Photo by: Tommy Martino
By the numbers: 2021-22 Montana basketball
4/5/2022 10:23:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Montana went 18-14 during its 2021-22 campaign, with several notable achievements along the way. Below is a look at the Grizzlies' season by the numbers:
14 – With an 18-14 record, Montana posted a .500 or better record for the 14th consecutive season. Montana is one of just 18 schools nationally who can boast that claim, joining Arizona, Baylor, Belmont, Cincinnati, Dayton, Duke, Florida State, Gonzaga, Kansas, Memphis, Michigan State, Ohio State, Saint Mary's, San Diego State, Vermont, VCU and Xavier.
78.5 – For the second consecutive season, Montana set a school record for the charity stripe, knocking down nearly 80 percent of its free-throw attempts. The figure ranked 10th nationally and eclipsed last year's high-water mark of 78.2 (which beat the 2012-13 squad's previous school record).
17 – The Grizzlies played 17 home games in 2021-22, their largest number since the 1992-93 season. Overall, Montana went 14-3 at home and at one point held a 14-game home winning streak dating back to the 2020-21 season, which was the eighth-longest active streak in the country at the time. The Grizzlies have built quite the home-court advantage, going 59-12 (.831) on their home floor over the past five seasons.
103 – In late January, Travis DeCuire became the fourth coach in Big Sky history to win 100 league games and has since moved into third on the all-time charts at 103.
160 – In eight seasons at his alma mater, Travis DeCuire has done a little bit of everything, taking the Grizzlies to back-to-back NCAA tournaments and becoming the only coach in school history to win three regular-season conference titles. This season, he also moved to second on Montana's all-time wins list, passing College Basketball Hall of Famer Mike Montgomery and his predecessor, Wayne Tinkle, late in the year. Only George 'Jiggs' Dahlberg (221 across two stints), whom the arena is named after, has won more games than DeCuire.
7 – Montana won seven non-conference games, going 7-4 to post its fourth winning non-conference in the past five seasons. Along the way, Montana beat Air Force of the Mountain West and Southern Miss of Conference USA, with the win over the Golden Eagles helping the Grizzlies secure the Zootown Classic tournament title in late November.
1 – Sophomore Josh Bannan, who earned second-team All-Big Sky honors in March, was the league's only player to average at least 8.0 rebounds and 17.0 points per game. The Aussie averaged 8.2 rebounds (second in the Big Sky, 60th in NCAA) and 17.0 points (seventh) and also shot .520 from the floor (second).
8 – Josh Bannan became the eighth player in school history to earn Academic All-America status. The business economics major currently holds a 3.91 GPA and was one of 15 players nationally – and the only sophomore – to be named a CoSIDA Academic All-American last month.
50 – Montana's stingy defense held six opponents below 50 points. In fact, in a season-opening win over Dickinson State, the Blue Hawks were held to 27 points, the Grizzlies' best defensive performance since 1977 and the fewest points allowed at home since 1936, three decades before Dahlberg Arena was constructed.
118 – Montana set a school record with 118 points scored in a December win over SAGU AIC. Several additional school records were set that night, including margin of victory (69), assists (38) and 3-pointers made (19).
0 – In a January game against Idaho, Montana's Brandon Whitney held Idaho's Mikey Dixon – then the league-leader for scoring at 21.8 points per game – to zero points on 0-of-6 shooting. It became a theme for Whitney, who often matched up – and locked down – opponents' top shooters.
9 – Following a spinning-in-mid-air shot that helped Montana beat Weber State at the buzzer in early January, junior Lonnell Martin Jr. and Montana were featured at No. 9 on that night's SportsCenter's Top 10 Plays countdown.
20 – Three nights after recording a triple-double, Cameron Parker set Montana and Big Sky records with 20 assists, despite playing just 19 minutes.
5 – On Senior Night, senior and fan favorite Mack Anderson announced that he would be returning for a fifth season, taking advantage of the NCAA's COVID-19 waiver. Before suffering an elbow injury in late February, Anderson had started 34 consecutive games. He finished the season ranked sixth in Big Sky play with 0.80 blocked shots per game, in addition to 3.8 points and 3.3 rebounds per contest, while also being praised by Travis DeCuire as his team's most-athletic defender.
11 – Sophomore Josh Bannan totaled 11 double-doubles on the year, a figure that ranked 36th nationally.
8 – Using a balanced offense, eight different players led the Grizzlies in scoring at least once in 2021-22.
2,000,000 – The price tag of Montana's new locker room and lounge area, which nearly tripled the team's space and was funded entirely by private donors. The Grizzlies started using the locker room during the middle of the season and held a ribbon-cutting ceremony earlier this spring.
Gallery: (4-4-2022) MBB: Locker Room Update
14 – With an 18-14 record, Montana posted a .500 or better record for the 14th consecutive season. Montana is one of just 18 schools nationally who can boast that claim, joining Arizona, Baylor, Belmont, Cincinnati, Dayton, Duke, Florida State, Gonzaga, Kansas, Memphis, Michigan State, Ohio State, Saint Mary's, San Diego State, Vermont, VCU and Xavier.
78.5 – For the second consecutive season, Montana set a school record for the charity stripe, knocking down nearly 80 percent of its free-throw attempts. The figure ranked 10th nationally and eclipsed last year's high-water mark of 78.2 (which beat the 2012-13 squad's previous school record).
17 – The Grizzlies played 17 home games in 2021-22, their largest number since the 1992-93 season. Overall, Montana went 14-3 at home and at one point held a 14-game home winning streak dating back to the 2020-21 season, which was the eighth-longest active streak in the country at the time. The Grizzlies have built quite the home-court advantage, going 59-12 (.831) on their home floor over the past five seasons.
103 – In late January, Travis DeCuire became the fourth coach in Big Sky history to win 100 league games and has since moved into third on the all-time charts at 103.
160 – In eight seasons at his alma mater, Travis DeCuire has done a little bit of everything, taking the Grizzlies to back-to-back NCAA tournaments and becoming the only coach in school history to win three regular-season conference titles. This season, he also moved to second on Montana's all-time wins list, passing College Basketball Hall of Famer Mike Montgomery and his predecessor, Wayne Tinkle, late in the year. Only George 'Jiggs' Dahlberg (221 across two stints), whom the arena is named after, has won more games than DeCuire.
10.2 – The Grizzlies averaged just 10.2 turnovers per game, a figure that ranked 20th in all of college basketball. Montana also had the nation's 35th-best turnover margin (+2.9) and 46th-best assist-to-turnover ratio (1.28).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
7 – Montana won seven non-conference games, going 7-4 to post its fourth winning non-conference in the past five seasons. Along the way, Montana beat Air Force of the Mountain West and Southern Miss of Conference USA, with the win over the Golden Eagles helping the Grizzlies secure the Zootown Classic tournament title in late November.
1 – Sophomore Josh Bannan, who earned second-team All-Big Sky honors in March, was the league's only player to average at least 8.0 rebounds and 17.0 points per game. The Aussie averaged 8.2 rebounds (second in the Big Sky, 60th in NCAA) and 17.0 points (seventh) and also shot .520 from the floor (second).
8 – Josh Bannan became the eighth player in school history to earn Academic All-America status. The business economics major currently holds a 3.91 GPA and was one of 15 players nationally – and the only sophomore – to be named a CoSIDA Academic All-American last month.
50 – Montana's stingy defense held six opponents below 50 points. In fact, in a season-opening win over Dickinson State, the Blue Hawks were held to 27 points, the Grizzlies' best defensive performance since 1977 and the fewest points allowed at home since 1936, three decades before Dahlberg Arena was constructed.
118 – Montana set a school record with 118 points scored in a December win over SAGU AIC. Several additional school records were set that night, including margin of victory (69), assists (38) and 3-pointers made (19).
0 – In a January game against Idaho, Montana's Brandon Whitney held Idaho's Mikey Dixon – then the league-leader for scoring at 21.8 points per game – to zero points on 0-of-6 shooting. It became a theme for Whitney, who often matched up – and locked down – opponents' top shooters.
9 – Following a spinning-in-mid-air shot that helped Montana beat Weber State at the buzzer in early January, junior Lonnell Martin Jr. and Montana were featured at No. 9 on that night's SportsCenter's Top 10 Plays countdown.
3 – In a win over Yellowstone Christian College, senior Cameron Parker recorded the third triple-double in school history (10 points, 11 rebounds, 14 assists).𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲!#GrizHoops #BigSkyMBB #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/Lhh8iDSIux
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) January 2, 2022
20 – Three nights after recording a triple-double, Cameron Parker set Montana and Big Sky records with 20 assists, despite playing just 19 minutes.
5 – On Senior Night, senior and fan favorite Mack Anderson announced that he would be returning for a fifth season, taking advantage of the NCAA's COVID-19 waiver. Before suffering an elbow injury in late February, Anderson had started 34 consecutive games. He finished the season ranked sixth in Big Sky play with 0.80 blocked shots per game, in addition to 3.8 points and 3.3 rebounds per contest, while also being praised by Travis DeCuire as his team's most-athletic defender.
30 – Sophomore Brandon Whitney scored 30 points in an early-season game at North Dakota, the most by a Griz sophomore in at least a decade.𝗥𝗲𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗰𝗸!
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) March 6, 2022
We received some exciting news last night from senior @mackanders0n!#GrizHoops #BigSkyMBB #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/i2b5vsYENV
11 – Sophomore Josh Bannan totaled 11 double-doubles on the year, a figure that ranked 36th nationally.
8 – Using a balanced offense, eight different players led the Grizzlies in scoring at least once in 2021-22.
2,000,000 – The price tag of Montana's new locker room and lounge area, which nearly tripled the team's space and was funded entirely by private donors. The Grizzlies started using the locker room during the middle of the season and held a ribbon-cutting ceremony earlier this spring.
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