Big Sky Breakdown - Non-conference recap, three big things about Montana teams

[Colter_Nuanez56]

Big Sky Breakdown - Non-conference hoops roundup + three big things 'Cats & Griz men's & women's teams

Colter Nuanez breaks down all things Big Sky Conference women's & men's basketball with league play opening up on the final weekend of 2022.

Colter gives five interesting things about Big Sky women’s hoops (3:15), the Big Sky women’s hoops players of the week so far (9:26), five interesting facts about Big Sky men’s hoops (11:05), the Big Sky men’s hoops players of the week so far (23:51) and reviews the transfers proliferating everywhere (25:40) throughout the men's league.

Plus, Colter gives three big things about Montana men's hoops (42:00), the Montana State women's team (46:35), the Montana Lady Griz (49:00) and finally three big things about the Montana State men (53:05)

https://skylinesportsmt.com/big-sky-breakdown-non-conference-hoops-roundup-three-big-things-cats-griz-mens-womens-teams/

https://mobile.twitter.com/SkylineSportsMT/status/1608269365815742465

 

[Colter_Nuanez56]

https://mobile.twitter.com/SkylineSportsMT/status/1608276687204016128

 

[GrizBall]

https://mobile.twitter.com/SkylineSportsMT/status/1608276687204016128

This was one of the most balanced articles that I have read on the Griz. Normally they are fluff pieces echoing the company line. With that said, I do have some comments:


“It’s debatable whether they have more talent than last year. What’s clear is that this year’s roster fits together better.”


- To me it’s not debatable which team had more talent and its clearly last year’s team. This is actually the reason why this year’s team fits together better. Part of last year’s problem was that in some cases the difference in talent between players playing and players sitting was negligible at best. Think about this – in some cases you had the previous year’s leading scorer and honorable mention All-league guy, the conference leader in assists two years running and a former Big Sky Freshman of the Year coming off the bench. This year’s team has a clear pecking order which always makes for better team chemistry.

“Montana had four players score over nine points per game last year. The Griz decided to move forward with two of them – Bannan and Brandon Whitney”


- The description tells you he is clearly talking about Beasley and Parker. I can see a scenario where they decided to move on from Parker. There is absolutely ZERO chance “they” decided not to move forward with Beasley.


“Moody has been particularly impressive from beyond the arc: 21 of 55 for 38.2% on team-high volume.”


- Stats can be very deceiving. I do think Moody is a very good shooter, but . . . In games against the Griz four best opponents he is 7-24 (29%). Obviously, they won’t face any one the caliber of the Duquesne, Xavier or Gonzaga (Troy was the 4th opponent) in conference, but they will need his shooting to beat teams like Montana State. Looking through his stats last year a similar pattern emerges. Lights out against average to below average teams. Not great against the others.

“It’s a slight worry about the offense cratering when Bannan sits (I’m once again asking the conference to provide on/off splits for players – they already have the data)”


- hoop-explorer.com is a little clunky but provides such data for free. Bannan’s on-off is 109 to 96. Meaning the Griz score 109 points per 100 possessions when he is on the court vs. 96 when he is not. Using the site’s “Garbage Time” function it is even worse. Measuring only possessions while games are still competitive it goes to 109-91. Whitney’s is somewhat similar. This means that the Griz have very little margin for error. The Big 4 pretty much need to be hitting on all cylinders all the time. Take a look at their last four games:


Gonzaga - 50%FG/40%3 - 75pts (L-10)
Prairie - 57%FG/58%3 - 81pts (W+5)
NDSU - 57%FG/36%3 - 82pts (W+7)
SDSU - 57%FG/35%3 - 81pts (W+25)

My gut tells me this type of shooting is not sustainable. They needed 57/58/86 shooting percentages to beat Prairie View by 5 points. That is a slim margin for error.