montana has recorded the 17th-fewest turnovers in the country this season, averaging just 10.2 per game. The Grizzlies own a +3.2 turnover margin (29th) and a 1.3 assist-to-turnover ratio (34th).
- Montana ranks sixth nationally with a .792 free-throw percentage, on pace to be a school record for the second consecutive season.
- Montana has held a halftime lead in each of the past four games, surpassing 40 points each time. For comparison, the Grizzlies previously scored 40 first-half points just three times in 22 Division-I games.
- Montana is 15-5 when holding a halftime lead this season, leading at the break by an average of 10.3 points over the past four games.
- Somewhat concerning, Montana's defense allowed just 62.9 points per game in eight January contests, before surrendering 77.4 points per game in eight games in February. Opponents reached 80 points zero times in January and reached 70 points just twice. In February, opponents reached 80 points four times and 70 points in all but one game.
- Montana is 0-6 this season when opponents reach 80 points but is 17-2 when opponents are held under 77 points.
- Over the past three games, all three opponents have shot above .500 from the floor against Montana (.533). Sunday's win over Montana State marked the first time this season that Montana has won a game while allowing its opponent to make more than half of its shots (1-7 record). It marked just the second time the Grizzlies won while shooting at a worse percentage than its opponent (2-10, compared to 16-1 when out-shooting its opponent).
- In Montana's past two losses, opponents are shooting .533 (16-of-30) from 3-point range. Over its past two wins, opponents are shooting .150 (3-of-20). On the season, the Grizzlies are 12-2 when holding a better 3-point percentage than its opponent and are 9-0 when holding opponents to four or fewer made 3-pointers.
- While Montana's defense took a hit during the month of February, its offense has risen, with the Grizzlies scoring at least 74 points in six of eight games (74.8 average).
- Montana has been called for fewer fouls than its opponents in back-to-back games, a first this season.
- As dominant as Montana has been in its rivalry series vs. Montana State – now winning 20 of the past 22 games over more than a decade, including 11 in a row at home – of the seven players to play more than 10 minutes on Sunday, just one (junior Kyle Owens) had previously beaten Montana State.
- Sophomore Josh Bannan is putting up first-team All-Big Sky numbers, averaging 15.2 points per game on .510 shooting while also pulling down 7.9 rebounds per game. Bannan also has multiple assists in four straight games, and on Sunday vs. Montana State, he led the Grizzlies for minutes (38), points (23), rebounds (7), assists (3) and blocked shots (career-high 3).
- Bannan has scored at least 20 points in four straight games (22.3 average), shooting .593 (32-of-54) during that span.
- Bannan is the only Big Sky player to rank in the top six in league play for scoring (17.1 points per game, sixth), rebounding (7.8, third) and shooting (.529, second). He also ranks 11th for blocked shots (0.72 per game), 14th for minutes (33.6) and 14th for free-throw shooting (.760). His six double-doubles in league action also rank second.
- Bannan's rebounding numbers are on pace to be the third-most by a Grizzly in more than two decades, and the best since Martin Breunig in 2015-16.
- Junior Lonnell Martin Jr. has played at least 31 minutes in each of the past six contests, including a career-high 36 minutes vs. Montana State (he previously had surpassed 30 points just once this season). He is making the most of the extended playing time, shooting .500 from 3-point range during the six-game stretch (14-of-28). He has made multiple 3-pointers in five of the six games, reaching double figures for scoring three times.
- Martin, the team-leader for steals, ranks ninth in Big Sky play with 1.3 swipes per game.
- Sophomore Robby Beasley III has been in double figures for scoring in 14 of 17 Big Sky contests, including five of the past six. On the season, he ranks 15th in Big Sky play with 13. Points per game.
- Sophomore Brandon Whitney has been in double figures for scoring in 10 of the past 11 games while also improving his rebounding totals during that span. Whitney recorded 19 rebounds through his first 14 games this season (1.4 per game) but since is averaging 3.4 over the past 12 games. On Sunday vs. Montana State, he also knocked down two 3-pointers for the first time this season.
- During Big Sky play, Whitney has been the league's top defender, while also ranking 27th in the league for scoring (12.1 per game), 22nd for assists (2.2) and 14th for steals (1.1)
- Senior Cameron Parker leads the Big Sky for assists (4.8 per game), and his 139 assists on the season now rank in the top-10 in Montana single-season history dating back to 1970.
- Junior Kyle Owens saw 21 minutes of action Sunday at Montana State, the most minutes he has logged since Dec. 30 (24 vs. Idaho State). Owens scored five points (including a big 3-pointer), but bigger was his defense, drawing a pair of charges.
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