2019–20 Montana Grizzlies basketball team


The 2019–20 Montana Grizzlies basketball team represents the University of Montana during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Grizzlies, led by sixth-year head coach Travis DeCuire, play their home games at Dahlberg Arena in Missoula, Montana as members of the Big Sky Conference.

2019–20 Montana Grizzlies basketball
ConferenceBig Sky Conference
Record18–13 (14–6 Big Sky)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Chris Cobb
  • Jay Flores
  • Zach Payne
Home arenaDahlberg Arena
Seasons
2019–20 Big Sky men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Eastern Washington 16 4   .800 23 8   .742
Northern Colorado 15 5   .750 22 9   .710
Montana 14 6   .700 18 13   .581
Portland State 12 8   .600 18 14   .563
Northern Arizona 10 10   .500 16 14   .533
Montana State 10 10   .500 16 15   .516
Southern Utah 9 11   .450 17 15   .531
Sacramento State 8 12   .400 16 14   .533
Weber State 8 12   .400 12 20   .375
Idaho State 4 16   .200 8 22   .267
Idaho 4 16   .200 8 24   .250
Note: The conference tournament was canceled prior to the quarterfinals due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Previous season edit

The Grizzlies finished the 2018–19 season 26–9 overall, 16–4 in Big Sky play, the Grizzlies won the Big Sky regular season championship. As the No. 1 seed in the Big Sky tournament, they defeated Sacramento State, Weber State, and Eastern Washington to win the tournament, and earned the Big Sky's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

Given a No. 15 seed in the West Region of the NCAA Tournament, Montana was defeated by Michigan in the first round for the second consecutive year.

Offseason edit

Departures edit

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
Donaven Dorsey 2 F 6'7" 214 RS Senior Lacey, WA Graduated
Ben Carter 13 F 6'10" 275 Freshman Adelaide, Australia Transferred to Cal State Monterey Bay
Ahmaad Rorie 14 G 6'1" 175 RS Senior Tacoma, WA Graduated
Jamar Akoh 15 F 6'8" 253 RS Senior Rancho Cucamonga, CA Graduated
Bobby Moorehead 24 G 6'7" 182 Senior Tacoma, WA Graduated
Kelby Kramer 33 C 6'10" 220 RS Freshman Rock Springs, WY Transferred to Minnesota State[1]
Tony Miller 34 F 6'6" 210 Junior Woodinville, WA Transferred to Washington State[2]

Incoming transfers edit

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
Naseem Gaskin 5 G 6'3" 175 RS Freshman Oakland, CA Transferred from Utah. Under NCAA transfer rules, Gaskin will have to sit out for the 2019–20 season. Will have three years of remaining eligibility.
Yagizhan Selcuk 22 F 6'7" 235 Sophomore Istanbul, Turkey Midseason transferred from Villanova in December during the 2018–19 season. Under NCAA transfer rules, Selcuk has to sit out until December and will be eligible to start in December during the 2019–20 season. Selcuk has two and a half years of remaining eligibility.
Michael Steadman 31 F 6'10" 210 Senior Union City, CA Transferred from San Jose State. Under NCAA transfer rules, Steadman will have to sit out for the 2019–20 season. Will have one year of remaining eligibility.
Jared Samuelson 33 F 6'7" RS Senior Billings, MT Junior college transferred from Rocky Mountain College.

2019 recruiting class edit

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Josh Vazquez
#70 PG
Torrance, CA Bishop Montgomery High School 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Apr 12, 2018 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 59
Derrick Carter-Hollinger, Jr.
SF
El Cajon, CA Foothills Christian High School 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sep 2, 2018 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: NR
Kyle Owens
SF
Encino, CA Crespi High School 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Oct 6, 2018 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/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:

  • "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved January 9, 2019.

2020 recruiting class edit

US college sports recruiting information for 2020 recruits
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Brandon Whitney
PG
Mission Hills, CA Bishop Alemany High School 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 165 lb (75 kg)  
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/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:

Roster edit

2019–20 Montana Grizzlies men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
F 0 Kyle Owens 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Crespi Carmelite Calabasas, CA
G 1 Timmy Falls 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Jr Dublin Dublin, CA
G 2 Kendal Manuel 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS Sr Skyview
Oregon State
Billings, MT
G 3 Josh Vaszquez 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr Bishop Montgomery Torrance, CA
G 4 Sayeed Pridgett 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 201 lb (91 kg) Sr El Cerrito Oakland, CA
G 5 Naseem Gaskin 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS Fr Bishop O'Dowd
Utah
Oakland, CA
G 10 Eddy Egun (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 198 lb (90 kg) RS Fr El Camino Real Woodland Hills, CA
G 13 Jett Briceno (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Kentridge Kent, WA
F 22 Yagizhan Selcuk 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 233 lb (106 kg) RS So The Phelps School
Towson
Istanbul, Turkey
F 23 Mack Anderson 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 207 lb (94 kg) So Bozeman Bozeman, MT
G 24 Freddy Brown III (W)   6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 172 lb (78 kg) So Nathan Hale Seattle, WA
F 31 Michael Steadman   6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 231 lb (105 kg) Sr James Logan High School
San Jose State
Union City, CA
F 32 Peter Jones (W) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS So O'Dea Seattle, WA
F 33 Jared Samuelson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) RS Sr Billings West
Rocky Mountain
Billings, MT
F 34 Derrick Carter-Hollinger 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 207 lb (94 kg) Fr Foothills Christian El Cajon, CA
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

Roster
Last update: January 8, 2020

Schedule and results edit

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-conference regular season
Nov 6, 2019*
8:00 pm, P12N
at Stanford L 62–73  0–1
Maples Pavilion (2,930)
Stanford, CA
Nov 10, 2019*
2:00 pm
Montana State–Northern W 64–50  1–1
Dahlberg Arena (2,927)
Missoula, MT
Nov 16, 2019*
3:00 pm, SECN+
at Arkansas
Collegiate Hoops Roadshow
L 46–64  1–2
Bud Walton Arena (13,058)
Fayetteville, AR
Nov 18, 2019*
7:00 pm, SWX MT
Montana Tech
Collegiate Hoops Roadshow
L 72–74  1–3
Dahlberg Arena (2,857)
Missoula, MT
Nov 22, 2019*
9:00 pm, P12N
at No. 25 Washington L 56–73  1–4
Alaska Airlines Arena (8,370)
Seattle, WA
Nov 25, 2019*
7:00 pm, SWX MT
Texas Southern
Collegiate Hoops Roadshow
W 74–62  2–4
Dahlberg Arena (2,981)
Missoula, MT
Nov 29, 2019*
7:00 pm
Coppin State
Collegiate Hoops Roadshow
W 69–62  3–4
Dahlberg Arena (3,335)
Missoula, MT
Dec 1, 2019*
1:00 pm, ATTSNRM
at New Mexico L 63–72  3–5
Dreamstyle Arena (10,503)
Albuquerque, NM
Dec 6, 2019*
7:00 pm
North Dakota
Big Sky/Summit Challenge
W 77–70  4–5
Dahlberg Arena (3,698)
Missoula, MT
Dec 18, 2019*
9:00 pm, P12N
at No. 8 Oregon L 48–81  4–6
Matthew Knight Arena (5,803)
Eugene, OR
Dec 21, 2019*
11:00 am
at Omaha
Big Sky/Summit Challenge
L 82–87 OT 4–7
Baxter Arena (2,278)
Omaha, NE
Big Sky regular season
Dec 28, 2019
7:00 pm
Northern Arizona W 79–72  5–7
(1–0)
Dahlberg Arena (4,017)
Missoula, MT
Dec 30, 2019
7:00 pm
Sacramento State W 52–50  6–7
(2–0)
Dahlberg Arena (1,451)
Missoula, MT
Jan 2, 2020
7:00 pm
at Southern Utah W 60–58  7–7
(3–0)
America First Event Center (2,059)
Cedar City, UT
Jan 4, 2020
7:00 pm, Eleven
at Northern Colorado L 66–74  7–8
(3–1)
Bank of Colorado Arena (1,431)
Greeley, CO
Jan 9, 2020
7:00 pm
at Eastern Washington W 90–63  8–8
(4–1)
Reese Court (1,837)
Cheney, WA
Jan 13, 2020
7:00 pm, SWX MT
Portland State W 85–70  9–8
(5–1)
Dahlberg Arena (3,252)
Missoula, MT
Jan 18, 2020
7:00 pm, SWX MT
Idaho W 67–63  10–8
(6–1)
Dahlberg Arena (4,279)
Missoula, MT
Jan 23, 2020
7:00 pm, Eleven
at Idaho State W 77–74  11–8
(7–1)
Reed Gym (1,461)
Pocatello, ID
Jan 25, 2020
7:00 pm
at Weber State L 85–87 OT 11–9
(7–2)
Dee Events Center (6,034)
Ogden, UT
Jan 30, 2020
8:00 pm, Eleven
at Portland State L 81–88  11–10
(7–3)
Viking Pavilion (1,704)
Portland, OR
Feb 1, 2020
7:00 pm, SWX MT
Montana State W 78–64  12–10
(8–3)
Dahlberg Arena (7,040)
Missoula, MT
Feb 6, 2020
7:00 pm, SWX MT
Eastern Washington W 92–82  13–10
(9–3)
Dahlberg Arena (3,879)
Missoula, MT
Feb 8, 2020
6:30 pm
at Idaho W 82–71  14–10
(10–3)
Cowan Spectrum (1,804)
Moscow, ID
Feb 13, 2020
7:00 pm, SWX MT
Weber State W 72–37  15–10
(11–3)
Dahlberg Arena (3,730)
Missoula, MT
Feb 15, 2020
7:00 pm
Idaho State W 78–63  16–10
(12–3)
Dahlberg Arena (4,657)
Missoula, MT
Feb 22, 2020
7:00 pm, SWX MT
at Montana State W 59–54  17–10
(13–3)
Brick Breeden Fieldhouse (6,570)
Bozeman, MT
Feb 27, 2020
7:00 pm
at Northern Arizona L 56–57  17–11
(13–4)
Walkup Skydome (918)
Flagstaff, AZ
Feb 29, 2020
8:00 pm
at Sacramento State W 79–71  18–11
(14–4)
Hornets Nest (1,172)
Sacramento, CA
Mar 5, 2020
7:00 pm, SWX MT
Northern Colorado W 71–64  18–12
(14–5)
Dahlberg Arena (4,822)
Missoula, MT
Mar 7, 2020
7:00 pm
Southern Utah L 80–85 OT 18–13
(14–6)
Dahlberg Arena 
Missoula, MT
Big Sky tournament
Mar 12, 2020
8:00 pm, Pluto TV/Eleven Sports
(3) vs. (11) Idaho State
Quarterfinals
Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic CenturyLink Arena 
Boise, ID
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Mountain Time.

References edit

  1. ^ Hansen, Kyle (May 19, 2019). "Kelby Kramer transferring from Montana to NCAA Division II school". Missoulian. Retrieved February 8, 2024. (subscription required)
  2. ^ Lawson, Theo (August 15, 2019). "Former Montana, Seattle Pacific forward Tony Miller transfers to Washington State". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved February 8, 2024.