Montana (9-6) vs Northern Arizona (10-5)
January 9, 2025 at 09:00 PM EST
The Line: Betting Odds: Montana -7.5 — Over/Under: 151.5
The Northern Arizona Lumberjacks and the Montana Grizzlies meet Thursday in college basketball action from Dahlberg Arena. Here’s a Northern Arizona vs Montana prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Northern Arizona vs Montana pick. We will examine:
The Northern Arizona Lumberjacks’ recent form and player performance
The Montana Grizzlies’ recent form and player performance
Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Montana Grizzlies
Recent betting trends in games played between Northern Arizona and Montana
A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Northern Arizona vs Montana game
Northern Arizona Lumberjacks Betting Preview
Northern Arizona managed a nice start over their first half-dozen games this year. The Lumberjacks would go a solid 5-1 in that time, losing to only Stanford. Otherwise, it was victories over Park University Gilbert, Nelson, Pacific, Embry Riddle AZ, and Incarnate Word at that time. Northern Arizona would alternate wins with losses over the next five games, taking wins over only Houston Christian and South Dakota with losses otherwise versus Eastern Michigan, Oral Roberts, and Pepperdine. Since then it’s been a 3-1 stretch for the Lumberjacks. They’ve got wins over Southern Utah, Benedictine AZ, and Weber State in that time with a lone loss to Weber State for a 10-5 run so far.
In the Weber State game on Saturday, the Lumberjacks came out of halftime with a 41-38 edge. Northern Arizona hit a 39-39 run the rest of the way, powering out the win 80-77 in the end. Leading the team in scoring was Trent McLaughlin with 30 points, seven boards, and two assists. Jayden Jackson also had a nice game, notching 21 points and four rebounds in 36 minutes of work. Oakland Fort led the bench scoring with his nine points and four assists.
Montana Grizzlies Betting Preview
Over on the Montana side, they didn’t start out the year so great but then hit a nice run in late November. The Grizzlies lost three of their first five games this season versus Oregon, Tennessee, and Utah State. Otherwise, it was wins over Hawaii Hilo, and Northwest Indian. Montana hit a 5-1 stretch from there, losing to St. Thomas Minnesota with wins otherwise versus Denver, Utah State, Cal State Northridge, South Dakota State, and Montana Tech. Since then it’s been a pair of losses to Northern Iowa and San Francisco prior to a pair of wins over Eastern Washington and Idaho for a 9-6 run thus far in the 2024-25 season.
Matched up against Idaho on Saturday, the Grizzlies were in trouble with a 32-29 deficit by the break. Montana hit a 44-39 run the rest of the way, securing a 73-71 win in the end. Leading the team in scoring were Money Williams (four rebounds; three steals) and Malik Moore (five rebounds; four assists), each with 18 points. Joe Pridgen added 13 points with 10 rebounds in a double-double, and Kai Johnson put up 10 points off the bench.
Why the Montana Grizzlies will win
- Montana has won each of its last 11 games at Dahlberg Arena/Robin Selvig Court against non-AP-ranked opponents.
- Northern Arizona has lost seven of its last eight night games at Dahlberg Arena/Robin Selvig Court against non-AP-ranked opponents.
- Northern Arizona has lost the first half in four of its last five games at Dahlberg Arena/Robin Selvig Court.
Why the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks will win
- Northern Arizona has won each of its last three road night games against Conference opponents.
- Montana has lost the first half in three of its last four games.
Northern Arizona vs Montana Prediction
I’ll stick with Montana here. The Grizzlies had a little trouble shaking off a pesky Idaho team in their last outing but eventually got the job done in a nice effort. Montana got outmuscled 36-31 on the boards in that one and missed six of their 16 free throws (62.5 percent) but shot 53.8 percent from the field overall. The Grizzlies have been scoring well lately, with 69 or more points in nine of their last 10 games (a 7-3 stretch).
As for Northern Arizona, they shot a nice 50.9 percent from the field versus Weber State in their last game and have been scoring pretty well themselves with 80 or more points in three of the last four (all three were wins). I like this one to be pretty high-scoring and completive, with Montana eking it out in the end.