Montana faces Kansas State for first time since 1978

The Montana men's basketball team continues its Midwest road trip on Monday night by facing Kansas State in Manhattan. It's the first meeting between the Grizzlies and Wildcats since 1978 as the Griz look to get their first Big 12 win under head coach Travis DeCuire.

The game will tip off at 6:00 p.m. (MT) and will be streamed on ESPN+ with Ben Boyle and Clent Stewart on the call. The "Voice of the Griz" Riley Corcoran will have the radio coverage on KGVO and the Varsity Network App.

Montana will have some momentum on their side following a come-from-behind win at North Dakota on Saturday night. The game was played under unusual circumstances, but the Grizzlies were able to overcome travel delays, power outages, and more for an 80-71 win.

Jordan Clark had his best day as a Grizzly to help seal the win, scoring 27 points on 7-of-10 shooting. He went a perfect 8-for-8 at the free throw line in the performance.

The Griz trailed by 11 points inside of 10 minutes to go, but Coach DeCuire and company were able to adjust defensively and go on a 17-2 run to take the lead. Montana had 43 rebounds, including 14 on the offensive end, as they won the battle on the boards by 18.

It led to 13 second chance points and 28 points in the paint for Montana as they pulled back to .500 on the year at 2-2. Garret Dutro led the Griz with eight rebounds. Tyler Thompson joined Clark in double figure scoring with 15 points.

Kansas State has had nearly a week off following an 89-82 win over Creighton on Nov. 10. The Wildcats, under first year head coach Casey Alexander, are 2-1 on the season with all three games coming at home.

GRIZ VS. THE BIG 12
This is just the third meeting between Montana and a Big 12 opponent in the Travis DeCuire era. DeCuire is 0-2 against the league with losses at Houston in 2023 and at Kansas in 2015.

Montana is 0-6 all-time against teams from the Big 12 Conference since the league was formed in 1994.

MONTANA NOTES

The Griz came back from 11 points down on Saturday night for the win. It's the largest come-from-behind win for Montana since Feb. 7, 2026 when they beat Idaho after trailing by 13.
Montana outrebounded North Dakota by 18 on Saturday night. It's the best rebounding margin for UM against a D1 opponent since Dec. 17, 2023 when they outrebounded San Jose State 44-24.
Jordan Clark led Montana in scoring for the second time this season in the North Dakota win. The Grizzlies have had four different players lead or co-lead the team in scoring.
The Griz snapped a six-game losing streak on the road with Saturday's win.
Kenyon Aguino is still out injured for Montana. The sophomore is expected to be a starter this season after starting all 34 games in 2025-26 as a freshman.
Montana is one of the least experienced teams in the country in terms of D-1 experience. The Griz roster averages just 0.63 years, which ranks 333rd.
The return of Kenyon Aguino will help, but Montana's current roster has an average height of 76.4", which ranks 327th in D-I basketball. The average roster height is 77.5", according to KenPom.

SCOUTING KANSAS STATE (2-1)

The Wildcats lost their season opener at home 68-66 to South Dakota State. Since then, they have won consecutive games over CSUN (95-78) and Creighton (89-82).
This is the fourth straight home game for the Wildcats. They start the season with five straight home games and don't play a true road game until Dec. 4 at Seton Hall.
Head coach Casey Alexander is in his first season at Kansas State. He has a 305-181 (.628) career record with stops at Stetson, Lipscomb, and Belmont.
K-State averages 83.3 points per game while giving up 76.0. The 7.3 scoring margin ranks 182^nd in the NCAA.
The 3-point line is key for Kansas State. They score nearly 47 percent of their points from beyond the arc, the 5^th highest percentage in the country. They are 12^th int eh country in made threes with 13.0 per game.
Ball control has been a problem early for the Wildcats. They rank 316^th out of 361 teams with a -3.3 turnover margin.
Brandon Rechsteiner ranks 15^th in the NCAA in scoring this season, averaging 22.7 points per game. Rechsteiner is making over five 3-pointers per game, ranking second in the NCAA in that category. He is shooting 42.1 percent from 3-point range on the year.
Isaiah Braham is the only other Wildcat averaging double figures. He scores 12.0 points per game.
Last year, the Wildcats went 12-20 and finished 3-15 in Big 12 play.
The Wildcats tied for 14^th in the Preseason Coaches' Poll.

SERIES HISTORY VS. THE WILDCATS
This is the third meeting all-time between Montana and Kansas State. The series is tied 1-1 with Montana winning the last meeting in December 1978 in Manhattan. It's the only game played in Manhattan between the two.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Kenyon Aguino

Jordan Clark

Garret Dutro

Tyler Thompson

University of Montana Athletics