The season is nearing its end, and the Montana Grizzlies (15-13, 12-15-0 ATS, 9-7 Big Sky) will face their final road test against the Idaho Vandals (10-20, 13-14-1 ATS, 4-13 Big Sky) whose regular season ends with this matchup. The Grizzlies mauled the Vandals 67-56 in December, beating them for the seventh time in eight tries. Idaho's season hasn't gone as planned, but they can punctuate it nicely on Monday night in ICCU Arena. At 9:00 p.m. EST, we'll see if they actually will.
The Grizzlies opened up conference play at 3-6, but they've pushed their Big Sky record to 9-7 by winning six of their last seven. They took down Sacramento State in a nail-biter on Saturday night, winning 74-72 at home. They got outshot and outrebounded, but Montana forced 15 turnovers to nullify those disadvantages. Aanen Moody had 23 points to lead the way scoring-wise.
Bannan with the steal. Moody with the bucket. Griz with the lead.#GrizHoops #BigSkyMBB #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/v7rlTrknkN
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) February 26, 2023
Winning the conference tournament is Montana's only path to the NCAA Tournament, but it seems much more possible than it did a month ago. KenPom has the Grizzlies at 164th nationally, the third-highest rank among conference schools. They're only 5-9 on the road this season, but a win in this one would give them a fourth win in their final five away games of the season.
Montana plays at one of the nation's slowest paces, ranking 340th in adjusted tempo. Their offense takes advantage of their limited opportunities though. The Grizzlies are 28th in the country on threes, draining 37.5% of their shots from distance. They also take advantage of free throws, knocking down 78.2%, the 10-highest percentage in college basketball. Overall, they shoot 45.8% from the floor.
On defense, they also excel at defending the three-point line. They hold foes to 31.8% from deep, 60th nationwide, and also leading the Big Sky. Opp onents this season are shooting 44.9% against Montana. Despite their slow tempo, they put opponents on the free-throw line 19.5 points per game, the third-most in the conference.
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