Montana Grizzlies Sports, Football and Basketball : Grizzoulian

Alright, some notes and analysis from the first half of Montana's quarter-final matchup against the ISU Bengals.

• Griz came out and started like I haven't seen them start all season. Griz came out, ran with the ball, and pushed it to an 11-2 lead. Then they gave it all back. But it was good while it lasted.
  • Most important thing: they withstood the Bengal run, didn't freak out, then they took the lead right back. Griz go into the half up 6 because they didn't panic.
• Why the #@&! can't we rebound. HUGE front-line that sometimes features Strait, Hasquet and Qvale and we get out-rebounded 21-11. ISU has 11 offensive rebounds.
  
• Ceylon Elgin-Taylor's offense has been great. Jumping in passing lanes and just gunking things up for the opposing offense.
  
• Cameron Rundles loves to take statement shots: whether it's after a big make by the opposing team or poor play by him, he will always be there to take that shot.
• The three-ball has been there, at times. Griz are shooting 46.7 percent from behind the arc. There were times in the first half when it wasn't there at all but Staudacher and Martin made shots at the end that, at this point, are probably the difference in game. Both Martin and Staudacher make three treys in the first half.
  
• Mick has repeated this several times: Idaho State has only won one game when they trailed at half. Griz need to come out fast and push this lead.
• Speaking of Mick, how lucky are we to have him? Really. We could have some crummy J-school student but no, we have Mick. As good as there is. As good as any hoops play-by-play guy I've ever heard. Keep it up.

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Two years ago, the Montana Grizzlies played Northern Arizona in the final game of the regular season. The Lumberjacks had already wrapped the conference title up earlier in the week and rendered the game mostly meaningless. The Griz rolled over them and sparked a run that left the Grizzlies as one of the last 32 teams standing in the country.

This game is not meaningless because if the Griz win, they will likely get the four-seed and a home game against Idaho State. Sorry fellas.

On top of that, a win here would go a long way towards establishing confidence in this team and putting a bit of fear into others. Giants-Pats serves as another great example. Right now, the Griz are considered the top team in the conference's second tier, behind the trio of PSU, WSU and NAU. A win wouldn't necessarily put them in that group but it would make them very wary of playing a Grizzly team that could be peaking at the right time.

Oh, and a heads-up: Drew broke his nose in practice yesterday, good start to Senior Night.

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Editors Note: Heh, I thought I'd toss this in there as some sort of  retro homage to Danny Davis. I wrote this article for a class, so for a bit I had to pretend not to be the biased blogger who spent the entire game yelling from the student section. Enjoy.

With two games left in the regular season, the Montana Grizzlies—who were favored by the media to win the conference—had yet to clinch a spot in the Big Sky Tournament. Thursday night they kicked down the door with an 81-66 victory over the University of Northern Colorado.

"This is a game to clinch," said sophomore guard Cameron Rundles, "it doesn't matter if we're playing Duke or Northern Colorado, you have to be fired up because if we lose this game or lose Saturday, it's possible we don't make it into the tournament."

Rundles, who finished with 16 points in 21 minutes, was part of an overwhelming opening run that put the Grizzlies up by as many as 22 in the first half. After the game's opening 20 minutes, the Griz (14-14, 8-7) were on pace to score 96 points.

"I made some shots on Saturday [against Idaho State] in overtime and I was making some shots in warm-ups so I just thought, 'what the heck, I'm going to put some up and see what happens,'" Rundles said.

Early in the first half, it seemed as though no matter what the Griz did with the ball, it would end up going through the hoop. At one point, Ceylon Elgin-Taylor made a crisp pass to junior forward Kyle Sharp, who wasn't ready to receive it. The ball ricocheted of Sharp's flat hands right to Andrew Strait, who laid it up and in for a 20-4 advantage.

Both Rundles and head coach Wayne Tinkle credited Elgin-Taylor's play with getting the Griz going early. The junior point guard had 10 assists in the first half and finished with 8 points and 11 assists for the game.

"I knew he was getting guys involved," said Tinkle of Elgin-Tayor, "but then I saw the stat sheet at half-time and told him to go out and get 10 more in the second half...Maybe that was a mistake because we stopped running offense and it looked like he was just trying to make plays out there."

Things were rosy in the first half, but in the second Northern Colorado (12-16, 5-10) cut what was once a 26-point lead all the way down to 9 with a 26-9 run that stunned but didn't quiet the crowd.

"It's easy to come back, it's hard to come back and win," said Northern Colorado Head Coach Tad Boyle, "I told my team I was proud of them for for about 6 minutes of this 40-minute game, but other than that I was really disappointed with our effort and execution. It's just disheartening."

On Saturday night, the Griz will bring a historic lineup into their match-up with first-place Portland State as senior guard Matt Martin's 7 points gives him 1,001 for his career. Jordan Hasquet and Andrew Strait—who along with Martin were part of the 2004 recruiting class—make this year's Griz team the first ever with three 1,000-point scorers.

"We all came in together and we're all in it together, it's pretty neat," Martin said. "The coolest part is that we all played on some really good teams."

Saturday night will be more than just Senior Night and the trio's first appearance as 1,000-point scorers. The Griz will have a chance to clinch the fourth seed in the tournament and a home game in the opening round with a win over Portland State, who blew out Montana State by 28 to ensure that the Big Sky Tournament would be held in the city of roses.

Coach Tinkle made sure that everyone knew there was still work to be done in the regular season.

"We'll see if we can send a message Saturday night...We've got bigger things in front of us and it starts with Portland State."

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Big game on the road. Griz looking to rebound from a tough loss. Need to move up in the standings. Guess what happened. Yep, they played terrible.

Well, the Griz made it drought (opposite of make it rain?) at the Dee Center tonight. The Griz shot 32 percent for the game, 20 percent in the first half. The Grizzlies shot 30 3-pointers tonight, they made five. Well done. One Matthew Martin led the way, shooting 1-10 from outside the painted arc and 3-13 overall. Fraught naught Gar and Sanchez, I have your Jordan Hasquet numbers: 2-8 from outside and 2-11 overall.  13 points, 0 rebounds. Interesting stat: CET led the scoring with 14.

The Griz trailed by 15+ the entire game and the final score was closer than it should've been. Anyone who takes solace in the fact that we made a run in garbage time is pathetic. I'd rather be a somewhat talented inconsistent team who plays crappy half the time and gets blown out by 10-15 than be the type of team that feels a certain pride when they say "hey, at least we made a run at the end" and still loses by 9.

The Griz need to win out to finish above .500 in conference and overall. Amazing. Who the hell let this happen? I mean you can blame coaches all you want but even if you have a knucklehead coach (I am not saying we do) a player has to step up and lead the guys. Even if your coach is an amazing leader of men, you still need a player to lead. Where has that been?

Seniors, I'm looking at you. Sure, do all you can with the minutes provided but sometimes that's not enough. I mean if I'm a senior, or pretty much anyone in the rotation, I'm legitimately furious as soon as things start dipping south. I start blowing people up and melting faces. Does anyone remember any player being seriously fired up at all this season?

Ohhhh, they have the flu. You know what, I shouldn't know that. This game came with built-in excuses. Players can't have that back-door. The Missoulian's preview article for this game was titled "Ailing Griz look to get back into groove." The lead quote is Tinkle saying people are sick. Why? He doesn't name names, but if you're stubborn enough not to name names, why not just not bring it up?

You know what you do... show them this, tell them to nut up because it's the stretch run then say that when they have a phenomenal game you'd not only say they had the flu but had been randomly experiencing paralysis on the right side of their body. On top of that, they did it for testicular cancer awareness. Hero.

At this point, anything short of making a run into the NCAA Tournament will be a gigantic disappointment. Even if they make the championship game. Because let's be honest, that championship game should've been played in Dahlberg OR after only one playoff game. You put yourself at the bottom of this hill, now climb it.

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That gimmicky cliche seems to be the mantra for this team. After the game, I spoke with Coach Tinkle, Dave Vanderjagt and Andrew Strait about how their goals may have been altered since a few weeks ago, when the team was just hoping to make the Big Sky Tournament. Below are their responses in the order mentioned above. Sorry for any annoying clicking sounds.

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In last night's blowout win over, Andrew Strait (21 and 10) passed Wayne Tinkle for 5th on the all-time scoring list with 1,520 points. Tinks helped recruit Drew and then coached him for four years. After the game I asked both of them what it was like to the student pass the mentor. Both said it was great and joked a bit.

Tinks:

"You know, I didn't know what to expect and he's had a great career. I couldn't be more proud of him being the one to pass me just because of everything we've been through as coach and player.

I threated that I wasn't going to play him at all tonight and stick him on 1,499. He had a great game, he's a super kid.  He's obviously a corner stone, one of the pillars of our team. It's exciting for him that he was able to accomplish that."

Drew:

"It's pretty special. I mean, he's kind of bitter about it but he's a good sport and it means a lot just to be up with that group of guys who are on that list...it just says a lot about my career here at the University of Montana. It's been a great experience for me, I love the coaches and couldn't of been a better place.

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Alright, more running commentary for the second half. Plenty of room for improvement.

• "We'll be right back. Key game between two teams battling it out for sixth place." Ugh.
• Griz start second same way they started the first, by shooting the long ball. Hasquet and Staudacher make a pair of threes.
  
• Then Drew gets an offensive rebound and puts it back. 8-0 run to start the half. Well done. Good pep talk.
• Griz need to reign it in as Sharp and Hasquet huck up a couple long ones that don't fall.
• 32-30 at first media timeout.
• Pace picks up as EWU hits a pair of threes while the Griz get a couple plays off penetration. 36-36.
• The Griz just shot their first FT. There's 12:36 left in the second half.
• Staudacher hits another trey. 13 points. 5-5. How good can he get in two more years?
• 42-41. As Mick would say, we're not at crunch time right now, but you can almost see it from here. OK, normally he says it with like 6 minutes left, little early. I just don't want this to be another close game.
• Broadcasters calls this a "beautiful game." I disagree.
• Martin penetrates and kicks to CET, who makes a three. Nope, that isn't backwards.
• Staudacher drains one with a hand in his face. 6-6.
• 46-45 Griz. 9:00. Please, get a bigger lead.
• EWU gets two offensive rebounds. Bald guy gets basket and goes to the line for 3-point play. Come on fellas.
• Great give-and-go on what looked like an impromptu pick-and-roll between Qvale and Staudacher. Brian gets a dunk. My favorite play of the game.
• 50-48 Griz. 7:10.
• "Couple of baskets while we were away." Um, what? 52-50 Griz.
• Staudacher misses his first but hustles for the rebound, forces a foul. Griz ball. Great play. These are the type of hustle plays that win close games... unless you fail to score on the ensuing possession. Which is what happened.
• 52-51 Griz. 3:28. Martin just chucked a long 3 early in the shot clock. Need smarter play down the stretch.
• And there it is. Great penetration by Martin. Lays it off to Drew for a lay-in and 3-point opportunity. Makes it.
  
• 55-51 Griz. 2:30. Push it guys. Make it 6.
• Ahhh. Matt dribbles around with an open CET on the wing. Keeps it. Griz don't even get a shot off as EWU comes down and cuts it to two. 1:17 left. 55-53.
  
• Griz really need to prove they can win a close game.
• Jordan makes a very tough shot just inside the FT line. Ball bounces around as I nearly pass out then finally falls through.
  
• EWU misses a forced 3-pointer. Time to make FTs. Jordan makes a pair, 59-53, :26. Yes. Finally.
• CET misses the front-end. 59-57, :7.6. Come on. Ball has to go to Martin or Staudacher on this inbound. Be smart, don't try to make a risky pass.
• Martin does go to the line, misses the first. EWU runs down then DeLeon loses the handle doesn't get a shot off. Jesus. I was about 95% sure he was going to make a 3 for the win. Everyone shoots a 1,000 FTs tomorrow.
• Alright, Griz finally get a close win, even though they tried to give it away. I'll take it.

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Dammit. This is getting really, really hard. I don't think a sports team could be any tougher on its fans. I've been cheering for sports teams my entire life and have never come across one that could take this much out of its supporters.

The Griz were down 17-2 early. I was at the Lady Griz game, checking scores on my phone and was so mad at how flat the guys came out that I barely noticed the ladies were pissing away their own matchup against PSU. Then things turned around. The Lady Griz won in OT and Matt Martin pulled the Griz by their shaggy, ridiculous-looking hair to a 37-34 advantage.

Back to the fires of hell it went. In the second half, Martin sees less of the floor than a blind man and the Griz are down twelve with 9:00 to go. Then CET (gets career-high 15 points) hits a three and a two. Killa Cam knocks down back-to-back treys and Stads knocks down a pair of deuces and the Griz are right there.

Flash forward. :41 left, tie game, Griz ball after Qvale's fourth block. Cam dribbles it down to nothing (intentionally, nothing wrong with that). Ball goes down to Drew. He misses. Dominguez, hustles it out, gets fouled with :05.7 left. Nails both and the Griz are in a position they've been in before. See: Weber State, Idaho State. That's just in conference. There's more.

Griz break the press and push the ball up the court. Cam gets what Mick called a good luck from 13 feet. It goes in and out. If it's me, I do give the ball to Rundles in that position only because Martin's been sitting so long and the D is looking for him.

That's the Griz season. This game defines the whole damn season more than anything else. But hey, EWU lost so we're still looking at a 6-seed. God, this season is horrendous.

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It's always depressing when one has to re-evaluate things then set expectations lower and change goals. It's even worse when a team you follow does it. Well, now the Griz—who were at one time favorites to win the conference—will be happy just to make the six-team conference tournament.

“Today, at the beginning of practice, coach brought us in and asked us what we thought a realistic goal was for us at this point,” Montana senior Andrew Strait said after Tuesday's spirited workout. “We mentioned we just want to be in the top six at the end of league so we can get in the tournament. I think that's plenty realistic at this point. We have 11 league games left, plenty of time to crack that top six.”

As a fan, it blows to hear this. It's admitting some sense of defeat. Personally, I've been dying to see the Griz host a conference tournament. I've been here for three years and have yet to see them battle for a NCAA Tournament bid inside Dahlberg. Of course, I'd rather have them win the conference tournament instead of the regular season but who doesn't want to see what this place would be like for a BSC Tournament?

The goal is realistic and at this point, seems like the best-case scenario. The thing is, you wish the players wouldn't realize what the fans already have. When hearing this, the first thing that jumped into my mind was the '95 Seattle Mariners. Going into September, the M's were down like 10 games to the Angels. There's a story of a locker room exchange between Jay Buhner and another player. The other player said something like "Hey, if we get our act together, we can win the wild card." Then Buhner said something along the lines of "Fuck the wild card, we can we this thing." Where the hell is that mentality? Is there a single guy on this team with that sense of confidence and ability to lead? I doubt it at this point but if the Griz go on a small roll over the next few games, I hope it emerges somewhere.

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Griz play like the Griz in the second half and lose to NAU 72-64. Here are notes from the second half:

• I thought the second half against MSU was the worst I've ever seen. This one comes close.
• The Griz got away from what they did in the first half. The offense was horrendous. I can't think of a single good offensive possession that stands out in the entire second twenty minutes. Just horrendous. In the first half the Griz ran a patient yet purposeful offense.
  
• Shooting wasn't there. The Griz were not getting Staudacher the ball. He also wasn't getting the same open looks. As I'm typing this in what are essentially garbage minutes, Staudacher hits a fadeaway three. Inside offense should be run around Jordo and Drew while outside game points toward him. Great personnel for an inside-out offense and we're not taking advantage of it.
  
• Free throws weren't good. The turning point in the game was probably with about six minutes left when the broadcasters said it would come to free throws. I knew we'd have a tough time from there.
• Cam fouled out really early on some terrible calls. The charge that sent him out was awful as the defender really slid in front of him. While it was going downhill before that, once he went out, the offense didn't have much flow.
• I don't know what else to say. It was your typical Griz second half. It was awful. As it was happening I wanted to tell myself that this would be different, that NAU would make a run and we'd make one and pull away. Didn't happen. They made a run, tied it, then got a few good possessions and some breaks, then it was over.
• Ceylon Elgin-Taylor's foul trouble hurt bad.
• This team doesn't have it. Not right now, probably not this season. They cannot play forty minutes. There is zero composure. None. No one—coaches, upper-classmen, not anyone—is holding this team together. No composure. Cam picked up a ticky tack charge to foul out then Jordan Hasquet drills someone and gets an intentional foul. Game was pretty much over after that.

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I decided not to to the full live blog and just enjoy the fact that the Griz are on TV. That doesn't mean you're not getting content during the game. Here are my notes from the first half.

• And I thought we didn't get enough fans. There is no one at this game. Based on TV it looks like there's less than 500 people there. No, I'll be honest. Based on TV it looks like there are less than 100 people at the game.
  
• The University of Montana needs to find a way to get on TV more. This is too good. Get on FSN Rocky Mountain. "They have professional hockey, basketball and baseball though! And bigger colleges!" So does FSN AZ. This is great. Look at how many people are at this game.Griz games would get at least three times as many viewers.
  • NAU's commercials blow.
• The offense looks good. Not great, but good. Hell, when Ryan Staudacher is in and CET is running the point, I'll give it a "very good."
• CET: He is the starting point guard and should get most of the minutes at that spot. He can't shoot. Sooo, that's why he's not a shooting guard. He's great at distributing and driving to the basket. Not great at finishing but just driving opens up so much on offense.
• Ryan Staudacher should be getting star minutes. Jordan Hasquet-like minutes. He is great. The knock on Ryan is that he can't "create his own shot." I've said it myself and I don't think it's wrong either. The thing is, he is the very best person on the team at getting open shots. He comes off his screens harder than any other Griz. Once he gets the looks, he knocks them down. The hustle is the best part though. Watch him. No one gets as open as him.
• Martin is a shooting guard. That's just the way it is. The offense slows down a bit (not a ton) when he's at the 1. He's better filling in as a shooter.
• Griz are killing NAU on the boards. It's 19 to 10. Not even close. NAU is not boxing out at all and the Griz are taking advantage.
• Griz are making the extra pass. It's happened a couple times. Both times I recall had the pass going to Drew. One where the shot clock was winding down and Cam found him for a layup. Another time, Jordo was close to the basket, went up for a shot against a double team then laid it off to Drew as he was going up. Drew finished easily.
• NAU is not a very good team. At least not right now. They're not making their shots and are getting killed on the boards. A win here could do a lot of good to the Griz's confidence considering NAU's success in past years. This year, they're a bad good team. Yes, I meant to type both words.
• Griz need to play 40 minutes. If they do, they'll pull away and the 'Jacks won't even be there at the end. That's been the knock on the Griz to this point. This is there chance to rid themselves of it.
• They showed a graphic saying the Lady Griz were down 26-3 at half to NAU. They had it wrong, it's the other way around. Ahahahahaha.

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It's not working. It isn't. No matter what the Griz have tried—which right now is pretty much limited to jacking up threes and pounding it down low—it hasn't worked.

A lot of Griz fans are arguing that we need to go with who they say are our best players and pound it get it to the bigs more. At the same time, others are calling for the guards to get more touches and have more control over the offense.

What if we did both?

Think about this: when was the last time the Griz ran a great pick and roll? When was the last time a guard knifed down the lane and kicked it out for a wide open three? When was the last time guard took a pick, got to the hoop then laid it off to a big for a huge dunk? I sure as hell can't remember.

I listened to and live blogged throughout the Santa Clara game and heard Mick and Mike constantly say things like "Great offensive possession for the Broncos"..."Really efficient play there"..."Great possession." I don't think I can recall them saying this more than once or twice for the Griz. Santa Clara had a phenomenal inside-out game.

Imagine this: "Rundles, top of the key, gets a pick from Drew, hits it hard and comes flying down the lane kicks to Jordan, swings it to Martin, wide open...DOWN THE PICKEL BARRELLLLL!"

Or: "Martin, off the pick from Jordan, hesitates, bounce pass right back and huge slam!"

It seems like every possession is an either/or. Either we swing it around and take a jumper or cram it down low to Jordan or Drew.

I hope the Griz got some good tape of John Bryant and Santa Clara's inside-out game. The Broncos probably have the best big man we've seen all year and yet they still had the most effectively balanced offense. With the even talent the Griz have at just about every position, they could learn a lot from Santa Clara.

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Tonight the Griz play the 6-3 Broncos of the West Coast Conference. The Griz have lost three straight and come into the matchup at 5-5 looking to get a win before finishing off the road trip against Cal State Fullerton.

As always, the grizzlyjournal has an excellent preview on the game.

Tonight I'll be running a live blog on the game. I've done this before, but never without TV. I'll be listening to the radio broadcast over the web and offering up any comments and insight I have. On top of that, Glenn Junkert, author of the grizzlyjournal, will be chiming in as well.

It all starts after the jump. Feel free to add whatever comments you have.

Pregame

Colin: Obviously, the Griz need a win bad. Picking up these next two would be huge for the Griz's confidence heading towards conference play. Everyone knows this. Anyway, here's the lineup I'd start if I ran the show:

1-Cam Rundles
2-Ryan Staudacher
3-Jordan Hasquet
4-Andrew Strait
5-Brian Qvale

The Griz need to go big to battle huge John Bryant (6'10", 305 lbs, 20.7 ppg) and Martin would be great coming off the bench. I'm not saying Stads is more valuable out there. I just think Martin's fire and swagger would be perfect coming off the bench. Second guy off the bench: probably Sharpie to help out on Bryant. Third off the bench: Graves. This kid needs minutes like the Chicago Bears need a new quarterback. No, I won't let MNF be a distraction during the game. Graves needs minutes because quick guards killed this team in their loss to Pacific (see video).

Glenn: Ok. Before this game even starts, my hope is that Brian Qvale gets the opportunity to match up against the Broncos' 310 lb, 6'10" center John Bryant. I firmly believe Griz are a couple pieces away from cementing into a solid team heading toward conference play. One of them is more game experience from Qvale. The more minutes he gets, the more opportunities he'll get to show what he can do. Waging battle with Bryant is an ideal opportunity for Qvale.

Colin: Agreed. I think this matchup is going to be a great test for Qvale. It'll be interesting to see how their styles of play factor into this. Qvale is a quick, agile big who goes for a lot of blocks. I do not know for sure but going in, I'm imagining Bryant as a player similar to UCLA's Kevin Love, except 50 pounds heavier. Not really quick but more powerful. He can back you down so that your head is touching the net then lay it up and in. It'll be interesting to see if Qvale can get some points and rebounds down at the other end of the court.

Colin: Still waiting on the audio feed.

Colin: Alright, here's an alternative to the audio feed because the one from MontanaGrizzlies.com isn't up yet. Heard tinks Briefly mention he wanted to run. That'd be great. Hope he has the personnel in there to do it.

Colin: Broadcasters point out we gotta make Bryant run. He's only playing 25 minutes a game so endurance is obviously an issue... woah, wait, Tinks car got broken into. Wow. Talk about a bad omen.

'Squets injury is going to be interesting. As they noted, Griz did not practice yesterday.

Glenn: Former Griz Mike Warhank, a guest color analysis commentator for Mick Holien, made a good point on the pre-game show. If the Griz can push the pace with every chance they get, they might have success in the low blocks. Andrew Strait runs the floor well, and can be very effective in the early offense. If the Griz can force the Broncos into a "faster than normal" transition game with sideline entry passes to Andrew, they could open the game up a bit.

First Half

20:00 0-0

Colin: Cameron sits to start again. Same lineup as last game. Qvale-Strait-Jordo-Martin-Stads.

19:00 4-0 Broncos

Colin: Qvale apparently got a bad call on a block and picked up a foul. Hopefully the officiating is better than last game. This isn't a great start. Looks like Broncos are willing to foul and be physical.

Glenn: Good to hear that Jordan Hasquet is starting, playing on his gimpy ankles.

4-3 Broncos after Hasquet 3, good call by Glenn

Colin: Arena seems very dead. Not much atmosphere whatsoever. I believe attendance is close to what it was at Pacific but sounds much more quiet. Students must be gone.

17:02 6-3 Broncos

8-3 After a Dunk

8-5 after bunny by Drew

Colin: Really would prefer to see the Griz take control of a game. Seems as though it always starts out like this with a medium sized deficit.

10-5 with 15:12

Colin: Hopefully the Griz can come out of the break with some fire. Look to see Cam or Graves (PLEASE). Need some fire. This is where you need the Chavez.

Colin: Cam does come in. Hopefully he can give the Griz what they need. Sharpie comes in as well. Still 10-5.

Glenn: Single-shot possessions won't do on the road. Griz will need to get some offensive boards for second shots.

Colin: Agreed. We need some offensive boards. That as Qvale checks back in. Going to be tough with Bryant.

10-6 as Ceylon Elgin-Taylor checks in

Colin: Griz seem to be drawing quite a few fouls. Hopefully someone important is getting in trouble.

11-8 after a pair of Sharp FTs

Glenn: An aside on the game: Mike Warhank is an excellent color commentator. Great observations.

Colin: Agreed. I have a terrible memory, I believe Mick was all alone last year. Mike is filling in great with the color.

It's now 11-10 with 11:00 to go, hopefully the Griz can come out of the break and make a run. One Chavez candidate is in in: Spurgetis.

Glenn: Correct with your earlier post suggesting that Zach Graves & Greg Spurgetis get more playing time. Both have energy & can help the Griz in important areas of the game.

Colin: Dave is checking in. This should be interesting. We'll see what type of minutes he can earn against possibly the best center we've seen this year.

19-10 Broncos after a pair of threes and a layup

Colin: Wow, exactly what we weren't supposed to do. Johnson has ONLY made three point shots. It's not like all 4 of his makes. It's all 15+ of the shots he's made. Amazing. Get Graves to chase that kid around.

Glenn: The three-point bugaboo is biting the Griz again.

Colin: That and missing easy shots. Come on fellas. Cannot do that when the Broncos are shooting so well.

Now 22-10 after another trey with about 8:00 to play

Colin: Boy does this seem familiar. Griz let medium lead grow due to three pointers for them and missing open shots. We need to come out on fire. Revamped. Come on Tinks, toss in something else if this isn't working. Insanity: trying the same thing over and over while expecting different results. The Griz need to show they're not insane... that'd be a good start.

Glenn: I think Mike lives in the area and is just serving as a guest for these two games.

Colin: We could use him full-time. Great insight.

22-11 after Strait makes a FT... then fouls someone on the other end

Colin: This is pretty much echoing Mike, the Griz are pretty much letting Santa Clara run their offense however they want. Get Graves in there. We need someone to get in passing lanes and screw them up a bit.

Lead is all the way up to 13 after FTs

Glenn: Disappointing start against an opponent I figured would be a decent mark. It's obvious the Griz aren't handling the Broncos inside-outside game.

Lead down to 11

Now 9 after Hasquet jumper

Colin: It's looking like Hasquet might have to carry us again. Who knows if he can on those ankles. Why Martin is still in there with this lead is beyond me. He is a great offensive player. We need a little D with the way the Broncos are shooting.

Lead all the way back to 13 after missed Martin 3 and Bryant layup... Strait gets a lay-in to move it back down to 11... but then someone rolls down the lane again.

Colin: What the hell. Get someone in there who can prevent people from walking down the lane. This is kind of a joke. The only way our D up the middle gets worse is if we put down a trampoline around the free throw line and they can just jump over us and dunk it.

Glenn: Can't see it, but it appears the Broncos are getting high post screens for easy penetration by their guards.

Colin: Yep. Mick says there's no real sense of purpose... or something close. BRING IN THE BENCH GUYS. We need some fire. We've done this over, and over, and over again. We need quick or passionate guards. Someone rip Graves' and Greg's sweats off and shove them in the game.

Colin: Mike points to lack of effort. This is unbelievable. We need new guys if this continues. The end of bunch guys are starving for minutes. STARVING. You think effort will be a question of effort there? I doubt it.

Glenn: Andrew is playing the post well tonight. But the Griz won't make any headway without someone stepping up to make some threes. Hasquet just collects his third pf.

Colin: Agreed. Don't want to see us get too dependent on that though. And they get a rebound on a free throw. Yeah, effort is definitely an issue.

1:35... 31-19

Colin: Mike says "there are driving lanes to the basket." Really, tell me I'm wrong. Tell me Graves shouldn't be in this game.

Glenn: Hmmm. Mike Warhank suggests the Griz guards have lanes to the basket. That suggests tentative play by Griz guards.

Colin: Wonder if the injury is affecting Cam. Last season he'd drive without abandon. He's been more of a shooter this year. Significantly hinders what used to be a very dynamic style of play.

33-20 at Half

Colin: That really couldn't have gone a whole lot worse. It was exactly what we've seen in our bad losses.

Colin: "Tell me what you're up to Mike"... "Well, I'm actually talking to O'Day about getting my old job back. Tinkle said he'd be fine moving back to assistant." Maybe he just takes over for one half. I'm not normally one to rail on a coach but I don't like the way this first half has been handled. The same thing keeps happening and we keep trying the same faulty solutions.

Glenn: Don't have to go any farther than the stat line: Santa Clara is shooting 52 percent from the field and 100 percent from three-point range with 22 rebounds. The Grizzlies are shooting 29.2 percent from the field, 14.3 percent from three-point range, and have 10 rebounds. If the Bronco hadn't turned the ball over six times the margin could be even greater. I don't like to think this, but the Grizzlies are starting to show the same pattern of logging disastrous halves of play much like they did last year. This is the fourth time this year they've shown this pattern.

Second Half

Colin: Griz need to come out and play a totally different game while hoping the Broncos do the same. We need a great pep talk and some phenomenal adjustments.

Colin: Mick says "you can see the energy on offense"... great... until Strait misses a lay-up.

Glenn: The Griz are shooting 55 percent from the free throw line, which is another puzzling up & down stat.

Lead is 16 after a 3 point play... then Staudacher makes a trey.

Colin: Really sounds like the Griz have some fire now. Still not making their shots though. Sounds like they are trying to run it and get to the rim. You can hear Marso screaming 'GO!'

40-25 with about 16 minutes left

Colin: If the Griz don't make a big run this will go down as an L. Chipping away is just not going to work. We need a series of stops and a lot of makes.

Lead is 16...12 after solid plays by Sharp and Rundles...13:57

Glenn: Judging by the audience, it sounds like the Griz have pretty good crowd supporting them.

Colin: Hopefully we can show them a win. Nothing like walking out of an opposing arena with a win while dressed in garb from the visiting team.

One FT pushes lead back to 13

Colin: Mick says Jordo's ankle isn't bothering him at all. Good to hear. Don't want any lingering injuries.

Colin: Seems like we're forcing put-backs a little too hard. Need to reset more. We did on the last possession after getting a second offensive rebound. Good to see the Griz hitting the glass after an abysmal first half in that category.

Glenn: Even Mick Holien is making critical comments about the Grizzlies' tentative, "lazy" play. Ouch.

Colin: He also points out that we are not picking up getting any momentum and cannot make two shots in a row. The Broncos travel on two consecutive possessions. Need to capitalize on TOs like these.

Stads puts down a 3 as the Griz cut it to ten with close to 10:00 left

Colin: Here's the goal for rallying. Just be calm, try to keep it so you're down that fewer points than minutes left.

Glenn: Would love to see Ryan Staudacher have a "break-out" game from long range.

Colin: We need it. We need someone to be there.

Lead is back to 12 after Bryant basket

Goaltending as it's back to 14

Staudacher missed 3 and Broncos run down and get to the line

Colin: This is awful. Griz make the tiniest run then give it all back and then some. No rhythm, confidence, momentum.

Lead is at 16 with 8:18 left

Colin: Running out of minutes. Pace is way off. Down twice as many points as minutes. Great.

14 after Cam FTs about 8:00 left... Cam hits a 3 and it's 11

Colin: Real risky shot by Cam. Lucky it goes down. Now Graves comes in. This should be interesting.

Glenn: Sure is nice that Cam's playing with energy once again. It might be a sign he's getting past his foot injury. Your guy's subbing in, Colin.

Colin: Not gonna lie, I'm kind of nervous.

Lead is back to 13 after a pair of FTs

Colin: Real young line-up down the stretch. This will be very very interesting. Wow, missed front end of one and one by Hasquet. FTs kill us and whatever momentum we have. It happens in almost every game.

Cam throws one away and Broncos get 2 more... back to 15... then makes a runner at the other end.

Colin: Maybe Cam should be taking/making more shots early. Didn't he do this the other night in Portland?

Strait picks up fouls on the offensive and defensive ends... lead goes to 16 as Bryant makes a pair of FTs then Stads hits a 3, it's 12.

Colin: We're getting homered again. Not that it'd help that much but come on. Can't put us down even further.

Down by 10 with 4:01 left..now 8... Griz get a stop and over-the-top foul on Santa Clara

Colin: Not sure if we're shooting FTs coming down but we NEED points. Either two makes at the line or a big shot. A three would be beyond massive. If Stads makes it his starting spot is cemented.

Glenn: A good late-game run, fueled by Cameron. I'm reading some stuff into this, but if Cameron's taking control, that's a good sign.

Colin: I agree. He's turned it over a couple times but made up for it on following possessions. We need him to play this way the entire game.

Jordo misses the front end of a one and one again... 3:00 left and still down 8... 10 as Bryant gets another one.

Colin: Tough basket there. Leads to an MT miss.

Still 8 with less than 2:00 left

Colin: It was there for the taking. I'm not sure it is anymore. Mike Montgomery even left.

Griz get a couple of turnovers but cannot convert.

Colin: That's game. I think. Another Griz miss.

Another turnover by Santa Clara leads to zero Griz points

Colin: The game was there and we didn't go out and take it. Just needed to make a fun more shots run a few better sets and we're right there.

Santa Clara 60, Griz 49   Final.

Postgame

Colin: The Griz lose their fourth in a row and fall below .500 for the first time with a record of 5-6. Just not a good game whatsoever. There were a few extremely short stretches where we played well but never could put together enough solid possessions. There was certainly a time in the second half when the Griz could've got back in the game but they didn't jump on it. There didn't seem to be the clutch mentality and determination to pull out a come-from-behind victory.

Glenn: The best game plan in the world won't work when your team shoots 33 percent from the field and 53 percent from the free throw line. Am I correct? -- The Griz get two 1-and-1 opportunities with the lead down to 8 points and they can't convert.

But still, they play the Broncos even in the second half. But another 20-point first half (the last time they did that was at home against the Portland Pilots) is a tough hole to crawl out of.

Colin: Agreed. The Griz didn't have what was needed to jump on a team when they had a chance. I don't know if it was effort, endurance or what. You can't play all your games at home and you can't get long breaks between every game. I don't know why the broadcasters are blaming the legs at times when the Griz played great in the final two days of the Spokane tournament. Just poor shooting, poor effort.

Glenn: I was pretty encouraged after the Grizzlies battled to overtime against Pacific. This game's a big setback. It'll be interesting to hear what coach Tinkle has to say. Of course it doesn't get any easier on Thursday.

Glenn: Did Tyler Hurley suit up? Was he even there? The official statistics indicate Hurley was suited up.

Colin: Not sure. I didn't hear anything about that.

Tinkle sounds pretty somber. Said he found a combination that might've worked... when was that? Graves maybe. I'm not going to say that. We came back for like two minutes. Tinkle sounds pleased with the play of Spurgetis and Graves. We'll see what that does. We're going to have to toss everything we have at Fullerton if we don't want to go to 5-7.

Well, that's it for me. The game was a major disappointment with very little positives. I want to thank Glenn Junkert for helping me out and sharing his thoughts on the game. Check out his blog, the grizzlyjournal.

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Portland was 2-6 heading into Friday night's game against the Griz. They're now 3-6. The Griz were up two with 35 seconds left—after Cameron Rundles made one of two free throws—but Nik Raivio hit a three to give the Pilots the lead and eventually the win.

It was a bad night. Throughout the game, I never really felt too positive about what was going to happen. On the last possession—one in which Cam fed a driving Hasquet—I had a feeling the shot wasn't going to fall. It was just that type of night. The Griz shot less than 25% in the first half and 35% for the game.

Going off the Missoulian article, it sounds as though players aren't buying into the coaches' gameplan.

“We get great looks out of our offense when we run it all the way through,” Strait said. “We're kind of struggling right now with that.”
...
“We give him that shot all day long,” Montana coach Wayne Tinkle said of Raivio, who scored 13 of his game-high 17 points after the break. “I am a little disappointed that we left him. We had a timeout where we said stay with their shooters, make them dribble into our big players - we were ready to take charges - and we left him alone for a split second and that was enough for him to get the shot off and make it.”

Tinkle was upset with his team's inability to execute the game plan.

“We took a lot of mediocre shots, to say the least,” Tinkle said. “For whatever reason, we weren't focused on our game plan. We came out and wanted to go 94 feet of pressure. We didn't do it the first four times we scored. Our game plan was to pound it at them, pound it at them, posts take it and finish strong.

“Maybe what happened when we threw it in to them early and we were soft going to the basket, maybe the players said we shouldn't throw it in there anymore. I thought we came out and played very soft on both ends.”

The Griz cannot lose these type of games. In the most recent simulated RPI listings, Portland was over 200. And we lost to them at home! It can't happen. Not when we have a potentially season-defining road trip on tap. I don't know if it's leadership, execution, coaching or the lineups, but it has to change.

Here's my proposal for the lineups, without really factoring in Cam's possible injury: I believe we have to either go big or go small, no more 'tweener lineups that force us to play the other team's game. We can go big with Qvale-Strait-Jordo-Martin-Cam and squash teams while potentially taking our lumps on the defensive end. One thing is for sure, teams will have to live or die by the outside shot because it'll be tough driving on those bigs. If we go small we toss in the slashers and go with a lineup like Strait-Jordo-Cam-Graves-Martin/Elgin-Taylor. Graves, who is potentially the most athletic player on the team needs to get minutes against smaller quick teams. He also needs minutes when we're trying to press. With Cam not starting and Tinks trying to press, it would've made sense to start Graves.

However, I am not laying this on Coach Tinkle. This loss was on the players. A coach can't do anything to make players shoot that poorly. With that, something does need to be done. A leader needs to step up and discipline needs to be laid down because if the Griz go on this road trip with the mentality they've had in the past two games, they'll come back to Missoula as a 5-7 team.

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Because this game was a comlpete blowout (72-47 Griz), let's start with the students' perfomance tonight. It was God awful. Really. The south student section (why the student section is split up into two halves is beyond me) sat the entire game and made zero noise. None. Wonder why the game was so close in the first half (29-27 Griz)? It's probably because the Lights were going at the end completely devoid of any activity.

The second half, the Lights were going at the north end (bleacher side) of the student section. I'm not sure how they could've possibly been rattled because we didn't make much noise. Maybe they were just intimidated by anyone that stood. If that's really all it takes, this shouldn't be too difficult. Case in point: when the Lights were going at a dead student section they were -2; when they were going at a somewhat active student section they were -23.

I want to get this across. The north end was standing the entire game but made almost no noise. Things finally got going when a few rowdy kids walked in with five minutes left and the Griz already up twenty. When we start playing better teams, the students cannot wait til the end of the game to make noise. We also can't wait til we face the good teams to be loud the entire game. Teams practice before they play anyone and we should get this cheering thing down before we play half-decent teams.

Oh, yeah, and almost no one wore the student shirts. I saw less than 50. The marketing department gives out a thousand student shirts and more than half the students show up in ridiculous looking non-Griz attire. You know when you try and look good by wearing Abercrombie and Fitch or Hurley to a sporting event? Yeah, it doesn't look good at all. It's like trying to wear fancy fake athletic shoes to go work out. You're trying to look stylish but the look is doing the exact opposite of what's intended. You know, at most other schools students have to pay for the shirts and they still all wear them. Unbelievable.

Onward with game-relevant material. Martin looked amazing. He drained shot after shot and finished with 13 points. The Griz were led by Hasquet, who was his usual self. His line: 19 points, 8 boards and 4 assists. Tonight the reboarding looked solid, especially from players coming off the bench. Both Qvale and Sharp finished with 10 boards while neither could've played more than 15-20 minutes. Qvale also finished with 8 points on 4 of 6 shooting. Other scoring notes: Drew had 12 and Cam had 13.

While the numbers don't really show it, Zach Graves also impressed tonight. He's easily one of our most athletic players. When he gets in, he puts forth more effort than anyone, as evidenced by his 3 steals (leading the team) in 13 minutes. He finished with 4 points and 1 assist on 2 of 3 shooting.

Back to the crowd thing: besides the students, there was no one there. The official attendance:3,334. Come on. Seriously? We can get behind a football team that plays down to every opponent and has players who terrorize the town but we can't draw 7k for hoops? I'm not saying people should follow basketball more than anything else or that people should abandon our football team. I'm saying anyone who calls themself a Griz fan should actually be a Griz fan, not a Griz football fan.

Edit: the directions were off. The south side is the chair side, the north side has bleachers. Thanks Mr. Gregory McDonald, who apparently hates Griz basketball.

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I hope to have some media up later and possibly even a little video but for now, here are my impressions from the game. It's a work in progress...

One thing I really liked tonight is that it looked like a completely revamped offense. We weren't jacking up threes or clogging up the tempo by running every play through our bigs. There was a lot of movement and great balance between driving to the basket, taking jumpers and running it through the posts. The shooting could've been better but that's expected this early in the season.
 
Jack McGillis: I know he's not playing this year but tonight he was easily the most impressive player on the court. That's why I'm starting with him. An excerpt of my notes on him read "GREAT...really, really, good." At the beginning of the scrimmage he was going to the basket a lot but as it went on he showed his range of skills. He made 3's, a tough fade-away, layups and a couple dunks. On one of them he was one on one with Greg Spurgetis on a fast break. Both players went up, Jack let Greg fly by before throwing it down. There really should be an exception to the transfer eligibility rule if said player fits so perfectly onto a team.

Brian Qvale: One of our two young (very) bigs. He's a bit more filled out than Selvig. He's a very aggressive defender. On one possession, he went one on one with Drew. Drew made his usual low post move. You know, where he does a bit of a dipsy-do before he lays it off the glass. Well, Drew has him beat with the spin and as the ball kisses the glass, Qvale smacks it off the backboard. Lookin' good. Besides that, he also was great on the boards.

Derek Selvig:  His style, figure and demeanor remind me a bit of Spencer Hawes. He's all arms and legs. He's willing to take the 3. To be honest, I think the only shots I saw him take were from beyond the arc. If he can consistently knock that down and bring a center out to guard him, it'll be good news for our quick guards, especially...

Zach Graves: He's a great Nellie-ball type player. Great bursts of speed. Flies around the court offensively and busts his ass getting to the basket. However, against our defense, he had some trouble. With all the talented bigs, that lane just fills with arms. If someone tries to play small-ball, he's the type of player who can make them pay.

Matt Martin: His shot was falling tonight and he was taking it. He played with a lot of intensity, and rightfully so. He's trying to get his starting gig back. A spot he'll be battling Ceylon Elgin-Taylor for. It was interesting seeing them go head-to-head, easily the most competitive part of the scrimmage. Martin runs a bit slower offense than the other guards. He runs the play and waits for it to set up. It's not a bad thing, he just runs the offense with a slightly different style than Elgin-Taylor or Rundles.

Ceylon Elgin-Taylor: He reminds me a lot of Bryan Ellis. He's a bit bigger. He has that same defensive intensity, he'll take chances and go for the ball. His offense game is somewhat similar to Ellis' as well. More of a distributor than an offensive threat and why not? He's a pure point, exactly what we need.

Cameron Rundles: Cam performs a bit better when there's something on the line, which makes sense. Even so, he still looked good tonight. As far as his offensive style and pace goes when running the point, his is the fastest. It's more improvisational and not as stuck on the play. If he sees something, he'll jump on it. Besides that, he has a great looking shot.

Greg Spurgetis: He was out there, getting bounced around a bit but still working hard, trying to be more than just a "practice player." Made a few shots, hustled on D. The type of player every team needs.

Ryan Staudacher: Pure shooter. He's a big, strong player and that helps him on getting boards. Need him to consistently deliver that dagger 3 and most of the time he does. He must run off screens well because he almost always finds a way to get open beyond the arc.

Michael Taylor: Another guy that won't play this year due to the transfer rule. He's a guard that's in the Steve Kerr/John Paxson mold. A solid shooter who can make passes. Maybe he'll eventually be  a GM too, who knows.

Jordan Hasquet: You know the deal, this Jordo is a beast. He's a leader on the team who can overpower almost anyone you put on him. A lot of other guys were taking shots tonight and it's tough judging any possible improvement in an intrasquad scrimmage.

Andrew Strait: Similar to Jordo. You know what he does. He was going to the basket a bit more of the post up. He was trying to get to the hoop for layups as opposed to settling for the baby hooks. Something I liked to see.

Kyle Sharp: Looked good defensively, didn't do a ton on offense. He grabbed a few boards. He's gotten a lot bigger over the last two seasons.

Tyler Hurley: Didn't get much playing time so I can't really leave any notes. Looked a bit timid. Too early to make any real judgement.

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Going into this season many fans expected this talented Griz hoops program to continue its upward trend. This really didn't happen as the Griz season ended in a BSC semifinal loss to NAU. I thought I would take a look at a couple reasons why this team fell short of high expectations.

Note: Yeah, Danny Davis did something similar but I did start first.

This season started with the Griz hoops program returning almost everyone from a team that finished as one of top 32 teams in the country. Returners included the Griz's best player and all-conference performer Andrew Strait as well as freshman stud and Big Sky Tournament MVP Jordan Hasquet. Things weren't looking too bad after losing guards Kevin Criswell and Virgil Matthews. Most Griz fans thought we'd still be fine even though Larry Krystkowiak left for the Association. Well, as we know now, it didn't go smoothly.

Seems like we should've known after all the previews pointed to these things as a reason we wouldn't be as good. However, it wasn't Criswell and Matthews' 26.1 combined ppg or Krysko's X's and O's that led to a subpar season. It was something you can't teach. It was leadership.

After the jump I'll take a closer look at the leadership on this team.

When looking at leadership, one has to start at the top. On a basketball team, it's the head coach. Wayne Tinkle had a tough spot to fill replacing one of the most popular figures in Griz hoops history. Many now are pinning the failures of this season solely on him, and even I have had my frustrations, but blaming the coach is too easy and too cliche; that's not how we roll around here.

I do acknowledge that coaching was one of the reasons that for the Griz's poor performance this year but it wasn't because Tinkle is a bad coach. One reason coaching hurt is is that Tinks took over after long tenure as a Griz assistant. It must've been hard for veterans like Matt Dlouhy so see Tinks as THE guy instead of just the backup coach. Here's a little analogy: remember the feeling when you walked in for a grade school class one day and instead of seeing  your usual teacher you saw some random sub? Sure, there may have been a good lesson plan and this individual may have even been a better teacher but you know you were planning on spending the next eight hours staring out the window.

Just take a look at how some of the freshman — who never had the LK experience — have done. Cameron Rundles was playing way above his head this year as he, a true point guard, started at the two and even finished the Big Sky regular season as the best three point shooter in the conference. Ryan Staudacher also made the most of his minutes and contributed as a freshman. Then look at Dlouhy; Matt had Tinkle as an assistant for the three years prior to his senior season and sometimes it seemed as though he'd rather be in bed than trying to get a stop on the defensive end.

Another problem with coaching (once again, Tinks is not a bad coach) was the giant difference in coaching styles. Krysko was a very very passionate and fiery coach while Tinkle has a much more laid back personality. Many use a "good cop/bad cop" analogy bud I'd rather use a Chicago Cubs manager analogy. Larry Krystkowiak is your Lou Pinella, the total hardass and hothead. He would be all over his players and the officials. Tinkle is your California-style Dusty Baker. Baker once said that when he was a player and his manager flipped over the locker room food table in anger, he'd just pick up a hot dog and eat it. Now before you point to the fact that he ruined my favorite team, remember what Baker did with the strong veteran leadership of Barry Bonds and Jeff Kent. This is where the loss of Criswell and Matthews comes into play.

The Griz just did not have the strong veteran leadership that Criswell and Matthews gave the 05-06 team. Here are the seniors on this team: Bryan Ellis, Stuart Mayes, Matt Dlouhy and Michael Chavez. Only two of these guys start. Two of them served suspensions and Matt Dlouhy just isn't really a leader.

The next step in the search for a leader would be to look at the team's best players. In my opinion, there's a trio of Griz "stars" including Jordan Hasquet, Andrew Strait and Cameron Rundles. Hasquet and Rundles especially are probably too young to be respected and heard by the upperclassmen. Then from what I've seen of Drew that he's really kind of a quiet guy, kind of like Tim Duncan. Has anyone ever seen him get really fired up during a game?

Going into next year many fans, including myself, believe that Cameron Rundles will be the primary leader on this team. His position and demeanor just make it seem so inevitable; like how every thought that Avery Johnson becoming a good NBA head coach was inevitable.

A real wild card could be Matt Martin. Martin has a confident, sometimes arrogant personality, that could make him a leader. An MJ/Kobe personality maybe... maybe not. Even so, he may start at the 2 next year and if he contributes look for him to be even more vocal than he already is.

You may disagree with me on some of things (if so, voice your opinion) but every Griz fan knows that this years team was in desperate need of a strong leader. If this team wants to return to being a formidable Mid-Major foe, this is one area they will definitely need to improve on.

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Last week I mentioned that Andrew Strait is really pulling things together; the BSC office has noticed, as they named him Co-Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week.

A big part of this was his 11-11, 23 point performance in the great road win over Northern Arizona. Drew also had 13 and 8 in the blowout win over Northern Colorado.

Awards like these are a good sign as when Drew is going good, the team usually is as well. Check out the previous entry for more opinion and some great comments on Drew's contribution to this team.

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Andrew Strait's performance against NAU makes two strong showings in a row for the big fella. No, it wasn't a Hibachi game filled with spectacular plays and a game winner. It was just Drew quietly doing what he does, which is getting the ball and consistently making baskets. Strait was 11-11 from the field, leading all scorers with 23.

The Griz came out and forced their game plan on the Lumberjacks like a teacher forcing students to do a lesson plan they don't want to do. Andrew Strait score 7 of UM's first 10 points and 11 of their first 23. The Griz fed him down low continuously and he kept putting up points.

Not only did Strait have UM back on their style of play, he was also playing his by getting to the basket and not settling for jumpers or hooks. Nine of Strait's 11 field goals came on either layups or dunks.

Force feeding drew down low is essential for the Griz to play at the level their capable of. In many of their losses they, Strait wasn't getting enough attempts and guards were jacking up threes. It's good to see them playing the way the team is suited to play and once again taking advantage of their most talented player.

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Not only did the Griz avoid a major setback loss, they came out and played their most complete game of the year in a  74-71 victory over the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks.

Andrew Strait was very huge for the Griz hitting all eleven of his shots from the field and scoring a game-high 23. Jordan Hasquet hit some big shots and BE led the offense. I've said it before but everyone is beginning to find their role on this team. Hell, even Big Dave Vanderjagt got a minute or two and was able to get his first points.

The win puts the Griz a game back of first place Idaho State (5-2) and Weber State (6-3). Those two faced each other tonight in Pocatello and the Wildcats came away with a win. There are currently four teams tied for that second place spot.

I don't have time to go into too much detail seeing as I have to read almost an entire book by tomorrow (don't you miss college?) but I'm going to try to put up a series of posts on all the factors that contributed to this great win after I go to a couple classes.

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Tonight the Griz face Portland State in their first Big Sky Conference game. It's only the first game in conference where many are predicting a deadlocked race  where the BSC regular season champ might be only a few games above .500.

That doesn't matter, this game is huge. It is. I wish I could get the Donald Trump impersonator screen thing from Conan just so I could get him to say "it's huuuge" and then you might really understand.

This team needs to figure out exactly who it is, a talented flop or returning BSC contender? They go into the game with a long list of things to prove. Some of those are after the jump.

First off, the Griz need to show that they can play on the road. They have yet to win a game in an opposing team's gym. Their shooting has been horrendous and they lack the swagger they used to have. They lost to lowly Portland on the road in their last game.

The Griz need to show that they can play with small, great-shooting teams. In this article, Tinks says it's likely the Vikings will have four guards out there most of the time. That's scary considering  the way this team played against small teams earlier this season.

Wayne Tinkle, show me you are ready to coach this team and make the talent match the results. Tinks has yet to put a great spark into this team while LK had these guys playing like their hair was on fire. Unite them and get them pumped to play a good team on the road.

Killa' Cam Rundles, show me you are ready to handle the point. You've shown flashes but still make freshman mistakes. Prove that this team is yours. Put it together and make them run.

Andrew Strait, show that you can not only lay down a good stat line but can also lead your team to a victory.

Matt Dlouhy, show me that you will never ever go out and toss up a goose egg again.

Bryan Ellis and Matt Martin, prove to me that you should earn the #1 point guard spot. You two are older and should have this job.

Jordan Hasquet, prove that those big games last year weren't a fluke and come out with consistent play.

Ryan Staudacher, show me you can do what you came here to do and that is consistently drain threes.

Gus Chase, show me you're as good as you were touted to be coming out of JuCo. Make the most of the minutes you get.

I could go on, but won't. Everyone on this team has something to prove and should be playing like so. Most of all, the Griz need to prove they are as good as they were made out to be. They need to come out with the swagger that a team with back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances should have. Play like these guys can't even play with you. Run the court, shoot well and beat them playing small ball. Bang it low, box out, get the boards and beat them playing big. Play with confidence and show me you're still having fun.

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Last night the Griz men's basketball team fell to 1-1 after a very dismal 74-57 loss to Utah Valley St in Orem, Utah. Aren't we supposed to beat teams with names this long?

The Griz hit their peak about five minutes into the game. Yeah, it's easy to see why they lost. The Griz sank their first eight shots from the field and were still up 21-13 with a  little over six minutes left in the half. Things went bad from as they shot 5 for 20 for the remainder of the half to fall to a 31-27 deficit at the break.

It was pretty much over that as the Wolverines ran away to their 17 point victory. Strait finished with a double-double with 16 and 11. Complete stats in the article.

The Griz did play awful but at least Tinks didn't go Bobby Knight on anyone.

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Every sports fan loves SportsCenter, they do. Many will watch two, three, maybe even six times a day. Then on top of that there's the option of watching ESPNEWS, which is basically SC 24/7. As great as SportsCenter can be, everyone gets that deja vu feeling sometime during the SC binge; you know, where've you've just heard for like the third time in the exact same verbage that Jaromir Jagr scored in some game you do not at all care about and you realize it's not going to change no matter how much longer you sit on the couch

Well, that's the way I am with these Griz basketball previews. Nothing is changing. Even so, there's another one after the jump that follows the same basic formula. This, courtesy of the Portland State Blog.

Oh, and there's a game tonight at 7. The Griz have their first regular season game at home, its against MSU-Northern. I know it doesn't sound like it'd be as much fun as watching Bob Saget on 1 vs 100, but it's the last home game before they take on Western Kentucky on Dec. 6 so you might as well check it out.

As deep and talented as any team in the Big Sky the big question here is whether the Grizzlies will play as hard for new head coach Wayne Tinkle as they did for the departed Larry Krystkowiak. Love him or hate him, Krystkowiak coached the hell out of Montana and the result was two conference championships over more-talented teams.

Tinkle will be playing from a full hand. Mid-Major All American forward Andrew Strait is the conference's best player not named Stuckey and sophomore forward Prince Valiant look-a-like Jordan Hasquet isn't far behind. Gone is last year's starting backcourt but there are lots of replacements in waiting. Junior guard Matt Martin has always impressed me with his quick shot and toughness and with a starting spot open and a new coach he could blossom.

Odd Fact: Hasquet's grandfather, father, mother and aunt all played for Montana basketball teams.

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You know, I can't get enough of these Big Sky basketball previews like I can't get enough of my girlfriend making me watch Gray's Anatomy instead of the recent Big East clashes on Thursday nights. Even with the Seattle love, it's still a pretty awful show.

The previews are all the same, the Griz are picked to finish in the top 3, usually two with EWU or NAU in the top spot. Then the preview will start with how LK is gone but the respected and established Tinks has stepped in and taken over a good deal of talent.

The next step in the preview process is laying down Strait's stat line, then following it up with a little information on Jordo Hasquet. Next is always Cris. Every preview says the loss of the Grizzlies' backcourt, Kevin Criswell and Virgil Matthews, will really hurt and Tinks will be looking for Matt Martin and/or BE to step in. Depending on the length of the preview, JC transfer Gus Chase may or may not be mentioned.

Even so, there's another one after the jump; this courtesy of MontersandCritics.com.

PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH: 1. Northern Arizona, 2. Montana, 3. Eastern Washington, 4. Portland State, 5. Idaho State, 6. Sacramento State, 7. Weber State, 8. Montana State, 9. Northern Colorado

MONTANA - The Grizzlies have really turned a corner the last few years, winning the conference tournament title in each of the past two seasons. Montana is searching for its third straight invite to the NCAA Tournament after upsetting Nevada in the first round last year. Over the summer, coach Larry Krystkowiak decided to try his hand at the NBA level. In his place steps Wayne Tinkle, a former Grizzly who is well respected by the Montana community and has also spent the last five seasons as an assistant coach. As for the make-up of the team, 6-8, 245-pound forward Andrew Strait draws the most attention. Last year, he shot an impressive 61.4 percent (11th in the nation) while averaging 16.6 ppg and 6.4 rpg. He will team with Jordan Hasquet (6-9, 245 pounds) to form a rather imposing front line. Matt Martin, who led the team in assists and steals, returns to the backcourt along with 6-6 swingman Matt Dlouhy (7.4 ppg, 3.7 rpg).

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