Coming off an 81-67 loss at No. 22 Oregon on Tuesday, Montana finally finishes the road portion of what has been a challenging non-conference schedule. The first exclusively Division I slate in 58 years has left the Grizzlies 3-8, but came against a strength of schedule that ranks 75th in the nation according to kenpom.com and was made up of a group of teams — two of which are ranked — that boast a cumulative record of 59-34.
The bulk of those games have been on the road, with the Grizzlies playing just three games inside Dahlberg Arena. The good news for Montana is that the last road game of the schedule comes tonight against perhaps the weakest team of the bunch. UC-Riverside, facing a schedule construct similar to Montana’s, is just 1-5 and will be playing just its second home game of the season Saturday night. The Highlanders’ have played road games at Portland, UNLV, Utah, No. 2 (then No. 11) UCLA and Santa Clara, dropping each by double-figure margins.
Montana coach Travis Decuire met with media Monday afternoon before Montana flew out to California, where the Griz are 0-7 since DeCuire took over in May 2014. Here are the highlights:
UM head coach Travis DeCuire
How important is a win going into conference?
“It’s always important to get a win, to feel better about what you did in the game and to feel that you’ve achieved something that could create momentum. But it’s not the storyteller for us in this situation. It’s finals week — we’re on the road in the middle of finals week — we’ve got a lot of adversity to put in front of these guys that no one else is going through. If something were to happen in these games it’s just more growing pains. Would I like to have a win now? Would I like to have a win against Pepperdine? Yes. I think if we could pull two off and go into conference with a streak there is momentum.”
Is UC-Riverside a bad team or a product of its schedule?
“They have been on the road like us and that’s a major issue. There have been a lot of teams that have been on the road and have yet to pull of wins on the road. … I think they’re excited to get home and finish their finals and play a home game as we’re excited to play someone that is more mid-level like us. It’s going to be a tough matchup.”
What is the UC-Riverside scouting report?
“Early in the year they were playing 35-40 minutes of zone which was slowing the game down. It’s hard to score in the 80s that is zoning and it’s hard for a team that’s playing zone to get a lot of points because you’re playing long possessions. Then lately they’ve gone to man-to-man and pressured a little bit and done some other things, which is more conducive to playing faster. I think we press tempo more than some of the teams they’ve played which could give them more scoring opportunities because our possessions could be shorter. They’re a perimeter team. They’re a 4-out, 1-post team so I don’t know that they necessarily want to hold the ball.”
Other key information:
Montana is ranked No. 168 in the kenpom.com rankings and is No. 204, fourth in the Big Sky, in ESPN RPI rankings.
UC-Riverside led by third-year coach Dennis Cutts, is ranked No. 295 in the kenpom.com rankings and is No. 276, seventh in the Big West, in the ESPN RPI rankings.
When: Saturday, 6 p.m.
Where: SRC Arena (3,168), Riverside
Radio: KGVO 101.5 FM
Watch: http://www.bigwest.org/story.
Series: Montana leads 3-1
Last: 2009, Montana won 67-52 in Missoula
kenpom Prediction: Montana 60 percent (Montana, 69-67)
Probable starters
Montana
G – Ahmaad Rorie, 6-1, So., 14.2 ppg
G – Michael Oguine, 6-2, So., 10.6 ppg
G – Sayeed Pridgett, 6-5, Fr., 9.6 ppg
F – Jack Lopez, 6-6, Sr., 7.8 ppg
F – Fabijan Krslovic, 6-8, Jr., 6.5 ppg
UC-Riverside
G – Chance Murray, 6-3, Jr., 10.7
G – Gentrey Thomas, 6-4, Sr., 8.3
F – Secean Johnson, 6-5, Sr., 10.5
F – Brandon Rosser, 6-7, Jr., 3.7
C – Menno Dijkstra, 7-0, Fr., 3.3
Photos by Jason Bacaj. All Rights Reserved.
