With a four-game winning streak to boast about, the Montana Grizzlies appear to have fully recovered from New Year’s Eve’s heart-wrenching, last-second, overtime loss to Weber State. In the past four games, the Griz have swept a road trip to Idaho and Eastern Washington and protected their home court against Northern Colorado and North Dakota. In the process, Montana improved its conference record to 5-1 and climbed above the .500 mark overall (10-9) for the first time this season.
Montana has benefitted from deadly outside shooting from Jack Lopez, Michael Oguine and Ahmaad Rorie. But more so than their shooting prowess, their attention to detail offensively has allowed Montana to fight off some of the tougher teams the Big Sky has to offer. Through their six conference games, the Griz have committed just 44 turnovers as guards Rorie and Walter Wright sitting Nos. 1 and 2 in the conference in assist-to-turnover margin.
Those numbers should get a test against an aggressive Portland State team that earlier this year forced North Dakota into 26 turnovers during a 96-66 win. The Vikings have forced a league-high 95 turnovers through five games and hold a Big Sky-best +7.2 turnover margin.
Portland State’s aggressive defense has resulted in easy buckets for the Vikings, who on average use just 15 seconds on the shot clock, according to analytics website kenpom.com. Led by senior guard Calaen Robinson, the Vikings are also deep with six players averaging double figures since conference play began.
Montana head coach Travis DeCuire met with the media Wednesday to discuss his team’s road trip to the West Coast.
RELATED: Deep, up-tempo Vikings are a Big Sky dark horse
Portland State’s offensive possessions are among the shortest in the nation, do they remind you of anybody you’ve faced?
“They’re a little different. North Dakota’s are (short) because they play with tempo. They play with a 12-second shot clock in practice and what not. Portland State’s so good, I think, because they get so many transition shots off their steals. But I think once you get them in the half-court they’ll slow down and run on-ball motions and things like that. I think there is a little more patience than meets the eye. For us if we can get them late in the clock that means we’ve done our job.
Their turnover margin is the best in the conference, how have they been so efficient this year?
“Good guard play. They shoot quick. … But I think the biggest thing is they don’t try to run too much, they just get the ball to the right guys and attack. When you get a shot every possession and you shoot quick you tend not to turn it over too much.”
Portland State coach Tyler Geving has his team at 3-2 in the Big Sky./Brooks Nuanez
What’s the scouting report on Calaen Robinson?
“He’s as talented as any guard in our league. He shoots the ball very well. He’s playing the point whereas in the past he has been off the ball a lot more. So I think he is more aggressive with the ball in his hands and he can be a little more patient with the shots he takes. But he’s as aggressive as anybody we’ve played. We’re going to have to defend the 3-point first of all and he probably pocket passes along the ball screens that are overplayed as well. We’re going to have to adjust what we do defensively with the ball screens to slow him down. He’s playing really well and the team goes as he goes.”
With Portland State wanting to push the tempo, was transition defense a focus in practice this week?
“The No. 1 key is transition defense. Part of that is taking care of the ball and getting a shot. The other part is just getting back whenever we shoot. If we do those two things we should be able to slow them down and keep them out of the 70s and maybe have an opportunity to score ourselves.”
Are they more aggressive full court or half court?
“It’s more half court. It’s in their zone, in the passing lanes, ball screens where most people will collapse and help on the roller they’ll jump up and try to steal the turn pass. So everything that you’ve built your offense to look for won’t be there in this game. So in a quick turnaround we have to basically restructure what we’re looking for. Run the same plays, but we’re looking for something completely different in each action.”
A good percentage of their points come from inside the arc, is that transition or is that a function of their offense?
“It’s a little bit of everything. It’s transition, it’s offensive rebounds. They’re probably at six offensive rebounds from their 5 spot per game. Then they have four or five guys that are really good offensively 1-on-1 creating a shot for themselves which means they are in attack mode. I think this team attacks as much as anybody we’re going to play. We’ve got to be in a stance, we’ve got to be in help and we’ve got to recover and get back.”
Other key information:
- Montana is ranked No. 152 in the kenpom.com rankings and is No. 182, third in the Big Sky, in ESPN RPI rankings.
- Portland State led by eighth-year coach Tyler Geving, is ranked No. 213 in the kenpom.com rankings and is No. 232, fourth in the Big Sky, in the ESPN RPI rankings.
When: Thursday, 7 p.m. MDT
Where: Stott Center, Portland (1,775)
Radio: KGVO 101.5 FM
Watch: watchbigsky.com
Series: Montana leads 35-22 and is 11-9 in Portland.
Last: 2016, Montana beat the Vikings 79-66 in Missoula
kenpom Prediction: Push, 50 percent (Portland State 77-76)
Probable starters
Montana
G – Ahmaad Rorie, 6-1, So., 16.7 ppg
G – Michael Oguine, 6-2, So., 9.9 ppg
G – Brandon Gfeller, 6-5, Sr., 4.9 ppg
F – Jack Lopez, 6-6, Sr., 7.7 ppg
F – Fabijan Krslovic, 6-8, Jr., 6.5 ppg
Portland State
G – Bryce Canda, 6-4, Jr., 11.3 ppg
G — Calaen Robinson, 6-2, Sr., 13.9 ppg
G – Zach Gengler, 6-2, So., 9.6 ppg
F – De’Sean Parsons, 6-7, Sr., 12.4 ppg
C – Traylin Farris, 6-8, Jr., 10.5 ppg
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