Portland State comes to Missoula for top three showdown

MONTANA (13-8, 6-2 BIG SKY) vs. PORTLAND STATE (13-7, 5-2 BIG SKY)
Thursday, Jan. 30 / 7:00 PM / Watch / Live Stats / Tickets

PREVIEW
The Montana men's basketball team is at the midway point of a four-game homestand, coming off a 77-70 win over Montana State in what is always the biggest home game of the season.

The Grizzlies now shift their attention to a game that may mean more in the Big Sky title conversation as the Portland State Vikings come to town on Thursday with the longest winning streak in the conference.

Montana is in second place in the league standings through four weeks of games with a 6-2 record. Portland State are just a half-game behind at 5-2. The Vikings have won three straight games, the longest active streak in the league.

Northern Colorado are in first place still, but dropped their first game of the season on the road against Idaho last Thursday. It was the first conference loss of the season for the Bears, who are 7-1 with games at home against Northern Arizona and on the road against Idaho State this week.

Thursday's game should be an exciting match-up for basketball fans. The Vikings play a thrilling brand of basketball. They average nearly 80 points per game and have recorded 95 dunks through the first 20 games of the season.

Montana will hope to counter the chaos that the Vikings bring to the game with steady guard play and good ball control. The Grizzlies have had the upper-hand in the series in recent years, particularly at home.

The Grizzlies have won 12 of the last 13 against the Vikings in Missoula. There will be a revenge factor for Portland State in the game as Montana ended their season last year at the Big Sky Tournament in the quarterfinals.

Head coach Travis DeCuire, who won his 214^th career game on Saturday and continues to inch closer to the Montana program record of 221 wins, knows what it takes to win a Big Sky Championship.

The next two weeks for Montana could prove crucial in the quest for DeCuire's fourth regular season championship. The Grizzlies will host third place Portland State this Thursday and travel to first place Northern Colorado next Thursday.

A couple of wins, and the Grizzlies are likely sitting in first place entering the back half of Big Sky play. But losses to either makes the path to a championship much more complicated.

If the Griz win on Thursday, it would be the first 7-2 start to league play for Montana since the 2021-22 season. It would be the 7^th time that DeCuire's teams have started 7-2 through the first nine games in his 11 years.

The game will tip-off at 7:00 p.m. inside Dahlberg Arena, and can be streamed on ESPN+ with "Voice of the Griz" Riley Corcoran on the call.

UP NEXT
Montana will host Sacramento State in the annual N7 Game on Saturday. The game will tip off at 4:00 p.m.

𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐄. 🙌#GrizHoops | #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/QyOkjEgvrS
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) January 27, 2025

WHITNEY WATCH
Graduate guard Brandon Whitney is currently tied for 4th in program history in career assists and 12th in scoring. Whitney has 407 career assists. He passed Will Cherry for 5th, and is now tied with Kareem Jamar for 4th.

The guard could move into the top three on Thursday as he needs just four assists to tie Scott Zanon (1984-87). He needs 28 more to tie Coach DeCuire for the program's all-time record.

Whitney has 1,464 points in his career. He passed Jordan Hasquet for 12th at Eastern Washington (1/2) and trails Will Cherry by 20 points for 11th.

Whitney has also played more minutes than any other player in program history, and needs to play in 12 more games to tie Josh Vazquez for the most appearances in program, and Big Sky Conference, history.

Whitney is also currently tied as the NCAA leader for most career starts at the same school with 137 starts in a Grizzly uniform.

WINNING THE CLOSE ONES
Montana has been very good in close game situations this season. The Grizzlies are 8-2 in games decided by single digits, and 4-1 in games decided by four or fewer points. The Griz have won five straight games decided by single digits.

The only two losses have come against San Francisco and St. Thomas, a pair of road games against teams in the top 103 of the NCAA Net Rankings.

DeCUIRE CLOSES IN ON DAHLBERG
Head coach Travis DeCuire is closing in on the Montana all-time record for wins. He won his 214^th game on Saturday and now needs just seven more in the final 10 games to tie George "Jiggs" Dahlberg for the record.

DeCuire also moved into a tie with Boise State's Bobby Dye for third-most wins by a Big Sky coach. His next win will move him into sole possession of third behind Mick Durham (246) and Randy Rahe (316).

During @CoachesvsCancer week and in support of @AmericanCancer, our guys are suiting up for...

Learn more at https://t.co/1G3rlDx8tY
#GrizHoops | #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/PpD6i9hPP0
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) January 28, 2025

MONTANA NOTES

Head coach Travis DeCuire tied Boise State's Bobby Dye for third place in Big Sky history with his 214^th career win at Montana on Saturday. He now trails only Mick Durham (246) and Randy Rahe (316).
Kai Johnson had 25 points in his first-ever Brawl of the Wild. It's the most points by a Grizzly in their first rivalry game since Ahmaad Rorie had 28 points in a win over the Cats on Feb. 4, 2017.
The Grizzlies scored 48 points in the paint against the Bobcats, the most against a D-1 opponent this season.
Montana is now 10-1 when leading at the half this season. They were up 12 at the break against Montana State, the largest halftime lead since Nov. 24 against Denver.
Montana State shot 53.3 percent from the floor on Saturday. It's the first time Montana has won this year when allowing an opponent to shoot better than 50 percent.
The Grizzlies committed just five turnovers on Saturday, including zero in the second half. It's the fewest in a game since committing four vs. Eastern Washington on Feb. 3, 2024. It's also tied for the third-fewest in a game under DeCuire.
Despite being 6-2, Montana have been outscored in conference play this season. The Grizzlies average 72.0 points and give up 73.9 points per game. The largest win was by 11 points at Eastern Washington while the two losses were by a combined 49 points.
Montana has been excellent at taking care of the ball in league play, averaging under 10 turnovers per game. They have a +2.4 turnover margin against Big Sky opponents.
The Grizzlies have been outrebounded by 6.6 rebounds per game in Big Sky play.
In home games, Montana has five different players averaging at least 10.0 PPG. Kai Johnson is the leading scorer in Missoula with 13.3 points per game.
Joe Pridgen ranks 11^th in the NCAA in field goal percentage by making 62.3 percent of his shots this year. He's also 73^rd in the country in total rebounds with 162.

SCOUTING PORTLAND STATE (13-7, 5-2 BIG SKY)

Portland State has won three straight games entering Thursday night's contest. They started the streak with a road win over Northern Arizona and then defended their home court last week with a 74-56 win over Weber State and a 76-59 win over Idaho State.
The Vikings are 8-1 at home and 4-5 on the road this year. They come in third in the Big Sky in the NCAA Net Rankings at 192.
Portland State and Montana played very different non-conference schedules. The Vikings had the second-easiest preseason in the Big Sky Conference with a NET NC SOS of 317. Montana had the most difficult Big Sky schedule and 15^th toughest in the country.
Head coach Jase Coburn is in his 4^th season in charge of the Vikings. He has a 56-58 overall record, and has won at least a dozen games every year.
The Vikings are 2-10 on the road over the last two years of Big Sky Conference play. They were 7-2 at home and 1-8 on the road last season.
Portland State always play an exciting brand of basketball, and this year is no different. They average 78.8 points per game (82^nd in the NCAA) and are outscoring opponents by 8.9 points per game (74^th in the NCAA).
The Vikings cause havoc on defense, forcing over 15 turnovers per game to lead the Big Sky and rank 30^th in the country. They are 16^th in the country in blocks (5.4/game) and 43^rd in steals (8.6/game), leading the Big Sky in both categories.
PSU has the top bench in the Big Sky, averaging 25.3 points per game.
Expect to see plenty of dunks on Thursday as the Vikings have slammed the ball home 95 times through the first 20 games this season.
Senior guard Qiant Myers, a transfer from Western Oregon, leads the Big Sky and ranks 7^th in the NCAA with 6.9 assists per game. Myers has 137 total assists and a 1.88 assist/turnover ratio.
Tre-Vaughn Minott ranks 32^nd in the country and 2^nd in the Big Sky in blocks with 37 this season. Minott, a 6-9 center, also has 36 dunks this season.
Jaylin Henderson, a Louisiana Tech transfer, leads the Vikings in scoring at 14.1 points per game.

SERIES HISTORY VS. THE VIKINGS

The Grizzlies lead the all-time series 45-28. Montana is 26-6 in Missoula against the Vikings. Montana has won two straight in the series, and five of the last six overall.
At home, Montana has won three straight against Portland State. The Grizzlies haven't lost to the Vikings in Missoula since 2019, a 77-74 overtime loss. The Griz have won 12 of the last 13 against the Vikings inside Dahlberg Arena.
Montana ended Portland State's season in Boise last year, winning 87-81 in the quarterfinals of the Big Sky Conference Tournament.

Portland State comes to Missoula for top three showdown

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Kai Johnson

Joe Pridgen

Josh Vazquez

Brandon Whitney

University of Montana Athletics

Portland State comes to Missoula for top three showdown

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Kai Johnson

Joe Pridgen

Josh Vazquez

Brandon Whitney

Related Videos