2017–18 Montana Grizzlies basketball team

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.

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
2017–18 Big Sky men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
Montana162 .889268  .765
Idaho144 .778229  .710
Weber State135 .7222011  .645
Eastern Washington135 .7222015  .571
Northern Colorado117 .6112612  .684
Idaho State99 .5001416  .467
Portland State99 .5002014  .588
Montana State612 .3331319  .406
North Dakota612 .3331220  .375
Southern Utah513 .2781319  .406
Sacramento State414 .222725  .219
Northern Arizona216 .111527  .156
Conference tournament winner

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 August 26, 2016.

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, 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.
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