Montana takes best start since 2018 to Texas A&M

MONTANA (4-1) at TEXAS A&M (2-2)
Tuesday, Nov. 18 / 6:00 PM (MT) / Watch / Live Stats

Montana men's basketball will take its best five-game start in seven years on the road this week for a mid-week game at Texas A&M. It's the second time they will face the Aggies under head coach Travis DeCuire with the last meeting coming in the first round of the 2015 NIT.

The game will be available to stream on ESPN's SEC Network+ with Will Johnson on the call and Blake McDonald as an analyst.

The Grizzlies are 4-1 after defeating Cal Poly at home on Friday night. Montana scored 90+ for the second straight game and third time this season in the win. Money Williams led the Griz to the win with 31 points, six assists, and four rebounds.

Tyler Isaak had his best game at the D1 level with 19 points and a team-high seven rebounds. He went 7-of-8 from the free throw line in the win.

The Grizzlies have played back-to-back games against teams that like to push the pace offensively, leading to plenty of possessions and scoring chances. Montana's average defensive possession length is just 13.9 seconds, which is the 3^rd shortest in the country.

It will be a similar story on Tuesday against a Texas A&M team that forces 16 turnovers per game and plays fast on both ends of the floor under first-year head coach Bucky McMillan.

Montana will look for its first-ever win against a school from the SEC and the first win over a power conference team for the program since defeating Washington in 2020.

BACK-TO-BACK 30-POINT GAMES
Money Williams became the first Montana player in 16 years to score 30+ points in back-to-back games with his performances against UNLV and Cal Poly. Anthony Johnson was the last Grizzly to accomplish the feat in 2009.

He became the first Grizzly to score 30 points at home against a D1 opponent since 2017 when Jamar Akoh did it against Northern Colorado. Williams has four career games with 30+ points.

ONE OF ONE IN THE COUNTRY
There is only one player in the country that is averaging at least 20.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 5.0 assists. Money Williams of Montana. The junior guard averaged over 30 points per game last week to increase his season-long scoring average to 20.2 points.

Williams is also averaging 5.8 assists per game and 5.2 rebounds per game.

GRIZ VS. THE SEC
The Grizzlies are 0-11 all-time vs. the SEC. This is the second straight season that they will face an opponent from the conference after falling 92-57 at #11 Tennessee last year. Montana is 0-6 against the SEC under head coach Travis DeCuire.

BEST FIVE-GAME STARTS
This is Montana's best five-game start to a season since 2018. It's just the second time under Coach DeCuire that Montana has started 4-1 through five games.

The Grizzlies haven't started 5-1 in a season since the 2005-06 season when they opened the season 10-1 under head coach Larry Krystkowiak.

NOVEMBER TO REMEMBER
Montana has won five games in the month of November in just two seasons in program history. They were 5-3 both last season and in 2007-08.

The Grizzlies are 4-1 in the month this season with three games still to play, including two home contests.

NOVEMBER ROAD STATS
Montana has struggled on the road in the month of November under head coach Travis DeCuire, typically playing against Power 4 schools in the non-conference portion of the schedule.

The Grizzlies are just 3-30 (.091) in November road games since 2014. They have been outscored by 15.5 points per game, allowing 76.9 points while scoring 61.4 points per game.

They snapped a 21-game road losing streak in the month of November with the win at UNLV. The last win prior to that came on Nov. 13, 2017 at Pitt.

CONTINUING THE SUCCESS IN 2025
In the calendar year 2025, Montana has seen incredible success. The Grizzlies are 22-5 since Jan. 1. The .833 winning percentage is the best in a calendar year for the program this century and the 17th best winning percentage in all of college basketball in 2025.

SCOUTING TEXAS A&M (2-2)

The Aggies are coming off back-to-back losses, falling at Oklahoma State and then losing at home to UCF.
Last season, Texas A&M finished the year ranked 19^th in the country under head coach Buzz Williams. They went 23-11 overall and earned a 4-seed at the NCAA Tournament.
Head coach Bucky McMillan is in his first season at Texas A&M. He joins the Aggies from Samford, where he had four consecutive 20-win seasons and had a 99-52 overall record (.656).
The Aggies have gone deep into their bench in the early stages of the season with 10 players averaging at least 10.0 minutes per game. Marcus Hill leads the team with just 23.8 minutes per game.
Six different Aggies are scoring at least 8.2 points per game. Rashaun Agee leads the team with 12.0 points.
They are one of the most experienced teams in the country, ranking 14^th in the NCAA in terms of D-1 experience according to KenPom.com.
Texas A&M average 9.3 steals per game to rank 70^th in the country. They have a +3.5 turnover margin to rank 87^th in the NCAA.
The Aggies are 4-1 all-time against the Big Sky Conference with the last loss coming in 1994.

SERIES HISTORY VS. THE AGGIES
This is the second all-time meeting between Montana and Texas A&M. The two schools met in the 2015 NIT in head coach Travis DeCuire's first season at Montana. The Aggies won that meeting 81-64.

Jordan Gregory led Montana in scoring with 20 points. Brandon Gfeller added 18 and Martin Breunig scored 12.

Alex Caruso was a junior on that Aggie team, one of three players (Jalen Jones and Danuel House) that would go on to play in the NBA.

GRIZ NOTES

Montana ranks 6^th in the entire NCAA in defensive rebounds this season. They are averaging 34.4 per game.
Montana is now 10-51 (.164) in regular season road non-conference games under Coach DeCuire. They snapped a seven-game losing streak with the win at UNLV.
Montana scored 100+ points against a D-I opponent for the first time since 2019 in the win at UNLV.
Montana is now 4-0 when going on a scoring run of at least 10-0 in a game. They scored 16 straight points in the first half against Cal Poly.
This is the first time since 2023-24 that the Grizzlies have scored 90+ points in consecutive games.
At home, Montana has won 10 straight overall and 22 of the previous 23 games.
The Grizzlies are scoring 87.8 points per game, which ranks 82^nd in the NCAA.
They are shooting 80.3 percent from the free throw line this year, which ranks 22^nd in the NCAA.

PLAYER NOTES

Money Williams is the only player in the country averaging at least 20.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 5.0 assists.
- The junior has scored 30 points in back-to-back games. He's the first Grizzly since 2009 to do so.
- He has led Montana in both scoring and assists in four straight games.
- Williams ranks 4^th in percentage of possessions used in the country. 38.0 percent of Montana's possessions end with an action from Williams.
- Over the last five halves of basketball, Williams has scored 80 total points. He's averaging 16.0 points per half of basketball since the break at Stanford.
- He has attempted at least six free throws in four straight games. He ranks 14^th in the country in free throws made.
- Williams' 29 assists this year are 5^th most in the NCAA and lead the Big Sky.
Brooklyn Hicks scored in double figures for the third time this season with 14 points in the win over Cal Poly.
- He's made a three pointer in every game this season.
Tyler Thompson has made a three in in every game this season, going 8-of-22 from the arc.
Tyler Isaak recorded new D-I highs of 19 points and 7 rebounds against Cal Poly. He made a career high in field goals (5), threes (2), and free throws (7) in the win.

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Players Mentioned

Brooklyn Hicks

Tyler Isaak

Tyler Thompson

Money Williams

University of Montana Athletics