# 2024–25 Montana Grizzlies basketball team

The 2024–25 Montana Grizzlies basketball team represents the University of Montana during the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Grizzlies, led by 11th-year head coach Travis DeCuire, play their home games at Dahlberg Arena in Missoula, Montana as members of the Big Sky Conference.

## Previous season

The Grizzlies finished the 2023–24 season 24–12, 12–6 in Big Sky play to finish in a tie for second place. They defeated Portland State and Idaho State, before falling to Montana State in the Big Sky tournament championship game. They received an invitation to the CBI, receiving the #5 seed, where they defeat Presbyterian in the first round, before falling to Arkansas State in the quarterfinals.

## Offseason
### Departures

Departures :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Josh Vazquez | 3 | G | 6'3" | 180 | Graduate Student | Torrance, California | Graduated |
| Giordan Williams | 4 | G | 6'5" | 183 | Senior | Carson, California | Transferred to Cal State San Bernardino |
| Jaxon Nap | 5 | F | 6'7" | 208 | Sophomore | Renton, Washington | Transferred to Seattle Pacific |
| Aanen Moody | 11 | G | 6'3" | 186 | Graduate Student | Dickinson, North Dakota | Graduated |
| Rhett Reynolds | 13 | F | 6'9" | 210 | Freshman | Shelby, Montana | Transferred to Montana Tech |
| Laolu Oke | 21 | F | 6'8" | 215 | Senior | Aurora, Colorado | Graduated |
| Dischon Thomas | 24 | F | 6'9" | 230 | Senior | Durham, North Carolina | Graduated |
| Caden Bateman | 30 | F | 6'7" | 204 | Freshman | Missoula, Montana | Transferred to Whitworth |
| Blake Jones | 34 | F | 6'10" | 225 | Junior | Canberra, Australia | Transferred to Cal State Monterey Bay |

### Incoming transfers

Incoming Transfers :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Kai Johnson | 1 | G | 6'4" | 190 | Senior | Olympia, Washington | Western Washington |
| Malik Moore | 3 | G | 6'5" | 190 | Junior | Ventura, California | Pepperdine |
| Amari Jedkins | 5 | F | 6'7" | 195 | Sophomore | Racine, Wisconsin | Green Bay |
| Jeremiah Dargan | 8 | G | 6'4" | 190 | Junior | Concord, California | West Valley College |
| Joe Pridgen | 11 | G | 6'5" | 210 | Graduate Student | Winchendon, Massachusetts | Northeastern |
| Jalen Foy | 15 | F | 6'7" | 215 | Junior | Las Vegas, Nevada | Northeastern Junior College |
| Austin Patterson | 20 | G | 6'3" | 185 | Senior | Sonora, California | Sacramento State |
| Jensen Bradtke | 50 | F | 6'10" | 220 | Freshman | Sandringham, Australia | Saint Mary's |

### Recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Tyler Thompson G | Fairfield, California | Vanden High School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Sep 4, 2023 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2024 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| October 22, 2024* 6:00 pm | | Saint Martin's | W 82–54 | | – | – | – | Dahlberg Arena Missoula, MT |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 4, 2024* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Hawaii–Hilo | W 92–61 | 1–0 | 27 – Johnson | 8 – Pridgen | 5 – Williams | Dahlberg Arena (2,142) Missoula, MT |
| November 8, 2024* 8:00 pm, BTN | | at Oregon | L 48–79 | 1–1 | 14 – Pridgen | 9 – Pridgen | 2 – Johnson | Matthew Knight Arena (6,577) Eugene, OR |
| November 10, 2024* 8:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Northwest Indian | W 94–44 | 2–1 | 22 – Johnson | 10 – Davidson | 7 – Williams | Dahlberg Arena (2,117) Missoula, MT |
| November 13, 2024* 5:00 pm, SECN+/ESPN+ | | at No. 11 Tennessee | L 57–92 | 2–2 | 30 – Williams | 5 – Pridgen | 2 – Tied | Thompson–Boling Arena (16,916) Knoxville, TN |
| November 18, 2024* 7:00 pm, MW Network | | at Utah State | L 83–95 | 2–3 | 25 – Williams | 8 – Pridgen | 5 – Whitney | Smith Spectrum (8,054) Logan, UT |
| November 24, 2024* 5:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Denver Stew Morrill Classic | W 83–73 | 3–3 | 23 – Pridgen | 7 – Pridgen | 3 – Tied | Dahlberg Arena (2,456) Missoula, MT |
| November 25, 2024* 5:45 pm, ESPN+ | | Utah Tech Stew Morrill Classic | W 69–66 | 4–3 | 16 – Tied | 6 – Pridgen | 2 – Tied | Dahlberg Arena (2,267) Missoula, MT |
| November 27, 2024* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Cal State Northridge Stew Morrill Classic | W 83–75 | 5–3 | 22 – Moore | 13 – Pridgen | 4 – Moore | Dahlberg Arena (2,284) Missoula, MT |
| December 4, 2024* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | South Dakota State Big Sky-Summit Challenge | W 71–67 | 6–3 | 16 – Moore | 8 – Pridgen | 4 – Williams | Dahlberg Arena (2,534) Missoula, MT |
| December 7, 2024* 1:00 pm | | at St. Thomas Big Sky-Summit Challenge | L 81–88 | 6–4 | 30 – Moore | 6 – Williams | 8 – Whitney | Schoenecker Arena (1,213) St. Paul, MN |
| December 10, 2024* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Montana Tech | W 89–60 | 7–4 | 21 – Pridgen | 13 – Pridgen | 7 – Moore | Dahlberg Arena (2,709) Missoula, MT |
| December 16, 2024* 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Northern Iowa | L 76–104 | 7–5 | 18 – Johnson | 4 – Foy | 4 – Whitney | McLeod Center (3,045) Cedar Falls, IA |
| December 21, 2024* 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at San Francisco | L 67–71 | 7–6 | 21 – Pridgen | 10 – Pridgen | 4 – Moore | Sobrato Center (2,238) San Francisco, CA |
| Big Sky regular season |||||||||
| January 2, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Eastern Washington | W 92–81 | 8–6 (1–0) | 26 – Williams | 5 – Johnson | 8 – Whitney | Reese Court (1,630) Cheney, WA |
| January 4, 2025 3:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Idaho | W 73–71 | 9–6 (2–0) | 18 – Tied | 10 – Pridgen | 4 – Moore | ICCU Arena (1,816) Moscow, ID |
| January 9, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Northern Arizona | W 81–76 | 10–6 (3–0) | 20 – Moore | 8 – Sawyer | 5 – Moore | Dahlberg Arena (2,572) Missoula, MT |
| January 11, 2025 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Northern Colorado | L 57–81 | 10–7 (3–1) | 15 – Williams | 6 – Sawyer | 4 – Whitney | Dahlberg Arena (3,184) Missoula, MT |
| January 16, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Weber State | W 63–59 | 11–7 (4–1) | 18 – Moore | 10 – Pridgen | 3 – Williams | Dee Events Center (3,336) Ogden, UT |
| January 18, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Idaho State | L 61–86 | 11–8 (4–2) | 12 – Moore | 9 – Pridgen | 5 – Williams | Reed Gym (1,530) Pocatello, ID |
| January 20, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Idaho | W 72–67 | 12–8 (5–2) | 18 – Whitney | 10 – Pridgen | 9 – Williams | Dahlberg Arena (2,438) Missoula, MT |
| January 25, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Montana State | W 77–70 | 13–8 (6–2) | 25 – Johnson | 6 – Pridgen | 3 – Tied | Dahlberg Arena (5,766) Missoula, MT |
| January 30, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Portland State | W 92–78 | 14–8 (7–2) | 19 – Whitney | 8 – Williams | 6 – Williams | Dahlberg Arena (2,754) Missoula, MT |
| February 1, 2025 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Sacramento State | W 87–59 | 15–8 (8–2) | 15 – Johnson | 6 – Moore | 6 – Moore | Dahlberg Arena (3,344) Missoula, MT |
| February 6, 2025 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Northern Colorado | W 86–78 | 16–8 (9–2) | 19 – Williams | 8 – Williams | 3 – Tied | Bank of Colorado Arena (2,001) Greeley, CO |
| February 8, 2025 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Northern Arizona | W 83–80 | 17–8 (10–2) | 22 – Johnson | 5 – Johnson | 7 – Johnson | Findlay Toyota Court (1,212) Flagstaff, AZ |
| February 13, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Idaho State | W 81–68 | 18–8 (11–2) | 17 – Williams | 6 – Tied | 3 – Tied | Dahlberg Arena (2,804) Missoula, MT |
| February 15, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Weber State | W 65–58 | 19–8 (12–2) | 22 – Moore | 5 – Pridgen | 4 – Tied | Dahlberg Arena (3,318) Missoula, MT |
| February 22, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Montana State | W 89–85 | 20–8 (13–2) | 23 – Johnson | 5 – Tied | 3 – Sawyer | Worthington Arena (5,580) Bozeman, MT |
| February 27, 2025 8:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Sacramento State | W 60–54 | 21–8 (14–2) | 18 – Whitney | 9 – Williams | 4 – Whitney | Hornets Nest (1,023) Sacramento, CA |
| March 1, 2025 3:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Portland State | L 76–79 $^{OT}$ | 21–9 (14–3) | 36 – Williams | 8 – Pridgen | 3 – Tied | Viking Pavilion (1,427) Portland, OR |
| March 3, 2025 9:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Eastern Washington | W 83–72 | 22–9 (15–3) | 23 – Williams | 11 – Pridgen | 3 – Whitney | Dahlberg Arena (3,955) Missoula, MT |
| Big Sky tournament |||||||||
| March 9, 2025 8:00 pm, ESPN+ | (2) | vs. (7) Northern Arizona Quarterfinals | W 74–65 | 23–9 | 24 – Whitney | 8 – Sawyer | 3 – Williams | Idaho Central Arena Boise, ID |
| March 11, 2025 9:30 pm, ESPN2 | (2) | vs. (6) Idaho Semifinals | W 78–55 | 24–9 | 20 – Patterson | 7 – Pridgen | 5 – Williams | Idaho Central Arena Boise, ID |
| March 12, 2025 9:30 pm, ESPN2 | (2) | vs. (1) Northern Colorado Championship | W 91–83 | 25–9 | 23 – Johnson | 6 – Patterson | 3 – Whitney | Idaho Central Arena Boise, ID |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 20, 2025* 11:30 a.m., TNT | (14 E) | vs. (3 E) No. 13 Wisconsin First Round | | | | | | Ball Arena Denver, CO |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East. All times are in Mountain. |||||||||
Sources: