Griz face Bears in Big Sky Quarterfinal

Monday, March 9

Boise, Idaho

5:30 PM

Montana

No. 5 Northern Colorado

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Montana beat 74-68 on Robin Selvig Court in Missoula, Mont., on Feb 28, 2026.

Photo by: Tommy Martino/University of Montana

3/7/2026 11:35:00 AM | Men's Basketball

By: Montana Sports Information

#4 MONTANA (16-15, 10-8 BIG SKY) vs. #5 NORTHERN COLO. (20-11, 10-8 BIG SKY)
Monday, March 9 / Boise, Idaho / 5:30 PM / Watch / Live Stats / Listen / Tickets

PREVIEW
When Montana and Northern Colorado met in Boise last year, a Big Sky Championship and a ticket to the NCAA Tournament were on the line for the two teams. It will be a little different this time around as the Griz and Bears meet in the league's quarterfinal round on Monday, March 9 at 5:30 p.m.

The two teams went 58 days in between meetings during the regular season, facing each other in the second game and the final game of Big Sky play. The wait will be much shorter this team around as they get back-to-back games against each other.

The game will also be played nearly one year to the day from Montana and Northern Colorado's title match-up last season. The two teams have been equals over the previous three regular seasons with identical Big Sky records all three years.

The 37 wins over three years, with each team going 10-8 in 2026, 15-3 in 2025, and 12-6 in 2024, are tied for the most in the conference in that time span.

The two teams that have been the cream of the crop in the Big Sky Conference now stand in the way of one another on the path to the Big Sky title.

The Grizzlies have history on their side, winning a 91-83 thriller over Northern Colorado last year on their way to a Big Sky record 12^th tournament title. Montana's 91 points were the 3^rd most in program history in a tournament game and they shot 65.2 percent from the floor, the best percentage against a league opponent in 15 years.

They are officially 4-0 against Northern Colorado all-time at the league's tournament, although the Bears did get a win in 2011 that was vacated by the NCAA. Even with that game, Montana is currently on a three-game winning streak.

Montana will need to be at its best against a veteran-laden Bears team that is peaking at the right time. Northern Colorado enters the tournament having won nine of its final 10 games during the regular season, bouncing back from a 1-7 start to finish league play tied for 4^th place at 10-8.

In the regular season finale, the teams were close in the first half before Northern Colorado's offense got hot and pulled away. The Bears made 15 of 18 shots to go on a 39-12 run in the second period to put the game out of reach.

The run killed some momentum that Montana had been building leading into the tournament. The Grizzlies defeated regular season champion Portland State 74-68 in a game that they led in by as many as 21 points and got a big win over Sacramento State two days prior.

The victory over PSU secured a season sweep of the Vikings, the only team in the league to do so. The winner of Monday's game will play the winner of Portland State vs. the 9/10 seed.

The Grizzlies have a coaching staff that knows how to win in the postseason and the talent to make a deep run in Boise. It all starts on Monday in a championship game rematch against Northern Colorado.

HOW TO WATCH THE BIG SKY TOURNAMENT
Montana's quarterfinal game will stream on ESPN+ with Tony Parks and Joe Cravens on the call. If Montana wins on Monday, the semifinal game will be televised on ESPNU. The championship game this year will be televised on ESPN2.

The semifinals and championship game this year will be called by Roxy Bernstein and Ben Braun. Viewers will need a television provider for these games as they will not stream on ESPN+.

DeCUIRE'S POSTSEASON HISTORY
Head coach Travis DeCuire heads to the Big Sky Conference Tournament for the 11^th time in his illustrious career. DeCuire has reached the championship game six times in his first 10 appearances and won the title three times.

Coach DeCuire is 18-7 all-time at the Big Sky Conference Tournament. It's the most wins in the Big Sky during the time and tied for the 16^th most conference tournament wins nationally since 2014.

MONTANA POSTSEASON HISTORY
The Montana Grizzlies have won the Big Sky Tournament more than any other team in the league's history, claiming their 12^th title last year in Boise. The Grizzlies also have more tournament wins than any other team in the league with 51 and the second most appearances at 46.

The Grizzlies have played in the championship game 22 times in history, reaching the final game a remarkable 48 percent of the time that they go to the tournament. It's the most appearances in the championship game in league history.

THE BOISE ERA
Since the Big Sky Tournament moved to Boise in 2019, Montana has found consistent success inside Idaho Central Arena. The Griz are 11-4 inside Idaho Central Arena with two Big Sky titles during the Boise era.

AS THE NO. 4 SEED
This is Montana's 7^th appearance as the No. 4 seed in Big Sky Tournament history. The Grizzlies were most recently the 4-seed in 2023 when they won their quarterfinal before losing in the semifinals.

Montana has won the Big Sky title out of the 4-spot twice in their previous six appearances. The Grizzlies were the 4-seed in 2010 during Anthony Johnson's heroic 42-point performance against Weber State. They also won the title in 2002 as the 4-seed behind Dan Trammel's MVP performance.

The Griz were also the 4-seed in 2014, 1993, and 1979.

BOUNCING BACK FROM A BIG UNC LOSS
Montana fell by 28 points on Monday at Northern Colorado and will face them just one week later in Boise. It's not the first time that the Griz had a tough regular season loss to Northern Colorado and had to try to overcome it in the postseason.

In fact, just last year the Grizzlies fell by 24 points at home to the Bears. They would get revenge in the Big Sky Tournament by defeating Northern Colorado 91-83 to advance to the NCAA Tournament.

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME REMATCH
This is the 7^th time in program history that Montana will have a rematch of the previous season's Big Sky title game at the tournament. The Grizzlies are 4-2 in the previous six instances. This is the first time the Grizzlies have had a rematch of the previous year's title game in the quarterfinals.

The previous six occasions:

Beat Eastern Washington 68-62 in 2019 championship game after winning 82-65 in the 2018 title game.
Beat Weber State 67-64 in 2013 championship game after winning 85-66 in 2012 title game.
Beat Weber State 57-40 in 2011 semifinals after winning 66-65 in 2010 title game.
Lost to Northern Arizona 78-71 in 2007 semis after beating them 73-60 in 2006 title game.
Beat Idaho 69-52 in 1992 semifinals after winning 76-68 in 1991 title game with Coach DeCuire as a player.
Lost to Weber State 98-71 in 1979 semifinals after losing 62-55 in 1978 title game.

GRIZ ON TAP EVENT
The UM Alumni Association is hosting Griz on Tap in Boise at alumni owned White Dog Brewing. Join the Griz from 5-7 p.m. at 705 W Fulton Street with fellow alumni, friends, and Griz fans.

The men's team will make an appearance alongside Monte, the UM Dance Team, athletic and alumni staff, and more.

MASTERING MARCH
Under Coach DeCuire, Montana is 33-21 in the month of March. The 33 wins are the 41^st most in the NCAA during that time and the most in the Big Sky Conference. The Grizzlies are tied with Loyola Chicago, Illinois, Miami (FL), and Alabama for wins in March since the 2014-15 season.

GRIZ NOTES

Montana is 14-4 when allowing fewer than 80 points. They are 2-11 when giving up 80+ points.
The Griz have been streaky on offense in the last two games. They have six scoring droughts of 3-or-more minutes in the last two games.
This is the first time since 2019 that Montana has opened the conference tournament with the same team that they closed the regular season against. That year, they beat Sacramento State on the road on March 9 and beat them again in Boise on March 14. This is only the second time under DeCuire it's happened with the last occurrence in 2007 when they beat Idaho State in overtime in both the regular season finale and the tourney opener.
Montana is 9-2 when holding opponents under 70 points.
Coach DeCuire won his 150th Big Sky game on Feb. 28 against Portland State. He's just the second person in league history with 150 conference wins, joining Weber State's Randy Rahe.
Money Williams now has 155 assists this season. It's the most in a single year since J.R. Camel had 170 in 1997-98.
Williams has scored 608 total points this season, the 8th most in a single year in program history. He passed Aanen Moody's 2023-24 season on Monday. He trails Sayeed Pridgett (2019-20) by five points and Anthony Johnson (2009-10) by seven points.
When scoring 10+ points in the fast break, Montana is 10-2.
The team leading at halftime is 24-5 this year. The Grizzlies are 12-2 when up at the break and 3-12 when trailing. They are 1-1 when the score is tied.
Have allowed 90+ points five times this season and twice in conference play. The Griz are 2-11 when allowing 80-or-more points, including a 1-4 record when allowing 90+.
The Griz are 8-3 when playing the team they faced in the Big Sky Championship game the previous year under Coach DeCuire. They split the regular season series with Northern Colorado this year.
Montana is 7-1 when they commit the same or fewer turnovers than their opponent.
Kill shots: The Griz are 12-2 when they have a scoring run of 10-or-more.
The Grizzlies scored 19 straight points in the win over Idaho, fueling a big second half comeback. It's the longest scoring run for the Grizzlies since scoring 23 straight against Northwest Indian in the first game of the 2023-24 season.
Entering the first Eastern Washington game on Jan. 10, Montana was 54-3 when leading by 9 or more over the previous three seasons. They went just 5-5 over the next 10 games with 9-point leads, blowing two 9-point leads to Eastern Washington and leads of 9 and 10 to Montana State. They also blew a 10-point lead to Idaho State.
Montana's 6 losses at home this year were the most by the program since going 7-6 in 2007-08.
The Grizzlies have been outshot eight times this season and are 0-8 in those games. They are 16-6 when shooting a better field goal percentage than their opponent.
They are 5-1 when making 11+ 3-pointers in a game.
The Griz are 2-1 in Monday games this year.
Shooting 52.8 percent in wins and just 44.9 percent in losses.
In the last two Big Sky Conference seasons, Montana has shot better than 62 percent five times. They had done so just five times total from 2003-2024.
The Griz held Idaho State to 60 points, the fewest by a D-1 opponent against Montana this year. The Bengals shot just 36.2 percent, also a season low. The Grizzlies then matched it by holding PSU to 60 points on 38.3 percent shooting.
They have held opponents under 40 percent from the field 10 times this year and are 9-1 in those games.
UM has scored 90+ five times this season and has won all five games.
They have shot better than 50 percent in 12 games this year, going 9-3 when doing so.
UM is 12-4 when shooting a better percentage from 3-point range and 10-4 when making more threes than their opponent.
They have scored 50 points or more in a half nine times this season. They have done it six times vs. D-I opponents.
Coach DeCuire has 20+ wins against two Big Sky opponents. He's 20-5 against Northern Arizona and 21-3 vs. Idaho State.
Montana blew a 10-point lead at Idaho State, tied for the largest that they have given up this season. They overcame a 13-point deficit to defeat Idaho, the largest come from behind win this year.
Tyler Thompson and Kenyon Aguino are the first pair of freshmen to average at least 8.0 points per game in the same season since the trio of Josh Bannan, Robby Beasley, and Brandon Whitney did it in 2020-21.
Coach DeCuire is 150-69 (.685) in Big Sky Conference play.
The Grizzlies have scored 100+ points in three games this season. It's tied for the most 100-point games in a single season in program history. The Grizzlies also reached the century mark three times in 1965-66 and 1990-91.
Montana shot 70.5 percent from the floor against Salish Kootenai. It's the first time since 1968 that Montana has shot over 70 percent in a game, and the 8th best shooting percentage in the NCAA this year.
Montana is 0-1 in one-possession games and 5-4 in games decided by 6-or-fewer points.
Money Williams has scored 30+ points in five games this season and seven games in his career. He passed Hall of Famer Larry Krystkowiak for second in program history in both season and career 30-point games. He now trails only former NBA first round draft pick Michael Ray Richardson, who had eight 30-point games as a senior and 11 in his career.
Montana led wire-to-wire against Northern Colorado in the first meeting, taking the lead 27 seconds into the game and holding it the rest of the way. It's the only time this year they've done it against a D-I team.
The 26-point win at Northern Arizona (1/19) was the largest this season against a D-I opponent.
The Griz played in seven straight games decided by single digits from Nov. 11 to Dec. 6. They have played in 18 total games decided by single digits.
Money Williams has led Montana in points, rebounds, and assists in the same game nine times this season.
Coach DeCuire is typically quick to pull players as they enter foul trouble. Montana's two-foul participation is just 9.5%, which is a bottom 30 mark in the country. The NCAA average is 24.7%.

SCOUTING #5 NORTHERN COLORADO (20-11, 10-8 BIG SKY)

It has been a rollercoaster ride for the Bears this season. Northern Colorado started the year 10-3, including a win over in-stage power Colorado, through non-conference play, only the 5^th time since 2000 that a Big Sky team has reached 10 non-conference wins.
Northern Colorado then started Big Sky play 1-7. They were tied for last place in the league on Jan. 29 with Northern Arizona.
Since then, the Bears have won nine out of 10. The .900 winning percentage since Jan. 29 is tied for the 5^th best in the NCAA. They are shooting 50.1 percent from the floor during the stretch, a top 20 mark in college basketball.
Head coach Steve Smiley is 109-82 (.571) in six seasons at Northern Colorado. This is the second straight 20-win seasons for the Bears and the third under Smiley.
UNC went 11-3 at home this season and won six straight inside Bank of Colorado Arena to close out the year.
They have played two neutral site games this season, beating Cal State Fullerton and losing to St. Thomas as part of the Portland Invitational.
The Bears have one of the most efficient offenses in the country. They rank 52nd in scoring at 82.3 points per game and are inside the top 60 in the country in all three major shooting categories; field goal percentage (.492, 26^th), three-point percentage (.363, 53^rd), and free throw percentage (.760, 52^nd).
It's a matchup with very difference experience levels on Monday. The Bears' average D-1 experience is 2.06 years, well above the national average. They are the 51^st most experienced team in the country while Montana is 284^th with an average experience of just 1.00 year.
They lead the league in effective field goal percentage (.570) and rank 18^th in the NCAA.
Opponents are shooting just 29.9 percent from 3-point range against the Bears. It's a top 20 3-point defense in the country.
Quinn Denker is averaging 18.9 points, 7.0 assists, and 5.2 rebounds per game this season. In league play, Denker leads the conference in assists, is 5^th in scoring, and 10^th in rebounding.
Denker set Northern Colorado's single season record on Monday night, eclipsing 200 assists for the season. He is 7^th in the NCAA with 7.0 assists per game.
Brock Wisne is averaging 16.3 points per game and 6.3 rebounds to lead the Bears. He's shooting 56.8 percent from the floor this season, leading the Big Sky in field goal percentage among qualified players. His 200 made field goals are also the most in the conference and 42^nd most in the NCAA.
Zach Bloch is one of the top 3-and-D players in the league. He averages 1.4 steals per game to rank 5^th in the league. He's also scoring 11.6 points per game and shooting 43.3 percent from 3-point range, the 11^th best mark in the country.

SERIES HISTORY VS. THE BEARS
Montana leads the all-time series 31-18 against UNC. The Grizzlies are 3-0 against the Bears at neutral sites, including a Big Sky Championship game win in Boise last season. Coach DeCuire is 14-11 vs. Northern Colorado.