Montana at South Dakota State University, in Brookings, S.D. Saturday @ 6 p.m. -- Montana leads the series 2-0, including an 87-47 win last season, a game that saw the Griz score 57 first-half points.
Word from Grizzly assistant coach Nate DuChesne is that a sellout crowd is expected for the game. The Griz will be a Saturday night post-game attraction of sorts. Brookings will be humming because the home-standing Jackrabbit football team will battle FCS No. 2 Ranked North Dakota State on Saturday for the Great West Football Conference title and an interstate trophy called the Dakota Marker awarded to the winner of the “Dakota Series.” The Jackrabbits are ranked just out of the top 25 FCS schools, at the equivalent of 27th place. The winning team will be crowned conference champion.
PHOTO: Montana sophomore point guard, Cameron Rundles.
Though the Jackrabbit basketball team is improved from last year, they’re considerably younger than last year’s squad. Two freshmen and two sophomores join Jackrabbits’ lone senior, 6’-7” power forward Casey MacKenzie, on the starting five. The first man off the bench is a freshman.
The Griz will have a considerable height advantage at every position. The Jackrabbits’ tallest player is MacKenzie, followed by 6’-6” forward Kai Williams, who led the Jackrabbits in Missoula last year with 12 points and 7 rebounds.
DuChesne said the game will be an ideal road test. “It’s going to be a hostile environment,” said DuChesne. “So, we’ve got to be composed. We can’t allow the crowd to affect us like we did a little bit at Gonzaga.”
The relatively young Grizzly squad is starting to show some on-court chemistry. The test Saturday will be for Griz guards to run the offense for 40 minutes, said DuChesne.
“We think they’re (Cameron Rundles, Matt Martin and Ceylon Elgin-Taylor) coming along,” said DuChesne. “In the second half (Wednesday) they did a much better job of moving the basketball.
“ We’re not a one-on-one type of team,” DuChesne added. “We tell our guards to keep the ball moving, to get the ball inside to the posts and to move the ball inside out.”
KEYS to the Game -- Expect the Jackrabbits to throw a zone at the Griz.
1. Continued long-range shooting accuracy. Matt Martin, a South Dakota native from Spearfish, has shown solid signs of a returning to long-range shooting form. Look soon for a productive outside game from guard Ryan Staudacher, who shot 1-for-5 from the field Wednesday, and simply needs to relax a bit.
2. Power in the blocks. Most important will be the game underneath, since the Griz have a distinct size advantange. If the Griz can flex the zone, expect post Andrew Strait, power forward Jordan Hasquet and especiallly reserve post -- and North Dakota native -- Brian Qvale to have banner nights.
3. Cameron. Point guard, Cameron Rundles, has 13 assists so far compared to a mere 2 turnovers in three games. Rundles is showing steady improvement with each game... enough to gain early merit as one of the premier points in the Big Sky.
