Montana heads south to face No. 6 Houston

Montana at #6 Houston
Friday, Nov. 24 / 2:00 p.m. / Watch / Live Stats

Montana basketball will be on the road for Thanksgiving, traveling to Texas for a matchup with No. 6 Houston on Friday afternoon. It's the highest ranked opponent that Montana has faced since losing to No. 2 Kansas in 2015.

The Grizzlies will have their hands full with a Houston team that is among the very best defensive units in the country. The Cougars force plenty of turnovers and have held opponents under 50 points per game this season.

It will be a challenge for Montana, but one that they are well-equipped to handle. The Grizzlies have been excellent with the ball this year, turning it over fewer than 10 times per game to rank 41^st in the NCAA. Montana also rank 12^th in the country in turnover percentage, according to KenPom.

Expect a low-scoring affair if Montana are to stay in the game. The Grizzlies, per usual for a Travis DeCuire-led team, like to slow the pace down and find efficient shots. They may be difficult to come by, but a Montana offense that plays at an adjusted temp of 66.7 (305^th in the NCAA) will wait for windows to open up.

The Grizzlies have split the first four games this season. They opened with a big win over Northwest Indian before falling in a close game on the road at Oregon. They returned home last week for the Basketball Travelers Mike Montgomery Classic where they split results against UC Davis (78-65 win) and North Dakota State (78-69 loss).

The rotation is still being settled for DeCuire, who is in his 10^th season in charge at Montana. Aanen Moody has been the leader of the Grizzly unit with 18.3 points per game so far this year and a team-high 56 field goal attempts.

There is a balancing act with the rest of the roster, as DeCuire has played nine players at least 10 minutes per game. That doesn't include freshman Chase Henderson, who had a season-high 12 minutes against North Dakota State in a good performance, or George Mason transfer Blake Jones.

DeCuire said at the start of the year that finding roles and accepting them would be crucial for this team's success. The expanded minutes would indicate that the right solution to the puzzle is still out there.

The Grizzlies have maintained the same starting lineup over the previous three games, and it's a five-man unit that has a lot of experience. The opening lineup have 451 total D-I appearances between the five players.

But Montana also has plenty of youth coming off the bench, as true freshmen Money Williams and Chase Henderson have both seen steady playing time over the last three games.

The game against Houston will be the most challenging matchup of a difficult non-conference schedule. The Grizzlies will hit the road again next week for a matchup against Nevada, who have started the season 4-0 and are ranked 41^st in the most recent KenPom rankings.

GRIZ VS. RANKED OPPONENTS
This is the fifth time that Montana have played a top 10 opponent under head coach Travis DeCuire. The Grizzlies are 1-22 all-time against teams ranked inside the top 10 nationally. The lone win came in 1982 against No. 8 Idaho.

Montana are 5-43 all-time against ranked opponents. They have lost 15 straight games dating back to the upset win over No. 20 Nevada at the 2006 NCAA Tournament.

MONTANA AGAINST THE BIG 12
Houston are in their first season as a Big 12 member this year. It's a league that has undergone plenty of change in recent years. Against the current members of the conference, Montana has a 13-38 all-time record.

The overall record doesn't tell the full tale, as 34 of those games came against BYU from 1913-64. BYU, like Houston, joined the league in 2023. The Griz have just three wins against non-BYU teams with the most recent victory in 1987 against Oklahoma State.

DeCUIRE VS. RANKED OPPONENTS
This is the second consecutive season Montana has played a top 25 opponent. Last year, they gave #11 Gonzaga all they could handle in Spokane in an 85-75 loss that was closer than the final score appeared.

Since taking over in 2014, DeCuire's Grizzlies have played against eight ranked opponents. They are 0-8 in six road games and two neutral site games. A pair of the games were against Michigan at the NCAA Tournament, while they've also played two ranked Gonzaga teams, two ranked Oregon teams, Kansas, and Washington.

WHITNEY 1K WATCH
Senior guard Brandon Whitney has averaged at least 10.0 points per game in all three seasons at Montana. He's on the verge of becoming the 36th player in program history to reach 1,000 points, and is currently just 43 points away.

Whitney is also expected to make his 90^th career start in 91 appearances for Montana on Friday against Houston. He is also three rebounds away from 200. Whitney would be the 15^th player in Grizzly history with 1,000 points/200 rebounds/200 assists.

He would be the 7th player in Montana's 1,000-point club coached by Travis DeCuire. Aanen Moody has also reached 1,000 points, but scored 682 of those for other schools.

GRIZ NOTES

Laolu Oke is five rebounds away from 100 in his Grizzly career. He had his first D-1 double-double in the loss to North Dakota State on Nov. 16, scoring 11 to go with 11 rebounds.
The four games have all been pretty one-sided so far this season for Montana. In the Grizzlies' two wins, they have led for over 39 minutes in each. In the two losses, Montana have led for just over 10 minutes total.
There were zero lead changes in both Griz wins, and 16 combined lead changes in the two losses.
The Grizzly bench has been effective this season, largely behind the scoring of Money Williams. The Grizzlies have scored at least 16 points off the bench in all four games and have reached 25 points in three out of four. Montana had 25 bench points just twice all of last season.
The free throw line has proven crucial to UM's success in the past and this year is no different. Montana are 2-0 when shooting and making more free throws than their opponent, and 0-2 when allowing more attempts and makes from the charity stripe.
If the opponent scores over 70 points, Montana is winless this year. They are 2-0 when holding opponents under the 70-point line. Last season, the race to 67 points was a telling indicator of whether or not Montana would win or lose. The Grizzlies were 10-1 when reaching 67 points first in league games, and 0-4 when allowing their opponent to get to 67 before them.
The Grizzlies wore their away uniforms at home against North Dakota State as the game was part of a multi-team event. The loss dropped Montana to 0-2 in the maroon uniforms, while they are 2-0 in their home whites.
When leading at halftime, Montana is undefeated this year. They lost after being tied at the half with Oregon, while they tried to stage a second-half comeback against NDSU that came up short.

SCOUTING #6 HOUSTON (6-0, 0-0 BIG 12)

The Cougars have been absolutely dominant through the opening stretch of the season, winning six straight games. They have had a busy early season schedule, and as a result are the only team in the country with six wins.
They won the tournament title at the Shriners Children's Charleston Classic last week in Charleston, South Carolina. They won three games in four days for the championship, defeating Dayton 69-55 in the title game.
Houston is the 2^nd winningest team in the NCAA over the last seven seasons with a 182-34 record since 2017-18. The Cougars have won 30 games in back-to-back seasons and have eight or fewer losses every single season since 2017. They trail only Gonzaga in total wins since 2017.
They have reached five straight NCAA Tournaments and have reached the Sweet 16 in four of them. They were a Final Four team in 2021.
Head coach Kelvin Sampson is in his 10^th season at Houston with an impressive 237-74 overall record. He is in his 35^th season as a head basketball coach and has a 738-344 (.682) overall record. His career began just down the road from Missoula at Montana Tech in Butte.
The Cougars are 79-6 overall inside the Fertitta Center since it was renovated and renamed in 2018-19. They have a 125-14 overall home record since 2015-16 in three different home venues.
Defensively, Houston is among the very best in the country. They have allowed just 49.8 points per game to opponents, the second-best scoring defense in all of the NCAA. They force nearly 17 turnovers per game to rank 34^th in the NCAA, and are also 14^th with 11.3 steals per game.
LJ Cryer transferred to Houston from Baylor this year and has become the Cougars leading scorer by averaging 15.8 points per game. He's a threat from deep with 17 made threes on 37.0 percent shooting. Cryer was selected to the preseason All-Big 12 team.
Jamal Shead is one of the top point guards in the country. He was named to the preseason watch lists for the Wooden Award, the Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy, and the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year while also being a Preseason All-Big 12 Honorable Mention. He is currently 2^nd in the NCAA with 37 assists and 3^rd in the country with 17 steals.

SERIES HISTORY VS. THE COUGARS

This is the first-ever meeting between Montana and Houston.

GRIZZLIES IN THE STATE OF TEXAS
Montana is 15-9 all-time in games played against opponents from the state of Texas. The Grizzlies have been less successful when traveling to the Lone Star State. They are 3-6 overall in games played in the state.

The record does include a win over Prairie View A&M in a neutral site game in Houston last year, as Montana are making a return trip to the city. The Prairie View game was just the third since 2000. Montana played at Baylor on Dec. 30, 2000 and at Texas A&M in the opening round of the NIT on March 17, 2015.

D1 EXPERIENCE
Montana rank 45^th in the entire NCAAA in D-I experience this season. The starting lineup is littered with veteran players as they combine for 451 total D-I appearances and 207 total starts.

Brandon Whitney (90 GP/89 GS), Giordan Williams (77/6), Aanen Moody (125/38), and Dischon Thomas (125/70) all have plenty of experience at this level, while Laolu Oke (34/4) played in 74 games with 45 starts at D-II MSU-Denver.

UP NEXT
Montana will play on the road against Nevada on Nov. 29 before returning home for a three-game stretch at the start of December. The Grizzlies open that homestand against San Jose State of the Mountain West Conference on Dec. 2.

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Players Mentioned

Chase Henderson

Blake Jones

Aanen Moody

Laolu Oke

Dischon Thomas

Brandon Whitney

Giordan Williams

Money Williams

University of Montana Athletics