Charles Matthews had 22 points and 10 rebounds in his best performance since coming back from injury, and No. 2 seed Michigan put away Montana early in a 74-55 victory in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night.
After a horrendous start, Montana showed some signs of offensive life toward the end of the first half against Michigan.The Grizzlies made made five of their final eight shots in the half after starting 4-of-25. Michigan put on a defensive clinic for much of the half, taking the Grizzlies out of their offense and forcing either a three-pointer or a 1-on-1 drive to the basket. Montana will need much more hot shooting in the second half to overcome a 34-21 deficit.
Nothing is coming easy for Montana on the offensive end in the final game of the day in Des Moines. Michigan is contesting every Montana shot and most of them aren't going in. The Grizzlies are shooting 16 percent (4-of-25) with seven minutes left in the first half. Michigan leads 23-8 and at this rate won't have to score much more to advance to the second round.
Michigan, which fell behind Montana 10-0 in last year's NCAA tournament first-round game, is under none of the same stress in this year's game against the Grizzlies. By holding the Grizzlies to 1-of-8 shooting, the Wolverines are up 9-2 five minutes in.
Michigan will face Montana in the first round of the NCAA tournament for the second straight season. Despite this on-court familiarity, the Wolverines admit they don't know much about Montana the state. Ignas Brazdeikis pleaded ignorance by saying he's from Canada. Zavier Simpson is from Ohio but he also had nothing to share. That left it to Charles Matthews, who said, "It's on the West Coast."
ESPN analyst Joe Lunardi and his team of bracketologists examine the 2019 NCAA tournament outlook for the Montana Grizzlies.
Sayeed Pridgett scored 18 points and Montana overcame a 12-point deficit to beat Eastern Washington 68-62 on Saturday night for its second straight Big Sky Tournament title and NCAA bid.
Ahmaad Rorie scored 28 points and Bobby Moorehead scored 13 with 10 rebounds and Montana beat Weber State 78-49 in the semifinals of the Big Sky Conference tournament on Friday night.
Michael Oguine scored 19 points as Montana topped Sacramento State 79-73 in the Big Sky Conference Tourney quarterfinals on Thursday. Ahmaad Rorie added 17 points for the Grizzlies, while Sayeed Pridgett chipped in 16.
Sayeed Pridgett scored 17 points as Montana topped Sacramento State 86-68 on Saturday night.
Holland Woods had 20 points as Portland State stretched its home winning streak to seven games, defeating Montana 81-69 on Thursday night.
Michael Oguine had 22 points and 11 rebounds as Montana edged past Northern Arizona 66-64 on Monday night.
Sayeed Pridgett had 20 points as Montana defeated Southern Utah 70-54 on Saturday night.
Jordan Davis scored 23 points and his two free throws with five seconds left gave Northern Colorado a 74-72 win over Montana on Monday night.
Sayeed Pridgett had 20 points as Montana won its 10th straight game, beating Montana State 89-83 on Saturday night.
Sayeed Pridgett scored 22 points as Montana stretched its win streak to nine games, topping Idaho State 80-68 on Saturday night. Kendal Manuel added 20 points for the Grizzlies.
Sayeed Pridgett had a career-high 29 points plus 16 rebounds and Montana won its eighth consecutive game, narrowly beating Weber State 83-80 on Thursday night.
Michael Oguine sank the second of two free throws in the closing seconds to give Montana a 75-74 edge over Eastern Washington on Saturday night.
Sayeed Pridgett scored 21 points as Montana routed Idaho 100-59 on Thursday night for its sixth straight win.
Ahmaad Rorie scored 20 points including four late free throws to help Montana hold off Montana State 83-78 on Saturday night for its fifth straight win.
Jamar Akoh scored 25 points while grabbing 10 rebounds to help Montana knock off Weber State 75-68 on Saturday night.
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montana | 16-4 | - | 26-9 |
| Northern Colorado | 15-5 | 1 | 21-11 |
| Eastern Washington | 12-8 | 4 | 16-18 |
| Weber State | 11-9 | 5 | 18-15 |
| Portland State | 11-9 | 5 | 16-16 |
| Montana State | 11-9 | 5 | 15-17 |
| Southern Utah | 9-11 | 7 | 17-17 |
| Sacramento State | 8-12 | 8 | 15-16 |
| Northern Arizona | 8-12 | 8 | 10-21 |
| Idaho State | 7-13 | 9 | 11-19 |
| Idaho | 2-18 | 14 | 5-27 |
| NAME | POS | STATUS | GRADE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brandon Whitney | PG | Committed | - |
| Final Fours | 0 |
| Tournament Record | 2-11 |
| Championship Seasons | None |
| Tournament Appearances | 10 |
