Game info

Who: Arizona Wildcats (7-4) vs. Montana Grizzlies (6-3)

Where: McKale Center, Tucson

When: 6:30 p.m. Wednesday

Watch: Pac-12 Networks

Listen: 1290-AM, 107.5-FM

Follow: @TheWildcaster on Twitter / TheWildcaster on Facebook

Probable starters: Arizona

G Justin Coleman (5-10 senior)

G Brandon Williams (6-2 freshman)

F Brandon Randolph (6-6 sophomore)

F Emmanuel Akot (6-7 sophomore)

C Chase Jeter (6-10 junior)

Probable starters: Montana

G Ahmaad Rorie (6-1 senior)

G Michael Oguine (6-2 senior)

F Sayeed Pridgett (6-5 junior)

F Bobby Morehead (6-7 senior)

C Jamar Akoh (6-8 senior)

How they match up

Series history

The Wildcats have only played the Grizzlies once before, beating Montana 84-66 at McKale Center during the 1995-96 season.

Game contract

Arizona is paying Montana $95,000 to make a one-time appearance at McKale Center.

Montana overview

Don’t let the Grizzlies’ home in the Big Sky Conference fool you — they are a mid-major power, loaded with experience and with high-major talents sprinkling their roster. Montana returns four starters from a team that swept the Big Sky regular season and tournament titles while winning 26 games last season, led by what is arguably the conference’s best backcourt combination in former Oregon guard Ahmaad Rorie and Michael Oguine. Rorie was named All-Big Sky last season and Oguine was the conference’s defensive player of the year.

On the wing, Sayeed Pridgett moved from a sixth man into the open starting spot, being an efficient scorer who also steals the ball on four percent of opponents’ possessions when he’s on the floor. The aggressive Bobby Morehead is a box-score filler at forward, while Jamar Ajoh is one of the Big Sky’s best big men, a skilled and space-eating center who transferred from Cal State Fullerton.

Montana’s offensive efficiency ranks 90th in Division I, with the Griz shooting 57.7 percent from inside the 3-point arc yet making just 64.1 percent of their free throws when they get to the line. Defensively, they are a predominantly man-to-man team and play at the 37th-slowest tempo in Division I, according to Kenpom.

He said it

Arizona runs a “pack defense, a lot like we saw against (North Dakota State, and a lot like we’re gonna see at (South Dakota State). The difference is they reach and they force turnovers. They close hard on guys. It looks like you’re one-on-one in an island and all of a sudden there comes two sets of hands. We gotta take advantage of that and get the ball to move from side to side. There’s some particular screens you can set to get shots if you’re willing to execute those screens. … The problem is (the Wildcats) are huge and athletic.”

— Montana coach Travis DeCuire, after the Grizzlies beat North Dakota State on Monday

Key player: Ahmaad Rorie

MONTANA

Four years ago, the guard from Tacoma started for Oregon at McKale Center but went 0 for 4 while the Wildcats rolled to a 90-56 win. He’s a much different guy now, an All-Big Sky pick well-regarded for both scoring and playmaking. He’s a 51.2 percent two-point shooter who also records the assist on 21.3 percent of his teammates’ shots when he’s on the floor.

Key player: Brandon Randolph

ARIZONA

Randolph has proven himself to be Arizona’s best all-around scorer, and he’s able to do it in bunches. But after Baylor crushed Arizona on the glass Saturday, the Wildcats are aiming for all five players to rebound and the 6-6 Randolph didn’t have any against the Bears.

Santa’s help needed

UA coach Sean Miller didn’t hold a news conference early this week, but he did make it clear on his radio show what’s on his Christmas list.

“Probably just a team that, after Christmas, can rebound a lot better than we’ve rebounded before Christmas,” Miller said, according to Arizona Desert Swarm.

Miller again lamented Arizona’s shocking 51-19 rebounding deficit during its 58-49 loss to Baylor. The Wildcats have a minus-0.8 rebounding margin on the season and on Saturday they allowed Baylor to rebound 57.6 percent of its missed shots.

Meanwhile, Arizona managed by far its least efficient offensive performance of the season on Saturday, a pace of just 80.1 points scored per 100 possessions.

The 49 points were the fewerst the Wildcats have scored under Miller at McKale Center.

There’s always next year

Because of its top-rated 2019 recruiting class and likely returners, UA’s offensive efficiency will be expected to improve next season.

While starring in the City of Palms Classic this week in Fort Myers, Florida, UA signee Josh Green told Flohoops.com that he can’t wait to get on the court with fellow five-star recruit Nico Mannion.

Mannion and Green joined Scottsdale Bella Vista’s Terry Armstrong and Cameroonian center Christian Koloko in signing letters of intent last month to play for the Wildcats, while the additional commitment of Minnesota forward Zeke Nnaji helped give UA the No. 1 recruiting class in 2019 so far.

“I feel like we can be pretty good,” Green told Flohoops.com. “With the guys there now and me and Nico coming in, I think we’re going to be a really good situation. I’m really looking forward to playing with Nico, Terry, Zeke and Koloko. …

“I feel we have a good chance of winning the Pac-12 and making it to the tournament.”

The NBA lifestyle

It might look like a raw deal that Montana had to play a home game Monday against North Dakota State, then wake up for a Tuesday morning practice before flying via Denver to get to Tucson by Tuesday evening.

But there’s one key here: School is out for winter break.

“It’s pretty exciting because we get to just play games and get the tournament feel almost,” Montana guard Kendal Manuel said.

The Grizzlies aren’t the only ones having a little fun.

Back in Missoula, their administrators will receive the second-highest game guarantee of any UA opponent this season: $95,000. The Wildcats paid Houston Baptist $100,000 last spring because the Maui Invitational could not find them an opponent for an add-on game to the multi-team event.

Numbers game

4

fewer turnovers than opponents on average for Arizona, the best turnover margin in the Pac-12.

19

Montana’s ranking in the latest mid-major Top 25 poll.

25.5

Percent of the time Arizona grabs an offensive rebound off its missed shots, the second-worst percentage in the Pac-12 and 84th-worst in Division I.

50.4

Montana’s field-goal percentage, the 10th-best in Division I.