Griz head west looking to maintain momentum

Montana men's basketball picked up wins against its two biggest rivals last week, both by double figures, but won't have time to rest on its laurels as it burns through the busiest stretch of the entire schedule. The Griz hit the road for the West Coast section of the Big Sky schedule, playing Portland State and Sacramento State to cap off a stretch of four games in eight days.

The Grizzlies hit the road with plenty of momentum after playing five straight games in the state of Montana. They have won 11 of the previous 13 games with nine of the wins coming by double figures. Outside of the road loss at Weber State, which they have now made up for with a big win at home against the Wildcats, an overtime loss to second-place Northern Colorado is the only blemish on Montana's resume.

The offense has been hot, which has led them to several wins, but on Monday night against Weber the Grizzlies put together a complete performance. They held the Wildcats to just 62 points on 38 percent shooting after WSU put up 93 points in the first meeting between the two schools.

They now face a Portland State team that looked to be a title contender after the non-conference portion of the schedule. The Vikings have struggled so far in Big Sky play, going 2-4 over the opening three weeks while ranking ninth out of 10 teams in the league in both scoring offense and defense. It has led to the league's worst scoring margin at -13.3 points per game.

The strengths of Montana seem well-equipped to take advantage of the weaknesses of the Portland State team. The Vikings are among the worst teams in the country at guarding the three-point line, allowing opponents to make 36.0 percent from deep.

Montana, meanwhile, has been among the best in the country since the start of the New Year. In six games this month, Montana is shooting 44.5 percent from three. It's the fifth-best mark in the NCAA in games played in January.

And while the Vikings have lost four of their last five games, they have still been very good at home on the year. They have played seven out of nine games on the road, but now return home for four straight inside Viking Pavilion. They are 5-1 in their home gym this season, and that includes a three-point win over Weber State on Jan. 13.

This road trip served as a turning point in Montana's season last year. The Grizzlies entered Viking Pavilion fresh off a big loss to Sacramento State that dropped them to 3-6 in conference play. They would win in Portland, starting a streak of seven wins in the last eight in the back half of the league.

The second meeting between the two was delayed and eventually canceled as Portland State had issues with flights to Missoula because of a snowstorm in Portland.

It sets up a strange run of games in the series. Montana will be playing in Portland for the sixth time in the last seven meetings as the teams also played both games during the COVID season inside Viking Pavilion.

Montana will then head to California to take on Sacramento State on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. (MT). They will be hoping to get redemption for an ugly loss inside The Next in 2023.

STELLAR SHOOTING IN JANUARY
Montana's offense is peaking in January, and the Grizzlies are putting up big numbers behind some stellar shooting. The Grizzlies rank in the top five in the NCAA in the month of January in field goal percentage, three-point percentage, and free throw percentage.

The Grizzlies are connecting on 54.0 percent of their FGs, 44.5 percent of their threes, and 84.3 percent of their free throws.

In the season-long rankings, Montana are 22^nd in the country in field goal percentage (.488) and 10^th in free throw percentage (.781).

THE .500 STREAK
Montana has finished .500 or better in 14 consecutive seasons, which includes all nine years with DeCuire at the helm. They are one of just 15 schools nationally to boast such a streak. Montana are now seven games over .500 with 12 games to play and are closing in on extending the impressive streak.

The Grizzlies have recorded at least 20 wins in eight of the 14 years. The other 14 schools are all above .500 at the moment as well as they look to extend streaks of their own.

RED-HOT OFFENSE
The Griz averaged 90.0 points per game over a four-game stretch from Jan. 3-13. It's the best four-game stretch against D1 opposition since averaging 92 points over a four-game stretch from Jan. 4-13, 2018. The Grizzlies averaged 91 points over a four-game stretch in 2021, but two of those games were against Yellowstone Christian (104) and SAGU AIC (118).

Montana are currently 70th in the NCAA in scoring offense at 79.0 points per game. It's the second-best scoring offense in program history, trailing only the 1965-66 Grizzlies who averaged 83.6 points under head coach Ron Nord.

They've done it by taking care of the ball and getting high quality shots. Montana are 37th in the nation in assist/turnover ratio (1.47) and 22nd in field goal percentage (48.8).

GRIZ NOTES

Montana has shot better than 50 percent in three straight games and six of the last seven overall. They have also shot at least 80 percent from the free throw line in four straight games as a team.
The Griz have more assists than their opponents in seven straight games.
This is the third game for Montana in a four-game, eight-day stretch. They will conclude the busy stretch on Saturday at Sacramento State.
Montana has used six different starting lineups this year. The current rotation is tied as the most-used lineup and has a 3-2 record in five games.
The top eight players in Montana's rotation have all had at least one game with 17 points this season.
Montana started the game down 16-8 at Montana State. It was the biggest deficit the Grizzlies had faced in six games. It's also the largest deficit that Montana has overcome for a victory so far this season.
In games when Montana shoots the same or better than their opponent from the field, they are a perfect 13-0. They are 0-6 when allowing the opponent to shoot a better field goal percentage.
If Montana shoots over 50 percent, they are undefeated. They have done so in 10 games total, and six of the last seven.
It extends beyond the arc as well, where Montana is 11-1 when finishing with a higher three-point field goal percentage.
The Grizzlies are 13-1 when scoring at least 70 points in a game this year.
Montana has had a different leading scorer seven times this year. Moody has led Montana in scoring seven times, and Whitney has done it four times.
Montana's 98-92 overtime loss to Northern Colorado was the first defeat for the Grizzlies when scoring at least 70 points this year, and just the second loss for a DeCuire-coached team when they scored at least 90 (12/10/14 vs. Davidson).
The team that reaches 67 points first is 18-1 in Montana's 19 games this year. There have been just three games that featured second-half lead changes, and the team that enters the break with the advantage is 16-2 overall.

SCOUTING PORTLAND STATE (11-8, 2-4 Big Sky)

The Vikings have lost two straight games and four out of five overall. They were on the road against Northern Arizona and Northern Colorado last week, losing the weekend by an average of 24.0 points per contest.
This is the first game in a four-game home stand for Portland State, which is their longest of the season.
Portland State has gone cold from the field, shooting just 39.2 percent as a team and under 30 percent from three-point range over the previous nine games.
The Vikings have just one player averaging at least 10.0 points per game. KJ Allen, a 6-6 senior from Los Angeles, did not play last week due to injury.
Head coach Jase Coburn is in his third year as head coach and 11^th overall at Portland State. He is 37-44 in his three years in charge.
The Vikings average 65.3 points per game in Big Sky play and have allowed 78.7 points per game. They have the league's worst scoring margin at -13.3.
Portland State is shooting 40.7 percent as a team, which is 8^th in the league, but they have been good defensively. They are third in the Big Sky, holding opponents to 44.6 percent from the floor.
They have a flair for the dramatic with three buzzer-beating wins this season. The latest came on Dec. 18 in a 75-72 overtime win over Fresno State.
They are traditionally one of the fastest teams in the Big Sky, and this year is no exception. They have an adjusted tempo of 69.0, the third-fastest in the league behind Northern Colorado and Eastern Washington.
Jorell Saterfield was a preseason All-Big Sky pick. He's averaged 9.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game this year.

SERIES HISTORY VS. THE VIKINGS
Montana leads the all-time series with Portland State 43-27. They have won three straight in the series. This will be the second-straight meeting in Portland and the sixth in the last seven between the two that takes place in Viking Pavilion. Montana is 17-19 all-time in the Rose City.

Head coach Travis DeCuire is 11-5 vs. Portland State with a 6-4 record in Portland.

UP NEXT
Montana will be back home next week to host Idaho on Thursday. The highlight of the weekend comes on Saturday, when Montana will host its second N7 Game when Eastern Washington comes to town. The Eagles are currently in first place in the Big Sky with a perfect 5-0 record.

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