Montana vs Southern Utah Betting Preview
College basketball content contributor Kyle Kargel gives his Montana vs Southern Utah prediction in the Big Sky Conference. At the time of posting, the Grizzlies have opened as a 2.5-point home favorite over the road Thunderbirds, with the total sitting at 140.5 points.
Check out our College Basketball Free Picks page for betting thoughts from some of the country’s top handicappers.
Monday, February 7 | Southern Conference Betting Notes |
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Point Spread: | Montana Grizzlies -2.5 vs Southern Utah Thunderbirds |
Total: | 140.5 Points |
Game Time: | 9:00pm ET / 6:00pm PT |
Arena: | Dahlberg Arena in Missoula, MT |
TV: | ESPN+ |
Montana vs Southern Utah Analysis
Montana and Southern Utah both sit within three games back of Big Sky Conference leader Weber State ahead of their matchup tonight in Missoula. Both of these teams have suffered losses to Weber State in their last five games respectively.
It was Southern Utah’s only loss in their last seven games while it was one of Montana’s three losses in their last seven. While each team boasts 15 wins this season, the Thunderbirds are only 6-13 against the spread this season while Montana is 10-9-1.
With the Grizzlies favored by two heading into this contest at home, let’s see what key factors will play a part in the outcome.
Thunderbirds Rely on Continuity
The Thunderbirds roll out the most efficient offensive during Big Sky Conference play of any team which is a far cry from their 135th ranking overall in the country in adjusted offensive efficiency.
Improvements need to be made as a team with their three point shooting ranking 218th nationally and free throw shooting where they rank 229th. The Thunderbirds roll out a team with the most continuity of any team in the country as well as a top five team nationally in player experience.
Their team consists of nine seniors including top players John Knight III and Tevian Jones. Knight III is a great all around player averaging 15 pts, 4 ast and 4 reb per game, shooting over 54% overall from the floor. Jones averages 15.7 ppg and over 80% from the free throw line which is far from the team’s overall free throw percentage of 69%.
Averaging almost 80 ppg as a team, the Thunderbirds rank in the top 25. What is weird is that they’re 260th in assists per game. So when they score it’s usually with no help from other teammates.
Montana Missing Opportunities to Win
If Montana is going to win, one of the factors in that will more than likely be their ability to get to the free throw line where they rank 6th nationally in free throw shooting percentage at 80.4%.
We know that a winning factor definitely won’t be on the offensive glass where the Grizzlies rank second to last in the country in offensive rebound percentage. Montana is great at taking care of the ball only averaging 15 turnovers per game on the season which is good for 14th nationally.
Top players for the Grizzlies include sophomore Josh Bannan averaging 13.6 ppg, 8 rpg while shooting over 48% from the field. Senior guard Cameron Parker is the main facilitator of the ball averaging 9 ppg and over 5 apg while shooting an efficient 54% from the field.
As long as the Grizzlies limit turnovers how they do and get to the free throw line enough, they’ll be in this game until the end.
Montana vs Southern Utah Prediction
Montana is playing at home and is in desperate need of a win losing two straight and falling 2.5 games back in the Big Sky Conference.
With Southern Utah’s inability to cover the spread I think Montana can squeak out a win here and cover the minimal spread.
Prediction: Montana -2.5
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Montana vs Southern Utah Preview from GoldSheet
We haven’t been including the Grizzlies too often in our recent Big Sky “over’ watch because Travis DeCuire has been a bit more reluctant throughout his career to have his teams hit the accelerator hard as do some other loop entries.
But even Montana scorelines are starting to skew “over” the past couple of weeks, and no one in the Sky has been able to slow down the visiting Cedar City T-Birds, who have scored 75 or more in each of their games in calendar 2022.
It’s also been “overs” in six of eight for Southern Utah, scoring at a brisk 80 ppg clip this season (ranks 21 out of 350), and Todd Simon has much confidence in his collection of senior guards that have been playing together for the past two and three seasons and rarely lose their composure.
Previous year transfers Tevian Jones (ex-Illinois, 16 ppg) and John Knight III (ex-Utah State; 15 ppg and also 55% FGs, quite an eye-opener for a guard) both capable go-to threats.
They’ll run into a growling bunch of Grizzlies after a disastrous road swing late last week that included an inexplicable and logic-defying 86-63 loss at non-descript Idaho State, the same Bengals who were bounced by 24 at Missoula back in late December.
We’re sure DeCuire had something to say to his defense after allowing ISU to hit nearly 63% (63%!) From the floor, while Montana, which usually hits some 3s, was just 2 for 16 beyond the arc.
As the Grizzlies hasn’t been close to that bad in any other game this season, we’re tempted to give Montana a mulligan, but as is usually the case in the Big Sky, and especially games involving the T-Birds, our preference will be on the “over” side.
College Basketball Stat Sheet
GoldSheet prepares a daily college basketball stat sheet, which offers a head-to-head comparison for how teams are performing in a number of key areas heading into a game. Check out Monday’s sheet, with notes on tonight’s Montana vs Southern Utah contest.
NCAAB Odds Screen
Sportsmemo’s live odds screen features up-to-the-minute lines from a variety of offshore and domestic sports books. Track the college basketball point spreads, moneylines, first half lines and betting percentages for all of Monday’s NCAAB games, including this Montana vs Southern Utah showdown, from your desktop or phone.
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