2017–18 Montana Grizzlies basketball team

2017–18 Montana Grizzlies men's basketball
Big Sky regular season and tournament champions
NCAA Tournament, First Round
Conference Big Sky Conference
2017–18 record 26–8 (16–2 Big Sky)
Head coach Travis DeCuire (4th season)
Assistant coach Chris Cobb
Assistant coach Rachi Wortham
Assistant coach Jay Flores
Home arena Dahlberg Arena
2017–18 Big Sky men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
Montana162 .889  268  .765
Idaho144 .778  229  .710
Weber State135 .722  2011  .645
Eastern Washington135 .722  2015  .571
Northern Colorado117 .611  2612  .684
Idaho State99 .500  1416  .467
Portland State99 .500  2014  .588
Montana State612 .333  1319  .406
North Dakota612 .333  1220  .375
Southern Utah513 .278  1319  .406
Sacramento State414 .222  725  .219
Northern Arizona216 .111  527  .156
Big Sky Tournament winner

The 2017–18 Montana Grizzlies basketball team represented the University of Montana during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Grizzlies, led by fourth-year head coach Travis DeCuire, played their home games at Dahlberg Arena in Missoula, Montana as members of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 26–8, 16–2 in Big Sky play to win the Big Sky regular season championship. They defeated North Dakota, Northern Colorado, and Eastern Washington to be champions of the Big Sky Tournament. They earned the Big Sky's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament where they lost in the First Round to Michigan.

Previous season

The Grizzlies finished the 2016–17 season 16–16, 11–7 in Big Sky play to finish in a tie for fifth place. As the No. 5 seed in the Big Sky Tournament, they lost to Idaho in the quarterfinals.

Offseason

Departures

NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownReason for departure
Mario Dunn, Jr.1G6'0"185SeniorOakland, CAGraduated
Walter Wright5G5'10"161SeniorWaterbury, CTGraduated
Alphonso Anderson10F6'6"218FreshmanTacoma, WATransferred to Moberly Area CC
Gavin DeJong30F6'6"215RS SophomoreManhattan, MTWalk-on; didn't return
Jack Lopez31F6'5"208SeniorBankstown, AustraliaGraduated
Aaron Misipeka-Ward32G6'2"198SeniorFlorence, MTGraduated
Jared Samuelson33F6'7"213RS FreshmanBillings, MTTransferred to Rocky Mountain College
Brandon Gfeller34G6'4"189SeniorColfax, WAGraduated

Incoming transfers

NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownPrevious School
Niko Bevens3G6'6"175SophomoreBeaverton, ORJunior college transferred from North Idaho College

2017 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Timmy Falls
#63 SG
Dublin, CA Dublin High School 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Feb 20, 2016 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 69
Karl Nicholas
SF
Pearland, TX Glenda Dawson High School 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) N/A Sep 16, 2016 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Kelby Kramer
C
Rock Springs, WY Rock Springs High School 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Oct 31, 2016 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:2/5 stars   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved 2016-08-26.

    Roster

    2017–18 Montana Grizzlies men's basketball team
    PlayersCoaches
    Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
    G 0 Michael Oguine 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)171 lb (78 kg) JrChaminade Prep Porter Ranch, CA
    G 1 Timmy Falls 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)171 lb (78 kg) FrDublin Dublin, CA
    F 2 Donaven Dorsey 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)214 lb (97 kg) RS JrTimberline
    Washington
    Lacey, WA
    G 3 Niko Bevens 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)214 lb (97 kg) SoBeaverton
    North Idaho
    Beaverton, OR
    G 4 Sayeed Pridgett 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)195 lb (88 kg) SoEl Cerrito Oakland, CA
    F 5 Karl Nicholas 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)185 lb (84 kg) FrDawson Pearland, TX
    G 10 Lars Espe 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)165 lb (75 kg) FrMetis Videregaaende
    Gimle BBK
    Bergen, Norway
    G 13 Trevor Spoja (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)164 lb (74 kg) RS SoBillings West Billings, MT
    G 14 Ahmaad Rorie 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)175 lb (79 kg) RS JrLincoln
    Oregon
    Tacoma, WA
    F 15 Jamar Akoh 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)253 lb (115 kg) RS JrLos Osos HS
    Cal State Fullerton
    Rancho Cucamonga, CA
    F 20 Fabijan Krslovic 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)239 lb (108 kg) SrSt Aloysius Sydney, Australia
    G 24 Bobby Moorehead 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)182 lb (83 kg) JrStadium Tacoma, WA
    C 33 Kelby Kramer 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)220 lb (100 kg) FrRock Springs Rock Springs, WY
    C 40 Admir Besovic 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)240 lb (109 kg) FrVirginia Episcopal Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
    Head coach
    Assistant coach(es)

    Legend
    • (C) Team captain
    • (S) Suspended
    • (I) Ineligible
    • (W) Walk-on

    Roster

    Schedule and results

    Date
    time, TV
    Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
    city, state
    Exhibition
    Nov 6, 2017*
    7:00 pm
    Saskatchewan W 85–44 
    Dahlberg Arena (2,404)
    Missoula, MT
    Non-conference regular season
    Nov 10, 2017*
    7:00 pm
    Whitworth W 72–60  1–0
    Dahlberg Arena (3,056)
    Missoula, MT
    Nov 13, 2017*
    5:00 pm, ACCN Extra
    at Pittsburgh
    Legends Classic
    W 83–78 OT 2–0
    Peterson Events Center (3,102)
    Pittsburgh, PA
    Nov 15, 2017*
    5:00 pm, BTN
    at Penn State
    Legends Classic
    L 57–70  2–1
    Bryce Jordan Center (5,854)
    University Park, PA
    Nov 20, 2017*
    6:00 pm
    vs. Oral Roberts
    Legends Classic visitors semifinals
    W 69–64  3–1
    Firestone Fieldhouse (1,682)
    Malibu, CA
    Nov 21, 2017*
    6:00 pm
    vs. UC Santa Barbara
    Legends Classic visitors championship
    L 73–80  3–2
    Firestone Fieldhouse (1,239)
    Malibu, CA
    Nov 26, 2017*
    7:00 pm
    Carroll (MT) W 86–75  4–2
    Dahlberg Arena (2,804)
    Missoula, MT
    Nov 29, 2017*
    8:00 pm, P12N
    at Stanford L 54–70  4–3
    Maples Pavilion (3,145)
    Stanford, CA
    Dec 3, 2017*
    7:00 pm
    Cal State Northridge W 86–68  5–3
    Dahlberg Arena (2,734)
    Missoula, MT
    Dec 6, 2017*
    9:00 pm, P12N
    at UCLA
    Canceled (Skirball fire)[1]
      
    Pauley Pavilion 
    Los Angeles, CA
    Dec 9, 2017*
    12:00 pm
    at Georgia State L 68–71  5–4
    GSU Sports Arena (1,224)
    Atlanta, GA
    Dec 17, 2017*
    1:00 pm
    UC Riverside W 77–61  6–4
    Dahlberg Arena (2,817)
    Missoula, MT
    Dec 19, 2017*
    7:00 pm, SWX Montana
    UC Irvine W 86–68  7–4
    Dahlberg Arena (3,106)
    Missoula, MT
    Dec 22, 2017*
    9:00 pm, P12N
    at Washington L 63–66  7–5
    Alaska Airlines Arena (5,915)
    Seattle, WA
    Big Sky regular season
    Dec 28, 2017
    6:30 pm
    at Northern Arizona W 87–69  8–5
    (1–0)
    Walkup Skydome (604)
    Flagstaff, AZ
    Dec 30, 2017
    12:30 pm
    at Southern Utah W 79–49  9–5
    (2–0)
    America First Events Center (1,263)
    Cedar City, UT
    Jan 4, 2018
    7:00 pm
    North Dakota W 109–79  10–5
    (3–0)
    Dahlberg Arena (3,220)
    Missoula, MT
    Jan 6, 2018
    7:00 pm
    Northern Colorado W 89–80  11–5
    (4–0)
    Dahlberg Arena (4,119)
    Missoula, MT
    Jan 11, 2018
    8:00 pm
    at Sacramento State W 78–66  12–5
    (5–0)
    Hornets Nest (721)
    Sacramento, CA
    Jan 13, 2018
    2:00 pm
    at Portland State W 92–89  13–5
    (6–0)
    Peter Stott Center (925)
    Portland, OR
    Jan 20, 2018
    7:00 pm, SWX Montana
    at Montana State
    Brawl of the Wild
    W 67–52  14–5
    (7–0)
    Brick Breeden Fieldhouse (6,772)
    Bozeman, MT
    Jan 25, 2018
    7:00 pm
    Southern Utah W 71–47  15–5
    (8–0)
    Dahlberg Arena (4,040)
    Missoula, MT
    Jan 27, 2018
    7:00 pm
    Northern Arizona W 82–64  16–5
    (9–0)
    Dahlberg Arena (5,108)
    Missoula, MT
    Feb 1, 2018
    7:00 pm
    at Northern Colorado W 88–79  17–5
    (10–0)
    Bank of Colorado Arena (1,413)
    Greeley, CO
    Feb 3, 2018
    3:00 pm, ELVN
    at North Dakota W 72–67  18–5
    (11–0)
    Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (2,089)
    Grand Forks, ND
    Feb 8, 2018
    7:00 pm
    Portland State W 80–60  19–5
    (12–0)
    Dahlberg Arena (4,082)
    Missoula, MT
    Feb 10, 2018
    7:00 pm, ELVN
    Sacramento State W 71–69 OT 20–5
    (13–0)
    Dahlberg Arena (4,592)
    Missoula, MT
    Feb 15, 2018
    7:00 pm
    at Eastern Washington L 65–74  20–6
    (13–1)
    Reese Court (2,354)
    Cheney, WA
    Feb 17, 2018
    8:00 pm
    at Idaho L 77–79 OT 20–7
    (13–2)
    Cowan Spectrum (1,839)
    Moscow, ID
    Feb 24, 2018
    7:00 pm, SWX Montana
    Montana State
    Brawl of the Wild
    W 90–63  21–7
    (14–2)
    Dahlberg Arena (7,256)
    Missoula, MT
    Mar 1, 2018
    7:00 pm
    Weber State W 75–57  22–7
    (15–2)
    Dahlberg Arena (4,922)
    Missoula, MT
    Mar 3, 2018
    7:00 pm
    Idaho State W 75–64  23–7
    (16–2)
    Dahlberg Arena (4,712)
    Missoula, MT
    Big Sky Tournament
    Mar 8, 2018
    12:00 pm, ELVN
    (1) vs. (8) North Dakota
    Quarterfinals
    W 84–76  24–7
    Reno Events Center (1,110)
    Reno, NV
    Mar 9, 2018
    5:30 pm, ELVN
    (1) vs. (5) Northern Colorado
    Semifinals
    W 91–89  25–7
    Reno Events Center (1,236)
    Reno, NV
    Mar 10, 2018
    5:00 pm, ESPNU
    (1) vs. (3) Eastern Washington
    Championship game
    W 82–65  26–7
    Reno Events Center (1,378)
    Reno, NV
    NCAA Tournament
    Mar 15, 2018*
    7:50 pm, TBS
    (14 W) vs. (3 W) No. 7 Michigan
    First Round
    L 47–61  26–8
    Intrust Bank Arena (14,019)
    Wichita, KS
    *Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West.
    All times are in Mountain Time.

    See also

    2017–18 Montana Lady Griz basketball team

    References

    1. "Basketball game at UCLA canceled due to fires". gogriz.com. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
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