Griz look for quick turnaround, host Idaho on Monday

Montana vs. Idaho
Monday, January 20 / 7:00 PM / Watch / Live Stats / Tickets

The second-place Montana men's basketball team will look to put a loss at Idaho State behind them, and they won't have to wait long as they host Idaho on Monday night in Dahlberg Arena at 7:00 p.m.

The Griz will look to sweep the season series over the Vandals after winning 73-71 in the first meeting in Moscow on Jan. 4. It would be the 5th time that DeCuire has swept the season series over the regional rivals, and increase the winning streak over Idaho to six games.

Montana has won 11 of the last 12 against Idaho, including five straight wins in Missoula. The Vandals haven't won in Dahlberg Arena since 2017.

It's the first of two stretches for the Griz that features three games in five days during league play, and kicks off a run of four straight home games.

The way that Saturday's loss came about may have kept the coaching staff awake that night, but Montana still sits in a very good position through six games. Montana, at 4-2 in league play, trails only Northern Colorado in the Big Sky standings.

The Griz picked up a gritty come-from-behind victory on Thursday night at Weber State. They looked on their way to a weekend sweep at halftime on Saturday, but Idaho State responded with a nearly perfect half to send Montana home with a split of the road trip.

Malik Moore led Montana with 12 points and Jensen Bradtke reached double figures for the third time this season in the loss on Saturday. Money Williams had five assists, his third-most in his career against a D-1 opponent, and Joe Pridgen led Montana with nine rebounds.

But the Grizzlies were dominated on the glass, particularly in the second half, in the loss. The Grizzlies are in the bottom 50 in the country in rebounding. Idaho State is among the nation's best. The result of the mismatch was a 26-5 advantage over the final 20 minutes for the Bengals, who outscored Montana 50-17 in the second half.

Despite that, road splits are good in league play, so long as you win at home. Montana has been very good at doing so this season with an 8-1 overall record inside Dahlberg Arena.

Idaho has been a surprise in league play this season, currently sitting in a tie for third place with a 3-2 Big Sky record. The Vandals are coming off a win in their lone game of the week on Saturday, defeating Eastern Washington 83-76.

It's a week full of home rivalry matchups for the Grizzlies as they follow up Monday's game with just a single contest over the weekend. It's a big one, as the Montana State Bobcats will come to town on Saturday for the Brawl of the Wild.

BOUNCE BACK GAMES
Montana is 5-2 following a loss this season. They have been able to respond to several tough defeats with great performances in the next game, most recently shaking off a 24-point loss to Northern Colorado with a win over Weber State in Ogden.

The Grizzlies have only lost two straight games twice this season, and both streaks consisted entirely of road games. Montana fell at Tennessee and Utah State – two nationally ranked teams – consecutively in November. They dropped road contests at Northern Iowa and San Francisco to end the non-conference schedule.

WHITNEY WATCH
Brandon Whitney will have an opportunity to move into 4^th place in program history in career assists on Monday. Whitney, who recorded his 404^th assists in a Griz uniform on Saturday, needs three more to tie Kareem Jamar and four to pass the Griz legend.

Whitney is 12^th in career scoring at Montana with 1,437 points. He trails Will Cherry by 47 points for 11^th.

BUSY SCHEDULE
The Big Sky has scheduled Monday games for several seasons, and teams are faced with several three game in five days scenarios as a result. This is the first of two such stretches for the Griz.

The Grizzlies stayed the night in Pocatello on Saturday and traveled home Sunday to prepare for the Vandals.

Montana's second stretch comes on the final week of the season. They will travel to Sacramento State and Portland State for Thursday/Saturday contests before returning home for the regular season finale against Eastern Washington.

MONTANA NOTES

The battle on the boards has been a struggle for Montana all season, and it was on display in Saturday's loss. The Grizzlies were outrebounded 39-26 on the night, and 26-5 in the second half.
- Joe Pridgen had nine of Montana's 26 rebounds (34.6 percent) on the night. Jensen Bradtke also had five as the two players combined for 14-of-26 boards. Whitney (3) and Johnson (2) were the only other Grizzlies with multiple rebounds.
- The Grizzlies have outrebounded just four D-1 opponents this year. They are 2-2 in those games. They are 6-6 when being outrebounded.
Montana has outscored its opponents by 15 points in first halves this season, but have been outscored by 24 in the second half of games.
Saturday was the first time this season that Montana led at the half and lost. The Grizzlies were 8-0 with a halftime lead, and 9-0 when leading or tied after 20 minutes.
The 61 points by Montana were the fourth-fewest in a game this season. They have had three of their five lowest totals in the last three games. The other two games were at Oregon and at Tennessee.
Saturday was the 7^th time thios season that the Grizzlies have been held under 70 points. They have a 2-5 record in those games.
- The Grizzlies have been held to 63-or-fewer points in three straight games.
- Montana has gone cold shooting the ball. The Grizzlies had shot better than 50 percent in six out of seven games from Dec. 7 to Jan. 9. Since then, the Grizzlies have been held to 40 percent or worse from the field in three straight games.
This will be Montana's 5^th Monday game this season. They are 2-2 on Mondays.
Idaho State blocked seven Montana field goals, the most by an opponent this year.
The Griz were held under 40 percent from the field for the fourth time this season. They are 0-4 when doing so.
In the gray uniforms, Montana fell to 1-3 this season.
Of Montana's seven players averaging at least 20 minutes per game, five of them are averaging fewer points in Big Sky play than they are for the season. Te'Jon Sawyer (8.1 to 9.2 PPG) and Austin Patterson (6.0 to 6.3 PPG) are the only two players to increase scoring against league opponents

SCOUTING IDAHO (8-10, 3-2 BIG SKY)

The Vandals are playing their second game of the extended weekend. They defeated Eastern Washington on Saturday afternoon 83-76. They have alternated wins and losses through five games in Big Sky play.
Prior to the Eastern Washington win, the Vandals split the West Coast road trip. They defeated Sacramento State 80-67 and lost to Portland State 75-63.
Idaho defeated Montana State in its Big Sky opener in Moscow, but fell to Montana in the second game.
The Vandals are 3-6 on the road this season. They have wins at Kansas City, at Pacific, and at Sacramento State.
In the NCAA Net Rankings, Idaho come in at 241. They are the 6^th ranked Big Sky team. They are 246^th in the latest KenPom Rankings.
Head coach Alex Pribble is in his second season in Moscow. He has a 19-31 record in charge of the Vandals. It's his sixth season as a head coach with a career record of 120-72.
Idaho averages 74.6 points per game and allow 74.2. They are good from beyond the arc, making 9.4 threes per game to lead the Big Sky and rank 52^nd nationally.
The Vandals have the fewest fast break points in the Big Sky and the second-worst turnover margin at -0.6.
Idaho averages 23.5 bench points per game, the third most in the Big Sky.
They are one of the least experienced teams in the country with the average an average D-1 experience of 0.68 years, according to KenPom.com. The Vandals rank 346^th, well below the D-1 average of 1.74 years.
Kristian Gonzalez leads the Vandals in scoring at 12.3 points per game. Tyler Mrus (10.8) and Kolton Mitchell (10.3) also average double figures. Mitchell leads the Vandals with 3.4 assists per game.
Julius Mims ranks 6^th in the Big Sky with 6.1 rebounds per game. He was a Preseason All-Conference Selection.

SERIES HISTORY VS. IDAHO

Idaho leads the all-time series 112-95. The Griz lead in Missoula 65-31. The Grizzlies have won the previous five matchups in Missoula, and haven't lost to Idaho at home since 2017.
The Griz have won five straight in the series, and 11 of the last 12 overall. DeCuire is 14-6 overall against the Vandals, and has a 6-2 record in Moscow.

Griz look for quick turnaround, host Idaho on Monday

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jensen Bradtke

Malik Moore

Austin Patterson

Joe Pridgen

Te'Jon Sawyer

Brandon Whitney

Money Williams

University of Montana Athletics

Griz look for quick turnaround, host Idaho on Monday

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jensen Bradtke

Malik Moore

Austin Patterson

Joe Pridgen

Te'Jon Sawyer

Brandon Whitney

Money Williams

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