MISSOULA — The Montana men’s basketball team has finalized its nonconference schedule for the 2024-25 season. The Grizzlies will play seven home games and six road games before opening Big Sky play on Jan. 2 at Eastern Washington.
The Grizzlies have again scheduled some impressive opponents from the highest divisions in basketball and mix it with a good blend of opponents from other mid-major conferences.
Montana will make three big road trips to Oregon (Nov. 8), Tennessee (Nov. 13), and Utah State (Nov. 18) to start off the year. They will also play plenty of home games against D-I competition with a few lower-level teams also coming to Dahlberg Arena.
“We like it. It’s strong, as usual, and I think taking guys to places that we haven’t necessarily been is also intriguing,” head coach Travis DeCuire said. “There are games to look forward to, the high major games, so I think the versatility of our schedule this year is a little more exciting than the last couple years.”
The Griz played the Ducks tough in the road opener last season, leading the eventual Pac-12 champions in the second half. They will get a rematch, playing on the newly refinished floor inside Matthew Knight Arena, as the first opponent of the Big Ten era of Oregon basketball.
While the Ducks are familiar, the Grizzlies will not only play in Knoxville for the first time ever, but also play against the University of Tennessee for the first time in program history. The Grizzlies will also travel to Logan, Utah, to play Utah State for the first time since 1975.
In Logan, the Grizzlies will play on the newly named Stew Morrill court. The floor was named after the former Montana coach that went 98-51 in five seasons in Missoula in the late 1980s. He would eventually lead Utah State to a 402-156 record in 17 seasons, leading the Aggies to eight NCAA tournaments.
The Grizzlies will also honor Morrill this season with the Stew Morrill Classic, a multi-team event in late November that will feature Denver, Utah Tech, and Cal State Northridge. The Grizzlies will then host South Dakota State as part of the Big Sky/Summit League challenge on Dec. 4.
It’s part of a stretch of four straight home games against Division-I teams in Missoula, which has never happened in DeCuire’s previous 10 seasons as head coach.
In fact, Montana is one of just three Big Sky schools to have at least four non-conference home games against D-I opposition. It’s the fourth time in DeCuire’s tenure that Montana has been able to bring in top talent to Missoula, which is a difficult task when you have a 46-6 (.885) record in home non-conference games as a head coach.
“The biggest thing for us is finding ways to get as many home games as possible, and it’s never easy when you win a large percentage of those games,” DeCuire said. “We’ve been fortunate to have success over the years, but the tournament has really played an impactful role in being able to play in front of our home crowd in November.”
It’s important not only for the team to get more runs at home, and to simulate a potential Big Sky Conference tournament with three games in four days, but DeCuire also loves that it gets the fans involved in bigger games early on in the season.
“I think it’s a huge opportunity for us,” DeCuire said. “I can’t recall the last time we had four consecutive Division I home games. I think it’s a great opportunity for us to build some momentum with our fans going into December.”
Montana has the three big road trips early in the year, but will also make three more trips in December as they begin to ramp up for conference play. The Grizzlies play at St. Thomas on Dec. 7, marking their first trip to St. Paul, Minn.
The Grizzlies will also play at Northern Iowa on Dec. 16. It’s the fifth all-time meeting between the two schools, and is also within two hours of Des Moines, Iowa, where sophomore guard Chase Henderson is from.
The Grizzlies will close out the non-conference at San Francisco, which will also be a homecoming for many involved with Griz basketball. Many Grizzlies over the years have hailed from the Bay Area, including Te’Jon Sawyer (San Francisco), Money Williams (Oakland), Tyler Thompson (Fairfield), and Jeremiah Dargan (Concord).
There are five other Californians on the Montana roster, giving plenty of friends and families the opportunity to see the Grizzlies in action.
“We like to get guys in their back yards as much as possible. I think it’s important for guys, at some point in their career if not fairly often, to have a chance to play at home,” DeCuire said. “You recruit guys away from home and it comes up in the conversation quite a bit. You’d like to be able to say that pretty much everyone has opportunities playing in front of their friends and family.”
Montana men's basketball 2024-25 nonconference schedule
Nov. 4 – Hawai’I Hilo
Nov. 8 – at Oregon
Nov. 10 – Northwest Indian College
Nov. 13 – at Tennessee
Nov. 18 – at Utah State
Nov. 24 – Denver*
Nov. 25 – Utah Tech*
Nov. 27 – CSUN*
Dec. 4 – South Dakota State^
Dec. 7 – at St. Thomas^
Dec. 10 – Montana Tech
Dec. 16 – at Northern Iowa
Dec. 21 – at San Francisco
*Stew Morrill Classic
^Big Sky-Summit Challenge
