SCOUTING REPORT: Idaho State Bengals at Montana, Jan. 17

PREVIEW: Norhern Arizona coach Mike Adras paid a hearty compliment to Montana guards after the NAU come from behind win over the Griz last Thursday. He said Montana’s patient passing game was literally ripping-apart the Northern Arizona defense. Of course, Adras’ said that after h is Jacks found a way to rattle Montana’s composure. But two nights later the Griz succeeded in getting good passes to open shooters inside (19 Griz assists led to 29 points in the low blocks), which in turn opened up the perimeter for solid shooting nights from guards Matt Martin, Cameron Rundles and Ryan Staudacher.

A repeat of that offensive patience will pay dividends against an Idaho State team that rebounds and shoots poorly, but plays a vicious flexing-trapping zone defense.

Montana also has a hefty size and weight advantage in the low blocks, so any efficient interior offensive action -- whether it’s a solid plus-margin on offensive rebounds, or solid shooting from Jordan Hasquet, Andrew Strait and Kyle Sharp, or both will give the Griz an advantage.

PHOTO: Solid nights from Jordan Hasquet, Andrew Strait and Kyle Sharp will be necessary against the Bengals.

But they’ll have to do it quickly, because any lead the Bengals get for their zone means they’ll be content to grind it out in a low-scoring game.

Despite the fact that the Bengals are perched toward the top of the Big Sky standings, this team is most likely a Big Sky second-tier team.

Montana has focused early on stretching and splitting zone defenses. As the year progresses, they may see even more zones. There’s no better time than now to get a shot at the Big Sky’s best zone D.

MONTANA v.s IDAHO STATE

Game time is 7:05 p.m., with radio coverage provided by KGVO and announcer Mick Holien. Fans with PCs and Internet access can view a video stream of the game from Big Sky Television (www.bigskytv.org) for a fee. Those who have macs, like me, are out of luck.

THE GAME: Idaho State at University of Montana, at 7:05 p.m.

RECORDS: The Bengals are 5-11. Idaho State’s RPI is 243 and the their strength of schedule is ranked #141 nationally.
Idaho State has wins against MSU Northern (76-69), Idaho (71-69), Northwest Nazarene (71-66), Northern Colorado (76-65), and Eastern Washington (58-56). ISU has lost to: Iowa (58-43), Long Beach State (66-61),  Oregon State (56-41), Portland (76-52), Boise State (93-66), UCLA (89-49), Washington State (75-45), Utah (68-51), Washington (82-50) and Portland State (71-61).

Montana takes a 7-9 record into the game with  losses to Gonzaga, Washington State, Cal State Fullerton (2), Portland, Pacific, Santa Clara, Montana State and Northern Arizona. The Grizzlies have beaten Colorado State (75-39), Montana State Northern (72-47), South Dakota State (70-61), Air Force (59-57), Mississippi Valley State (69-62) and Montana Tech (91-36). Last Game: Beat Sacramento State 76-69 Saturday in Sacramento.

THE COACH: Joe O'brien is 18-26 in his second year at the helm of the Idaho State Bengals. O'Brien built a career as one of the outstanding junior college coaches in the country before taking his first division 1 position at ISU.
O’Brien, one of only three coaches to ever win three Junior College National Championships, built a 313-117 record as a junior college coach, and is currently in his 22nd year as a collegiate basketball head coach. He has built a reputation for his teams’ tough zone defense, a combination of straight zone and matchup zone.

HISTORY: Montana leads series 86-40. The Grizzlies forged a 2-1 record against the Bengals last year, losing 79-69 to the Bengals in Missoula before taking a 72-71 OT verdict at Pocatello in the teams’ last conference game of the year, and then beating the Bengals 70-63 in OT at Missoula in the first game of the 2007 Big Sky post-season playoffs. The Grizzlies hold a 55-12 record against the Bengals in Missoula.

PERSONNEL:  Bengal forward Matt Stucki leads the team in scoring at 12.3 points per game, but had a breakout game Sunday against Portland State, scoring 26 points while making 11-of-13 from the free throw line. Point guard Amorrow Morgan is the only other Bengal in double-figures overall at 10.2 per game, but has only 23 assists on the season compared to 51 turnovers. Morgan is the Bengals' shophomore point guard, and was pressed into service early after the departure of two junior college transferes. Morgan is shooting 44% from the field, 24% from three-point range. No other Bengal is averaging over eight points per game. ISU is averaging 58.4 points per game, and allows 71.8 per game. The Bengals are one of the worst shooting teams in the conference with 41% field goal average, 28 percent from three-point range.

THE TEAM: O’Brien’s Bengals were battered in a tough preseason schedule. ISU beat only one division 1 School (Idaho) in preseason, and lost several games by 20+ points.  Idaho State is 5-11 on the season, but 2-1 and tied for second place in the Big Sky Conference with Weber State after splitting games in Pocatello, defeating Eastern Washington 58-56 in Pocatello and losing a home-court decision to Portland State 71-61 on Sunday.

HOW TO BEAT THE BENGALS: More than any other factor, defensive and offensive rebounding may be the key to a win against the Bengals, who rank toward the bottom of the conference in rebounding and get burned frequently by teams who hit the offensive glass well for second chances.

On defense --  Stop Matt Stucki. Stucki is a wing/small forward with the ability to drive quickly to the bucket. When stopped, he hasn’t shot all that well from long range... until Sunday, when he hit several pull-up treys over the sagging Portland State defense. The prime objective should be to keep Stucki on the perimeter. Secondly, point guard Morgan has been adept at driving into the key. If Morgan can be kept from penetrating, the Bengals haven’t shown the ability to score from long range. Despite players of promise like the fiery Logan Kinghorn and Austin Kilpatrick, the Bengals have struggled on offense. Junior college transfer Lucas Steijn has played well below expectations on offense.

On offense -- Patience is a must against the ISU zone, which forces offensive passes to the baseline and then traps wing or guard players. Obrien’s Bengals are known for playing a very tough flexing zone that will cause passing turnovers when post players pass the ball back out to guards on any kind of inside-outside ball movement. The Bengal zone is designed to trap wing players on the baseline and then deny passes toward half court. That usually means that diagonal or sideline-to-sideline passes can be effective at stretching the Bengal zone. Another strategy that works is a diagonal pass on a reverse to a forward that breaks low off of a low post screen. As with any zone (except maybe the Lady Griz zone), it can be flexed for inside shots with good point guard play and careful passing. The word on the Bengals is that they play zone tough for the first 3 passes, and then break down if the ball gets reversed.

Portland State burned the Bengals with early-offense baseline treys and offensive rebounds. Lastly... it’s critical to get an early lead on the Bengal zone. Doing so might cause ISU to play man defense (doubtful), something they haven’t proven they can play.

Attacking the basket aggressively has also worked against the Bengals, who have racked up quite a few fouls in past games.

PHOTO: Matt Martin is fouled on a drive to the bucket against Montana Tech.

Individuals -- The Bengal zone is actually designed to force early three-point shots from the wings. If Montana point guards can dribble enter toward the key from the sideline, the Bengal zone should collapse, which could open things up wide on the weak side. When Portland State center Scott Morrison scored 16 points against the Bengals (though he was hammered). Montana will win if Strait and Hasquet get the ball down in mid-key or in the blocks... and if they make their free throws. If they don’t have shots, it’ll be critical that Strait and Hasquet make good passes back to the perimeter guards.

I believe the Bengals are potentially very vulnerable against any low-block size. This should be a good game for freshman Brian Qvale to get his feet back on the court... both offensively and defensively. The big guy could make a difference.

Lastly: The Bengals are a perfect opponent for Montana sharpshooters Martin and Staudacher. If  Elgin-Taylor and Rundles can get good reversal on perimeter passes, the baseline is often open as well as is the weak side for 45-degree long-range shots.

HEALTH: Good.