Griz host South Dakota State to kick off Big Sky-Summit Challenge

Wednesday, December 4

Missoula, Mont.

7:00 PM

Montana

South Dakota State

Tickets

at Dahlberg Arena on November 27, 20242 in Missoula, Montana.

Photo by: Tommy Martino/University of Montana

Griz host South Dakota State to kick off Big Sky-Summit Challenge

12/2/2024 4:53:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Game Notes

By: Montana Sports Information

The toughest home test of the young season has arrived for the Montana men's basketball team. South Dakota State will likely bring a 7-2 record to Missoula this Wednesday at 7:00 PM in the first game of the Big Sky-Summit Challenge.

It kicks off a week of Griz vs. Jackrabbits, as the two schools will also play in women's basketball on Saturday as well as the FCS Playoffs in football.

Montana enters the night at 5-3 after a tremendous week at home during the Stew Morrill Classic. The Grizzlies won their home MTE with wins over Denver, Utah Tech, and CSUN in a four-day span.

They now get an NCAA Tournament team from last season in town, and the Jackrabbits have looked the part again in 2024. They have a top 100 scoring offense in the country and have outscored opponents by 12.8 points per game.

South Dakota State plays Dakota Wesleyan on Monday night, their first game since playing three straight days in the Cayman Islands. They defeated Duquesne and Missouri State in the Cayman Islands Classic, and lost by a single point to Boise State.

Their only other loss this year came against Northern Colorado on Nov. 14.

Montana enters December with five wins for just the second time in program history, and will look to repeat the success of last season in the Big Sky-Summit Challenge. Montana went 2-0 in the event last year.

Joe Pridgen has garnered the headlines coming out of the Stew Morrill Classic, earning MVP honors for three straight impressive performances. Pridgen had his first double-double as a Grizzly in the win over CSUN, scoring 20 points and adding 13 rebounds.

The transfer has been a dominant presence for Montana all season, scoring in double figures five times in eight games and finishing with at least eight rebounds in five games as well.

The Grizzlies are also starting to get to full strength for the first time all season. Malik Moore made his Montana debut during the MTE, and after shaking off the rust early showed he can be a major contributor with a 22-point, 7-rebound, 4-assist performance in the win over CSUN.

Jensen Bradtke has also played in the last four games, and head coach Travis DeCuire is finally getting a chance to figure out rotations with a healthy squad. It should provide Montana plenty of versatility and depth across the board.

They will need everyone playing well to take down the Jackrabbits, who were ranked 96^th in the first NCAA NET rankings of the season and 119^th in KenPom. Montana slotted in at 152 in the first NET rankings and are 200^th in the KenPom.

FIRST ONE'S ON COACH DECUIRE
Head coach Travis DeCuire will cover the first drink of the first 100 students in attendance on Wednesday night. Students can choose between a token good for one free beer* in the beer garden, or a $10 voucher to the concessions stand.

*Must be 21 with a valid ID to redeem beer offer.

SCOUTING SOUTH DAKOTA STATE (6-2)

The Jackrabbits enter the week at 6-2 with a likely win coming Monday night against Dakota Wesleyan. They are 3-0 at home, and 3-2 in neutral locations this year. They are yet to play a true road game.
SDSU has won at least 16 games every season under 6^th-year head coach Eric Henderson. Henderson has won 20 games three times in five years, including a 30-win season in 2021-22.
Since 2012, the Jackrabbits have reached seven NCAA Tournaments and also won nine regular season Summit League championships.
They are one of the least-experienced teams in the NCAA, with the average number of D-1 seasons played by the current roster well under 1.00. They rank 333^rd in the country in experience, according to KenPom.
The Jackrabbits have dominated the glass this season, outrebounding opponents by 10.3 per game. They rank 17^th in the NCAA in the category. They are 15^th in the country with 29.9 defensive rebounds per game.
SDSU shoot the ball well, making 48.4 percent of their field goal attempts this year. They also hold opponents to low shooting efficiency, limiting them to 39.0 percent from the floor. Both number rank in the top 60 in the country.
Oscar Cluff has been one of the best players in college basketball this season. He ranks 2^nd in the country in rebounding with 11.8 per game, and is also 73^rd in scoring at 18.1 points per game.
Cluff has six double-doubles, trailing only Stanford's Maxime Raynaud in the NCAA. The Aussie transferred to SDSU from Washington State.
Joe Sayler and Kalen Garry also average double figure scoring for the Jackrabbits. Sayler is at 13.0 points per game in six appearances while Garry averages 11.3 points and leads the team with 24 assists.

SERIES HISTORY VS. THE JACKRABBITS
Montana is 6-1 all-time against South Dakota State and has won the previous three meetings. The two teams last met in 2022, an 81-56 win for the Grizzlies.

In Missoula, Montana is 3-1. The only loss came in double-overtime in the 2012-13 season. This will be the third time that Coach DeCuire has played against SDSU, and he's looking for his third win.

SUPER SCHEDULE
Montana's schedule has been among the most difficult in the entire country this season. The Grizzlies' three road games all came against teams currently ranked in the top 15 in the country in the NCAA Net Rankings that have combined to start the season 21-0.

In the latest AP Poll, Tennessee is ranked #3, Oregon is ranked #12, and Utah State are receiving votes and have 28 points in the poll to rank 34^th.

The Grizzlies have played the sixth strongest schedule in the NCAA, according to the NET Rankings. Montana is 0-3 against Quad-1 teams, 1-0 against Q2, and 2-0 against Q4.

PROPS TO PRIDGEN
Joe Pridgen earned MVP honors following the Stew Morrill Classic after leading the Grizzlies to a 3-0 record in the home MTE. The transfer averaged 17.3 points and 8.7 rebounds per game over the three wins, throwing down eight total dunks in the process.

He's scored in double figures five times this year and had his first double-double as a Grizzly with 20 points and 13 rebounds against CSUN. It was the 11^th double-double of his career.

Pridgen was the first Grizzly since Josh Bannan on Nov. 17, 2022 to have at least 20 points and 13 rebounds in a game. It's only the 10^th time under DeCuire that a Montana player has finished with the stat line.

BIG SKY-SUMMIT CHALLENGE
This is the second year of the Big Sky-Summit Challenge, and it's been a successful endeavor for Montana. The Griz are 2-0 in the Challenge, beating North Dakota State in Fargo and South Dakota at home last season.

Overall, DeCuire is 13-6 against the Summit League. He is 2-0 against South Dakota State and 1-0 against St. Thomas, this year's opponents in the Challenge.

NOVEMBER TO REMEMBER
For just the second time in program history, Montana enters the month of December with five wins. It was a busy month for the Grizzlies with eight total contests. It's just the third time ever that Montana has played that many games in the first month of the season.

The last time Montana had five wins on Dec. 1 was in 2007-08. The Grizzlies were also 5-3 that year. This year's team will hope for a better finish to the season than the 07-08 Grizzlies as they were the last Montana team to finish under .500.

ALL-TOURNEY HONORS
Joe Pridgen, Brandon Whitney, and Kai Johnson were named to the All-Tournament Team at the Stew Morrill Classic. Pridgen earned MVP honors for his performances, but Johnson and Whitney were critical in Montana's 3-0 week as well.

Whitney averaged 10.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in 32.5 minutes per game. Johnson averaged 12.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game, scoring the game-winning bucket in Montana's win over Utah Tech.

MONTANA NOTES

Joe Pridgen was named the MVP of the Stew Morrill Classic after averaging 17.3 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. Pridgen also had eight total dunks in the three games as Montana went 3-0 to win the title.
The Grizzlies are 4-0 in the Big Sky-Summit Challenge. They have two road wins over North Dakota State, and have also defeated South Dakota State and South Dakota at home.
Malik Moore missed the start of the season with an injury, but returned for the Stew Morrill Classic and made an instant impact. Moore started two games, and had 22 points and 7 rebounds in the win over CSUN.
Head coach Travis DeCuire won his 206^th career game last Wednesday. It moved him into 4^th place in all-time wins by a Big Sky coach, passing Weber State's Neil McCarthy.
Te'Jon Sawyer recorded a career-high three blocks in Montana's win over CSUN.
In the win over CSUN, Montana shot 37 free throws. It's the most since 43 attempts against Georgia State on Nov. 9, 2018. It's only the 7^th time under DeCuire that Montana has attempted at least 35 free throws.
The Grizzlies are undefeated this year when holding opponents under 45.0 percent shooting from the field. They are 0-3 when opponents shoot at least 45.0 percent. They have held four opponents under 40 percent.
Montana is also 5-0 when holding opponents to fewer than seven made three-pointers, and 0-3 when allowing opponents to make eight-or-more.
In five home games, Montana is outscoring opponents by an average of 20.4 points per game. On the road, Montana has been outscored by 26.0 points per game.
The Griz had a change to the starting lineup in three straight games before re-using the previous lineup last Wednesday against CSUN. The starting lineup from that CSUN game is now 2-0 together.
Money Williams, Brandon Whitney, and Joe Pridgen have started every game this season for Montana. Kai Johnson, Malik Moore, Te'Jon Sawyer, and Jensen Bradtke have all started at least one game.
The Griz have been a first-half team this year. They are outscoring opponents by 3.6 points per game in the first half, but have been outscored by 0.6 points in the second half.