Montana heads to California for pair of rematches

MONTANA AT SAN JOSE STATE
Sunday, Dec. 17 / 3:00 p.m. (MT) / Watch / Live Stats

MONTANA AT UC DAVIS
Tuesday, Dec. 19 / 7:00 p.m. (MT) / Watch / Live Stats

The Montana men's basketball team hits the road to California for a pair of games against some familiar opponents this week. The Grizzlies have rematches against San Jose State and UC Davis beginning on Sunday, looking to complete the season sweep against both opponents.

It's a difficult task to beat an opponent twice in a year, and a unique challenge to face during the non-conference stretch of the season. Montana have four non-conference games remaining, and three of them are rematches.

The Grizzlies are the only team in the country to play three home-and-home series against non-conference opponents. It's the most in program history.

Montana started its current three-game winning streak against San Jose State. The win snapped a three-game losing streak, and was also the first game with Montana's current starting lineup opening together. They led wire-to-wire, going ahead by as many as 25 points during a 75-58 win.

The first game against UC Davis came back in early November, and Montana led by as many as 15 and never trailed in a 78-65 win during the Basketball Travelers Mike Montgomery Classic. The Grizzlies followed that up with three straight losses, prompting a change to the starting lineup.

Now, they get a chance to see how much they've improved since the first matchups.

"We're going to find out a lot about ourselves," DeCuire said of this road trip following the win over Tech. "We're a little different now than when we played Davis, but not that far removed from San Jose State. They're going to be hungry. They've lost a few in a row and are going to want to bounce back, and it's going to be important for us to focus. We can't just go into these games thinking we're going to win because we beat them already once."

The Moody and Money show has been leading the way for Montana. The duo combined for 45 points in the win over Montana Tech, and are both averaging over 15.0 points per game this season. They are both in the top six in the Big Sky in scoring.

They lead a Montana offense that is first in the Big Sky with 75.4 points per game. They are outscoring opponents by an average of 6.0 points per game.

The next two games could tell a lot about where the team stands heading into Big Sky play. They are perhaps the two teams that are most similar to a Big Sky opponent that Montana will play in the non-conference.

The Grizzlies' D-I opponents in the non-conference have a combined 40-20 (.667) record, and three of Montana's losses have come against teams in the top 62 of KenPom's rankings. San Jose State (#150 NET) and UC Davis (#216 KenPom) are both in the range of a typical Big Sky opponent.

The Spartans snapped a three-game losing streak their last time out with an 87-82 win over New Orleans. UC Davis are currently on a four-game losing streak, including a home loss to Big Sky foe Sacramento State.

It's the perfect way to close out the non-conference season. Montana will begin Big Sky play on Dec. 28 against the preseason league favorite Weber State in Ogden, Utah.

MONTANA NOTES

Montana are winless on the road so far this season. They are the only Big Sky Conference team still searching for a win away from home.
Montana are now 6-44 under Travis DeCuire in away non-conference games. They will play three more non-conference games away from Dahlberg Arena, and are aiming to win multiple non-conference away games in the same season for the first time under DeCuire.
In Montana's three-game winning streak, they have held a lead of at least 25 points in each game. They have led for 110:42 of the 120 minutes of game time during the streak.
The Grizzly offense has been susceptible to scoring droughts over the past few years, but had an efficient game against Tech. The Grizzlies had zero scoring droughts of three-plus minutes for the first time since the season opener.
Montana have played in five wire-to-wire contests this season. They went four straight games without a single lead change from Nov. 24 to Dec. 8, and the winner has led for at least 30 minutes in eight of nine games this year.
The team that scores the first points of the game is 7-2 this year.
The nine-point loss to NDSU is the closest game of the season. The Griz are 1-3 in games decided by 9-14 points, and 4-1 in games decided by 15-or-more points.
Montana are 33rd in the NCAA in assist/turnover ratio, taking care of the ball and sharing it effectively. The Griz have a 1.51 ratio with 16.2 assists per game and just 10.8 turnovers. They are 55th in assists, and 63rd in turnovers in the national rankings.
Once a team takes a lead in a game Montana plays this season, they usually hang onto it. There hasn't been a single second half lead change this year in a Montana game. The game with the most back-and-forth was at Oregon, where there were 11 lead changes and 13 tied scores.
The three-point line has been key to Montana's success this season. The Griz improved to 5-0 when shooting a better percentage than their opponent from three-point range on Tuesday. They are 0-4 when shooting worse from three than their opponent.
Montana are undefeated when shooting and making more free throws than their opponent. They have done both on three occasions this year.
The Griz have more assists than their opponents in seven games this year. They are 5-2 with more assists, and are winless when the opponent has the advantage in assists.
The free throw line has proven crucial to UM's success in the past and this year is no different. Montana rank 50th in the NCAA by making 75.3 percent from the charity stripe.
The Grizzly bench has been effective this season, ranking 86th in the NCAA with 26.1 points per game. The Grizzlies have scored at least 16 points off the bench in all nine games and have reached 25 points in seven of them. Montana had 25 bench points just twice all of last season.
The November schedule for Montana was amongst the hardest in the country. The Grizzlies played the 13th most difficult schedule in the month according to the NCAA NET Rankings and the 19th most difficult according to KenPom.
Montana are now 1-1 in day games after beating Montana Tech on Saturday afternoon.
Uni-watch: Montana are a perfect 5-0 in the home white uniforms and 0-4 in the road maroons. They played a single home game this year in the maroon uniforms, losing to North Dakota State as part of the Mike Montgomery Classic.
In the first half of home games, Montana has been dominant. The Grizzlies are outscoring opponents 259-174 in five home games this year. It's led to an average lead of 14.2 points per game at the break.
It's been another story on the road, where Montana have been outscored 117-69 in the first half. They've gone to the break trailing by an average of 18 points in the three road losses.
Montana have been significantly better shooting in Missoula than on the road this season, which is also heavily influenced on opponents. The Grizzlies are shooting 50.8 percent at home and 35.3 percent on the road. They are 34.1 percent from three at home and 20.3 percent on the road.
The majority of Montana's points have come from inside the three-point line this season. They score 58.5 percent of points on two-point shots and just 23.7 percent on three-pointers. The Grizzlies are 26^th in the country in two-point distribution share.
Laolu Oke is one of just two players in the country with multiple games of at least 8+ offensive rebounds.
Aanen Moody reached 1,250 points in the win over Tech. Now has 1,252 in his career.

SHOW ME THE MONEY
True freshman Money Williams has made an instant impact for Montana in his first month at the collegiate level. He is second on Montana with 15.0 points per game and is the second-leading rebounder at 4.8 per game. He now leads Montana with 30 assists.

He became the first Grizzly freshman to score in double-figures in his first two career games since Michael Oguine in 2015, and has gone on to double-figure performances in seven out of nine games.

Williams had a career performance against Montana Tech with 25. He's now scored 20-plus in two games, which is tied for sixth-most by a Griz freshman since 2000. The 25 points are the 9^th-most by a freshman in a single game in that time period.

Williams is currently sixth in the Big Sky Conference in scoring, seventh in assists, and 19th in rebounding.

SCOUTING SAN JOSE STATE (6-5, 0-0 Mountain West)

The Spartans are undefeated at home this season in four games. The loss at Montana is part of an 0-4 away record.
San Jose State rank 70^th in the NCAA in effective field goal percentage and 85^th in field goal percentage. They have been a great three-point shooting team, attempting 25 per game (77^th) and making 8.6 of them (86^th).
They are averaging 75.3 points per game while allowing 69.1 to opponents. The 5.9 scoring margin is 150^th in the NCAA.
Alvaro Cardenas is 31^st in the NCAA with 5.5 assists per game. He plays over 35 minutes per contest, which is a top 50 mark in the country as well.
They have been incredibly balanced this year and have four different players averaging at least 12 points per game. Myron Amey Jr. leads the way with 14.3 points, followed by Cardenas (13.5), Gorener (13.2), and Anderson (12.8).
Adrame Diongue ranks 84^th in the NCAA and third in the Mountain West with 15 blocks.

SERIES HISTORY VS. THE SPARTANS
The two schools are tied in the all-time series at 7-7 after Montana's win on Dec. 2. The Griz are now 4-2 in games played in Missoula

MONTANA AGAINST THE MOUNTAIN WEST
This is the third game this season against a Mountain West opponent for Montana. The Grizzlies are 1-1 after dropping a road contest against Nevada and then winning at home over San Jose State.

Montana is 133-148 all-time against the current 11 members of the Mountain West Conference. Travis DeCuire is 4-9 against the league. The Grizzlies are 36-102 in road games against Mountain West teams.

SCOUTING UC DAVIS (3-5, 0-0 Big West)

The Aggies will play Pacific on Saturday looking to snap a four-game losing streak. Their last win came in Missoula against North Dakota State as part of the Basketball Travelers Mike Montgomery Classic on Nov. 14.
UC Davis rank 7^th in the NCAA in turnovers forced, using a high-pressure defense to force 18.25 turnovers per game. They also average 8.1 steals per game, which is 82^nd in the country.
They also get to the free throw line often, averaging over 23 free throw attempts per game to rank 51^st in the NCAA.
The Aggies like to play fast, scoring 12.5 points per game in fastbreak situations. They are in the top 100 in the country in the category.
Elijah Pepper has been the best scorer in the Mountain West this season, and currently ranks 14^th in the NCAA with 21.4 points per game. He has scored 20-plus in seven of eight games this year.
Pepper does a lot of his damage from beyond the arc, making 3.25 threes per game. It ranks 18^th in the NCAA. He's also 67^th in the country with 2.0 steals per game.

SERIES HISTORY VS. THE AGGIES
Montana won the first-ever meeting between the two schools earlier this year on Nov. 12. Montana led 42-32 at the half, and pulled ahead by as many as 15 points in the second half in a game in which they led for over 39 minutes.

Dischon Thomas dominated with 23 points and five rebounds, while Laolu Oke had 15 and three other Grizzlies scored in double figures.

BATTLING THE BIG WEST
This will be Montana's second-ever meeting with UC Davis, and also the second this season. The Grizzlies have a winning record overall against the 11 members of the Big West. They are 39-30 overall, and 5-2 under DeCuire.

The Grizzlies are 10-17 in road games against the Big West.

OUTSTANDING OKE
Laolu Oke has gone from a bench player receiving limited minutes last season to perhaps the most important forward on Montana's roster in 2023-24. The second-year transfer from MSU-Denver is averaging 9.6 points and 8.1 rebounds per game this season.

He has been terrorizing teams on the offensive glass in particular, averaging 3.9 boards on that end to rank 10^th in the NCAA. His 8.1 rebounds also rank 98^th in the country.

His standout performance came on Nov. 29 against Nevada when he pulled down 19 rebounds. It was the most by a Grizzly since 2015, and the most for a Montana player against a DI opponent since Matt Williams had 21 against Montana State in 2000.

SPORTSCENTER'S TOP PLAY
Laolu Oke claimed the No. 1 Play on SportsCenter's nightly Top 10 on Dec. 5 with his poster dunk on MSU-Northern. The forward skied for a one-handed slam over a 6-11 defender, sending him to the floor as part of an and-one finish that went viral.

RACE TO 67
Last season, the first team to 67 points typically ended up in the win column in Montana's games. The same has been true so far in 2023-24. The first team to 67 points is now 9-0 on the year.

This year, you can even make it a more rounded number. Montana are 5-0 when scoring at least 70 points and 0-4 when held under that number. Likewise, when holding their opponent under 70 points they are 5-0, but when allowing 70-plus points they are 0-4.

CHECKING THE RANKINGS
Montana check in at #221 in the latest NCAA NET Rankings, but are much more favored in the Pomeroy College Basketball Ratings, slotting in at #174. They are third amongst Big Sky Schools in the Pomeroy Ratings and fifth in the league on the NET Rankings.

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Players Mentioned

Aanen Moody

Laolu Oke

Dischon Thomas

Money Williams

University of Montana Athletics