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SALT LAKE CITY – The sixth-ranked Westminster men's basketball team opens Frontier Conference play with two home games this week. They first host Montana Tech on Thursday, January 6 before a Saturday, January 8 game against No. 22 Montana Western. Both games begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Behnken Field House.
The Griffins enter the home stand with a 12-2 record after splitting two games last week at the Grand Canyon Classic. Westminster dropped an 84-81 double overtime decision to Indiana Wesleyan on December 29. They responded with a 68-56 win over Shawnee State on December 30. They have won 18 straight home games dating back to last season.
The team is scoring 77.6 points per game while shooting 48.9% from the field to rank 15th in the NAIA. Westminster is also second nationally by shooting 75.1% from the foul line.
Michael Stockton leads the Frontier Conference in scoring at 19.9 points per contest and shoots 58.3% from the stripe.
Jake Orchard and
Tanner Gregory are also averaging double figures at 16.7 and 10.1 points per game respectively.
About the Orediggers
Montana Tech will bring a 2-11 record to Salt Lake City. They started the year with 10 consecutive losses and have now won two of the last three games they have played. The team shoots 73.5% from the foul line to rank eighth nationally and is 32nd with 7.1 makes from beyond the arc per night. Kellen Hasquest is the team's top scorer and rebounder scoring 12.5 points per game while grabbing 5.5 rebounds.
About the Bulldogs
Montana Western enters the week at 12-3 on the season and carries a No. 22 national ranking. The Bulldogs have won six consecutive games and haven't played since December 20. The team makes 8.7 threes per game and is averaging 79.8 points per game. Brandon Brown leads the team in scoring at 18.7 points per game while topping the conference in assists at 5.5 per game. Cody Thueringer scores 15.3 points per game and shoots 40.3% from beyond the arc.
Griffins TV
Griffins TV will broadcast both games this week. Mike Lageschulte will handle the play-by-play duties with Lance Barton providing color commentary. The broadcast begins about 15 minutes prior to tipoff with the pregame show. Head coach Tommy Connor joins the guys in the postgame.
Live Stats
Live Stats will be available for both games this week. Fans can access the Live Stats at WestminsterGriffins.com with the feed going live around 10 minutes before tipoff.
Fast Start
Westminster started the season 11-0 before dropping a game at Azusa Pacific. The 11 wins to start the year is the most wins to start a season in school history. The team opened with 10 consecutive wins to start the 2008-09 season to set the previous record. That team started the year 19-1 for the best record with only one loss in school history.
Massey Ratings
Westminster sits 10th in the Massey computer ratings that were released on January 1. The Griffins slipped four spots from the previous rating and currently hold a rating of 0.930. The Frontier Conference is rated as the fourth-best conference according to the ratings. The ratings give the Griffins a 99% chance of beating 102nd-ranked Montana Tech and an 83% chance of defeating No. 34 Montana Western.
All-American Numbers
Senior guard
Michael Stockton is a serious All-American candidate this season. Stockton leads the Frontier Conference in scoring at 19.9 points per game which ranks 15th in the NAIA. He also ranks 15th nationally in field goal percentage (58.3%), 20th in steals (2.29), 28th in assists (4.36), and 36th at the foul line (81.8%). He also is ranked inside the Frontier Conference top 20 in nine categories.
Climbing the Charts
Stockton also is approaching career milestones at Westminster. Entering the week Stockton has 234 assists to rank third in school history. At his current pace he will fall one assist shy of becoming the third player in school history with 300 career assists. He also sits 39 steals shy of setting the school record for career assists. With 15 games scheduled, Stockton is on pace to finish with 160 steals and falling four short of tying the school record of 164 by Steve Cramer.
NAIA Coaches' Poll
The Westminster men's basketball team moved up one spot to No. 6 in the second regular-season edition of the 2010-11 NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll, the NAIA announced on December 13. Westminster received 254 points in the poll to rank in the top 10 for the sixth time in the last seven polls dating back to last season. The No. 6 ranking is the highest of the season and they have now been ranked in the top 10 a total of 22 times since the end of the 2004-05 season.
Home Cooking
Since the Behnken Field House opened in 2005, Westminster has gone 65-6 at home. The .915 winning percentage is tops in the Frontier Conference during that time. The Griffins are a perfect 6-0 at home this season. Westminster is 32-3 (.914) at home in Frontier Conference action in Behnken. The two home losses last season was the first time the team had lost twice at home in a season in that time span. The Griffins were 7-0 at home in Frontier games last year, marking the second time they have been perfect at home in conference games.
Coaches Pick Griffins
The Westminster men's basketball team was projected to win a fourth consecutive Frontier Conference championship based on a poll of the eight conference coaches that was released by the conference today. Westminster received six first-place votes and 48 total points in the poll. Montana State-Northern was selected to finish second behind the Griffins with 34 points followed by Rocky Mountain College in third with 33.5 points and Carroll College in fourth with 32.5 points. Carroll received the other two first place votes.
Looking Ahead
The Griffins will hit the road for the first time in conference with two games in Montana. The trip begins on January 13 in Helena against Carroll at 8 p.m. They conclude in Billings on January 15 against Rocky Mountain at 8 p.m.
