Griz open league play against preseason favorites

MONTANA AT WEBER STATE
Thursday, Dec. 28 / 7:00 p.m. / Watch / Live Stats

MONTANA AT IDAHO STATE
Saturday, Dec. 30 / 4:00 p.m. / Watch / Live Stats

Montana's long December on the road continues this week with the beginning of Big Sky Conference play on Thursday. They open the league schedule with what is perhaps the marquee matchup in the conference historically, and one that features the top two teams in the preseason Coaches' Poll.

The Grizzlies face Weber State on Thursday night in Ogden before taking on Idaho State on Saturday afternoon. Both games will be streamed on ESPN+.

It's been a long but successful December for Montana. The Grizzlies, who are in the midst of five straight road games over the course of nearly a full month, are undefeated in the month with a perfect 5-0 record.

They have been dominant during the five-game winning streak, outscoring opponents by 17 points and winning all five games by double digits. It's the first five-game winning streak for Montana since 2021, and the first to come during the regular season since 2020.

The streak includes two Mountain West wins over San Jose State and a victory against UC Davis. They will face a tougher test against the Wildcats and All-American candidate Dillon Jones this week. Jones and the Wildcats are also 7-4 on the year and the top team in the Big Sky by plenty of advanced analytics.

They are a team that is very good in Ogden. Montana have just 18 wins in program history inside the Dee Events Center, but one came last season during a second half turnaround for the Grizzlies. They won 74-69 for a fifth straight win, which was part of a 7-1 close to the regular season.

The Grizzly rotation is starting to come into focus this season led by the stellar guard play from Aanen Moody and Money Williams. It's been the complete play of not only that duo, but the entire team, that has led to the recent success.

Moody is known as a scorer, but he had a big week in California setting a new career high with eight rebounds against San Jose State and playing stellar defense as well. Money continues to impress with his all-around game, scoring and rebounding well but improving his passing with three straight games of at least six assists.

Laolu Oke had his third double-double of the year against San Jose State with 16 points and 15 rebounds as he continues a breakout season. In the UC Davis game, five different Griz players scored in double figures in an extremely balanced game.

Brandon Whitney has taken a role off the bench and played some of his best basketball of the season. He matched a season high with 15 points against UC Davis to climb up to 989 career points.

The Griz started 3-6 through the first half of Big Sky play last season. They were searching for an identity, which they found during the impressive close to the year. This year's version of the Grizzlies seems to have found what works well already.

They follow up the trip to Ogden with a matchup on Saturday against Idaho State. The Bengals are 4-7 on the season, and Montana has dominated the series over the previous decade-plus. The Grizzlies have won 24 out of 25 against the Bengals.

Big Sky play starts this week but takes a hiatus the first week of January for the Big Sky-Summit Challenge. The Grizzlies will play against North Dakota State for the second time this season and then return home for the first time in a month to play South Dakota.

They resume Big Sky play with a home set versus Northern Arizona and Northern Colorado the following week.

SCOUTING WEBER STATE (7-4, 0-0 BIG SKY)

The Wildcats, under second-year head coach Eric Duft, were picked to win the Big Sky by both the coaches and the media in the annual preseason polls. They were a unanimous choice by the coaches with nine votes. Montana received the only other first place vote as Duft couldn't vote for his own team.
Weber State enters the matchup with a matching 7-4 record to Montana. They are the top Big Sky team according to KenPom (#114) and the second-highest ranked team in the NCAA Net Rankings (#120).
They have a stifling defense that ranks fifth in the entire NCAA by allowing just 59.1 points per game. They do it by limiting possessions, playing one of the 10 slowest paces in the NCAA with an adjusted tempo of 64.0.
The Wildcats won on the road against No. 23 Saint Mary's in the first week of the season to become the first Big Sky team with a ranked win since 2009.
Weber State is outscoring opponents by more than 15 points per game, which is the 30^th best scoring margin in the country.
Dillon Jones has been the best player in the Big Sky and one of the top options in the entire country in his decorated Wildcat career. He averages 17.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game. He leads the league in rebounds and assists, and is second in points.
Jones is also 6^th in the NCAA in rebounds per game, and 2^nd in defensive rebounds (10.2). His eight double-doubles are tied for 3^rd most in the country. He's an 11-time Big Sky Player of the Week with three honors this season, and also earned a National Player of the Week honor after the upset of Saint Mary's.
Weber State have won 22 Big Sky Championships and reached the NCAA Tournament 16 times.

SERIES HISTORY VS. THE WILDCATS

Weber State leads the all-time series against Montana 75-65. The home team has been dominant in the history of the game. The Wildcats are 47-18 against Montana in Ogden.
The Griz won last year's game in Ogden, while the Wildcats secured a win in Missoula. The teams are 3-3 across the last six, 4-4 across the last eight, and 5-5 across the previous 10 meetings. Prior to that, Montana won five straight from 2017-19.
Moody (23) and Whitney (18) combined for 41 points in the win in Ogden last season. The Griz fell behind early but used an 11-0 first half run to take the lead and hold it for over 30 minutes in the win.

SCOUTING IDAHO STATE (4-7, 0-0 BIG SKY)

The Bengals enter the week on a three-game losing streak. They will play Montana State on Thursday.
Idaho State is just 2-7 against D-1 opponents. They beat Campbell 69-55 and Lindenwood, who are transitioning up to D-1 currently, 76-71.
They have been very good defensively but have struggled on the offensive side this year. They allow 66.2 points per game, which is 70^th in the NCAA, but aren't inside the top 300 offensively with just 68.3 points per game.
The Bengals lead the Big Sky and are in the top 25 percent in the country by shooting 47.3 percent from the floor.
They are ranked 261^st in the NCAA NET Rankings and 282^nd in the KenPom rankings. They are 8^th out of 10 Big Sky teams in both ranking sets.
Transfer forward Kiree Huie leads Idaho State with 12.6 points per game. He also averages 6.8 rebounds per game while leading the Big Sky in field goal percentage (56.4%).
Brayden Parker was a preseason All-Big Sky Selection this year after earning a spot on the All-Big Sky Third Team last year. He averages 12.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.
Maleek Arrington leads the Bengals with 40 assists this year.

SERIES HISTORY VS. THE BENGALS

Montana leads the all-time series against Idaho State 113-45. It's the second-most wins against a single opponent for Montana, who have only defeated Montana State more times. The Grizzlies are 41-30 in games played in Pocatello.
The Grizzlies have won 25 of the last 26 games against the Bengals. The last loss came in 2022 in Pocatello. Prior to that game, Montana hadn't lost to Idaho State since 2010.
It was a clean sweep last season for Montana in the series, as they won three games against Idaho State and ended the Bengals season in the quarterfinals of the Big Sky Tournament. Aanen Moody had 28 points, seven assists and five rebounds in a performance that earned him a spot on the All-Tournament team.

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 11 points away.

Whitney also recorded his 200th career rebound against San Jose State. Whitney would be the 15th 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.

Gallery: (12-19-2023) MBB: at UC Davis (12.19.23)

NOTES ON THE FIVE-GAME WINNING STREAK

Griz are outscoring opponents by 17.0 points per game during current five-game winning streak, and have won all five by double-digits.
Montana is shooting 49.4 percent from the floor as a team and holding opponents to 41.0 percent.
They have outscored opponents 203-150 in the first half during the stretch, entering the break with an average lead of 10.6 points.
Griz have played from behind for only 17:24 during the winning streak, which is just 4.35 percent of game time. They have led for at least 29 minutes in every game during the run.

GRIZ NOTES

Streaky scoring has been a consistent theme of late. The Griz have had a scoring run of at least 9 straight points in the previous six games, and have had a double-digit scoring run in five of the last six. The longest scoring run of the year for Montana is 23 straight points against Northwest Indian in the season opener.
Montana could get a sixth win in December this weekend. They last won six games in a calendar month in February 2023, going 6-1 to end the regular season. They have a chance to go 7-0 with two wins this week. The last time they won seven games in a calendar month was February of 2020 when they finished 7-1. The last undefeated month was a 7-0 January in 2018.
The Griz haven't defeated Weber State in Ogden in consecutive seasons since 1991 and 1992. They did win two straight on the road from 2017-19, but the teams didn't meet in Ogden during the 2018 season.
Only one three-minute scoring drought in last three games, and it came over the final three minutes of the UC Davis win with primarily backup players in the game. They have had only four total droughts during the five-game winning streak.
It's all about putting the ball in the basket. Montana is 7-0 when shooting the same or better than their opponent from the field, while they are 0-4 when shooting a worse field goal percentage.
The Grizzlies have been great on the boards this year, winning the rebounding battle in eight of 11 games. They are 6-2 when outrebounding their opponents.
In seven wins, Montana are outscoring opponents 299-204 in the first half. They have an average halftime lead of 13.6 points per game. They are 6-0 when leading at the half, and have just one win when trailing at the break.
Montana's last six-game winning streak came in 2021. They closed the regular season with four straight wins that year before winning a pair of Big Sky Tournament games. The sixth win during that run came against Weber State.
The last regular season winning streak of at least six games came in February of 2020. The Griz streak that year made it to six games during Big Sky play.
Montana are now 8-44 under Travis DeCuire in away non-conference games. They won consecutive road games in the non-conference for the first time under DeCuire and the first time since 2010 last week.
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 29 minutes in 10 of 11 games this year.
The team that scores the first points of the game is 8-3 this year in Montana's 11 games.
The nine-point loss to NDSU (11/16) is the closest game of the season. The Griz are 3-3 in games decided by 9-14 points, and 4-1 in games decided by 15-or-more points.
Montana are 42nd in the NCAA in assist/turnover ratio, taking care of the ball and sharing it effectively. The Griz have a 1.49 ratio with 16.0 assists per game and just 10.7 turnovers. They are 61st 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. The win over San Jose St. (12/17) is the only contest to feature a second-half lead change. The lead has changed more than six times in just two games this year.
The three-point line has been key to Montana's success this season. They are 6-0 when shooting a better percentage than their opponent from three-point range on Tuesday. They are 1-4 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 four occasions this year.
The free throw line has proven crucial to UM's success in the past and this year is no different. Montana rank 48th in the NCAA by making 75.1 percent from the charity stripe.
The Grizzly bench has been effective this season, ranking 76th in the NCAA with 26.6 points per game. The Grizzlies have scored at least 16 points off the bench in all 11 games and have reached 25 points in nine of them. Montana had 25 bench points just twice all of last season.
The non-conference schedule for Montana was among the hardest in the country. The Griz had the 34^th most difficult non-conference, according to KenPom.com.
Uni-watch: Montana are a perfect 5-0 in the home white uniforms this year. They picked up their first win in the road maroons against UC Davis. They also wore the gray uniforms for the first time against San Jose State to move to 1-0 in the alternate uniform.
The majority of Montana's points have come from inside the three-point line this season. They score 55.4 percent of points on two-point shots and just 26.1 percent on three-pointers. The Grizzlies are 66th in the country in two-point distribution share.

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 11-0 on the year.

This year, you can even make it a more rounded number. Montana are 7-0 when scoring at least 70 points and 0-4 when held under that number. Likewise, when holding their opponent under 70 points they are 6-0. They picked up the first win of the season when allowing 70+ against San Jose State, improving to 1-4 in that situation.

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Players Mentioned

Aanen Moody

Laolu Oke

Brandon Whitney

Money Williams

University of Montana Athletics