SCOUTING REPORT: Montana at Santa Clara, Dec. 17

THE GAME: University of Montana, at Santa Clara, Monday, Dec. 17 at 8p.m.

RECORDS: The Santa Clara Broncos are 6-3: Cal State Monterey Bay, (W 66-49), At Simpson University, (W 82-55), at Nevada (L 67-54), at Utah (72-57), at Sacramento State (W 77-65), at Eastern Washington (W 66-57), at Utah State (L 71-65), at San Jose State (W 73-63), Pacific (L 71-65).

Montana takes a 5-5 record into the game with  losses to Gonzaga, Washington State, Cal State Fullerton, Portland and Saturday at Pacific (76-71). The Grizzlies have beaten Colorado State (75-39), Montana State Northern (72-47), South Dakota State (70-61), Air Force (59-57) and Mississippi Valley State (69-62).

PHOTO: Senior Matt Martin scores two against Portland. Because of Santa Clara's front court size, the Grizzlies may need scoring punch from long range at both wings and the top of the key. The ability of Martin (and fellow  guards Ryan Staudacher and Cameron Rundles) to knock down several treys may well be the key to a Montana win.

THE COACH: Santa Clara coach Kerry Keating is in his first season, having previously served for four years as an assistant coach to Ben Howland at UCLA.  Keating, at 35, is the youngest coach in the West Coast Conference, and is known for his recruiting abilities while at UCLA and previously at Tennessee.

HISTORY: Santa Clara leads the series, 4-2, but lost 67-55 at home in the teams’ last meeting, a game where Matt Martin -- then a sophomore -- scored 16 points to lead the Griz.

PERSONNEL: The Broncos will be one of the biggest teams the Griz have faced this year. Broncos 6’-10” center, junior John Bryant, leads the West Coast Conference in shooting percentage with a 62.5 average, is the second-leading scorer in the Conference with a 20.7 points per game average, is ranked fourth in the conference with 8.2 rebounds per game and has 2.22 blocked shots per game through nine games. Senior point guard Brody Angley is second in the WCC with an average of five assists per game. shoots three pointers at a 48 percent average and averages three assists per game compared to 1.73 turnovers.

THE TEAM: As a team, the Broncos lead the West Coast Conference in an impressive seven categories, including: free throw percentage (72%), field goal percentage (52%), three-point field goal percentage (42%), defensive rebounds (25), rebounding margin (+6.9), assists (16.56), and assists-to-turnovers (+1.05). the Broncos have already won five road games so far this season, the biggest of which was a 72-57 win at Utah.

The Tigers average6 68.9 points per game and allow 61.7.

The bulk of  the Tigers’ scoring is produced by Bryant and Angley, but senior forward Mitch Henke also chips in 11.1 points per game on offense. Those three pace the Broncos with 43 points per game average.

THE MATCHUP: Earlier this week Montana Coach Wayne Tinkle said he was considering experimenting more with a larger lineup, and did so early against the Pacific Tigers, giving freshman Brian Qvale his first career start as a Grizzly. Because the Broncos’ front court force is 6’-10” John Bryant, we may well see Qvale get another start. With the Grizzlies’ ‘Big Man’ lineup of Andrew Strait and Qvale, they may match up well enough in the low blocks to neutralize any advantage the Broncos may hold. Also, backup Dave Vanderjagt may see action in a reserve role.

That may mean that Montana guards will need to log solid statistical games -- both in handling the ball and in shooting the three from the wings and the tip of the key. It’s also critical that Griz guards prevent easy entry passes into the low blocks by Broncos guards.  While the Broncos average 16.6 assists per game, they also turn the ball over an average of 15.8 per game. Solid guard play by Montana’s four-deep guard corps will be a key.

An impressive statistic from Saturday’s game against Pacific was that Grizzly guards held the high-scoring guard combo of Steffan Johnson and Chad Troyer to a combined 11 points for the game. The duo had been averaging a combined 29 points per game. Ryan Staudacher was credited as a defensive force for the Grizzlies, and will be relied upon again to limit outside scoring by Broncos guards, particularly Brody Angley.

However, the key to success may be how well Montana’s low post players can neutralize the 6’-10” John Bryant, who has led the Broncos in attempts and scoring this year. Because the Broncos appear to match up very well against Montana’s front court, it may be critical to get good perimeter looks from Matt Martin, Staudacher and Jordan Hasquet (if he is cleared to play).

The Broncos provide yet another solid test of a team equal in strength to any upper-division Big Sky team. The Broncos lost by six at home to Pacific, but has a 77-65 win at Sacramento State, a 66-57 win at Eastern Washington, and split decisions against Utah (won 72-57) and Utah State (lost 71-65).

This is another game the Griz can win. However, it’s a certain bet the Broncos will be keying heavily on Hasquet, so the Griz will need scoring punch from other players/positions in their lineup. This would be a perfect game for Matt Martin to have a career breakout 3-point shooting night.

HEALTH: Junior wing Jordan Hasquet played all of the second half against Pacific on sprained ankles. Hasquet will most certainly not be at full strength Monday. The extent to which he can play may well spell the difference in the game’s outcome.