UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA SPORTS INFORMATION
For the first time in more than a half century, the Montana men’s basketball team will play an all-Division I schedule, as coach Travis DeCuire’s Grizzlies set out to return to the Big Sky Conference championship game for the third straight season.
The last time Montana played an all-D-I schedule was during the 1958-59 season, when Elvis Presley was in the Army and Dwight D. Eisenhower was in the Oval Office.
Montana’s non-conference slate includes home dates with Wyoming, Wisconsin-Milwaukee, San Jose State and Pepperdine.
“Hopefully we’re giving the fans what they want,” said DeCuire. “I wanted this coming season to be a year when we had a good number of home games before the students left. It’s an opportunity for us to have a decent crowd with good competition that should be attractive.”
The Griz will get a shot at an upset when they face the Oregon Ducks, a 2016 Elite Eight team that is picked by some pundits to return to the top-10 in 2016-17.
Montana’s non-conference road schedule includes a trip to Oregon, an Elite Eight team last season and the reigning Pac 12 champions. The Ducks should again be a preseason Top 10 squad.
The Griz round out the non-conference schedule with road games against 2016 NCAA tournament team Southern Cal along with Ole Miss, South Dakota, a return game against Wyoming in Laramie, and another trip to SoCal to face UC Riverside. The Thanksgiving Day matchup with the Rebels in Oxford will be the first game between UM and Ole Miss.
The Grizzlies’ road schedule also includes a trip to the Paradise Jam tournament in the U.S. Virgin Islands Nov. 18-21, where the Griz will face North Carolina State in the opening round.
All told, the Griz will face a minimum of four teams from a Power 7 conference, with the possibility of more at the Paradise Jam. Other potential UM opponents in St. Thomas include northwest foe Washington State, NIT quarterfinalist Creighton, Oral Roberts, Saint Joseph’s and Loyola (Chicago). Ole Miss is also in the Paradise Jam.
Montana guard Ahmaad Rorie will get the chance to take the court against the team he started 15 games for as a freshman at Oregon. UM travels to Eugene on December 13 to face last year’s Pac-12 champions, who defeated Duke in the Sweet 16 before falling in the round of eight to Oklahoma.
Montana’s Road to Reno starts in the friendly confines of Dahlberg Arena when Idaho State comes to town on Dec. 29, followed by a rematch of last year’s Big Sky championship game against Weber State on New Year’s Eve day.
2016-17 Men’s Basketball Schedule
Home games in BOLD
* Denotes a Big Sky Conference contest
10-25 Maroon/Silver Scrimmage
11-2 Whitworth (exhibition)
11-11 at Southern California
11-14 Wyoming
11-18 at North Carolina State
11-19-21 Paradise Jam — U.S. Virgin Islands
11-24 at Ole Miss
11-27 at South Dakota
12-3 Wisconsin-Milwaukee
12-7 San Jose State
12-10 at Wyoming
12-13 at Oregon
12-17 at UC-Riverside
12-22 Pepperdine
12-29 Idaho State*
12-31 Weber State*
1-5 at Idaho*
1-7 at Eastern Washington*
1-12 Northern Colorado*
1-14 North Dakota*
1-19 at Portland State *
1-21 at Sacramento State*
1-26 Eastern Washington*
1-28 Idaho *
2-4 Montana State *
2-9 at Southern Utah*
2-11 at Northern Arizona *
2-16 Sacramento State *
2-18 Portland State *
2-25 at Montana State*
3-2 at Weber State*
3-4 at Idaho State*
3-6—11 Big Sky Championship Tournament (Reno, Nevada)
