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It’s a non-conference matchup to open the college hoops season as a member of the Big Sky travels east to face a program from the Atlantic 10 in the Steel City. The Montana Grizzlies are on the road as they travel to face the Duquesne Dukes Tuesday night. Montana finished last season 18-14 overall and went 11-9 in the Big Sky though they missed postseason play. Duquesne struggled last year, going a miserable 6-24 and finished 1-16 in the Atlantic 10 to finish in the basement of the conference. These teams have met just once previously, with the Dukes taking an 87-76 road win in the opening round of the CBI on March 16, 2011.
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Montana finished last season with a record of at least .500 for the 14th straight year but finishing fifth in the Big Sky while missing postseason play was a disappointment. The Grizzlies do have some work to do under coach Travis DeCuire as there has been a fair amount of turnover from last season. Five of their top eight scorers from a season ago are no longer part of the program, taking a lot of production of the mix. That’s the curse of mid-majors: a lot of upheaval that leaves gaps which can be difficult to fill. They did add a couple of transfers to try and bolster their rotation but as always, that’s something that will take time to figure out how good of a fit they were.
Last season, the Grizzlies averaged 72.2 points per game on the season so far, putting them 145th in the nation in scoring offense. Montana pulled down an average of 30.6 boards per contes t (344th) while the team dished out 13.1 assists per game this year. The Grizzlies were sound defensively as they allowed an average of 66.9 points per night, which put them 107th in the nation in scoring defense. Josh Bannan led the team last season with 15.1 points plus 8.2 rebounds per contest. Brandon Whitney (11 points) is the only other returning player who averaged in double figures last season. Lonnell Martin Jr., Josh Vazquez, Scott Blakney and Mack Anderson are key contributors in the rotation for the Grizzlies. The Grizzlies also will rely on Aanen Moody (transfer from Southern Utah), Dischon Thomas (transfer from Colorado State) and Jonathan Brown, along with a crop of freshmen. Montana shot 45.3% from the field as a team on the season last year. The Grizzlies drilled seven triples per game on the season while sinking 34.9% of their attempts from beyond the arc. Montana was excellent at the charity stripe last season as they converted a sparkling 78 .5% of their attempts on the year, putting them 10th in the nation.