Griz host N7 Game looking to maintain momentum

MONTANA (14-8, 7-2 Big Sky) vs. SACRAMENTO STATE (6-15, 2-6 Big Sky)
Saturday, Feb. 1 / 4:00 PM / Watch / Live Stats / Tickets

N7 GAME
Saturday will be Montana's third annual N7 game, the Nike initiative that attempts to inspire Native American youth to participate in sports and physical activity.

Montana will wear customized turquoise uniforms, the color that symbolizes friendship and fellowship in Native American cultures.

Prior to the game, there will be presentation of Tribal Flags and a performance of the Honor Song.

PREVIEW
Montana is coming off one of its best offensive performances in years and will look to maintain the positive momentum as they enter the back half of Big Sky play very much in the thick of the title hunt.

The Grizzlies are 7-2 in Big Sky play at the midway point, the best start in league play since 2022. They ended the first half of the schedule with their biggest win in conference play, knocking off third place Portland State 92-78.

The offensive output for Montana matched a season high against D1 opponents, and came from a balanced scoring effort. The Griz had six players reach double figures, the most in a game since 2018.

Montana also shot 63.6 percent from the floor, the best field goal percentage for the Grizzlies since 2016. The Grizzlies were scorching hot in the second half, making 17-of-23 (.739) of their field goals and 4-of-5 (.800) three pointers.

It all came against a defense that had held its previous 11 opponents to an average of fewer than 60 points a game. The Vikings were 5-2 in Big Sky play, and despite the loss still remain in third place in the league standings.

There is now some separation at the top with Northern Colorado (7-1) and Montana (7-2) separated by just a half-game before the drop off to Portland State.

Montana now turns its attention to Sacramento State. The Hornets are looking to snap a two-game losing streak after falling by 12 in Bozeman on Thursday night. Sacramento State is 2-6 in Big Sky play.

This is the final game in Montana's home stand. It's been very successful so far as the Grizzlies have won the first three to improve to 11-1 inside Dahlberg Arena this season. Montana's 11 home wins are tied for the 16^th most in the NCAA this season.

The Griz will hope to carry over the January success into February as they open the new calendar month on Saturday. The Grizzlies will have five of their next seven games on the road as they look to remain in the regular season title race.

90-POINT NIGHTS
Montana scored 90 points for the fourth time this season in Thursday night's win over Portland State. It's just the 11^th season in program history with as many 90-point games. The most in a single season is six.

The Grizzlies have hit the 90-point mark 10 times over the previous two seasons, matching the 1990-92 teams for the best two-year stretch for 90-point games. Two of the 90-point outings have come in Big Sky play. The Grizzlies have never had more than three 90-point games in a single conference season.

JOLLY JANUARY
Montana went 7-2 in the month of January, starting the first half of Big Sky play off in impressive fashion. The seven wins is tied for the 9^th most in the NCAA during the month of January.

It's a month that, historically speaking, has been good to Coach DeCuire and the Grizzlies. They have 62 total wins in the first month of the year dating back to his first season in charge, tied for the 30^th most in the NCAA during that span.

WHITNEY WATCH
Graduate guard Brandon Whitney is currently tied for 3rd in program history in career assists and 12th in scoring. Whitney has 411 career assists. He passed Kareem Jamar on Thursday and is now tied with Scott Zanon for 3^rd.

He needs 24 more to tie Coach DeCuire for the program's all-time record.

Whitney has 1,483 points in his career. He passed Jordan Hasquet for 12th at Eastern Washington (1/2) and trails Will Cherry by just a single point for 11th.

Whitney has also played more minutes than any other player in program history, and needs to play in 11 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 138 starts in a Grizzly uniform.

DeCUIRE CLOSES IN ON DAHLBERG
Head coach Travis DeCuire is closing in on the Montana all-time record for wins. He won his 215th game on Thursday and now needs just six more in the final 9 games to tie George "Jiggs" Dahlberg for the record.

DeCuire also passed Boise State's Bobby Dye for third-most wins by a Big Sky coach. He now trails only Mick Durham (246) and Randy Rahe (316).

MONTANA NOTES

This is the 7^th time in 11 seasons under Coach DeCuire that Montana has started 7-2 or better in Big Sky play. The 7-2 start is the best since the 2021-22 team also had seven wins through nine games in league play.
Montana improved to 11-1 at home this season. The 11 home wins are tied for 16^th most in the NCAA this year, and are two more than any other Big Sky team.
This is the third year of the N7 game for Montana. The Grizzlies are 1-1 in the previous two editions of the game. They also wore the specialty N7 Nike jerseys earlier this season against Northwest Indian College, and are 2-1 in the uniforms all-time.
Brandon Whitney moved into a tie with Scot Zanon for third in program history with 411 assists. He trails DeCuire's program record by 24 assists. He can also move into 11^th on the all-time scoring list with two points on Saturday.
Montana had six players score in double figures on Thursday night. It's the first time since a Brawl of the Wild win in 2018 that Montana had at least six players with 10 points.
The Grizzlies shot 63.6 percent from the floor on Thursday, the best mark against a D1 opponent since a Big Sky Tournament win over Idaho in 2016.
UM went 10-of-16 (.667) from three-point range on Thursday. It's just the 4^th time under DeCuire they've made at least 10 threes on better than 60 percent shooting.
The hot shooting night bumped Montana up to 33^rd nationally in field goal percentage. They are shooting 48.3 percent as a team this year.
- Thursday night was the fourth time this season Montana has shot better than 55 percent from the floor, and the 11^th time they've shot better than 50 percent from the floor.

SCOUTING SACRAMENTO STATE (6-15, 2-6 BIG SKY)

Sacramento State enters Saturday night on a two-game losing skid. The Hornets finished last week off with a loss to Weber State at home, and then fell 70-58 in Bozeman on Thursday night.
The Hornets have two Big Sky wins, and both have come at home. They defeated Portland State in the first league game of the year and won against Idaho State last week.
Sacramento State made a surprise run to the Big Sky semifinals last season and were within a point of Montana State in the final minute of an eventual 74-71 loss.
They are 1-8 on the road this season. The lone win came at Air Force against a Falcons team that is 3-18 overall and outside of the top 300 in the NET Rankings.
Michael Czepil is serving as the interim head coach this season for the Hornets. He spent the previous two seasons as the lead assistant under head coach David Patrick, who is now the associate head coach at LSU.
Sacramento State has been very good defensively this season. They allow just 67.5 points per game to opponents, the best scoring defense in the league and 66^th best nationally.
On the flip side, the Hornets score just 66.5 points per game, the worst offense in the Big Sky and a bottom 25 mark in the country.
They have shot 42.3 percent from the floor this season, but also limited opponents to just 41.8 percent shooting. The marks are also the bookends on the Big Sky rankings as they lead defensively but come in last offensively.
Jacob Holt ranks 6^th in the Big Sky in scoring at 16.3 points per game. Holt is also 4^th in the conference in rebounding with 6.9 per game.
Bailey Nunn is 9^th in the conference in assists with 3.5 per game. Nunn is also in the top 10 in assist/turnover ratio at 1.70.
Current Grizzly Austin Patterson spent the previous two seasons at Sacramento State, starting 55 games and appearing in 66 as a Hornet.

SERIES HISTORY VS. THE HORNETS

Montana leads the all-time series against Sacramento State 50-12. The Grizzlies have been absolutely dominant in Missoula, going 27-3 against the Hornets at home.
The series has been closer in recent seasons with Montana holding a 4-3 record over the last seven meetings.

University of Montana Athletics

Players Mentioned

Austin Patterson

Josh Vazquez

Brandon Whitney

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