2017–18 Montana Grizzlies basketball team

2017–18 Montana Grizzlies basketball
Big Sky regular season and tournament champions
NCAA tournament, First Round
ConferenceBig Sky Conference
Record26–8 (16–2 Big Sky)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Chris Cobb
  • Rachi Wortham
  • Jay Flores
Home arenaDahlberg Arena
Seasons
2017–18 Big Sky men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Montana † 16 – 2   .889 26 – 8   .765
Idaho 14 – 4   .778 22 – 9   .710
Weber State 13 – 5   .722 20 – 11   .645
Eastern Washington 13 – 5   .722 20 – 15   .571
Northern Colorado 11 – 7   .611 26 – 12   .684
Idaho State 9 – 9   .500 14 – 16   .467
Portland State 9 – 9   .500 20 – 14   .588
Montana State 6 – 12   .333 13 – 19   .406
North Dakota 6 – 12   .333 12 – 20   .375
Southern Utah 5 – 13   .278 13 – 19   .406
Sacramento State 4 – 14   .222 7 – 25   .219
Northern Arizona 2 – 16   .111 5 – 27   .156
† Conference 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

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
Mario Dunn, Jr. 1 G 6'0" 185 Senior Oakland, CA Graduated
Walter Wright 5 G 5'10" 161 Senior Waterbury, CT Graduated
Alphonso Anderson 10 F 6'6" 218 Freshman Tacoma, WA Transferred to Moberly Area CC
Gavin DeJong 30 F 6'6" 215 RS Sophomore Manhattan, MT Walk-on; didn't return
Jack Lopez 31 F 6'5" 208 Senior Bankstown, Australia Graduated
Aaron Misipeka-Ward 32 G 6'2" 198 Senior Florence, MT Graduated
Jared Samuelson 33 F 6'7" 213 RS Freshman Billings, MT Transferred to Rocky Mountain College
Brandon Gfeller 34 G 6'4" 189 Senior Colfax, WA Graduated

Incoming transfers

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
Niko Bevens 3 G 6'6" 175 Sophomore Beaverton, OR Junior college transferred from North Idaho College

2017 recruiting class

College recruiting information
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 
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 
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 
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 August 26, 2016.

Roster

2017–18 Montana Grizzlies men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Michael Oguine 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 171 lb (78 kg) Jr Chaminade Prep Porter Ranch, CA
G 1 Timmy Falls 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 171 lb (78 kg) Fr Dublin Dublin, CA
F 2 Donaven Dorsey 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 214 lb (97 kg) RS Jr Timberline
Washington 		Lacey, WA
G 3 Niko Bevens 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 214 lb (97 kg) So Beaverton
North Idaho 		Beaverton, OR
G 4 Sayeed Pridgett 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So El Cerrito Oakland, CA
F 5 Karl Nicholas 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Dawson Pearland, TX
G 10 Lars Espe 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Fr Metis Videregaaende
Gimle BBK 		Bergen, Norway
G 13 Trevor Spoja (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 164 lb (74 kg) RS So Billings West Billings, MT
G 14 Ahmaad Rorie 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) RS Jr Lincoln
Oregon 		Tacoma, WA
F 15 Jamar Akoh 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 253 lb (115 kg) RS Jr Los Osos HS
Cal State Fullerton 		Rancho Cucamonga, CA
F 20 Fabijan Krslovic 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 239 lb (108 kg) Sr St Aloysius Sydney, Australia
G 24 Bobby Moorehead 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 182 lb (83 kg) Jr Stadium Tacoma, WA
C 33 Kelby Kramer 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Fr Rock Springs Rock Springs, WY
C 40 Admir Besovic 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Fr Virginia 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, ACCNX 		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 MT 		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 MT 		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 MT 		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 		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 December 6, 2017.