2020–21 Montana Grizzlies basketball team

The 2020–21 Montana Grizzlies men's basketball team represented the University of Montana in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Grizzlies, led by seventh-year head coach Travis DeCuire, played their home games at Dahlberg Arena in Missoula, Montana as members of the Big Sky Conference. In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Grizzlies finished the season 15–3, 7–9 in Big Sky play to finish in sixth place. They defeated Idaho and Weber State in the Big Sky tournament before losing to Eastern Washington in the semifinals.

2020–21 Montana Grizzlies basketball
ConferenceBig Sky Conference
Record15–13 (7–9 Big Sky)
Head coach
Associate head coachChris Cobb
Assistant coaches
  • Jay Flores
  • Zach Payne
Home arenaDahlberg Arena
Seasons
2020–21 Big Sky men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Southern Utah 12 2   .857 20 4   .833
Weber State 12 3   .800 17 6   .739
Eastern Washington 12 3   .800 16 8   .667
Montana State 8 6   .571 13 10   .565
Idaho State 8 6   .571 13 11   .542
Montana 7 9   .438 15 13   .536
Northern Colorado 6 8   .429 11 11   .500
Portland State 6 8   .429 9 13   .409
Sacramento State 5 9   .357 8 12   .400
Northern Arizona 4 10   .286 6 16   .273
Idaho 1 17   .056 1 21   .045
Conference tournament winner

Previous season

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The Grizzlies finished the 2019–20 season 18–13, 14–6 in Big Sky play to finish in third place. They were scheduled to play Idaho State in the quarterfinals of the Big Sky tournament, but due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, all postseason tournaments were canceled, including the remainder of the Big Sky tournament.[1]

Offseason

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Departures

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
Timmy Falls 1 G 6'2" 170 Junior Dublin, California Left team
Kendal Manuel 2 G 6'4" 190 RS Senior Billings, Montana Graduated
Sayeed Pridgett 4 G 6'5" 201 Senior Oakland, California Graduated
Naseem Gaskin 5 G 6'5" 185 RS Freshman Oakland, California Left team
Jett Briceno 13 G 6'4" 180 Freshman Kent, Washington Transferred to Bellevue College
Yagizhan Selcuk 22 F 6'8" 233 RS Sophomore Istanbul, Turkey Transferred to Missouri Southern
Peter Jones 32 F 6'8" 210 RS Sophomore Seattle, Washington Walk on; didn't return
Jared Samuelson 33 F 6'7" 215 RS Senior Billings, Montana Graduated

Incoming transfers

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
Cameron Parker 11 G 6'2" 170 Junior Beaverton, Oregon Transferred from Sacred Heart. Received an eligibility waiver from the NCAA to play immediately.

2020 recruiting class

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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:

  • "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved January 9, 2019.

Roster

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2020–21 Montana Grizzlies men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Kyle Owens 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) So Crespi Carmelite High School Calabasas, California
F 1 Michael Steadman 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 215 lb (98 kg) RS Sr San Jose State Union City, California
F 2 Darius Henderson 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Jr UMass Lowell Pasadena, California
G 3 Josh Vazquez 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So Bishop Montgomery High School Torrance, California
G 5 Robby Beasley III 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Dublin High School San Ramon, California
G 10 Eddy Egun 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 204 lb (93 kg) RS So El Camino Real High School Woodland Hills, California
G 11 Cameron Parker 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Jr Sacred Heart Beaverton, Oregon
G 12 Brandon Whitney 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 178 lb (81 kg) Fr Bishop Alemany High School Mission Hills, California
F 13 Josh Bannan 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr UC Lake Ginninderra Melbourne, Australia
F 23 Mack Anderson 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 208 lb (94 kg) Jr Bozeman High School Bozeman, Montana
G 24 Freddy Brown III 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 178 lb (81 kg) RS So Nathan Hale High School Seattle, Washington
F 35 Derrick Carter-Hollinger 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 212 lb (96 kg) So Foothills Christian High School San Diego, California
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

Roster
Last update: January 29, 2021

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular season
November 28, 2020*
7:00 pm, P12N
at USC L 62–76  0–1
Galen Center 
Los Angeles, CA
December 3, 2020
7:00 pm, Pluto TV
at Southern Utah L 63–64  0–2
(0–1)
America First Event Center 
Cedar City, UT
December 5, 2020
12:00 pm, Pluto TV
at Southern Utah L 74–75  0–3
(0–2)
America First Event Center 
Cedar City, UT
December 8, 2020*
5:00 pm, SECN
at Georgia L 50–63  0–4
Stegeman Coliseum (1,638)
Athens, GA
December 12, 2020*
2:00 pm, Pluto TV
Yellowstone Christian College W 102–42  1–4
Dahlberg Arena 
Missoula, MT
December 16, 2020*
9:00 pm, P12N
at Washington W 66–58  2–4
Alaska Airlines Arena 
Seattle, WA
December 18, 2020*
4:00 pm, Pluto TV
Dickinson State W 78–51  3–4
Dahlberg Arena 
Missoula, MT
December 22, 2020*
5:00 pm, P12N
at Arizona L 64–70  3–5
McKale Center 
Tucson, AZ
January 2, 2021
5:00 pm, SWX MT
Northern Colorado L 62–64  3–6
(0–3)
Dahlberg Arena 
Missoula, MT
January 4, 2021
9:00 am, SWX MT
Northern Colorado W 56–54  4–6
(1–3)
Dahlberg Arena 
Missoula, MT
January 9, 2021*
2:00 pm, Pluto TV
Whitworth W 84–67  5–6
Dahlberg Arena 
Missoula, MT
January 14, 2021
5:00 pm, SWX MT
Northern Arizona W 67–56  6–6
(2–3)
Dahlberg Arena 
Missoula, MT
January 16, 2021
11:00 am, Pluto TV
Northern Arizona L 58–62  6–7
(2–4)
Dahlberg Arena 
Missoula, MT
January 21, 2021
6:00 pm, Pluto TV
at Sacramento State W 78–66  7–7
(3–4)
Hornets Nest 
Sacramento, CA
January 23, 2021
12:00 pm, Pluto TV
at Sacramento State L 83–89 2OT 7–8
(3–5)
Hornets Nest 
Sacramento, CA
January 28, 2021
7:00 pm, SWX MT
Montana State Canceled Dahlberg Arena 
Missoula, MT
January 30, 2021
2:00 pm, SWX MT
at Montana State Canceled Brick Breeden Fieldhouse 
Bozeman, MT
February 4, 2021
8:00 pm, Pluto TV
at Portland State W 70–64  8–8
(4–5)
Viking Pavilion 
Portland, OR
February 6, 2021
1:00 pm, Pluto TV
at Portland State L 56–61  8–9
(4–6)
Viking Pavilion 
Portland, OR
February 11, 2021
5:00 pm, Pluto TV
Weber State W 80-67  9-9
(5-6)
Dahlberg Arena 
Missoula, MT
February 13, 2021
12:00 pm, SWX MT
Weber State L 82–91  9–10
(5–7)
Dahlberg Arena 
Missoula, MT
February 18, 2021
7:00 pm, SWX MT
at Eastern Washington L 76–90  9–11
(5–8)
Reese Court 
Cheney, WA
February 20, 2021
12:00 pm, SWX MT
Eastern Washington L 76–90  9–12
(5–9)
Dahlberg Arena 
Missoula, MT
February 25, 2021
7:00 pm, Pluto TV
at Idaho State W 64–58  10–12
(6–9)
Reed Gym (40)
Pocatello, ID
February 27, 2021
11:00 am, Pluto TV
at Idaho State W 59–58  11–12
(7–9)
Reed Gym (50)
Pocatello, ID
February 28, 2021*
7:30 pm, Pluto TV
Yellowstone Christian College Canceled Dahlberg Arena 
Missoula, MT
March 4, 2021
5:00 pm, SWX MT
Idaho Canceled Dahlberg Arena 
Missoula, MT
March 5, 2021*
5:00 pm, Pluto TV
Warner Pacific W 92–61  12–12
Dahlberg Arena 
Missoula, MT
March 6, 2021
12:00 pm, Pluto TV
Idaho Canceled Dahlberg Arena 
Missoula, MT
March 6, 2021*
2:00 pm, Pluto TV
Warner Pacific W 80–62  13–12
Dahlberg Arena 
Missoula, MT
Big Sky tournament
March 10, 2021
3:00 pm, Pluto TV
(6) vs. (11) Idaho
First round
W 69–64  14–12
Idaho Central Arena 
Boise, ID
March 11, 2021
8:00 pm, Pluto TV
(6) vs. (3) Weber State
Quarterfinals
W 80–75  15–12
Idaho Central Arena 
Boise, ID
March 12, 2021
8:00 pm, Pluto TV
(6) vs. (2) Eastern Washington
Semifinals
L 50–78  15–13
Idaho Central Arena 
Boise, ID
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Mountain.

Source[2]

References

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  1. ^ "BIG SKY CONFERENCE CANCELS REMAINDER OF 2020 BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS". Big Sky Conference. March 12, 2020. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  2. ^ "2020-21 Men's Basketball Schedule". University of Montana Athletics. Retrieved January 29, 2021.