# 2015–16 Montana Grizzlies basketball team

The 2015–16 Montana Grizzlies basketball team represented the University of Montana during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Grizzlies, led by second year head coach Travis DeCuire, played their home games at Dahlberg Arena and were members of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 21–12, 14–4 in Big Sky play to finish in second place. They defeated Sacramento State and Idaho to advance to the championship game of the Big Sky tournament where they lost to Weber State. They were invited to the College Basketball Invitational where they lost in the first round to Nevada.

## Previous season

The Grizzlies finished the season 20–13, 14–4 in Big Sky play to finish in a share for the Big Sky regular season championship. They advanced to the championship game of the Big Sky tournament where they lost to Eastern Washington. As a regular season conference champions and #1 overall seed in their conference tournament, they received an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament where they lost in the first round to Texas A&M.

## Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Jordan Gregory | 10 | G | 6'2" | 194 | Senior | Pueblo, CO | Graduated |
| Daniel Nwosu | 22 | G | 6'2" | 175 | Sophomore | Ottawa, ON | Transferred to Newman |
| Chris Kemp | 24 | C | 6'7" | 236 | Senior | Baltimore, MD | Graduated |
| Michael Weisner | 33 | F | 6'7" | 193 | RS Senior | Walla Walla, WA | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Walter Wright | 5 | G | 5'10" | 165 | Junior | Westbury, CT | Junior college transferred from Snow College |
| Ahmaad Rorie | 14 | G | 6'1" | 175 | Sophomore | Tacoma, WA | Transferred from Oregon. Under NCAA transfer rules, Rorie will have to sit out for the 2015–16 season. Will have three years of remaining eligibility. |

## 2015 incoming recruits

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Michael Oguine #74 PG | Reseda, CA | Chaminade College Prep | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 160 lb (73 kg) | Sep 18, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 69 ||||||
| Jared Samuelson #83 SF | Billings, MT | Billings West High School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | Aug 17, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 67 ||||||
| Bobby Moorehead SG | Tacoma, WA | Stadium High School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | N/A | Mar 13, 2015 |
| 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: "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 12, 2015. ||||||

### 2016 incoming recruits

US college sports recruiting information for 2016 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Sayeed Pridgett #74 PG | El Cerrito, CA | El Cerrito High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Sep 7, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: 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: "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 12, 2015. |||||||

## Schedule

Montana's nonconference schedule includes true road games at Kansas, Gonzaga, and North Dakota State. The Grizzlies will also play at Washington and host Boise State.
| Date time, TV | Opponent | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||
| 11/03/2015* 7:00 pm | Whitworth | W 83–64 | | Dahlberg Arena (2,584) Missoula, MT |
| Non-conference regular season |||||
| 11/13/2015* 7:00 pm | Boise State | W 74–72 | 1–0 | Dahlberg Arena (5,421) Missoula, MT |
| 11/16/2015* 8:00 pm | at San Jose State | L 61–64 | 1–1 | Event Center Arena (1,231) San Jose, CA |
| 11/21/2015* 7:00 pm | Carroll (MT) | W 70–61 | 2–1 | Dahlberg Arena (3,012) Missoula, MT |
| 11/25/2015* 6:00 pm | at North Dakota State | L 53–73 | 2–2 | Scheels Arena (3,536) Fargo, ND |
| 11/29/2015* 4:30 pm | at Pepperdine | L 63–69 | 2–3 | Firestone Fieldhouse (1,154) Malibu, CA |
| 12/04/2015* 7:00 pm | San Francisco | W 82–50 | 3–3 | Dahlberg Arena (3,279) Missoula, MT |
| 12/08/2015* 7:00 pm, RTNW | at No. 20 Gonzaga | L 58–61 | 3–4 | McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA |
| 12/12/2015* 4:00 pm, P12N | at Washington | L 62–92 | 3–5 | Alaska Airlines Arena (6,647) Seattle, WA |
| 12/15/2015* 7:00 pm | Great Falls | W 79–59 | 4–5 | Dahlberg Arena (2,558) Missoula, MT |
| 12/19/2015* 12:00 pm, ESPN3 | at No. 2 Kansas | L 46–88 | 4–6 | Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, KS |
| 12/22/2015* 1:00 pm | Montana–Western | W 75–43 | 5–6 | Dahlberg Arena (2,709) Missoula, MT |
| Big Sky regular season |||||
| 12/31/2015 12:00 pm | at Northern Arizona | W 90–84 $^{2OT}$ | 6–6 (1–0) | Walkup Skydome (907) Flagstaff, AZ |
| 01/02/2016 7:00 pm | at Southern Utah | W 83–66 | 7–6 (2–0) | Centrum Arena (2,330) Cedar City, UT |
| 01/07/2016 7:00 pm | Portland State | W 79–66 | 8–6 (3–0) | Dahlberg Arena (3,451) Missoula, MT |
| 01/09/2016 7:00 pm | Sacramento State | W 77–58 | 9–6 (4–0) | Dahlberg Arena (3,846) Missoula, MT |
| 01/14/2016 7:00 pm | at Northern Colorado | W 73–66 | 10–6 (5–0) | Bank of Colorado Arena (1,302) Greeley, CO |
| 01/16/2016 1:00 pm | at North Dakota | W 65–61 | 11–6 (6–0) | Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (2,387) Grand Forks, ND |
| 01/21/2016 7:00 pm | Idaho | L 53–68 | 11–7 (6–1) | Dahlberg Arena (3,733) Missoula, MT |
| 01/23/2016 7:00 pm | Eastern Washington | W 74–69 | 12–7 (7–1) | Dahlberg Arena (4,923) Missoula, MT |
| 01/30/2016 7:00 pm | at Montana State | W 80–72 | 13–7 (8–1) | Worthington Arena (5,407) Bozeman, MT |
| 02/04/2016 8:00 pm | at Sacramento State | L 79–83 | 13–8 (8–2) | Hornets Nest (965) Sacramento, CA |
| 02/06/2016 8:00 pm | at Portland State | W 82–80 | 14–8 (9–2) | Peter Stott Center (1,045) Portland, OR |
| 02/11/2016 7:00 pm | at Southern Utah | W 86–53 | 15–8 (10–2) | Dahlberg Arena (3,351) Missoula, MT |
| 02/13/2015 7:00 pm | Northern Arizona | W 85–67 | 16–8 (11–2) | Dahlberg Arena (4,339) Missoula, MT |
| 02/20/2016 7:00 pm | Montana State | W 87–78 | 17–8 (12–2) | Dahlberg Arena (6,552) Missoula, MT |
| 02/25/2016 7:00 pm | at Idaho State | W 90–77 | 18–8 (13–2) | Reed Gym (1,951) Pocatello, ID |
| 02/27/2016 7:00 pm | at Weber State | L 54–60 | 18–9 (13–3) | Dee Events Center (8,960) Ogden, UT |
| 03/03/2016 7:00 pm | North Dakota | W 71–46 | 19–9 (14–3) | Dahlberg Arena (4,003) Missoula, MT |
| 03/05/2016 7:00 pm | Northern Colorado | W 78–72 | 19–10 (14–4) | Dahlberg Arena (4,224) Missoula, MT |
| Big Sky tournament |||||
| 03/10/2016 6:30 pm | vs. Sacramento State Quarterfinals | W 70–53 | 20–10 | Reno Events Center (2,213) Reno, NV |
| 03/11/2016 9:00 pm | vs. Idaho Semifinals | W 81–72 | 21–10 | Reno Events Center (2,362) Reno, NV |
| 03/12/2016 6:45 pm, ESPNU | vs. Weber State Championship game | L 59–62 | 21–11 | Reno Events Center (2,516) Reno, NV |
| CBI |||||
| 03/16/2016* 8:00 pm | at Nevada First round | L 75–79 | 21–12 | Lawlor Events Center (4,524) Reno, NV |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Mountain Time.. |||||