# 2020–21 Montana Grizzlies basketball team

The 2020–21 Montana Grizzlies men's basketball team represented the University of Montana in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Grizzlies, led by seventh-year head coach Travis DeCuire, played their home games at Dahlberg Arena in Missoula, Montana as members of the Big Sky Conference. In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Grizzlies finished the season 15–3, 7–9 in Big Sky play to finish in sixth place. They defeated Idaho and Weber State in the Big Sky tournament before losing to Eastern Washington in the semifinals.

## Previous season

The Grizzlies finished the 2019–20 season 18–13, 14–6 in Big Sky play to finish in third place. They were scheduled to play Idaho State in the quarterfinals of the Big Sky tournament, but due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, all postseason tournaments were canceled, including the remainder of the Big Sky tournament.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Timmy Falls | 1 | G | 6'2" | 170 | Junior | Dublin, California | Left team |
| Kendal Manuel | 2 | G | 6'4" | 190 | RS Senior | Billings, Montana | Graduated |
| Sayeed Pridgett | 4 | G | 6'5" | 201 | Senior | Oakland, California | Graduated |
| Naseem Gaskin | 5 | G | 6'5" | 185 | RS Freshman | Oakland, California | Left team |
| Jett Briceno | 13 | G | 6'4" | 180 | Freshman | Kent, Washington | Transferred to Bellevue College |
| Yagizhan Selcuk | 22 | F | 6'8" | 233 | RS Sophomore | Istanbul, Turkey | Transferred to Missouri Southern |
| Peter Jones | 32 | F | 6'8" | 210 | RS Sophomore | Seattle, Washington | Walk on; didn't return |
| Jared Samuelson | 33 | F | 6'7" | 215 | RS Senior | Billings, Montana | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Cameron Parker | 11 | G | 6'2" | 170 | Junior | Beaverton, Oregon | Transferred from Sacred Heart. Received an eligibility waiver from the NCAA to play immediately. |

### 2020 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2020 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight |
| Brandon Whitney PG | Mission Hills, CA | Bishop Alemany High School | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 165 lb (75 kg) |
| Recruiting 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: "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved January 9, 2019. |||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 28, 2020* 7:00 pm, P12N | | at USC | L 62–76 | 0–1 | Galen Center Los Angeles, CA |
| December 3, 2020 7:00 pm, Pluto TV | | at Southern Utah | L 63–64 | 0–2 (0–1) | America First Event Center Cedar City, UT |
| December 5, 2020 12:00 pm, Pluto TV | | at Southern Utah | L 74–75 | 0–3 (0–2) | America First Event Center Cedar City, UT |
| December 8, 2020* 5:00 pm, SECN | | at Georgia | L 50–63 | 0–4 | Stegeman Coliseum (1,638) Athens, GA |
| December 12, 2020* 2:00 pm, Pluto TV | | Yellowstone Christian College | W 102–42 | 1–4 | Dahlberg Arena Missoula, MT |
| December 16, 2020* 9:00 pm, P12N | | at Washington | W 66–58 | 2–4 | Alaska Airlines Arena Seattle, WA |
| December 18, 2020* 4:00 pm, Pluto TV | | Dickinson State | W 78–51 | 3–4 | Dahlberg Arena Missoula, MT |
| December 22, 2020* 5:00 pm, P12N | | at Arizona | L 64–70 | 3–5 | McKale Center Tucson, AZ |
| January 2, 2021 5:00 pm, SWX MT | | Northern Colorado | L 62–64 | 3–6 (0–3) | Dahlberg Arena Missoula, MT |
| January 4, 2021 9:00 am, SWX MT | | Northern Colorado | W 56–54 | 4–6 (1–3) | Dahlberg Arena Missoula, MT |
| January 9, 2021* 2:00 pm, Pluto TV | | Whitworth | W 84–67 | 5–6 | Dahlberg Arena Missoula, MT |
| January 14, 2021 5:00 pm, SWX MT | | Northern Arizona | W 67–56 | 6–6 (2–3) | Dahlberg Arena Missoula, MT |
| January 16, 2021 11:00 am, Pluto TV | | Northern Arizona | L 58–62 | 6–7 (2–4) | Dahlberg Arena Missoula, MT |
| January 21, 2021 6:00 pm, Pluto TV | | at Sacramento State | W 78–66 | 7–7 (3–4) | Hornets Nest Sacramento, CA |
| January 23, 2021 12:00 pm, Pluto TV | | at Sacramento State | L 83–89 $^{2OT}$ | 7–8 (3–5) | Hornets Nest Sacramento, CA |
| January 28, 2021 7:00 pm, SWX MT | | Montana State | Canceled | Canceled | Dahlberg Arena Missoula, MT |
| January 30, 2021 2:00 pm, SWX MT | | at Montana State | Canceled | Canceled | Brick Breeden Fieldhouse Bozeman, MT |
| February 4, 2021 8:00 pm, Pluto TV | | at Portland State | W 70–64 | 8–8 (4–5) | Viking Pavilion Portland, OR |
| February 6, 2021 1:00 pm, Pluto TV | | at Portland State | L 56–61 | 8–9 (4–6) | Viking Pavilion Portland, OR |
| February 11, 2021 5:00 pm, Pluto TV | | Weber State | W 80-67 | 9-9 (5-6) | Dahlberg Arena Missoula, MT |
| February 13, 2021 12:00 pm, SWX MT | | Weber State | L 82–91 | 9–10 (5–7) | Dahlberg Arena Missoula, MT |
| February 18, 2021 7:00 pm, SWX MT | | at Eastern Washington | L 76–90 | 9–11 (5–8) | Reese Court Cheney, WA |
| February 20, 2021 12:00 pm, SWX MT | | Eastern Washington | L 76–90 | 9–12 (5–9) | Dahlberg Arena Missoula, MT |
| February 25, 2021 7:00 pm, Pluto TV | | at Idaho State | W 64–58 | 10–12 (6–9) | Reed Gym (40) Pocatello, ID |
| February 27, 2021 11:00 am, Pluto TV | | at Idaho State | W 59–58 | 11–12 (7–9) | Reed Gym (50) Pocatello, ID |
| February 28, 2021* 7:30 pm, Pluto TV | | Yellowstone Christian College | Canceled | Canceled | Dahlberg Arena Missoula, MT |
| March 4, 2021 5:00 pm, SWX MT | | Idaho | Canceled | Canceled | Dahlberg Arena Missoula, MT |
| March 5, 2021* 5:00 pm, Pluto TV | | Warner Pacific | W 92–61 | 12–12 | Dahlberg Arena Missoula, MT |
| March 6, 2021 12:00 pm, Pluto TV | | Idaho | Canceled | Canceled | Dahlberg Arena Missoula, MT |
| March 6, 2021* 2:00 pm, Pluto TV | | Warner Pacific | W 80–62 | 13–12 | Dahlberg Arena Missoula, MT |
| Big Sky tournament ||||||
| March 10, 2021 3:00 pm, Pluto TV | (6) | vs. (11) Idaho First round | W 69–64 | 14–12 | Idaho Central Arena Boise, ID |
| March 11, 2021 8:00 pm, Pluto TV | (6) | vs. (3) Weber State Quarterfinals | W 80–75 | 15–12 | Idaho Central Arena Boise, ID |
| March 12, 2021 8:00 pm, Pluto TV | (6) | vs. (2) Eastern Washington Semifinals | L 50–78 | 15–13 | Idaho Central Arena Boise, ID |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Mountain. ||||||
Source