Griz face league-leading Eagles

The third game in five days for Montana brings with it a chance to reset the narrative of the season and get revenge on another time with Big Sky title aspirations. When Eastern Washington visited Missoula just over two weeks ago for the league opener, the Grizzlies were the favorites against a sub-.500 Eagle team.

The Grizzlies led for much of the game, but let a late lead slip for an Eagle victory. The win sparked Eastern Washington, who have now run off five straight and are the last unbeaten team in the Big Sky. It also started a slightly worrying trend for Montana. The Griz led at the half of the game, as they have for all six of their contests in conference play. But the lead disappeared down the stretch, which it has also done in three other games.

But Montana is coming off its largest win of the season on Saturday, knocking off Idaho State 84-55. Now, they get a shot against the league leaders to prove that they still belong in the championship discussion despite some bad luck in the early going.

Any Montana-Eastern Washington game also brings with it a little bit more drama and excitement than other league games. The two teams have been the winningest programs in the Big Sky since head coach Travis DeCuire arrived at Montana in 2014-15. They each have 106 Big Sky wins since that mark.

It's not the only tie they share, as the two are 28-28 against each other in games played in Cheney. There will very likely be championship consequences in the balance in a Monday night showdown, but there will also be bragging rights between two regional rivals and Big Sky powers.

Eastern Washington have built their record on a high-flying, great-shooting offense. They lead the league by more than 10 points in scoring offense, and have had almost the exact opposite luck, destiny or whatever you wish to call it than Montana. They came back for the win against Montana they went on to win two more games on Steele Venters three-pointers in the final 30 seconds. They have certainly earned their 5-0 record, but it hasn't come without several scares.

Montana, meanwhile, could reasonably say they could be several wins better than their current record. After the Eastern Washington game they had a shot at the buzzer to beat Northern Arizona and also had the ball inside of five seconds with a lead against Weber State and came out on the wrong end of both.

Add into all of this that these two squads are meeting for the second time in just 19 days. It's the sixth conference game for the Eagles, the seventh for Montana. They both have at least 11 games remaining after this, meaning if they do meet up again in March they won't have seen each other for nearly two full months.

There is no denying, it's a huge game for Montana. After Eastern Washington they return home for the rivalry game against Montana State, another top team in the conference. The Grizzlies are in the midst of a run of five games that when it started were against the five teams ahead of Montana in the standings. There is no more time for close misses for this team.

SCOUTING EASTERN WASHINGTON (11-7, 5-0 Big Sky)

The Eagles are the hottest team in the Big Sky right now and enter Monday night's matchup atop the conference standings. They opened conference play with a comeback win against Montana, and haven't looked back since. EWU is 5-0 in Big Sky play, the last unbeaten team in the league.
They played just one game this weekend, defeating Idaho at home on Saturday. The 95-74 win was the biggest of the year against a Big Sky opponent.
Eastern Washington has a pair of dramatic victories in league play, both courtesy of big shots from Steele Venters. He made a three with 19 seconds left in a tie game against Montana State to clinch the win. Against Sacramento State, he again hit a triple to win it, this time with just seconds remaining on the clock.
Montana will be the fourth consecutive opponent that the Eagles have faced at home. They swept the road trip to Montana to kick off league play, but haven't been on the road since.
The Eagles have been the best rebounding team in the Big Sky with 37.2 per game and a 5.8 rebounding margin. Both of the numbers lead the league, despite not having any players in the top seven individually. They've done it as a team, with four players ranked eighth through 16^th in the Big Sky in rebounding. They outrebounded Montana by 17 in the December win.
Sharing the ball has been another key for the Eagles, as they lead the Big Sky in that category as well with 14.8 per game.
A team that is dominant inside and shoots a good overall percentage (47.7, 3^rd Big Sky), the Eagles also create a lot of chances from the arc. They make nearly nine three-pointers per game, the most in the league. They also shoot at a 35.3 clip, the fourth best number in the league.
Venters has not only been great in clutch time, but he's been one of the best scorers in the league in conference games. In Eastern's five wins, Venters averages 18.4 points per game to rank third in the Big Sky. He has been perfect from the free throw line, making all 21 of his attempts to lead the league.
Antonio Allegri is sixth in the league in assists per game with 3.8 per game in Big Sky play.
Allegri and Venters have 13 made threes each in conference play and rank first and second in the conference in three-point percentage. Venters is making 46.4 percent of his attempts and Allegri is at 44.8 percent.
The offense has led Eastern Washington to the undefeated record as they've been the highest scoring team (84.4 points per game) in league play. They've given up the eighth-most points in the league(75.2 points), but it hasn't made a difference thus far.
Montana is second in the league in scoring in conference games, but they trail the Eagles by more than 10 per game.

SERIES HISTORY VS. THE EAGLES
Montana leads 71-50 overall in the series. The Griz are 38-20 at home and 5-2 in neutral venues.

In Cheney, the two sides have been even throughout the years, splitting the 56 games perfectly down the middle. Montana won the last meeting in Cheney and are 6-4 in the last 10 against the Eagles.

The two teams are the winningest in the Big Sky since Travis DeCuire took over at Montana. The Eagles and Grizzlies each have 106 Big Sky wins since 2014-15.

GRIZ NOTES

Montana have the second-best offense (73.5 points per game) and third-best defense (67.7 points) in the Big Sky in league play. The Griz are the only team in the top three of both categories, but somehow find themselves at 3-3 after some heartbreaking close losses.
In all six conference games Montana has held a halftime lead. In fact, they have led in the final seven minutes of all six games.
The Grizzlies have a big four of sorts in Bannan, Moody, Thomas and Whitney. The quartet all average double-figures, combining for over 50 points per game. They have all scored in double-figures at the same time in three games this season. Montana has a 2-1 record in those games. Their most impressive performance came against Prairie View when they combined for 76 points.
DeCuire talks a lot about the flow his team plays with, and it's been evident in three stats that have told the story of the season so far for Montana. The Griz are 9-1 when shooting a better percentage than their opponent, 8-1 when outrebounding their opponent and 7-2 when they have more assists. It all comes back to the idea of fluidity that DeCuire is looking for. Montana is at its best in transition, which happens when you force misses, grab the rebound, and share the ball in transition.
The Griz have struggled on the road this season, compiling a 2-6 overall record. They are 1-1 in Big Sky play after splitting the road trip to Northern Arizona and Northern Colorado.
The late game woes for Montana continued last weekend. They led by one point against Weber State with just four seconds remaining and possession, but turned it over and allowed the Wildcats to hit a game-winning three. The loss dropped Montana to 0-3 this season in games decided by four points or less.
Montana has been very good with the ball this year, turning it over just 11.5 times per game for the best mark in the Big Sky and a top 50 mark in the NCAA.
Josh Vazquez has been excellent off the bench for Montana in league play. He's averaging 8.2 points against Big Sky opponents, shooting 52.4 percent from the arc. He has made at least one three in six straight games.
Vazquez has also done all the little things right for Montana. He leads the Grizzlies with 13 blocks and also has 14 steals which is among the best on the team.
Lonnell Martin Jr. has been a constant threat from beyond the arc for Montana, making multiple threes in four consecutive games. He has at least one made triple in 15 of Montana's 18 games this year.
Jaxon Nap had a big performance against Idaho State, scoring a career-high nine points. He knocked down a couple of threes and looked aggressive with the ball in his hands all night, coming into his own in an expanded role off the bench.

ALL-BIG SKY BANNAN

Josh Bannan became the 35^th member of Montana's 1,000-point club in Thursday nights loss to Weber State. He was the 10^th fastest to the milestone and became just the 18^th Grizzly player with 1,000 points and 500 rebounds. He is on pace to crack the top 20 in program history by the end of his junior season.
He has been a fantastic all-around player for Montana this year, and has picked up his play against conference teams. He ranks in the top 5 in the Big Sky in all three major categories in conference play. Bannan averages 17.5 points (5^th), 8.5 rebounds (4^th), and 3.8 assists (5^th).
Bannan recorded his 5^th double-double of the season in the win against Idaho State. He played a very balanced game, shooting a season-low five shots but still getting 10 points and 14 rebounds. He also had five assists in the win.
He's reached double-figures in 16 of the 18 games this season and nine consecutive games.
Overall this season he is third in the league in rebounding with 8.7 per game. The mark also cracks the top 50 the NCAA. He's been particularly good on the defensive glass, grabbing 6.56 to rank 33^rd in the nation.
Bannan has been one of the best shooters in the league, ranking third overall by making 50.2 percent of his shots this season.

AANEN MOODY

The fifth-year guard from Southern Utah has added maturity and experience to the Montana Grizzlies in his first season in Missoula. Moody is second on the team and 13^th in the league in scoring with 14.5 points per game.
Moody leads the Grizzlies with 16 steals this season. 10 of them have come in conference play, which is the fourth-most in the league during that time.
The marksman is fifth in the league in free throw percentage at 83.1 percent.
He has multiple threes in the past four games and has made at least one triple in every single game for Montana this season. He's shooting over 40 percent from the arc with nearly 100 attempts.
His 31 assists are third on Montana.

BRANDON WHITNEY

The junior guard bounced back from a recent slump with a big night against Idaho State. He led the team with 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the floor. He matched his season high with two threes, while also grabbing four rebounds and dishing out two assists.
He has fought an illness in recent weeks that have hurt his averages, as he currently is at just 8.2 points per game in Big Sky play. But he's getting back to 100 percent, which is a dangerous thing for the rest of the conference.
Whitney has at least one assist in every game that he has finished this season, and is second on the team with 38 total on the season.

DISCHON THOMAS

The transfer from Colorado State has been steady for the Griz this season, scoring double-figures in 14 games and ranking third on the team in scoring (11.9 points per game) and second in rebounds (5.2).
Thomas has brought an outside threat from the post position, hitting 27 threes this season. He has averaged three triples over the last two games for Montana and has six games with at least three makes from the arc.
In the last matchup with Eastern Washington, Thomas had a season-high 20 points. He made four threes in the game and also grabbed four rebounds.
He is 20^th in the Big Sky in scoring and 13^th in rebounding.

IT'S HOW YOU START
Montana has been a great first half team this season, and have dominated the opening 20 minutes in wins. They are outscoring their opponents by 95 points in the first half of their nine wins for an average of 10.6 points per game.

In the nine losses, they have been outscored by 46 points in the first halves and 47 points in the second halves. Overall, the Griz are outscoring their opponents 320-236 in the first half and just 314-311 in the second half.

THE FREE THROW LINE CONUNDRUM
Montana has broken the school record for team free throw percentage in back-to-back seasons. There is plenty of basketball to be played, but the Grizzlies are in a good position to make yet another run at the record. The team is shooting 77.3 percent from the line this year. It is the 15th best percentage in D-1 basketball.

They shot 78.5 in 2021-22, and 78.2 in 2020-21.

The top six scorers for Montana are all over 75 percent from the line, including the entire starting five. Martin Jr. leads at 86.7 percent, followed by Vazquez (84.0), Moody (83.1), Thomas (82.4), Bannan (78.2) and Whitney (76.2).

But somehow Montana has only outshot its opponent in 11 of the 18 games. The Grizzlies opponents are converting at an astonishing 76.9 percent clip. It makes Montana's free throw defense – an uncontrollable figure – 356th in the country out of 363 teams.

On top of that, Montana allows over 23 attempts per game. Combine the high percentage with a large volume, and the Grizzlies allow nearly 18 points per game from the line. They have been outscored by an average of 4.2 points per game. The Griz are 3-1 in the games where they make more free throws, but 5-7 in contests where they make fewer.

BEYOND THE ARC
Montana have had an advantage at the three-point line this season. The Grizzlies have been among the Big Sky and nation's best at shooting from deep, hitting 36.6 percent as a team to rank second and 63^rd, respectively.

On the other side, the Griz have been even better at three-point defense. They've allowed opponents to make just 31.0 percent of their attempts. It's again second-best in the Big Sky, but the 71st best defense in the country. As a result, Montana has outscored its opponents by 105 total points from three-point range.

AN EXPERIENCED SQUAD
For the first time in several seasons, Travis DeCuire has a roster full of upperclassmen and experienced players. The Griz currently have four different players with at least 100 D-1 appearances under their belts.

Mack Anderson (126 games played), Aanen Moody (109), Dischon Thomas (108) and Josh Vazquez (108) 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 145 career starts.

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Players Mentioned

Mack Anderson

Josh Bannan

Lonnell Martin Jr.

Aanen Moody

Jaxon Nap

Dischon Thomas

Josh Vazquez

Brandon Whitney

University of Montana Athletics