Griz wrap up regular season looking for momentum

MONTANA vs. PORTLAND STATE
Thursday, Feb. 23 / 7:00 p.m. / Missoula, Mont.
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MONTANA vs. SACRAMENTO STATE
Thursday, Feb. 25 / 7:00 p.m. / Missoula, Mont.
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The home stretch has officially arrived for Montana basketball as the Grizzlies will play three games in five days to close out the regular season. It all starts at home, as Montana host Portland State on Thursday and then will celebrate senior night against Sacramento State on Saturday.

While the Griz may be coming off a disappointing loss on Saturday, they are still one of the hottest teams in the league with plenty to play for down the stretch. The Griz have won five of the last six and currently sit in fourth place in the league, but both the Vikings and Hornets are within striking distance as they make the trip to Missoula. The top six teams all receive byes at the Big Sky Tournament.

These are also games that should complete quite the arc for Montana. It was the first meeting with Sacramento State, back on Jan. 26, that changed the course of the Grizzly season. A difficult 67-48 loss dropped Montana to 9-12 overall and 3-6 in Big Sky play. It was the third straight loss for Montana and gave the Hornets a 2.5 game advantage in the league standings as Montana fell all the way to seventh.

The Grizzlies needed a response as they traveled north up to Portland. After a long discussion following the Thursday night loss, the team stepped up and delivered. Montana won against Portland State. Then they came home to sweep Northern Colorado and Northern Arizona. Then came a dominant win in Pocatello against Idaho State before knocking off third-place Weber State in Ogden.

The feeling they had inside The Nest was suddenly gone, as the Grizzlies rattled off five straight wins to get back into league contention. The regular season title is out of the picture with undefeated Eastern Washington cruising along, but valuable momentum has been picked up by a Grizzly team that seemed to have found itself in that locker room in Sacramento.

There is a two-game cushion between Montana both third and fifth-place in the league standings, meaning they are likely to remain in that fourth-place spot. Weber State closes the season with home games against Eastern Washington and ninth-place Idaho before finishing at last-place Northern Arizona.

The nearest competition behind Montana will have to go through the Grizzlies in order to have a shot to climb in the standings.

The games will both tip off at 7:00 p.m. and can be streamed live on ESPN+.

SENIOR NIGHT – MACK ANDERSON
The Grizzlies will honor fifth-year senior Mack Anderson before the game. Anderson has been a stalwart at Montana, playing in 130 career games entering the weekend. He is just four games behind the program record of 134 set by Bobby Moorehead.

Anderson became the first Montana native to play for the Griz as a true freshman since Mike Chavez in 2002-03, and he has been a member of Griz basketball ever since. He helped Montana win the Big Sky Championship and earned a trip to the NCAA Tournament during his freshman season, playing a key role in the quarterfinal win over Sacramento State.

He earned the Allan Nielsen Award as a junior, given annually to the player who best represents Griz basketball. He was also the Ryan Dick Award winner as the team's most-improved player. His value was proven as a senior. Montana were one of the best teams in the league, but finished just 2-6 down the stretch without Anderson because of injury.

He has played over 1,500 minutes as a Grizzly, becoming known and loved for his tough, aggressive style of play. He has 402 career points and 319 career rebounds. There are no easy baskets when Anderson is around. Consider the 25 games that he's fouled out of in his career a warning to opposing players that they will have to fight for every inch on the floor when Anderson is in the paint.

Anderson scored a career-high 16 points in a Big Sky quarterfinal win over Weber State in 2021. Earlier this season, he led Montana to a win on the road against Northern Colorado with a spectacular 15-point, eight rebound performance.

The ceremony will begin prior to the national anthem, and fans are encouraged to show up early to thank Mack for his years as a Grizzly.

SCOUTING PORTLAND STATE (12-16, 6-9 Big Sky)

The Vikings are coming off a close loss at home to Weber State on Saturday. Prior to that, they had won back-to-back games. Portland State are 3-3 since the last meeting with Montana.
Portland State are part of a three-way tie for fifth place in the Big Sky with just three games remaining. It will be an important finish to the season for them as the top six teams in the league all receive first-round byes at the conference tournament in Boise.
Chaos is comfortable for Portland State. They lead the league and are 15^th in the country in turnover margin, blocking the most shots (3.7) per game with the second-most steals (6.5) in the league. Part of this is due to their temp. They are top 10 in the country in average possession length according to kenpom.com, taking up just half of the 30 seconds allowed on average.
The steal stats are impressive, but it's the turnovers not associated with steals that gets to opponents. The Vikings are the best in the country at non-steal turnover percentage.
The bench has been outstanding for the Vikings, averaging 26.7 points per game. It's the most of any Big Sky team and puts them 13^th in the country in the category.
Portland State scores fastbreak points in bunches. They average 14.8 per game to again lead the Big Sky and rank 14^th overall in the NCAA.
They defeated Northern Arizona on a full-court, tip-in buzzer beater last week. The play was No. 1 on SportsCenter's Top 10.
A familiar face leads the Vikings, as former Grizzly Cameron Parker has been the best player on Portland State this season. Parker has earned two Big Sky Player of the Week honors and has averaged 20.0 points and a Big Sky-best 6.9 assists per game in league play.
Jorell Saterfield is the only other Viking in the top 25 in the league in scoring at 10.9 points per game.

SERIES HISTORY VS. PORTLAND STATE
Montana have won three straight in the series against Portland State to extend the all-time series lead to 43-27. Montana have been particularly good at home against the Vikings, going 26-6 in Missoula dating back to the 1965-66 season.

The Grizzlies have won 11 of the last 12 meetings in Missoula, with just a single loss since 2008. It came in 2019, as the Vikings knocked off a Grizzly team that would go 16-4 in league play in overtime.

Montana won the first meeting between the two 73-67 in Portland, starting a five-game winning streak that changed the course of the season.

SCOUTING SACRAMENTO STATE (13-15, 6-9 Big Sky)

The Hornets defeated Idaho State on Saturday, snapping a six-game losing streak. Their previous win was against Montana on Jan. 26. The Griz and Hornets have gone in opposite directions since that day, with Montana going 5-1 and Sacramento State now 1-6.
Head coach David Patrick is in his first year at the helm, and has the Hornets exceeding expectations. They've already recorded more overall wins and matched their league win total from last season with three games to play.
Defense and size have been the keys for the Hornets so far in league play. They are second in the league in total rebounding (36.3) and rebounding margin (6.5), and have the fourth-best scoring defense in league play. Their rebounding margin is also the 28^th best in the entire country.
The defense is not only good, it's also been very clean this year. They commit under 15 fouls per game, which puts them in first in the Big Sky and 32^nd overall in D-1 basketball.
Offensively, they can struggle to get it going. They rank last in the conference with just 64.9 points per game and have shot the worst field goal percentage (42.8) of any Big Sky team.
The game will be shortened when you play against Sacramento State. They have an average possession length of 20.8 seconds, the second-slowest out of all 363 teams in the country. Montana has a similar pace, ranking 348^th at 19.6 seconds. It led to a low-scoring affair in the first meeting as Montana had a season-low 48 points on just 48 shots.
Zach Chappell leads the Hornets in scoring with 13.4 points per game. A Sacramento native, he plays over 30 minutes per game and has also made 51 threes and recorded 30 steals.
Callum McRae has been one of the best bigs in the league this year. He averages 9.3 rebounds per game in conference play to rank second in the Big Sky, and is also 16^th in scoring at 12.5 points.
Akol Mawein provides a secondary tower inside for the Hornets. He is seventh in the league with 6.0 rebounds per game

SERIES HISTORY VS. THE HORNETS
Montana has dominated the all-time series with a current lead of 47-12, but the recent years have gone in favor of Sacramento State. They have taken three of the last four against Montana, including a dominant win inside The Nest earlier this year.

The Grizzlies are 25-3 against the Hornets in Missoula, but two of those losses have come in the last five meetings. Montana is still 7-3 in the previous 10 games in the series, as they won eight straight games from 2017-18 until 2020-21.

The loss earlier this year was a turning point in the season for Montana. There was a long meeting held after the game, and they have responded with the best stretch of the season since that day.

MONTANA'S RECENT FORM
It was this same weekend split, on the road, where Montana's season turned around. The final two games of January provided both a low-point and a new beginning. The Griz dropped to 3-6 in Big Sky play after a 67-48 loss to Sacramento State, the worst start of the DeCuire era. It led to a long team meeting after the final buzzer.

The discussion has proven fruitful. The Griz responded that Saturday with a win against Portland State, setting up the best stretch of the season for Montana. The win over the Vikings was the first of five straight, elevating Montana from seventh in the league to fourth. It came to an end last Saturday against second-place Montana State, but the Grizzlies have a chance in the final five days of the season to pick the momentum back up heading to Boise.

FRESH START FEBRUARY
The Grizzlies have been a new team in February, going 4-1 so far with three games to play. It's tied for the most wins in any month this season for Montana. The emergence of Aanen Moody has been a key aspect, as the guard has scored 20-plus points in four of the five games. He is also 18-of-33 (54.5 percent) from the three-point line this month.

MOODY'S MILESTONE
Aanen Moody has been a huge addition to Montana this season after transferring from Southern Utah over the summer. The guard scored his 1,000th career point in the road win against Weber State with his first points of the game. He's had 20-plus points in four of the previous five games, and in the process has become Montana's leading scorer this season at 15.7 points per game.

BEYOND THE ARC
The three-point line has been a crucial component to Montana's successful run over the last month. The Grizzlies have been very good from the arc on both sides of the ball, leading the the Big Sky in three-point percentage (39.9) with the second-most makes per game (8.7) in league play.

On the defensive side, the Griz allow the third-lowest percentage (32.0) in the league. They have held two of their previous four opponents under 20 percent from the arc.

In addition to leading the league, the Grizzlies also rank in the top 55 nationally in a couple of categories based on season-long stats. They are 26th in the nation in three-point percentage (37.6) and 54th in three-point percentage defense (31.2).

THE STORY FROM THE STRIPE
Montana has broken the school record for team free throw percentage in back-to-back seasons. As they enter the home stretch of the season, the Grizzlies are in a good position to make yet another run at the record. The team is shooting 78.6 percent from the line this year. It is the 7th best percentage in D-1 basketball.

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

The Grizzlies have four players shooting 84 percent or better this season, led by Josh Vazquez at 89.2 percent. Aanen Moody (86.2), Lonnell Martin Jr. (85.7), and Dischon Thomas (84.8) have all been stellar from the line as well.

But Montana has still somehow been outshot from the line in 11 games. The Grizzlies opponents are converting at an astonishing 77.1 percent clip. In league play it's even better at 78.5 percent. It makes Montana's free throw defense – an uncontrollable figure – 357th in the country out of 363 teams.

Free throw shooting played a crucial role in Montana's loss in the Brawl of the Wild last Saturday. The Grizzlies went 15-of-17 (88.2 percent) from the line but were outscored by 17 points as the Bobcats connected on 32-of-41 (78.0 percent) free throw attempts.

It was the second time this season that an opponent has made 30-plus free throws against Montana, making them one of just seven teams in the country in that category. The Griz have fewer attempts than their opponent in 20 of the 27 games so far. They are 6-1 when shooting more free throws, and 8-12 in the other games.

MONTANA'S MAGIC NUMBER
The 67-point mark has been a significant number for Montana men's basketball this year. The Grizzlies allow 67.1 points per game this year to rank as the third-best defense in the Big Sky, and holding teams under that number has been crucial to winning.

The race to 67 is typically a telling factor in the outcome of Griz games. The first team to 67 has won 12 of 13 league games this year. Montana is 8-1 when beating their opponent to the number. They are 0-4 when the opponent reaches 67 first. There have been two games where neither side has reached 67 points, both Griz losses.

It's also a number that has appeared often. Montana held four consecutive opponents to 67 points in late January, and the Grizzlies have scored exactly 67 points on two occasions as well.

THE .500 STREAK
The Grizzlies entered the season as one of just 18 schools in the country to finish at or above .500 in 14 straight seasons. The streak appeared to be in jeopardy after the first meeting with Sacramento State when Montana dropped to 9-12, but the Griz have bounced back well. They are currently a game over .500 with three to play, then will have at least one more game at the Big Sky Tournament awaiting.

A sweep this weekend would clinch another winning record for Montana. Florida State, Louisville and Ohio State will all lose their streaks this season, which would make the Griz one of just 15 schools in the country with a 15-year streak if they can close strong.

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Players Mentioned

Mack Anderson

Lonnell Martin Jr.

Aanen Moody

Cameron Parker

Dischon Thomas

Josh Vazquez

University of Montana Athletics