• Hi Guest,

    We've updated the site to combine all the forums that were part of the Big Sky Fans Network into one location. This will make it easier to navigate and participate in all the discussions for each school without having to have multiple accounts, etc. We are still working out some tweaks but please let us know if you notice anything.

    With the migration, in some circumstances, your username could have been merged with one of your other usernames from the other forums. If this is the case, you can request to change your username in your account details page of your profile.
  • Hi Guest, want to participate in the discussions, keep track of read/unread posts and more? Create your free account and increase the benefits of your eGriz.com experience today!
  • Guest, do want an ad free experience on BigSkyFans.com among other benefits? Upgrade your account today!

    Simply click your profile name > account upgrades > BigSky Club > choose between the year long subscription (two free months) or month to month

    Thanks for the continued support. Cheers!

Montana

oldrunner

oldrunner

Active member
UM beat ISU 90 - 77 in Pokey this evening. They will be coming in here with some momentum. We need to be ready for a fight. It would be nice to have Joel.

Lets hope for another great crowd. :thumb: :thumb:
 
Cbs sports brackatolgy has Montana going in at a 16 seed against Oklahoma.I hope they don't lose by 40 + points again.
 
Tomcat said:
Cbs sports brackatolgy has Montana going in at a 16 seed against Oklahoma.I hope they don't lose by 40 + points again.
Click to expand...


ESPN bracketology has Weber going in as a 15 playing 2 seed Miami in Brooklyn
 
Always exciting when the Griz come to town. I love this rivalry. There's mutual respect between the two programs and fan bases.
 
WILDCAT said:
Tomcat said:
Cbs sports brackatolgy has Montana going in at a 16 seed against Oklahoma.I hope they don't lose by 40 + points again.
Click to expand...


ESPN bracketology has Weber going in as a 15 playing 2 seed Miami in Brooklyn
Click to expand...

Don't forget, "bracketology" at this point is based on the top team from each of the lower conferences going to the tournament. Conference tournament upsets can move a potential 15 seed to a 13 or 14 seed.
 
I like our chances. I think that these games without Joel will do the whole team a lot of good. I like how they pulled together in the second half of the MSU game.

Montana presents different problems than MSU. They have a tremendous post man in Breunig. We may have to help a lot on him, when he gets the ball in the low post. However, we can not leave their three point shooters open when we do. I think that we will be up for the task. :coffee:
 
http://missoulian.com/sports/colleg...cle_2524d0c9-6c8d-5cc6-9066-ac78ef538db4.html

In the late 1970s when Neil McCarthy, a former boxer, was coaching Weber State to three straight NCAA experiences, he brought the Wildcats to Missoula and into a frenzied atmosphere energized by a student section known affectionately as "The Zoo."

The Zoo was particularly vile toward Weber State while the Grizzlies on the court were among a handful of teams trying to end the Wildcats' reign over the conference.

As the story goes, McCarthy was walking off the court toward the visiting locker room when he was hemmed in by members of The Zoo. Fans and the Weber coach said a few things before McCarthy turned around and knocked Mike Pantalione clean off his feet. He then returned to coach the second half of what became a 77-62 Montana win.

"Times have changed," said Blaine Taylor, who was a witness to the skirmish before he went on to a successful career as a Montana player and coach.

Times have certainly changed, but the rivalry between Montana and Weber State has lasted. It latest through Weber's 1978 conference tournament title in Missoula that broke the hearts of former Griz coaches Mike Montgomery and Stew Morrill. It lasted through Montana's run of three titles in four years that kept former Wildcats guard Damian Lillard without a title during his illustrious time in Ogden.

And it will add another chapter Saturday night at 7 when the two teams meet in the Dee Events Center with the inside track to the Big Sky regular-season title on line. Montana, in search of its first regular-season win in Ogden in a dozen years, and Weber will tip off with both teams tied atop the standings at 13-2.

But that's nothing new for this duel. Since the Big Sky's inception in 1963, the two teams have produced more first-team all-conference players, more conference wins and more tournament titles than any other Big Sky teams. Six times they have met in the tournament championship with each team leaving with three wins.

"Weber State is like we’re always (Nos.) 1 and 2 so you’re playing for the best team in the conference and that always brings a little more extra energy. Those games are special," remembered former Montana guard Kareem Jamar, who was part of teams that beat Weber for titles in 2012 and 2013.

"I disliked (Montana) the most when I was in college," Lillard told the Missoulian earlier this week.

Lillard was a freshman when the Wildcats won the regular season in 2010 and took a commanding halftime lead over the Grizzlies before Anthony Johnson scored 35 second-half points, including Montana's final 21, as the Griz stunned Weber 66-65. He watched as Montana beat Weber the next year in the semifinals and he was in Missoula when the Griz blasted the Wildcats 85-66 in Dahlberg.

"I think they were the school that gave me the hardest time," Lillard said.

For Lillard, the rivalry was personal because Anthony Johnson's offensive prowess led many to believe AJ was the conference's best guard and not the future NBA All-Star. Within the team battle, there was also a rivalry with Montana guard Will Cherry, who grew up with Lillard in Oakland.

"When you’ve got your leaders going against each other, playing the same position, anything can happen and it can get pretty feisty out there," Jamar said.

It's an apt way to describe a tug-of-war that lasted through McCarthy, and the heartbreak in Missoula, and Taylor and Lillard's battles with Montana's trio of guards and will continue through Saturday's meeting in Ogden with no signs of slowing down.

"They're always good and we like to think we've been OK," Weber coach Randy Rahe said. "There's been a lot of big games and a lot of fun games. Montana has been pretty good here and anytime you have that and anytime you play it's kind of heated up the rivalry."

Added Montana coach Travis DeCuire, "Some guys it brings the best out of them and others it’s intimidating. We’re going to find out a lot about our guys when we get there."
Click to expand...
 
This is totally unrelated to this game, but I saw this Tweet earlier and was reminded of the ____ show that is the Idaho Vandals floor. What a mess! Worst floor design I've ever seen in my life, at any level, including Jr. high schools and even some elementary schools.

https://twitter.com/EWUMBB/status/703707392521826304
 
Great win for the Wildcats! I think the team really found a way to get it done together without Joel. In the long run I think these few games without Joel will be good for the team overall.

Kudos to Dusty Baker and Cody John! It was obvious which team had the deeper bench.
Braxton was a beast, particularly in the first half. He's going to continue to improve and is going to be an awesome player these next few years.

Also kudos to the defense as a whole. It was great to see these guys band together and really focus on defense. Montana presented some difficult challenges in their awesome post player (I forget his name) as well as their good three point shooters. Both were limited tonight thanks to stellar effort by the defense.

Does anyone know what the fighting at the end of the game was about? It showed a little bit on tv and then the broadcast ended like 30 seconds later and the announcers never were able to explain what happened...

Besides us, Montana certainly is the cream of the crop in the Big Sky. I really hope we meet these guys again in the tournament! Great game! Games like this remind me of why I love college basketball.
 
Montana's Mario Dunn said something to Williams, grabbed his jersey like he was going to hit him, and then both teams stepped in to break it up. Montana's coach ran Mario off the floor. I think he might have been pissed about losing and fouling out. No punches were thrown, that I could see, and I was about 20' from it. It was a little bush league on Dunn's part. Not sure what the league will do. Probably nothing....., it's Montana, their darling.
 
You could feel the intensity in this game. Shame these two teams don't play twice. Thanks Big Sky. Should be a hell of a game if they meet in the tournament.
 
Geo-Guy15 said:
Does anyone know what the fighting at the end of the game was about? It showed a little bit on tv and then the broadcast ended like 30 seconds later and the announcers never were able to explain what happened...
Click to expand...

I watched the game on online (if I were near Ogden, I definitely would've attended). In the first half the refs reviewed a sequence on video. Britton Johnsen (calling the game with Steve Brown) heard the refs talking about reviewing whether or not a Montana player spit on a Weber player. The refs didn't find anything on video to warrant calling a technical foul.

After the game was over, I was following things on Twitter, and rumor has it that Wright (Montana) spit on Williams (Weber) shoes in the first half. I don't think Williams played tonight, so he must've been on the bench when it allegedly happened.

Wouldn't be surprised at all if Williams was trash talking from the bench. He's got that kind of attitude. He got into a little war of words with Southern Utah (he vs. Trayvon Langston, #3) in Cedar City. Trayvon was on the floor, and Williams was on the bench in that situation at well. Nothing came of it after the game in Cedar City. The two gave each other a bro hug after the game and had a little chuckle.
 
The only way they can meet in the tournament is in the championship game, unless Montana falls apart now. The magic number for us to go in as the #1 seed is 1 more win. For Montana to go in as the #1 seed they will have to win both of their games and hope that we lose both of ours. They have UNC and UND at home and we have EWU and UI on the road. It will be right down to the wire for the championship and the #1 seed.
 
Nice win, great game, good attendance and atmosphere. Nice to see some different guys stepping up. I had hoped to see more of Braxton and Baker playing this well this season. Hill has really come on this season-- finally, and John stepped it up nicely too. I agree its a nice opportunity for others to get quality time and have to fight and grind out a victory, but it was still a shame that Bolomboy wasn't able to properly enjoy Senior Night, on his home floor for the last time against da grizz. It's a damn shame nobody gets the chance to experience another great game against UM in a great atmosphere like that this year. reNO can suck my @$$!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top