Halftime Report

Only one more half stands between Montana and the win they were favored to collect coming into this evening. They are fully in control with a 47-24 lead over N. Arizona.

Montana came into the matchup with some extra motivation after the loss they were dealt the last time these two teams faced off. We’ll see if they’re able to flip the script or if it’ll just be more of the same.

Who’s Playing

N. Arizona Lumberjacks @ Montana Grizzlies

Current Records: N. Arizona 7-9, Montana 10-6

How To Watch

What to Know

Montana and N. Arizona are an even 5-5 against one another since March of 2019, but not for long. Both teams will face off in a Big Sky battle at 9:00 p.m. ET on Saturday at Dahlberg Arena. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they’ll have plenty of motivation to get the ‘W’.

Montana fought the good fight in their overtime matchup against N. Colorado on Thursday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell 98-92 to the Bears. Despite running the score up even higher than they did on Saturday (82), Montana still had to take the loss.

Meanwhile, it’s hard to win when your three-point shooting is a whole 23.3% worse than the opposition, a fact N. Arizona found out the hard way on Thursday. They were completely outmatched by the Bobcats on the road and fell 79-50. The loss unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for N. Arizona in their matchups with Montana State: they’ve now lost 11 in a row.

The Grizzlies’ defeat ended a four-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 10-6. As for the Lumberjacks, they bumped their record down to 7-9 with that loss, which was their fourth straight on the road.

Saturday’s match is shaping up to be a scrappy matchup: Montana have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 36.5 rebounds per game. It’s a different story for N. Arizona, though, as they’ve been averaging only 29.7 rebounds per game. Given Montana’s sizeable advantage in that area, N. Arizona will need to find a way to close that gap.

Looking ahead, Montana is the favorite in this one, as the experts expect to see them win by 13.5 points. Those brave souls putting their money on N. Arizona against the spread have faith in an upset since their 6-10 ATS record can’t hold a candle to Montana’s 9-4.

Odds

Montana is a big 13.5-point favorite against N. Arizona, according to the latest college basketball odds.

The line has drifted a bit towards the Grizzlies, as the game opened with the Grizzlies as a 12-point favorite.

The over/under is set at 145.5 points.

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Series History

Montana and N. Arizona both have 5 wins in their last 10 games.

• Mar 07, 2023 – N. Arizona 83 vs. Montana 71
• Feb 04, 2023 – Montana 67 vs. N. Arizona 66
• Jan 05, 2023 – N. Arizona 75 vs. Montana 74
• Feb 10, 2022 – N. Arizona 72 vs. Montana 67
• Jan 22, 2022 – Montana 58 vs. N. Arizona 48
• Jan 16, 2021 – N. Arizona 62 vs. Montana 58
• Jan 14, 2021 – Montana 67 vs. N. Arizona 56
• Feb 27, 2020 – N. Arizona 57 vs. Montana 56
• Dec 28, 2019 – Montana 79 vs. N. Arizona 72
• Mar 04, 2019 – Montana 66 vs. N. Arizona 64