Hoop is way more intensive for this broadcaster than football but I still by no means was ready for this historic Griz season to reach culmination.

There's at least twice as many games, meaning that many more pre-game and post-games and coach's shows and by February a broadcaster is struggling more and more to discover a different way to ask basically the same questions.

Sure there are different teams to learn, different tendencies to study and different arenas to travel to, figuring out all the time what the school does and doesn't provide for the radio guy.

Believe me it varies considerably from facility to facility but let me inject here I was more than surprised when at the NCAA Championship at the Pit, after reliably supplying stats at every time out to the entire press row, they didn't deliver the final package which contains far more succinct information than the computer screen.

But that's for another time.

Ironically prior to the season's tipoff I had printed 33 personal stat sheets, just enough I theorized to get the Grizzlies into the Sweet 16.

And I have to admit it was with trepidation, I headed out the door to Albuquerque with the last two in hand, knowing I'd be happy to design additional copies if indeed The University of Montana was left standing and headed for Boston Garden in the East regional.

Basketball starts for Montana usually while football is wrapping up the regular season and prepping for playoff action, but I'm not sure I remember spring football getting underway almost to the day when the hoop season is over.

But that's what we have - ample snowfall, subfreezing temperatures, lights being installed and spring football hitting the field on Monday.

But before the ball turns from oval, additional accolades to league coach of the year Wayne Tinkle, his staff and every part of Griz hoop for the most enjoyable season I can remember.

They persevered through the myriad that is the basketball schedule, hung together through injuries and personal tribulations, many of which you didn't hear about, and did what many a fine team had not done in two decades by bringing the league tournament back to Missoula.

And then they put the cherry on top of the sundae by ignoring the pressure, the odds of beating the team with the league MVP in consecutive outings to advance to the national stage.

And the fans rewarded them by coming out in droves, with three crowds in excess of 7,000 in the last four games, pushing the average attendance up about 700 fans and equaling last season.

All that when 12 games drew sometimes far less than half of what the team eventually drew.

The 2011-12 Grizzlies man-to-man were the most cohesive, helpful, competitive and enjoyable group I've been around in many a moon.

While seniors Derek Selvig, Art Steward, Shawn Stockton and Jordan Wood obviously will be missed they leave behind a legacy of raising the bar to a point that will challenge future generations of hoopsters.

And this team indelibly etched its collective name in the school's annals of success.

They took no quarter and they left it on the floor and while the loss to Wisconsin was hard to swallow, it won't be long until next year's edition is back at it in an attempt to again dominate the hardwood.

My radio companion Greg Sundberg made my season especially enjoyable and the technical folks at Learfield Sports in Jefferson City have made me a believer in the professional way they do their job.

And of course without the support of you the readers, the listeners, the sponsors and everyone associated with both Learfield Sports and The University of Montana, my job would not be as enjoyable as it is.

The class man that he is, Wayne Tinkle had a note read on the charter plane as it landed late Thursday night thanking everyone for their efforts.

But it's the guy at the helm who sets the tone and serves as an example of how to conduct yourself.

And while it takes a village, it is he that I give all the credit to for this remarkable and memorable season.

Safe and sound 1,100 plus miles from Missoula the Grizzlies head into a one-hour public practice session on the floor of the fabled Pit, home of the Lobos of New Mexico.

It is another of those long breaks between games that seem to epitomize this record-setting season.

Remember the Grizzlies wrapped up the league championship and subsequent NCAA berth March 7th and won't hit the floor here in Albuquerque until Thursday afternoon, the 15th.

But this resilient group is used to playing on consecutive nights, facing off in several games at home and on the road in a short period, or having a weeklong respite like the days preceding BracketBuster.

Long before any of these Grizzlies and the majority of the coaching staff for that matter were born, The Pit hosted the Grizzlies when the Lobos competed in the old Pacific Coast Conference.

While the Grizzlies have not met a Bo Ryan-coached team, they did face Wisconsin in 1997 in Hawaii.

Of course Griz third-year assistant coach Freddie Owens from Milwaukee gives Montana quite a succinct scouting report since he played at Wisconsin for Ryan for four years, started for a pair and led the Badgers to victory and into the Sweet 16 with a trey to defeat Tulsa as a junior in 2003.

Freddie's wife Carmen also hails from there as does Missoulian Sports editor Bob Meseroll, himself a Badger.

All-American candidate guard Jordan Taylor is one game key who shoots about 35 percent from three where Wisconsin has had their problems at time this year.

They make about a third of their shots from long range and shoot about 36 percent as a team with three to four guys filling it, but from the field overall the Badgers are just 42 percent.

And in Big 10 play they shot just 32 percent from three and less than 40 percent overall.

And league opponents scored about five more points on the average per game against Wisconsin while the Badgers scored just above 60 a game.

They make about eight treys a game and take about 40 percent of their shots from out there. The Badgers turn the ball over above two times less than their opponents. But they are not necessarily a ball-hawking group with about five steals a game and make just a dozen free throws a game per outing in 16 attempts.

Pre-game is scheduled for 11:40 Thursday morning with an approximate 12:10 tip.

The bracket is filled and the Grizzlies are headed out the door yet again but for the first time in three weeks.

But this time, for the second time in three years and the fifth trip since 2002, Montana hoop is headed for the national stage.

And while prognosticators and analysts scramble for comparative information about the Griz and the University of Wisconsin one thing immediately surfaces - These two teams hang their hat on defense.

And additionally there's a substantial difference between the schedule Wisconsin played in the nation's toughest conference this season and the Grizzlies who competed in the Big Sky Conference against some of the weakest teams in the land.

That of course is not to diminish what they have accomplished but you can preach parity as much as you want but the reason there were so many road wins in league this season is because of the dominance of Montana and Weber State, who claimed 14 between them, and poor home teams who could not hold serve on their floor.

While the No. 13 seed provides some optimism and continues to be a likely pick for a bracket buster, a Badger team that lost two games by three points to No. 1 seeds Michigan State and North Carolina ought to be a wake-up call.

Now don't think I'm a pessimist - I love this team.

And it's probably the best matchup the Grizzlies could hope for, but as you fill out your bracket this week, slip off your rose-colored glasses and give this a thought - While the Grizzlies race into the tournament with a school-record 14-game winning streak, Wisconsin's February losses were to Ohio State by six, at Iowa by one, and twice to 1 seed Michigan State.

Wisconsin is making a 14th straight trip to the NCAA tournament, has won 10 of 13 first-round games and has never lost as a four seed which they have been the last three years.

The methodical style Wisconsin prefers, where they score in the lows sixties allowing opponents barely 50 in outscoring the opposition by double digits is in sharp contrast to the Griz transition game and should bring about quite a chess game.

But isn't that what the round of 68 is all about?

Let's strap it up and keep score.

I'm just numb - But you know it's a good numb.

It's again a waiting game for the Grizzlies to see where they'll play their next game and more importantly who their next opponent will be.

After a second-half thrashing of Weber State, knocking the Wildcats out of the league tournament for the third consecutive season, for the ninth time Montana filled its dance card and punched the school's NCAA ticket.

But pending the completion of conference tournaments, they'll have to wait until Saturday afternoon for the announcement of the 68-team NCAA field.

And while Montana now has won a school-record 14 games, captured 19 of the last 20 and won for the 25th time, the lack of a marquee victory - except possibly the win over Long Beach State - most prognosticators have the Grizzlies as an at best a 14 seed, a far cry when they last won a first-round game in 2006 as a 12 seed.

Oregon State's upset of top-seeded Washington in the Pac 12 Tournament helps. So does San Francisco's third straight home defeat of Gonzaga and Colorado State's defeat of New Mexico and rise to probably tournament status but those are Montana early-season losses and would more get the committee's notice if there was an additional win or two.

But then again those were games on the march to a championship and those things a team learns on that road often eventually figure into future games when they face similar circumstances in league play where the marbles await.

The Grizzlies lost four of their first 10 games but show only single losses since then, Dec 10 and Jan 14.

What's unfortunate to me is the little credit being given this team for back-to-back victories over Weber State, the collective pick to capture the title, as well as the supposed Bracketbuster victory over Hawaii.

But there is a lot of hoop to be contested in the next two days before the committee makes its painstaking collective decisions.

Weber State also received a 12 seed in 2003 but in the current format the Big Sky Conference traditionally receives from an occasional No 13 - Northridge in 01, the Cats in 96, Idaho in 89 and 90 - to a more likely 14 to 16 spot.

What this team has accomplished makes them deserving of something other than cannon-fodder status but quite frankly, while I always see the Griz through rosy-colored glasses, ask anybody and they'll tell you I've long had a hunch about this team and they're not going to embarrass themselves against anybody.

After the really play-in games in Dayton, Ohio Tuesday and Wednesday, the second-round of the tournament begins Thursday and continues Friday.

Sites in the West are the Rose Garden in Portland and the Pit in Albuquerque but of course there is no guarantee the Grizzlies couldn't end up in Omaha or Columbus.

It has been that kind of season with many games in a short period of time then a sojourn for a single game followed by more games in a short period.

But the break will help Will Cherry get further treatment on his back and could allow Kevin Henderson, who rolled an ankle, to be available for spot duty.

We hope you join us for the pairings at Paradise Falls in Missoula at 4 p.m. Sunday.

It feels just as fantastic the morning after - How sweet it is.

And for the third time this academic season, the University of Montana again made Missoula Title Town.

With the entire starting quintet in double figures for the second time this year, the Grizzlies electrified a crowd of better than 7,000 by outscoring Weber State by 24 after the intermission to win the Big Sky Conference Tournament and advance to the Big Dance next week.

Griz hoop continues to rise to heights never achieved in dancing for the ninth time in school history.

Now 24-6, a record exceeded by just two teams in history, the 14th ranked Grizzlies won for the 20th time in 21 games and became the first men's basketball entity to capture 14 consecutive games.

In the battle of the premier basketball programs in the Big Sky Conference headed by the top sixth-year coaches in the country, the 14th ranked Grizzlies continued to not be denied.

And Wayne Tinkle extended his coaching success by winning his 116th game on the heels of claiming a school-record 11 consecutive league victories.

The five starters played all but 9 minutes of the game and together more than offset the efforts of All-American Damian Lillard who went off for 29 points and posted a double-double with 10 rebounds.

Bolstered by the play of tournament MVP Kareem Jamar, remember just a sophomore, who scored 17 of his team leading 23 points after intermission, Montana like Tuesday night rebounded from a five-point halftime deficit and dropped in 54 second-half points to win going away.

His total was matched by junior Mathias Ward, who netted a pair of treys and grabbed five of his eight boards on the offense end.

Derek Selvig, one of the team's four seniors, added 11 of his 16 in the first half and led the Grizzlies in rebounding with nine, while Will Cherry filled his line with 13 points, four rebounds, six assists and three steals.

Art Steward was the final Griz in doubles with 10 points and seven rebounds.

Cherry became the third leading scoring sophomore in history trailing only Larry Krystowiak and Andrew Strait and with three steals moved to 81 on the season and claimed his second all-tournament spot in consecutive years.

Wayne Tinkle became the first Griz coach to take his team to three consecutive title games and takes his team dancing for the second time in three years.

The pairings will be announced Sunday and the Griz team will assemble at Paradise Falls to await their fate.

If the committee chooses to keep one of the hottest teams in the country in the west they will play in either Portland or Albuquerque.

Enjoy several of Mick's calls from last night's Big Sky Conference Tournament Championship including his call at the end of the game.

Big Sky Conference Championship Call.mp3

While the Grizzlies have advanced to the NCAA Tournament five times since 1992 by winning the Big Sky Tournament they've not played for the automatic bid on their own floor in two decades.

But that all changes tonight as the One and Two seed face off in the league rubber game with the title and the chance to go dancing hanging in the balance.

Both Weber State and Montana got all they wanted from upset minded Portland State and Eastern Washington, but in both semi-final games the cream rose to the top and the higher seed prevailed.

In registering a 74-66 victory for its 13th straight win, the Grizzlies became only the fourth team in school history to reach that pinnacle.

Montana trailed again by five at the half similar to the first meeting between the two teams and simply were miserable from the field hitting just eight of 30 shots.

But they stayed in the game by netting 10 more points than the Eagles at the line and although it took some grinding eventually they wore Eastern down in this back-and-forth affair to win for the 19th time in 20 games.

Washingtonian Mathias Ward supplied the early fire power and finished with 19 points, 12 from the line, but the junior from Gig Harbor early-on missed several bunnies on great feeds.

And Kareem Jamar didn't net a field goal until the second half but this resilient group of Grizzlies kept pounding on the Eagles defensively and that ultimately as usual proved to be the difference.

Will Cherry became the school's all-time steals leader early in the first half and paced the Grizzlies scoring in double figures for the 18th straight game with 16 points, while Jamar added 18 and a near career high 13 rebounds.

Derek Selvig also was in double figures with a dozen while Shawn Stockton was the only reserve to score but it was a pivotal trey from the left corner.

EWU makes more free throws than the rest of the league's team attempt but were held to 11 of 13 while the Grizzlies netted 27 of 32.

The best offensive rebounding team in the circuit, the Grizzlies held the Eagles to just eight while capturing 13 and winning the glass by 4.

That leaves the 24-5 Wildcats and the 24-6 Grizzlies to settle it all before a projected sold out Dahlberg Arena Wednesday night.

Neither team is ranked high enough to receive an at-large NCAA bid so the winner goes dancing and the loser awaits an also-ran event although the Grizzlies already are guaranteed an NIT bid by virtue of their regular-season league title.

There were 18 scouts representing 14 NBA teams in Missoula Tuesday night checking out Damian Lillard, a junior who may declare early for the draft.

But they also got a taste of Montana's young firepower in Jamar and Cherry while admittedly neither played at their full potential.

However, Cherry went down on a late drive and was limping badly at game's end.

While the Griz are closing in on school standards, Wildcat teams have won 24 or more games just five times.

The title game is promising to be a classic with Weber set on returning the favor when the Grizzlies stole the title away rebounding from a 23-point second half deficit in Ogden in 2010.

It's a battle of the league's premier winning programs and six-year head coaches with similar success.

What's not to like!

The Eastern Eagles took no quarter when they ventured into Missoula in the second game of the conference season in December.

But a sign of things to come - shutdown Griz defense - stifled Eastern after they took a seven-point second half lead and the Grizzlies clawed their way to a hard earned eight-point victory.

The Eagles put together a torrid first half the first time around in Missoula and led by Cliff Colimon with eight of 10 and 19 first half points missed only 9 of 25 shot attempts. And after buckets by Cliff Ederaine and Laron Griffin led the Grizzlies by nine points two minutes into the second half.

But about three minutes later, after two treys by Will Cherry and a triple by Kareem Jamar and a tip-in by Art Steward off a Jamar miss, Montana fought to a lead they would never relinquish.

Montana's largest lead of eight with 10 to go was short-lived however as Eastern came storming back and trailed by just one both at the seven and five minute mark.

But Montana refused to budge and clutch free throw shooting by Cherry, who made five of six, and Mathias Ward sealed the eventual outcome as the Eagles after beating Montana State fell to one and one.

Ward notched a career high 28 points against the team from his home state of Washington, connecting on nine of 11 and 10 of 13 at the line, while Cherry missed just two of 13 free throws and added 22 points.

The Eagles were whistled for nine more fouls and Montana visited the line 18 more times, making 15 more points.

Paced by Ederaine and Griffin, the Eagles are one of the better rebounding teams in the league and grabbed 13 offensive boards the first time around although the Grizzlies claimed the board battle by two.

They are averaging 73 points a game in league although Griz D held the Eagles to just 60 in Cheney in a 14-point verdict.

Eastern has shot just 35 percent from three but they've averaged some 25 attempts an outing in league play.

The Griz have defeated the Eagles nine of the last 11 and 14 of the last 17 times they've met but they have not faced each other in the Big Sky Conference Tournament since a first-round overtime victory by the Griz on their way to an NCAA bid in 2006.

The die is cast. The field is set.

And four Big Sky Conference teams are set to decide in Missoula who will represent the circuit in the NCAA Championships.

The top two seeds, Montana and Weber State, face teams in the circuit's Final Four they already have defeated on two previous occasions this season.

The Wildcats open up the two-day event Tuesday against a No. 3 seed Portland State team that has defeated seven straight league opponents while the regular season league champion Grizzlies face a No. 4 seed Eastern Washington group they handled by just eight in Missoula but easily by 14 in Cheney.

The Eagles withstood the three point barrage by Idaho State's Kenny McGowan who set a tournament record by attempting 19 treys, and the entire Bengal squad who tossed up 33, to post a six-point home court victory Saturday to advance to Missoula with an 11 and 12 season record.

But it was not an easy proposition by Eastern as ISU trailed by just two with about a half minute to play with possession of the ball when Jeff Forbes picked Melvin Morgan and tossed ahead to Kevin Winford for the securing tally.

One half of Idaho State's shots came from three but while they connected on a representative percentage (.424), they connected on only about a third of the attempts inside the arc to finish the season at 9 and 21.

EWU led at the half by five but shot almost 61 percent after the intermission to counter the nine treys scored by the Bengals in 20 second-half attempts.

Cliff Colimon, who scored 26 against Montana in December in Missoula, led the Eagles with 22 on eight of 13 shooting while Forbes and Laron Griffin each contributed 21, each with eight of 12 shooting.

Forbes, who did most of his damage from three hitting five of 6, scored but two points against Montana and didn't get a trey off in either meeting, while Griffin contributed 21 in two games along with 16 rebounds.

Eastern won the quarterfinal game from the charity stripe, netting 13 of 16 attempts in the second half to but four of five for Idaho State,

The Eagles slightly controlled the glass with Griffin leading the way with 11 caroms.

The league affair tips off Tuesday at 5:30.

The quarterfinal round of the Big Sky Conference Tournament hits the hardwood at least for four teams Saturday night.

Although falling to Idaho in a non-conference matchup the Vikings of Portland State ran the league table with six straight victories, four at home, to climb into the league's Number three slot to host Montana State in the first round while Idaho State lost their season finale at Eastern Washington to drop a game back of the 8 and 8 Eagles and force a return trip to Reese Court in the battle of four-five teams because they held the tie breaker over the also 7-9 Bobcats.

In an unfortunate twist in the schedule the Bengals played two of their last three against the Eagles losing by seven in Pocatello and then by 13 in Cheney.

Interestingly enough, Portland State lost both meetings with the Bobcats falling by 13 in Bozeman on the opening weekend in December, then being edged in the middle of a three-game slide by five points a month later in the Rose City.

But the Viking win streak is modest although it raised their season record to 16 and 13.

They won at one-win Northern Arizona, at Idaho State and Sacramento, and claimed home matchups again with Sac, Eastern and Northern Colorado so four of the six were wins against teams who didn't gain a tournament berth.

Of course waiting in the wings with six full days between games are league champion - doesn't that sound nice - Montana and 14 and 2 and 23 and 5 Weber State.

The Wildcats will open the semi final session in Missoula Tuesday at 5:30 against the highest remaining seed while the Grizzlies will face the lowest remaining seed at 8 p.m.

Montana knocked Weber State out of the tournament in the semi final round last year before losing to Northern Colorado in the title game and also of course bested Weber State in the chipper in Ogden to gain the NCAA bid in 2010.

In 2000 the last year Missoula hosted the tournament, Montana was upset by Cal Northridge in the opening round.

If you are one of the more than 7,100 who attended Tuesday's regular season championship game and you're like me you probably spent the day if not talking about it at least remembering the best plays of the night.

The regular season championship game gave us all plenty to cherish but more importantly to look forward to.

Make no mistake Weber State is a formidable opponent who for the second time this season were shut down by a Grizzly defense that is the best to play at Montana in many a moon.

And while they didn't win the first matchup in Ogden, Montana learned enough about the Wildcats to know that even though they shoot some 48 percent from the field in league play, the old reliable Griz zone could be effective and indeed it was the difference in the regular season league chipper.

The Wildcats took 15 more shots than the Grizzlies and a dozen more threes but connected just for some thirty percent and while shooting 40 percent from long range connected for just three of 26 treys.

Will Cherry again received Player of the Week honors, sharing with Eastern's Cliff Colimon, and by scoring in double figures for the 17th straight game moved past Matt Kempfert into 14th on the all-time scoring list.

And with a single steal, on Montana's last offensive burst, Cherry moved into a tie for fifth in Big Sky Conference history, and is one from establishing a new Montana standard and is just 68 steals from the all-time league lead.

Here's a couple of tidbits - When leading at halftime the two teams were just once beaten this season and when outrebounding opponents neither team lost.

The Griz led by 10 at half and although being dominated on the offensive glass won the overall boards by five caroms.

In league games Weber State was getting to the charity stripe an average of 22 times a game but the Grizzlies limited the Wildcats to just 14 opportunities and the 10 they made was eight under their league average.

The Griz, now holders of one of the nation's longest winning streaks at 12, play either Eastern Washington, Idaho State or Montana State, whoever is the lowest seed, in next week's semi-final Tuesday at around 8 p.m. with the title game Wednesday at 7.

It simply was an amazing night in Missoula as Montana won the outright Big Sky Conference crown for the first time since 1991-92 with an exhilarating payback victory over Weber State before a frolicking throng at Dahlberg Arena.

The stars were aligned as the Grizzlies brought the conference tournament to Missoula for the first time since 2000.

Will Cherry led the charge and on the final Griz offensive play netted a run-out off a steal, his only in the game, to move into a tie with J. R. Camel for the all-time career theft mark.

The junior guard led three Griz starters in double figures with 23 and largely overshadowed the effort of last year's MVP Damian Lillard who was the only Wildcat in double figures with 19 points.

But it took Lillard, watched by a half dozen NBA scouts in Missoula, 19 shots to net his 19 points and he connected for just 2 of 11 from long range where Weber, one of the nation's top three point shooting teams, made just 3 of 36.

Kareem Jamar joined Cherry in double figures with 17 while Mathias Ward played a steady role connecting on 6 of 11 for 15 points.

Art Steward contributed a blue collar effort on the boards with a career high dozen rebounds while the other story line was redshirt freshman Mike Weisner.

Little used since injuring his ankle, Weisner came off the bench after Derek Selvig picked up a pair of early fouls and contributed a couple of buckets, three rebounds, two assists, a couple of blocks and a steal in a career high 16 minutes of prime time.

The Grizzlies went to the intermission with a 10 point lead and although Weber winnowed it down to five a couple of times, Montana was just not going to be denied a 23rd win in 29 outings.

They became the first Montana team to register a 15-1 league mark on a night when the title was decided between two one-loss teams for the first time in Big Sky Conference history.

And so the season moves on to the league's final four next Tuesday night with the Wednesday championship game for all the marbles, an automatic NCAA bid.

With the victory, the Griz assured themselves of no less than an NIT bid, but they've claimed the first ring and the next one - oh so sweet.

Weber State and Montana were picked to finish one-two at the top of the Big Sky Conference and although the Wildcats have been viewed more prominently mainly because they defeated the Grizzlies the first time around, it's payback time with a championship ring hanging in the balance.

The league's co-leaders have defied the odds and face off in Missoula Tuesday as once-beaten and competing at the top of their game for the rematch to determine the host town for the Big Sky Conference Final Four starting next Tuesday.

It promises to be a sell-out and the largest crowd to attend a game at Dahlberg Arena for a while as the Grizzlies and the Wildcats, charter members of the 49-year-old aptly named Big Sky square off in the precursor to next week's games to determine the automatic NCAA bid.

Ironically it marks the first time since a league tournament has been held that a league game of such importance has ever been contested and also will be the first time, according to my friends at the Missoulian, that the top two teams will feature just three losses between them at the completion of the regular season.

The Grizzlies are attempting to return the league tournament to Missoula for the first time since 2000 when they lost in the first round, while the Wildcats have hosted the championship two of the last three years and on four occasions since 2003.

And with a victory, at 15-1, the Griz would post the best league record of any team in school history.

It's been an amazing, albeit an extremely challenging run, as the Grizzlies, except for the Weber loss, swept the conference road schedule, while the Wildcats have one of the longest home-court winning streaks in the country and lost only at Pocatello to Idaho State.

This is a marquee game with the chance for either team to gain national exposure and with it the attention of the selection committee but it is not an end-all since you have to do it all over again next week.

There will be few secrets between these traditional rivals and this game features the top of the league's talent and classic matchups at the guard and wing positions.

It also is a battle between the league's most successful 6th-year coaches, Wayne Tinkle and Randy Rahe, both protégés of Utah State's Stew Morrill.

Both teams show just a single 2012 loss, have faced challenging non-conference schedules and defeated formidable opponents in BracketBuster games.

There's no guarantee, of course, that another rematch looms with the NCAA bid on the line but both teams greatly benefit from their home court although you'll remember the Grizzlies and Anthony Johnson came charging back in the second half at Dee Events Center in 2010 to steal away the tournament title 66-65.

There are players on both teams that remember that game and you can be sure the Wildcats are prime to return the favor by silencing the Missoula crowd just like the Grizzlies shocked the Ogden faithful.

Along with being a part of a game with historical league significance, this game promises to bring a level of tournament atmosphere and overall collegiate athleticism seldom seen in Missoula.

And I'm chomping at the bit.

Continuing to focus on the task at hand, the Grizzlies swept past Montana State to complete a men and women's season sweep and advance to the long-awaited conference championship game with the circuit's other one-loss team Weber State.

It is surely time to pause for a day to appreciate a Grizzly team that went where no other group has in winning 14 conference games against a single loss.

And while the pressure to perform and persevere seemingly accelerated with every outing, Montana won its eleventh straight game, one of the nation's longest winning streaks.

And how about the unpredictability of capturing 17 of the last 18 games since the Nevada loss in mid-January and registering a 22nd win for the second time in three years against one of the most challenging schedules in many a moon.

Put in perspective that a Grizzly team has won more than 22 games just three times and the 11-game winning streak has been exceeded in modern time with 13 straight only in 73-74 in league with Jud Heathcote at the helm and in the non-conference by Blaine Taylor's 93-94 team that finished just six and eight in conference play.

The largest crowd of the season by a couple of thousand - 7000 - didn't get to enjoy some of the finest exploits of this Grizzly team as the Bobcat game plan to slow the game down and keep Montana from getting into transition and taking advantage of their athleticism proved sound and held Montana by seven points to their lowest point total of the league season and their second lowest point total of the year's 28 games.

But they did get a taste of this team's grit as they battled through their own turnovers and a poor shooting night from three to clamp down on the Bobcats, defensively pressuring MSU to making less than a third of their shots and holding top-scorer Christian Moon to just three buckets to defeat State for the 12 time in the last 16 games.

And for Wayne Tinkle the win advanced his mark in the cross-state rivalry to 9 and 4.

But the only number that matters this week is who has the most points in the left-hand column Tuesday night with the regular season title and host tournament spot up for grabs.

It should be a dandy.

There was no chance Thursday night in Missoula that the Grizzlies were overlooking hapless Northern Arizona as Montana burst to a 14-point advantage just five minutes into the game and domintated the Lumberjacks in virtually every category.

Montana scored the game's first five points then went on a nine point run to take a 12-point lead that they never came close to relinquishing.

And were it not for a nine-point Lumberjack run against the Montana reserves in the game's last 1:41 the final margin would have been even greater as Northern Arizona fell for a near school record 14th straight time.

Held to 26 percent in the first half and trailing by 19, give NAU credit as they outscored the Grizzlies by a point after the intermission although the outcome never was threatened.

With senior Derek Selvig leading four Grizzlies in double figures it marks a tenth straight win and 16 in the last 17 as Montana rolled to 14-1 to keep pace with Weber State which easily handled Northern Colorado.

Selvig, who has now played in 109 games, posted an impressive line with 19 points, eight rebounds, six assists, four blocks and three steals, a heft total matched by Shawn Stockton and Will Cherry who now is just three takeaways short of the career team mark.

As usual Kareem Jamar and Cherry also finished in double figures with 11 and 14 respectively while Mathias Ward was in doubles early and finished with 13.

The starters were 25 of 47 from the field and as a team Montana again shot 50 percent and assisted on 21 of 30 made field goals.

And while the Lumberjacks were more efficient from the field after intermission (48.1 percent), they still connected on just 22 of 61 from the field (36.1 percent), three percentage points less than the Grizzlies have allowed 14 league opponents.

Saturday night against Montana State is senior night honoring the contributions of Stockton, Selvig, Steward, and Jordan Wood.

A Montana win over the Bobcats would set up the chipper Tuesday against Weber State.

But even with a loss to the Cats, then a victory over Weber, the Grizzlies could claim the title if Idaho State finishes ahead of Montana State.

With the bye the Grizzlies will not play a league tournament game until the following Tuesday, March 6.

Six days and three wins from a conference title and a hosting of the league tournament for the first time in 9 years, it's back on the home floor for Montana for the first of three games to cap off the regular season.

The sprint to a potential title game begins against the one-win Lumberjacks of Northern Arizona in Missoula Thursday night.

It is the rematch of a game five weeks ago in Flagstaff where the Grizzlies dominated Northern Arizona at every turn and waltzed out of town with a 78-53 victory.

The season has spiraled downhill for Northern Arizona since then as the Jacks, a perennial post season team, have dropped 14 straight, nine since being upended by Montana, and are out of the six-team tournament field.

But make no mistake NAU will play for pride and come into Missoula maybe with a lack of firepower but surely with aspirations of pulling an upset of the league leader.

And the now 18th ranked Grizzlies in no way will take this one for granted even though they had their way with a young and undersized NAU team in Flagstaff.

True Freshman guard James Douglas is the highest scoring first-year player in the league and can make an argument for circuit Freshman of the year and the Lumberjacks feature an unconventional three-guard lineup that causes challenges to defend.

Senior wing Durrell Norman put up 26 points in a five-point BracketBuster loss to Cal Davis last weekend and the Lumberjacks pound the offensive glass as good as any team in the league.

Junior sharpshooter Gabe Rogers, who connected on a couple of second half treys in Arizona, is the recruit to shoot guy but has largely been ineffective in league play connecting on just 30 percent from long range. He has made however almost 150 three pointers in three years.

Gaellin Bewermick is the league's top rebounding freshman but NAU has surrendered some 75 points a game and 50 percent from the field.

Eleven Grizzlies scored the first time around and Montana would like nothing better with a string of three games in less than a week to save some legs with the pair of Cats scheduled Saturday and Tuesday. 16 of 17 and 10 straight sounds pretty good to me.

Northern Arizona is winless in 2012 having lost 14 straight since opening league play in December by beating Sacramento State.

And while the Lumberjacks have been close a couple of times - losing in OT by a bucket to Northern Colorado, and by two to Montana State, the NAU team that defeated Arizona State for the second straight year early in December surely hasn't been seen for a while.

The spoiler-role Lumberjacks have been dominated at every turn, losing 22 of 27 and winning just three games in December after the departure of veteran head coach Mike Adras.

And the league stats tell the tale as the Lumberjacks have been outscored by more than 12 points a game while giving up better than 50 percent from the field while connecting on just 40 percent of their shot attempts.

NAU has been outrebounded by three caroms a game, make just 12 a game at the charity stripe and connect on just 30 percent of 15 tries from three point range.

The Lumberjacks allow 40 percent and about seven mades a game from long range and turn the ball over nearly 16 times an outing.

They've been dominated in the game's second half being outscored by almost 100 points while scoring about 32 points an outing.

But it doesn't appear Northern Arizona has thrown in the towel and with just a single senior starter, interim coach Dave Brown has tried a number of different lineups in an effort to find a combination that clicks.

While they were dominated two games ago by Weber State in Flagstaff by 18, they most recently lost in single digits to Idaho State, Portland State and Northern Colorado.

But they've won just a single road game, ironically by a point in Tempe against Arizona State and with just Montana State and the Grizzlies remaining on the schedule, it will be incumbent for Montana to send that early message that they intend to dominate the opposition at Dahlberg Arena and send the Jacks packing.

That certainly was the scenario in Arizona when Montana hit 61 percent in the first half to move to a 16 point lead, one they would never relinquish as the Grizzlies claimed a 78-53 victory.

While it could be an easy one to take for granted, a victory in Missoula would make the Lumberjack's season, throwing the Big Sky Conference title chase into turmoil.

And don't think the Grizzlies will look past NAU. This team realizes the end-game comes from cherishing every second they have remaining with each other.

What an awesome culmination to the league season.

As quickly as the big Sky Conference season arrives it seems to come to a close and in the next seven days there's plenty to be determined for the majority of the league field.

But the one team that uncharacteristically has nothing in its future but the role of the spoiler is headed for Missoula as the high flying Grizzlies face three games in six days.

It's the dog days of Griz Biz with the table set for a rousing finish to league play.

With nine straight victories and still tied with Weber state for the league's top spot, it certainly would be a temptation for this Montana team to look past last-place Northern Arizona, winners of just a single league game and long ago eliminated from the post season.

And that's especially true with the 285th meeting between the Griz and the Cats looking on the weekend followed by what could be one of the league's premier matchups between Weber and Montana set for early next week.

After all didn't the Grizzlies have their way with the Lumberjacks in Flagstaff five weeks ago and hasn't NAU fallen on predictably harder times with the reported forced resignation of 12th year coach Mike Adras nine games into the season?

True it was a walkover the first time around in Flagstaff as the Grizzlies completely dominated most categories in holding the Lumberjacks to 26 percent from the field and just eight second half field goals to prevail by 25 to win their 11th game of the season.

But this has not been a Grizzly team that has done anything this season but focus on the task at hand, that being the team they are competing against on this particular night and while it is tempting to get ahead of yourself the way they have set the table to this point, there's just too much leadership on this team to let something like that happen.

They still look hungry to me and realize their best times are still ahead and remain convinced they have better performances in their future with their eye on the ultimate prize, a trip to the Big Dance, and even beyond.

Getting to finish on the home floor is frosting on the cake and this team surely has earned it.

After making a first-ever 3000 mile trip to Missoula from the Islands the Rainbow Warriors of Hawaii were sent packing for the remainder of their 10-day, 10,000 mile sojourn licking the wounds delivered by an inspired performance by one of the hottest Grizzly teams in recent memory.

Sophomore Kareem Jamar brought the Montana bench to its feet late in Saturday's game with his 10th assist, a razor sharp feed to a streaking Mathias Ward epitomizing a night in which the Griz claimed a ninth straight victory.

And coupled with 21 points and 11 rebounds, Jamar registered the first UM triple-double that anyone around can remember.

His performance came on the heels of another monster game by Will Cherry, who led all scorers with 24 points.

And in claiming a 15th win in the last 16 games, Montana reached the coveted 20-win plateau for the third consecutive season and set the table for the three season-ending conference games beginning Thursday with lowly Northern Arizona.

As Hawaii was trying to make a second-half run, Cherry took the game over, scoring consecutive buckets and then picking off his fourth steal to set up a hustling Art Steward for the tally.

The season-high 23 assists on 33 field goals provides an indication of how this Griz edition makes the extra pass turning a good shot into a better opportunity.

And talk about transition - I have never seen a Griz team do it any better and they constantly force opponents to their heels creating scoring opportunities at every turn.

With five thefts, Cherry now is seven from J.R. Camel's career mark (215) and moved into a tie for seventh on the Big Sky Conference all-time list.

Now the seventh highest scoring junior in UM history, Cherry also stands 17 on the all-time scoring list and just a couple of buckets short of Chris Spoja.

Junior post Mathias Ward quickly reached double figures and set the early-game pace finishing with 18 on eight of 12 field goals as the Grizzlies connected on a season-high 11 treys in 23 attempts with a half dozen players contributing a three pointer.

Cherry hit 10 of 13 shots, including three treys while Art Steward continued his spark on the boards with seven to go along with eight points.

Derek Selvig dished five dimes and added seven points while Shawn Stockton contributed seven points and five rebounds, always scrambling for a loose carom.

The crowd of better than 5000, by far a season high, was boisterous and appreciative of yet another dominant Grizzly effort and seemed poised for the promise of one of the most memorable home finishes in Griz history.

One game at a time never rings more true than this week as the 12-1 Grizzlies host the Lumberjacks Thursday night, followed by Senior Night for the Griz-Cat contest Saturday with the finale against league co-leader Weber State looming on Tuesday, Feb 28.

With just three of nine teams with winning records, it doesn't seem that advantageous for the entire Big Sky Conference to take a break before the last two weeks of the league schedule and participate in Bracket Buster.

But that's what is on the nine-game agenda across the circuit Saturday night.

Not only have Hawaii and Montana not met in hoop for 37 years this marks the initial visit to Missoula for the Rainbow Warriors.

Co-league leader Weber State, who victimized the Bobcats in Bozeman Wednesday night, host a hot Texas Arlington team with the Nation's second longest winning streak at 16 games.

12 and 0 in the Southland Conference the Mavericks trailed 32-19 at the half Wednesday night but rebounded to keep their win streak alive by beating Stephen F. Austin.

Conversely the Wildcats have registered 15 consecutive home wins including the mid-January 16-point defeat of Montana, the last game the Grizzlies lost.

Portland State, the only other league team with a winning record travels to Moscow for a winnable game against the Vandals.

Hawaii has won four of five, including a pair of road games, falling only to WAC leader Nevada, who also beat the Grizzlies, by nine.

The Rainbow Warriors are four and four on the road, 1-1 on a neutral court, and 15 and 10 overall standing third in the league with a 6-4 mark.

Hawaii is deep, experienced and explosive with nine players seeing double-figure minutes.

All five starters are upperclassmen, however the bench is dominated by underclassman who contribute about thirty percent of their offense which averages close to 75 points a game.

They allow a stingy field goal percentage, less than 41 percent but give up an average of almost 72 points a game.

Rebounding is certainly a Warrior strength as they corral about four more per game than opponents but they're not especially effective from three-point range, 32 percent, and tend to turn the ball over a bit.

But 6-6 guard Zane Johnson takes two-thirds of his shots from long range while making about three an outing and is close to establishing the career mark.

6-10, 245 pound post Vander Joaquim is a couple of boards short of averaging a double-double and leads Hawaii in scoring at 14.8, just a taste ahead of Johnson and junior wing Joston Thomas.

While the Rainbow Warriors have taken considerably fewer shots than their opponents (about five per game), they shoot better than 46 percent an outing and sport three starters and the first bench player, wing Trevor Wiseman, connecting at better than a 50 percent clip.

Diminutive point guard Jeremiah Ostrowski averages 6.6 assists an outing and dropped 10 dimes on New Orleans in a win earlier this week.

Hawaii doesn't shoot well from the charity stripe (.674) but are certainly adept at getting to the foul line, making about 16 of 24 attempts.

Hawaii has good support on the Islands averaging almost 6,400 an outing.

And if you want to talk about travel, with the Montana game Hawaii embarks on a 10-day, three game road trip which will see the team travel more than 10,000 miles.

Break out your Island garb, roast a pig, practice up on your Don Ho impression and head for Dahlberg Arena Saturday night to welcome back a Grizzly team on the cusp of winning 20 games for the third consecutive season.

Mahalo Griz Nation!!

Snow is likely to welcome the Rainbow Warriors of Hawaii as they visit Dahlberg Arena for the first time Saturday night.

Picked to finish fourth in the WAC the Rainbow Warriors rebounded with a non-conference home victory over New Orleans Tuesday after splitting a pair of home games in the midst of a three game in six day week in the Islands.

Hawaii stands fourth in the WAC, a game back of New Mexico State and Idaho while Nevada, the Grizzlies last loss, are running away from the field with a 10 and 1 mark.

The Warriors just lost to Nevada by 9 after dropping a three pointer to the Wolf Pac on Oahu in mid-January.

Hawaii defeated Idaho, a team the Grizzlies easily handled, by a half dozen late last month.

The team's other common opponent is Eastern Washington which easily defeated the Rainbow Warriors in the fourth game of the season.

Their marquee win is a two point overtime decision of Xavier in a game played right after the Xavier-Cincinnati on-court debacle just before Christmas.

Hawaii, four and five on the road this season, is a high-scoring unit with three players averaging about 14 points a game.

They feature a diverse lineup for sure with players from eight states and four foreign countries.

They shoot some 46 percent from the field, score better than 74 a game while connecting on just 32 percent from long range and outrebound opponents by six a game

6-10 Vander Joaquim anchors the post contributing almost 15 a game and just about 10 rebounds, while 6-6 guard Zane Johnson and Joston Thomas also contribute better than 14 a game.

The point is anchored by 5-9 Jeremiah Ostrowski, who leads the league in dimes averaging better than seven per league game.

Johnson, an Arizona senior transfer, is 12 mades short of the all-time team record for treys.

Dress in your Island clothes to make Hawaii feel welcome to Missoula for the first time ever, then enjoy a ninth straight Griz victory in advance of three vitally important league games next week.

There are few times in a league season a team captures three consecutive road games.

But if the Grizzlies are to win the Big Sky Conference and host the league's final four for the first time since 2000 their work is only partway done.

Here we are in Bracket Buster week, that NCAA invention that this year brings a 12-day break in the Big Sky Conference schedule right at crunch time.

Not by any means to diminish the importance of Saturday night's game with Hawaii at Dahlberg Arena, but I would sure rather play to the league's conclusion in consecutive weeks.

A non-conference game right in the middle breaks up the continuity and takes the focus away from the games that ultimately will determine seeding anyway if a team can qualify for the Big Dance.

But with eight straight wins, a victory Saturday would set the table for the final week which starts next Thursday against lowly Northern Arizona.

Griz guard Will Cherry, just a junior, is set to carve his way further into the Griz record books in assists as well as moving up on the career scoring ladder and this week received not just the league's player of the week award but national accolades as well.

And quite a week he had especially considering he was scoreless in the first half in Sacramento as the Grizzlies rebounded from a 5-point halftime deficit to win four straight games, three on the road, in eight days.

21, 30 and 17 not a bad week by itself but all the work he put in on his shot during the summer is paying dividends.

Will shot better than 81 percent free throws, hit half of his treys and shot just short of 58 percent from the field while picking off another 13 steals to move within a dozen of the career lead.

He's also now eighth in the league in that regard and just 81 steals from the all time conference record.

But the stat that doesn't necessarily show up on paper in his defense. He's just a shut-down guy often against an opponent's top scoring threat and while he doesn't always cause a steal or a turnover he raised has havoc with a team trying to get into their half-court offense constantly causing an opponent's poor offensive decisions.

Worn down from the rigors of the road but exhilarated by what they have accomplished to this point, the Grizzlies are home in Missoula for the last two weeks of the Big Sky Conference season.

And what a two weeks the end of February promises to be.

Talk about taking care of business - It's been an amazing run for this Montana team to this point as they stand poised to take a bigger, albeit not as important, step Saturday in hosting the Rainbow Warriors of Hawaii.

Not that this Bracket Buster game might not lend importance to a post-season seed, but that certainly is less on the mind of this group that still stands tied with Weber State atop the league with three games to go.

Bracket Buster was installed supposedly to match like teams from leagues that might not play each other supposedly to give the NCAA committee more information when it comes to seeding.

And arguably to give leagues like the Big Sky more national exposure.

What it does is occur right in the middle of Big Sky Conference race and therefore take away from heated league matchups which themselves determines league post season seeding which in turn qualifies a team for the Big Dance in the first place.

But like it or not the University of Hawaii, with a 14-9 record, is in Missoula Saturday night and the Grizzlies have an eleven day break from their league schedule.

It isn't like Montana isn't familiar with the Western Athletic Conference where Hawaii stands third.

They beat Idaho in  non conference and their last loss was to Nevada by six in the first part of December.

Standing a win short of the coveted 20-win mark for the third straight season, the emphasis for Montana remains on the league race where both the Grizzlies and Wildcats already are assured a bye into the league's semi final.

And if they run the table, Montana, already with a sweep of Idaho State would host the league's final four.

But while this group is well aware of the end-game, they have done a remarkable job staying in the present and I would expect them to do nothing more but to concentrate on the next 40 minutes.

After the trouncing of Idaho State and with a league tournament berth secured for the 11^th straight time, the Grizzlies Thursday are in Greeley, Colorado, on the court where they lost the championship game a year ago.

But Montana has more than revenge on their minds when they challenge Northern Colorado at the Butler Hancock Sports Pavilion.

Already victorious in five of six league road games this season the final regular season road trip offers enticing possibilities for this Griz team that has won 12 of the last 13 games.

A win over the Bears allows the Grizzlies to keep pace with Weber State at the top of the circuit but also moves Montana ever close to clinching a bye into the league tournament with the final three games of the year at home.

Montana has won nine of the last 12 against UNC, 13 of 18 overall and blitzed the Bears 76-58 in Missoula after falling behind by 12 points early on.

Winners of just three of its last 10 games, the Bears are scrambling to get into the six-team post season tournament field and desperately need to put together some wins to catch up with the rest of the league.

Will Cherry owned the Bears the last time around leading Montana with 27 points while after holding just a one-point halftime lead in Missoula, the Griz defense answered the call after the intermission, holding Northern Colorado to just 18 points.

UNC is one of the hottest of the league's three point teams for the season but have shot poorly in league play while Montana leads in three-point defense in league (30.3 percent).

The Bears have been a little snake bit losing by a bucket to Idaho State and Northern Arizona, by one to Eastern Washington, and again by two points in double overtime to the Bengals.

Additionally, UNC claimed a two point overtime victory over NAU.

With 13 points Thursday, Cherry would spot into 20^th on the all-time scoring list and is just three steals away from moving into the league's top 10 in steals as he closes in on Montana leader J.R. Camel.

The Grizzlies stand halfway through the most challenging week of the season with four games in seven days and it's not easy to get to Greeley from Missoula, then on to Sacramento but this team's depth has proved extremely valuable against such odds.

Willie would just be proud because I've been singing his old favorite most of the month.

It's on the road again for the high flying Grizzlies who are headed south then west for the final two road games of the regular season.

And let's face it the way this team is playing, it seems to matter little whose floor they are on or what team they are facing, in the middle of a six game win streak and winners of 10 of 11 league games they have found ways to persevere.

And there is hardly a player who has not played a key role in this team thus far winning 17 of 23 outings.

While point guard Will Cherry certainly is the straw that stirs the proverbial drink, opposing team's scouting reports must be challenged to decide who it is that they are not going to let beat them on a given night.

Super soph Kareem Jamar plays four positions and only has failed to score in double figures in two games, one more game than Will who has moved into the league's top 10 in steals as he methodically approaches the UM career lead.

Finally at full strength, Derek Selvig is dominating the interior defensively while dishing dimes like they were hard candy at the checkout counter of your favorite restaurant and Mathias

Ward and Art Steward consistently connect on sixty-plus percent of their shot attempts.

Add to this one through five mix, the solidity of Shawn Stockton and Jordan Wood as usually the first off the bench, the mixture of contributing young freshmen and the presence of giant Eric Hutchison in the post and this team has to represent a nightmare prep for any team.

On the road from Missoula Wednesday, after holding serve against an outmanned Idaho State team in a rare Monday game, the Grizzlies, who are starting to receive some Mid-Major poll consideration, return to the Hancock Center in Greeley Thursday night where they fell a game short of advancing to the NCAA Championships in falling to regular season league titlelist Northern Colorado, a team they defeated by 18 in Missoula.

They certainly are no givens but right now this team this is a rampaging locomotive and remains focused on the end game, a league title.

Any chance that the surging Grizzlies would overlook suddenly competitive Idaho State was quickly put to rest Monday night as Montana dominated the Bengals in every phase of the game.

The Grizzlies continued their recent domination of Big Sky Conference teams by leading wire-to-wire in dismantling Idaho State.

And the defeat of the Bengals is additionally important because of their recent wins over then league leading Weber State and Montana State giving Montana a sweep of a team high in the standings in case of a tie with the Wildcats for the tournament host spot.

But that's a long way away and there's plenty of wood to chop before that season finale against the Wildcats in Missoula at the end of the month.

But in winning their sixth straight in league and moving to 10 and 1 to match Weber at the top of the circuit, the Grizzlies kept the train rolling down the track with two road games to follow this week.

ISU had one more first-half field goal in the first half than they did in Pocatello with eight, trailed just by nine at the break, and made things interesting at the start of the second half to move within four points.

But from there it was a remarkable defensive performance by Montana holding the Bengals to just 17 second-half points and an overall shooting percentage of less than 25 percent to prevail easily by 36 points.

With just 14 field goals including only a pair of treys, no Idaho State player scored in double figures as Montana sent a message to the remainder of the circuit how domineering a team they have become.

Junior guard Will Cherry continues to impress with 21 points, moving to 24th on the team career scoring ladder and moved into the league's top 10 in steals as he closes for the team standard held by J.R. Camel.

But it was Derek Selvig who dominated play, not by any means with scoring with just five points, but in every other category.

He set career highs with eight assist and six blocks, grabbed four rebounds and a steal and drew the post-game praise of Wayne Tinkle.

Super soph Kareem Jamar added 13 and led rebounding with eight while Art Steward contributed 14 on his usual seven for nine shooting night.

Among the league's best shooters, Steward is connecting at above a 60 percent field goal pace in league play.

Twenty-three points came off 16 Bengal turnovers, while the bench, with Kevin Henderson matching his career high with seven points, outscored ISU 17-1.

Montana dominated the boards 40-27, outscored the outmanned Bengals 38-16 in the paint and connected on 28 of 54 field goals (51.9 percent).

That's a pair of wins in three days for Montana, now winners of 17 of 23 games this season and off to the best league start in a decade but the week remains arduous with an additional pair of road games Thursday and Saturday in Colorado and California.

My measure of a team always has been how, win or lose, they react to continued adversity and time after time, this season's edition of Griz basketball has found a way to persevere.

And Saturday night indeed was no exception.

The Grizzlies took a huge road step, their fifth in six games this league season, in capturing the first of four games, three on the road, in seven days.

And while it doesn't get any easier with now third-place Idaho State waiting in the wings for Monday night's game in Missoula,  withstanding the Bobcat charge with a series of make-shift lineups was quite a way to get the lid off things.

By no means an easy proposition with the majority of his starting lineup in foul trouble, Wayne Tinkle showed his continued mastery of his personnel, dialing in numerous lineups that never have seen the floor together in a game situation to hold off a charging Bobcat team that knocked on the door of rebounding from a double-digit deficit but never could climb the hill or get closer than a single possession.

And in the clutch, after super sophomore Kareem Jamar held the whole thing together in the second half, it was veteran fifth year senior Derek Selvig, the only Montana player on the floor on this night for either team, who slammed the door on the Bobcats with a pair of clutch, there will be no bigger, treys.

The scoreboard showing a nine-point Griz victory doesn't do justice to the 274th meeting between the cross-state rivals as the Cat run, with both Selvig and Will Cherry on the bench with four fouls, frenzied the Griz a bit but they refused to whither to remain in a tie for the Big Sky Conference lead with Weber State.

But with Sacramento State's upset of Eastern Washington, tonight's opponent in Missoula, the Bengals, have risen from obscurity and suddenly into post-season contention with a 5 and 4 record.

And then of course on Wednesday it's on to Northern Colorado and Sacramento for the last two road games of the regular season.

Don't think the Grizzlies can afford to look past anybody and the challenge of four games in seven days continues Monday night in Missoula against Idaho State.

It would be a great way to start the week by rewarding this team for beating the Bobcats for the 11th time in 15 games by blowing the roof off  Dahlberg Arena tonight.

Put the football signees aside for just a day and let's talk Griz hoop.

It is indeed the 284th hoop meeting between the Griz and the Cats and with Montana State stumbling in overtime Thursday night to suddenly-on-fire Idaho State, the pressure is on and Saturday night is a must-win if the Bobcats hope to have a sniff at a bye into the Big Sky Conference Tournament.

And with the Bengals overtime verdict in Bozeman, ISU moved into a tie with MSU at 6 and 4 three games back of the leaders but with Montana in their sights in Missoula on Monday.

World beater Kenny McGowan again sunk the winner for Idaho State for the second time - He also beat Weber, the Wildcats sole loss, on the game's last shot.

For Montana it's called keep the slate clean with a win over the Cats and a home win against the Bengals, they would hold the tiebreaker if they defeated Weber and matched season records.

Of course nothing is a given but with two straight losses after four straight wins, MSU, losers of 10 of the last 14 to UM including last year's sweep has backed themselves into a corner.

And the Grizzlies, sporting a four and one road record, have shown they can get it done while traveling as well as on the home floor.

The Bobcats are a high scoring quintet, averaging about 70 points a game, while the Grizzlies shut-down defense is atop the circuit allowing leaguer foes less than 40 percent from the field and just 61 points a game.

While there is little experience in this series on the Bobcats roster - players have scored just 15 points against Montana - most everyone who will see the floor in a key role in a Griz uniform in Bozeman is well aware of the rivalry.

The Bobcats feature about six players who will shoot it from three and they connect on about 40 percent or some seven treys a game but the Griz three-point defense allows less than 34 percent an outing from outside the arc.

And the Bobcats have a tendency to turn the ball over a bit, a category where the Grizzlies have made hay in the past month, averaging more than a point per turnover.

In league games, Montana is shooting better than 51 percent from the field and scoring an average of 74 points which should help to send the Cats reeling further down in the Big Sky Conference standings.

And a win would set the stage for Monday's home game against Idaho State before Montana again hits the road for games Thursday and Saturday against Northern Colorado and Sacramento State.

I'll take a repeat on this Groundhog Day and a morning after football signings of high school athletes.

Just give me a little more of the same.

So how about if we follow Bill Murray and let's continue what has taken UM sports to lofty levels?

And while we are wrapping ourselves around the crop of new Grizzly footballers, the road wars for Griz hoop take yet another step Saturday with the first of two tussles between the Griz and the Cats.

And it is always amazing to me that hoop has taken such a back seat at both schools with dwindling attendance and even less attention as the two teams meet for the 284th time.

But that's how it is with little hype about the state's two Division 1 teams getting after each other in Bozeman.

Maybe it's because there is little Montana presence on either team or maybe fans of both the Griz and the Cats got more of a sports fix than they bargained for with December playoff football.

All that aside, it's an important long weekend for the Griz, as a win Saturday maintains a share of the league lead and distances them further from the Cats while the pressure falls on Montana State to hold serve at home to stay within reach of league supremacy.

But there's a potential stumbling block awaiting both teams as upstart Idaho State is in Bozeman Thursday while the Bengals make the trek to Missoula on Monday and with two road wins would throw the league for a loop.

Recently it's been Griz domination of this series and riding a 10 win in 11 game streak Montana is flying high with four road wins in five outings.

The Grizzlies have won 10 of the last 14 meetings between the two teams including a sweep last year when they dumped the Cats by 19 at Worthington Arena.

And it is not like the Bobcats have a lot of experience in this cross-state rivalry - They start a trio of JC transfers and no current MSU player has more than 15 career points in the series.

Montana plays three of the next four away from home before finishing the league season with a trio of home games and this is yet another pivotal outing.

There's little doubt it is a table setter and the outstanding achievements of this team would be nothing but further enhanced by a superb performance in Bozeman.

But it is Griz-Cat and you just never know.

Mick Holien back on the Grizzly Sports Network as the annual tussle between the Grizzlies and the Bobcats completes the week's agenda.

And it is certainly a different league schedule as this week's game is not a stand alone with upstart Idaho State figuring in the mix for both teams.

Montana State hosts the Bengals Thursday night before entertaining the Grizzlies on Saturday and then the Grizzlies catch the Bengals after they head back to Pocatello Thursday night only to return to Missoula on Monday.

Including the two-point upset of former undisputed league leader Weber State, ISU has now won three straight heading into the MSU game and stand atop the middle of the circuit with a 5 and 4 record and solidly in fourth place just a game back of the Cats.

It's an odd league this year here at the halfway mark with really just seven teams fighting for the six playoff positions since one-win teams Sacramento State and Northern Arizona already are virtually eliminated trailing the field by three games in the win column.

This is the final year of this playoff format where there are campus sites for the first round really play-in games with the top two teams having first round byes.

Next season the league champion, with a first-round bye, will entertain the six other tournament teams as the host site while the second-place team then will also play the first night against the No 7 tournament entry.

With the Wildcats and Montana currently separated from the rest of the league by two games, it appears Portland State, Eastern Washington and Northern Colorado are set to vie for the final tournament spot with ISU and MSU holding out hope to contend for the top spot.

Make no mistake there's a lot of hoop remaining with crucial games this week seeing Portland State traveling to Weber and the Bengal-Bobcat clash.

For the Griz starting Saturday it's four games in seven days, three on the road. Hop aboard.

The Grizzlies made the best of scenarios come to fruition at the culmination of a five-day road trip by sustaining that frantic charge by Portland State to assure that when they take the floor in Bozeman Saturday night they'll be sitting with a share of the Big Sky Conference lead

One just had to know that Sunday's game against the Vikings would be a knuckle buster given the last two Griz wins at the Stott Center but the way Montana distanced themselves, I kind of thought maybe it would be a leisurely afternoon.

But nothing could have been further from the truth as Portland State turned up the defensive heat, cut the double-digit Griz lead, drew within one point and even had the last possession, albeit an ill-fated one as Montana survived to beat the Vikings for the seventh consecutive time.

It was all Montana with 9:34 to play as the Grizzlies led by 14 but it was not destined to be a walk in the Rose City park blocks.

Looking at the stat sheet one would think senior guard Charles Odum had his usual outstanding outing but 11 of his team-leading 19 points came at the charity stripe although he got loose for 10 of the Vikings final 14 points and just about single-handedly brought the Vikings all the way back.

A clutch free throw here and there and a gritty three-point play on a hoop-and-a-harm by Shaun Stockton and the Griz won for the ninth time in 10 games to move into a tie with Weber State for the Big Sky Conference lead with 8-1 records.

The most significant thing for me about this Grizzly run since losing in Ogden is the offensive balance with which Montana is performing.

While Kareem Jamar and Will Cherry have been in double figures in all but a couple of outings, in many recent games there has been close to the entire starting five contributing in double figures and in the other equally important  areas of assists, steals and blocks.

It's far from a one-man show and it makes the stretch run look daunting for opponents who not only are trying to stifle the league's best shooting team but also the circuit's best defensive unit.

His Grizzly team handed Wayne Tinkle a memorable birthday present at Reese Court Thursday night.

And the sixth-year mentor described the bow the Grizzlies tied around Eastern Washington in the form of a gritty road performance as maybe the most satisfying road victory of his career.

That's indeed saying something after back-to-back 20 win seasons but given some of the odds when the Eagles came charging back from a double-digit second half deficit with a 10-1 run and the early foul disparity, it is not surprising that he felt that way especially given a boisterous student crowd and his team performing on television miles from where he grew up.

But there was plenty of Maroon behind the Grizzly bench, which because of television I basically was sitting on, and the best scene of the night was the Grizzlies waving in appreciation as they headed across the court to the locker room and applause and serenading for Tinks as he came out for the post-game radio interview.

Jono Metzger-Jones said at halftime the Eagles would be coming, and charge they did, but a relentless and courageous Grizzly attack continually had the answer even if some of the lineup combinations Tinks utilized at times resembled a five-guard combination because of their size.

Of course as enjoyable as the evening was, which included a bus serenade on the way back to Northern Quest, it is just a stepping stone with the vanquished Vikings waiting in the Rose City after being caught from behind by the Bobcats.

And of course with the first Griz-Cat game just a week away both teams still are chasing the unbeaten in league, Weber State.

Not allowing your emotions to either become too high or too low certainly applies in this regard but the outcome in Cheney sure makes a travel day Friday easier to swallow.

I must just be getting old!

Here it is just south of the Idea of January and I'm already bushed with the road basketball woes and the conference season isn't even halfway over.

And just think there are five-day trips remaining to Portland and Cheney and Sacramento and Greeley left on the agenda let alone the singleton in Bozeman.

Livin' the dream I tell you.

But as we approach the turn after two games at Dahlberg Arena this week I think a word or two about this group of players is in order.

And it really has little to do with bucketball - that's what we called it in my day after all - and more to do with the kind of people that wear this year's Maroon and Silver.

Now I sincerely look for this year's edition to contend for a league title, home court in the post-season tournament and a third straight trip to the post season but that isn't what I am talking about today.

This team assembled by Wayne Tinkle and his cohorts are simply a joy to be around and genuinely care about each other, not just as fellow student-athletes but as people.

And that certainly is true as well of the entire coaching and support staff.

As a fan I am sure you have noticed that it doesn't seem to matter who is on the floor, what player is summoned to the bench or who might be in the starting quintet, the remainder of the team is in full support and demonstrate so either outwardly or in some cases subtly.

And believe me when I say that not all teams act that way and it shows in their play.

It also is unusual to see such continuity when the ages of this year's team are so divergent with a wily four-member senior class being bolstered by a group of teenagers all of whom have seen the floor in key situations.

Suffice it to say that it would be quite easy for seniors Shaun Stockton or Jordan Wood to be unhappy and cast aspersions because of diminished playing time occurring with the continued maturation of the young players on the roster.

But when you recruit the right individuals that realize the value and reputation of the name on the front of the jersey, a coaching staff can rest comfortably that support will come from the complete distance down the bench even from the redshirts.

Of course it is a long ways before we'll see if the cohesiveness, versatility and depth of this year's team leads to the eventual success they so richly deserve.

But mark my words anything that occurs in the win-loss column won't come from a lack of effort and the lifetime relationships that this team has molded will be treasured for a lifetime.

While you sure can't argue with the early season success being enjoyed by Grizzly basketball, what also certainly is evident is that this week's road trip to Flagstaff and Ogden could go a long way toward determining just what kind of conference race the Grizzlies are in for.

Make no mistake fans it is a rigorous trip starting with a 6:15 a.m. flight to Salt Lake and on to Phoenix for a three-hour bus ride up the hill to Flagstaff on Thursday.

Then after the game at 7,000 feet, it's back to Phoenix arriving around midnight for a Friday morning flight back to Salt Lake and the short jaunt to Ogden for Saturday night's game against Weber State.

This of course is the flight home which brings the team back to Missoula before noon on Sunday.

This trip is a bit more than the five-day debacle to Northern Colorado and Sacramento State and an additional five-day (because of a Sunday afternoon television game) to Cheney and Portland.

Thus are the rigors of Big Sky travel which just for another example has Idaho State traveling to Bozeman on a Wednesday for a Thursday game against the Cats, then busing back to Pocatello because they don't play at Montana until Monday.

In other words I am sure that every team has a quirk in the schedule that causes pause but everyone knows there's darn little they can do about it but make the trip and play the games.

At Flagstaff Thursday night, the Griz face a Lumberjack team that after disposing of Sacramento State in their league home opener dropped three straight road games.

And with the Montana schools headed to Flagstaff and headed to Weber State, next week they are in danger of being relegated to also-ran status before the halfway mark of league play.

But make no mistake, playing games at the Rolle Center and not the Skydome has been golden for Northern Arizona having lost only twice on that floor in the last two seasons. 

And I am sure it won't be overlooked in the Montana locker room that NAU crushed the Grizzlies in Missoula 70-53 last season.

And remember this is a Lumberjack team that defeated Arizona State for the second consecutive time for their only road win of the season.

While the Lumberjacks have had a porous defense which allows opponents nearly 50 percent from the field, this surely is one of those games to draw extra focus on with an anticipated battle

for league supremacy against the top scorer in the country in Damian Lillard of Weber State lurking Saturday night.

The travel is ominous but at least it is taking place while school is out of session and the potential reward makes it all worth it.

But win or lose, split or sweep, there's a long way to go but how quickly the season disappears with some six weeks remaining until league tournament time.

It was an odd trip down the Interstate to Pocatello with the sparse snow making the journey look a whole lot more like a spring baseball trip than the conference road opener.

But it was the usual three-movie Beachliner trip to the land of the Bengals where the Grizzlies look for a fifth consecutive victory but far more important to get the circuit road wars off to a successful start.

And the Bobcats probably didn't help matters by claiming a rare three-point road breakthrough Thursday after nearly squandering a 15-point lead in the last three minutes.

MSU turned the trick by netting 10 treys but being outrebounded and outshot at the charity stripe.

When the Griz hit the floor of the Mini Dome in the morning, there will be several players who have never shot a basketball in the spacious confines of a dome like Holt Arena.

The Bobcats did a great job neutralizing 6-5 JC guard Chase Grabau who netted 31 in the ISU loss to Weber State.

Idaho State is the worst rebounding team in the Big Sky Conference getting about two less per game than the Griz, are the second-lowest scoring entity in the league and stand last in the league in shooting at barely north of 41 percent.

And they're giving up better than 46 percent from the field indicating there will be good shots available for the Montana offense.

With three straight and six of the next eight on the road, getting that first one is paramount for this Grizzly team.

There's an old adage in Big Sky Conference circles that if you win all your home games and split on the road, you'll be in the hunt to win the regular season crown and host the league tournament which of course in recent years has proven to be less than an opportune situation.

While they have been the bridesmaid on four occasions, Montana has not won the regular season league title since 2000.

But the Grizzlies have claimed the tournament championship game on foreign turf and advanced to the NCAA Tournament under Don Holst in 2002, after incidentally he was unceremoniously fired, in 2005 and 2006 under Larry Krystkowiak and again in 2010 under Wayne Tinkle.

And in 2005 and 2010 Montana did not finish as the league runner-up and therefore have a first-round bye but rather ran the field winning three straight games.

So I guess that says much like what the regular season does in football, being at your best when you're best is needed is all about building momentum - keeping your lows not too low and your highs not too high - improving a bit each time out and be playing your best basketball not necessarily in December but February.

With that being said, picking up home wins first against Portland State then Eastern Washington in the league openers for both teams would get this Griz team a great start in advance of six of the next eight games on the road.

The good news about that schedule is finishing with four of six at home while school is in session with the circuit finale in Missoula against league favorite Weber State to wrap up the regular season.

At 7 and 5, this Griz team with four returning starters sans Brian Qvale continues admittedly to find itself although there were indications it seems at the University of Portland of things to come.

Plenty of pieces fell in place in the Rose City and make no mistake as West Coast Conference teams well know, about how difficult it is to win at the Chiles Center and the Grizzlies did so seemingly easily.

Shaking off Christmas goodies after their return from Christmas break always is challenging and with just a couple of days back on the practice floor Wednesday's matchup with the high scoring Vikings will be a test of this group's mettle.

And I'm excited to get it going.

I guess the time has come but it arrived three weeks early as the 11-win Grizzlies succumbed in the semi-final round but surely not without a fight.

The loss at Sam Houston State really epitomized for me the 2011 football season as I will remember this year's edition as a group of battlers who defied all odds after one of the most challenging September schedules ever and marched through eight games with aplomb culminating with an improbable, to some at least, dismantling of Montana State.

And in so doing Montana rose from also-ran status in the National rankings to a top-four seed and returned to the accustomed situation of hosting the largest playoff crowds of the season.

It easily could be argued initially they did it with defense but cast a glimpse at some of the offensive numbers and one quickly realizes when Robin Pflugrad's spread offense was percolating, plenty of points went up on the board and with a healthy helmsman quarterback Jordie Johnson returning to the fold as an upperclassman the future looks indeed bright and promising.

In two years Pflu's teams are 18 and 7, 12-4 in league play, and while there is no doubt that there will be football staff and player vacancies to fill the program remains vibrant in the land of FCS football.

It's hard for me to believe that in my 19 years of calling football games the Grizzlies never have been out of the top 25, never had a losing season and last year for the 12th time in 18 years have won at least 11 games.

Maybe more impressive is that 46 of the total of 51 times the Grizzlies have been involved in the playoffs also have occurred during my tenure which includes seven national championship games and 10 semi-final games.

That's nearly five extra seasons of football all during a year less than two decades.

And there are plenty of accolades to go around.

Brody McKnight etched his name on a list which includes some of the finest kickers in Grizzly lore.

No placekicker before him notched more successful PATs (210) and his 21 2011 field goals, including a record 16 straight, placed him behind only Dan Carpenter and Chris Snyder on the single-season list.

McKnight's 67.8 percent success rate (59 0f 87) trails only Carpenter in proficiency and he finishes his career with 387 points, also third on the all-time list behind Carpenter and Snyder.

Jabin Sambrano climbed to 18th on the all-time receiving list (1787 yards) but his 19 touchdown receptions ranked third and his average yards per catch (16.1) stands sixth in Griz history.

He trails only Rob Schulte in kickoff return yards (1687) stands sixth in all-purpose yards (4190) and finished just ahead of Peter Nguyen in punt return yardage (411) in 9th all-time.

Sambrano also stands seventh in career punt return average (10.28) and 13th in kick return average (21.91).

Johnson's 2,44 passing yards was the 19th best in history and he just passed Hall of Famer Marty Mornhinweg to move into the top 20 in career passing, while JJ's 22 TD passes were the 12th best season performance.

Big Sky Conference Defensive Player of the Year Caleb McSurdy, also an All-American, finished his career 10th on the all-time tackle list (231) and 30th in tackles-for-loss (17), while Ryan Fetherston stands 11th (24.5), Academic All-Americans Bobby Alt 18th (19.5) and Bryan Waldhauser 20th (19) are all well back of the deceased Tim Bush (48.5).

Fether also was 21st in career sacks (11.5), while All American Trumaine Johnson established the career pass deflection standard (36) and completed his career back of only Karl Stein

and Mick Dennehy and tied with Tim Hauck with 15 interceptions.

Fifteen starters completed their collegiate eligibility (9 on defense) along with McKnight, surely leaving the cupboard with space for the crop of newcomers who either started part of the year, played vital backup roles, or are groomed for future success.

A simple thank you somehow doesn't seem suitable for this group as in the last five years the Grizzlies have registered 57 victories, won 35 league games and captured or shared four league championships.

Thanks for the lifetime of memories men and Merry Christmas to all.

When you get to this point of the season, there certainly are no easy propositions but it is indeed a daunting task facing Montana in Texas this evening.

With the rigors of finals in the rear-view mirror they not only faced a three-plus hour plane ride to College Station but then a more than an hour trip to a rain-soaked field in Huntsville made even more interesting when the trio of buses lost their way.

That was preceded by a stop at Texas A&M for lunch overlooking the Aggies 86,000-seat stadium and a return trip to College Station with an after 8 p.m. check-in.

My day was made even more interesting when after getting the press box unlocked in order to set up the radio gear we found ourselves locked in the stadium as the nice gentleman who let us in determined I should climb my way so he chained the gate shut.

But all that aside - it was after all what Gurns said "no hill for a climber," - it's game day with four FCS teams remaining alive opting to return to Texas for the chipper in three weeks.

It's been an amazing run to this point and with the hay in the barn it's time to be Mano-Mano and let the chips fall where they may.

I like the experienced Montana defensive scheme against the quick and explosive yet relatively young Bearkat skill players and the Grizzly offense, headed itself by youthful Jordie Johnson, continues to successfully evolve.

Time to see just what happens.

There have been few games in my career I have anticipated more than the FCS quarter-final matchup between Montana and Northern Iowa.

And I have broadcast all but five of Montana's 49 playoff games.

Maybe it's because as you get more mature (read older here), you tend to appreciate such things more or possibly it's because I didn't cherish that empty feeling I had on the 2010 Thanksgiving weekend when the Grizzlies were left to look at the playoffs from the outside for the first time in 18 years.

Or just maybe it's because this season is starting to have the feeling of 1995, 1996 or maybe even 2004 when Montana starting stringing victories together at a torrid pace and rambled into the playoffs like a rampaging locomotive.

After the month of September you could probably join me by saying I just wasn't prepared for this eventuality.

But what you are seeing is the value of the work ethic and conviction of every Grizzly team I have been around.

There's a reason why this program has posted a winning record the last 26 years and been ranked in the nation's elite for 19 straight seasons.

Only Georgia Southern joins Montana as schools who have had five coaches take football teams to the post-season.

The program that is in place in Missoula is bigger than any head coach, staff or administration.

And while the system has changed as well as the people behind it, the parameters and expectations of excellence remain.

And that's how a 2-2 team in September runs off an eight-game winning streak and advances to where just eight FCS teams are still playing.

Of course it occurs because of team and staff leadership, film study, game prep and all the other things that make for a successful outing.

But I see it as an intangible that is far deeper than that and extremely difficult to quantify.

The University of Montana is among the Crown Jewels of FCS football because that is the standard - where the bar was placed - when Don Read arrived in Missoula in 1986.

And not to diminish the past accomplishments of anyone else - as there always will be blips on the radar - anything less than excellence is not acceptable.

It's that one-game season again this week, every goal is still attainable and I'm confident nothing but the finest effort will be put forth tonight on the National stage for all to see.

And tonight I hope you're among the crowd somewhat north of 23,000 who is a part of Montana magic.

Ticket sales have soared past the 21,000 mark for Saturday's second-round playoff game against Central Arkansas with the matchup expected to bring more fans than any other FCS game.

And the one thing I have always noticed about playoff crowds is their enthusiasm as it seems when tickets are available to people who usually don't get to attend, they weigh in early and often.

That's no reflection to the horde of season ticket holders but we do get a little spoiled with the home success the Griz have enjoyed and when your team only loses 21 times in the history of the facility, well you know what I mean.

But while that statistic is imposing in itself also consider Montana has won 125 of the last 154 football games (81%) and in their 21st playoff appearance sport a 30-18 record including winning 27 of 33 in Missoula.

All of that of course means little to either coaching staff or team for that matter, especially since this year's seniors didn't experience last year's post season, but the entire team knows they have an additional opportunity to come down that tunnel and believe me it is something they will forever cherish.

And given the seeding, they can bring a quarter-final round game into Washington Grizzly Stadium if they can take care of business Saturday.

While I feel like I am preaching to the choir in this particular blog, it should be noted that the $26 price tag for this week's ticket is the lowest allowable by the NCAA which deems that a school can't charge lower for a playoff ticket than its lowest season price.

In Montana's case that was the $26 charged for the Western Oregon game, a far cry from the cost for example for Homecoming.

Southland Conference teams have not had much success coming to Missoula with the Grizzlies claiming the previous 12 matchups by an average of 30 points an outing.

But make no mistake about the proficiency of this Bear team. Nathan Dick probably will be the best quarterback Montana has seen this season and with 30 TDs against just eight interceptions and a 64% completion rate, you can see he makes few mistakes.

But while everybody catches the football - even his top three running backs have 59 catches between them - 6-3 junior Dominque Croom is not listed on the team's two-deep.

He has 38 receptions for better than 500 yards and seven touchdowns but while he caught three for 17 yards in the first-round game he has not scored a TD since mid October.

True freshman Dezmin Lewis and senior Derik Steele are listed at his position on the depth chart while with their stable of receivers which could well show their radio crew as eligible, I doubt Central Arkansas will miss him if he isn't on the trip.

Just a closing note about basketball and let me preface my remarks by telling you I am not an employee of UM or any radio entity but rather an independent contractor

I am told that several times this season and after some games in past years the flagship station in Missoula for Grizzly Sports has cut away either before or just after a basketball game's completion which of course not only does not allow fans who didn't come to the game to hear post-game comment, statistics and interview, but also those who were in attendance who clamor to their vehicle to listen to Wayne Tinkle's remarks.

The problem, which has since been resolved, was with the local affiliate and not the production facilities of Learfield Sports in Jefferson City, Mo., which I have worked with for the last two seasons and can assure you are the finest and most proficient I have ever encountered in radio.

There always will be technical issues which you need to know we strive quickly to resolve yet frustrate the on-air crew as much as it does our listeners.

But you the fans and listeners are who we care most about and please be comfortable with the fact that I deeply appreciate your support but more than that your input when something displeases you.

Make no mistake I continue to take full responsibility for getting you the best possible product and your input does not fall upon deaf ears but rather pushes us to work harder.

And don't ever hesitate to approach me with your concerns, like several did at last night's basketball game.

Enjoy your weekend and Go Griz!

Woe is me - John Hoyt Field at Washington Grizzly Stadium will be empty on that traditional Montana football day, the Saturday after thanksgiving.

But wait, with visions of sugar plums dancing in my head, I won't be able to pack away the football gear and move inside to the warm confines of Dahlberg Arena because the slipper fit, the search for the Golden Fleece reached fruition and the Grizzlies live to play another day.

And I have to say without qualification that it was just fine remaining in Bozeman after the Griz handily defeated the nation's No. 1 team last week.

There was just a single isolated incident where an adoring Bobcat fan wanted to share with me what he thought about the Grizzlies but wait, maybe he was talking about that team in Memphis.

There was a sparse showing of Grizzly Maroon around town but for the most part the night was more about enjoying friendship than statewide superiority.

My Bobcat buddy Rusty from Ronan and his significant other, Melissa, trucked me around to a few spots that vary little from Missoula establishments on a Saturday night after a home football game.

But what I enjoyed most was MSU assistant athletic director and sports info guru Bill Lamberty, who was so gracious as to come into the radio booth and shake hands and congratulate Montana on its victory.

I have dear friends in athletics in Bozeman and they are nothing but class individuals who are as disappointed as I am after a loss and hopefully as gracious as I am after a win.

Yes, it was a grand day for us in Griz Nation and a sheer disappointment for Montana State which to that point had run the league table to rise to the top of the national standings.

But in celebrating this year's accomplishments, let's remember football is a game that serves as a slight escape from the rigors of our lives and it's also supposed to be fun.

While emotion no doubt played a part in Saturday's outcome when it's all said and done, we're all just Montanans who hopefully know how to value what is important in our lives.

And isn't it amazing that now both teams still have everything right in front of them?

Let's just see if we can make that road to Frisco, Texas travel through Missoula.

Given the stakes involved, the matchup between Montana and Montana State grows ever intriguing. But add to the significance of the game the fact that the two teams rank 1-2 in eight statistical categories. Something has to give.

And while Robin Pflugrad said he had not given much thought to the Grizzlies being the underdog headed into Bozeman, there's little doubt with the way the Bobcats play at home that has to be the case.

In five games at Bobcat Stadium this season MSU averages better than 41 points and more than 500 yards offense while sophomore quarterback Cody Kirk has rushed for 678 yards or 57 percent of his season's total, and in the last four games has gained 602 rushing yards.

The Cats have scored 30 or more points in a school-record nine games and it's the first time the program has won nine games in consecutive seasons.

And it's not all about the Bobcat offense. MSU leads the Big Sky Conference in rushing, scoring and total defense.

Montana has been No 1 three times when they faced the Cats and won all three times while of course MSU has never been ranked in the top spot at the time of the annual tussle since this is their highest ranking since the poll was instigated.

The Grizzlies maintain a slim margin of victory in games in Bozeman (22-18-3), lead the Missoula series 29-15-1, and captured 18 of the 22 games that were played in Butte.

Montana has won just five of the last nine meetings, with the Cats claiming a 21-16 victory in Missoula last season.

Pflu believes special teams will be critical as will turnovers since Montana has completely turned the corner from a year ago and is plus seven in that category while the Cats and themselves plus two.

My X factor is DeNarius McGhee, who shows no signs of a sophomore slump after an outstanding freshman campaign.

He throws for a high percentage (63 percent), has connected on twice as many TDs as interceptions (21 to 10), has won 17 of the 21 games he's started and is as dangerous with his feet when he's flushed out of the pocket as he is with his arm.

I believe the Grizzlies will bottle up the run game of Frenchtown's Cody Kirk, but Trey Robinson is coming on and is a much more stout back that could give Griz defenders nightmares inside the box.

On the Grizzly side Jordie Johnson is my X factor. It's his initial opportunity in this game and in a championship game and I see the sophomore, if he remains healthy, up to the task.

But the often unseen battle in the trenches also reigns supreme with the Grizzlies needed to negate Zach Minter (96) in the middle of the Cat front and the Cats battling a deep, effective and highly competitive front seven, all but one of whom is a senior.

Hold onto your hat as both teams battle for post-season seeding and the Griz look to share a championship ring.

The two teams played in different ways to get to this place with everything still in front of them. Let's take time to enjoy it.

While the Grizzlies have played hoop here several times I don't think I have been to Ft. Collins since I was here with the Lady Griz in about 1986 and this college town has grown up.

It seems like this trip to Colorado State has been pre-empted by football duties with Tom Schultz and Bill Schwanke handling the last two games at Moby Arena where One-On-One, with Robbie Benson, was filmed in the early 80s.

This is the fourth time in the last five years Montana has played Colorado State and they've lost here the last two times out, in 2009 by a single point.

Almost unbeatable at times in this facility, CSU has claimed 13 of the 16 games played between the two teams in Colorado.

Montana has also played against a Tim Miles led team before when he was at the helm of North Dakota and I can tell you he is an up-and-coming coach who has this program competing at a much higher level than when he got here five years ago.

The Rams have been to the post season the last two years and are picked to finish fourth in the Mountain West Conference behind New Mexico, San Diego State and UNLV.

I thought this might be a mid-level stepping stone job for Miles like say UM former coach Stew Morrill when he came here before moving to Utah State, but he just signed a second extension that has him inked through the 2015-16 season.

And while he returns a couple of starters from a 19-13 team, he also just picked up a couple of drop-downs, a wing from Arizona and a post from Minnesota, both of whom sit out this year per NCAA regulations.

Derek Selvig is on the trip but wearing a boot after spraining his ankle in the exhibition game and appears to be at least a week away.

I might expect either Billy Reader or Eric Hutchison to get the nod inside tonight with Mathias Ward on the wing.

Redshirt-junior guard Wes Eikmeier, a transfer from Iowa State, leads the returners with 39 treys and scored 23 in their latest exhibition, while Pierce Horning, a 6-5 wing and co-captain with Dorian Green registered a double-double with 10 points and 11 carooms before fouling out with three and change to go.

The Rams also go big inside with seven-footer Trevor Williams, a Denver sophomore, but he played just 12 minutes in the last outing as CSU went to a smaller lineup with Jesse Carr coming off the bench with 21 points.

Tonight is a good opening test for a Montana team with a lot of returning chops but the loss of Selvig for this outing puts a lot of pressure on the returnees.

Pre-game starts at 6:30 p.m. with home games Monday and Thursday of Griz-Cat week against Great Falls and Idaho.

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There's that old thing about meeting yourself coming and going - well that's about to make its yearly appearance as the crossover between football and basketball hits full stride next week.

Now it's not like I'm complaining because every Griz fan knows I have the best job in the country and many would trade places in a heartbeat, but try this schedule on for size.

Of course as well as the games for both hoop and football, there are plenty of additional writing responsibilities which of course include this blog.

And then there's the challenge of figuring out which game to prepare for first - It's not as easy as it sounds - and which school to obtain prep information from and when so it's available when you're on the road at another venue.

There's been many a time during my tenure that I realized at the last minute, not only that I might be missing a key piece of radio gear but that I hadn't obtained the needed credentials or information or the like and had to scramble at the last minute to do so.

Living in the beautiful confines of Polson makes it more interesting but thanks to Rob Stack and J.C Weida and Steve Hackney before them, when football is headed on the road I am able to meet the equipment truck Friday rather than having to have everything organized and loaded on Thursday.

So here we go. A look at the travels of Grizvox for the rest of the month. Climb aboard and keep in mind my renters and my watchdog thankfully handle the at-home responsibilities.

Of course we kick it off with Tuesday's weekly radio show at Paradise Falls followed by travel to Denver Thursday afternoon for Friday's regular-season opener with Colorado State on Friday.

Baring that early-season snow storm that Denver is famous for, we return to Missoula Saturday afternoon with Great Falls and the University of Idaho coming to Missoula for games Monday and Thursday wrapped around another coach's show.

Travel to Bozeman of course is on Friday's agenda with the Cat game Saturday, then staying in Bozeman for travel to San Diego early Sunday morning for hoop that afternoon.

Monday hopefully is a down day in California with just practice, then aboard a plane to North Dakota for Wednesday game with travel to Missoula on Thanksgiving afternoon.

Long Beach State visits Dahlberg Arena on Thanksgiving Saturday and of course there is the possibility of either football travel or home playoff obligations.

Sprinkle in some board responsibilities with the Lake County Tax Appeal and Solid Waste Management, a doctor's appointment or two and welcome to the leisure world of the radio guy. Oh poor Mick, a pity party please.

My best friend told me somebody would say that so I beat you to it, lol.

That gets me through the next three weeks and make no mistake I love it and wouldn't trade the opportunity for anything but if I look worn out be sure to remind me of those summer days I cherish on Flathead Lake.

It's a really odd dynamic that occurs when friends play or coach against each other.

It's like a family feud and everyone knows there's nothing like competing against then beating a sibling.

That's again what the Grizzlies have when they yearly have faced off with Jerome Souers, one of the finest and nicest men I have known in my Grizzly travels.

And it's not just the fact that Jerome coached at Montana in the early glory years when the program took the turn to success.

There were twelve winning seasons in his 12 years at UM, the last eight of which he was the defensive coordinator and he was part of the historic 1995 national championship and the 96 runner-up team.

But Griz Head Coach Robin Pflugrad also came to Missoula on the initial Don Read staff at the same time as Souers.

But they're not just coaching brethren. The two southern Oregon products have known each other since the sixth grade and played high school football together at South Eugene high School.

Of course Bob Beers, now also a Griz assistant, also was on that first Read staff along with Bill Smith, the defensive coordinator, who later caught on at NAU with Souers and just returned last season.

And Jerome always has had former Montana players or coaches on his NAU staff and this year is no exception with former Griz player Andy Thomson, a member of the 2001 championship team, now serving as the Lumberjack's defensive coordinator and former player and coach Dave Reeves also in the fold.

There's yet another connection as freshman linebacker Austin Hasquet is a cousin of former Griz hoopster Jordan Hasquet.

Is there any wonder that when Montana and Northern Arizona meet on a football field, the matter is heavily contested and some noses are bloodied?

It kind of resembles relatives at a holiday dinner after the addition of a tasty Vino.

And I'd be shocked and disappointed if it's any different this year. Only time will tell.

Any Hall of Fame is a difficult deal and nothing could be truer about a collegiate all-sports Hall of Fame where choices are so broad based partially because of the age of the institution and also because of the three-decade or so recent success of athletics.

In my opinion, which really doesn't matter much, a collegiate Hall of Fame should be predicated on what a person did while a student at the institution and while what occurred later in a career certainly is relevant; it should not be a deciding selection or even a nominating factor.

That certainly makes it challenging when an athlete was a part of teams that didn't enjoy much success and thus a player also didn't receive an abundance of personal league accolades which tend to roll in the direction of the league's best teams.

And often players who toil in the trenches like offensive linemen don't receive the accolades they deserve because their efforts tend to go unnoticed except by their teammates.

Often those player's talents surface even more if they are fortunate enough to advance to the professional ranks.

But enough about my thoughts about the process, imperfect as it must be, and more about Friday's two Grizzly Sports Hall of Fame inductees who both enjoyed exceptional UM careers.

And I can have a bit to say about that since I was fortunate to describe on the radio all 123 of Lisa McLeod Tinkle's and 22 of Joe Douglass' Lady Griz and Griz games.

Both possessed that mettle that would make them a success in anything they undertook but they also were surrounded by a bevy of teammates which greatly assisted in taking their efforts to the highest level.

Lisa, who of course is married to Grizzly men's basketball coach Wayne Tinkle, was the leader on a long line of Lady Griz season successes.

You'll remember Sharla Muralt had been a dominating presence in the post when McLeod arrived at UM but in her sophomore season - one of three starting campaigns - Lisa quickly made her presence known, initially especially on defense, in leading the Lady Griz to a dominant run in the old Mountain West Conference where I fondly remember 27-4 and 28-2 campaigns.

Elegant and outgoing and friendly off the court, she was a fierce competitor who I think initially surprised some opponents, who thought how could an attractive lady like that hand me my lunch in the post, believing instead she would be soft inside.

They quickly learned as Lisa was named All-District her three starting seasons and in her four-year presence the Lady Griz lost just two of 48 league games and were 108-15 overall.

The fact she still ranks in the top 10 in 12 different offensive and defensive categories is a testament to her dominance on Lady Griz teams that set the bar high for future teams.

Joe Douglass, who previously was inducted in the Hall as a member of the 95 championship team, had the two most dominating seasons in Griz football history.

Playoff totals were included in team stats until 2003 so the UM record books don't really do justice to his career.

 Since I was young, I've always been a stats nut.

I think it was about 1957 when I started perusing the baseball box scores right after my paper route in the morning Spokane Spokesman-Review.

That was about the time I learned the Los Angeles Dodgers were bringing a AAA Pacific Coast League team to the city and learned the majority of the players would be sure bets for the majors or just on their way down at the end of their careers from the big time.

I relished the Sunday newspaper where I could take a ruler down the stat lines looking for propensities, not having a clue what that was, and if I ever got my hands on a Sporting News I was in high heaven.

It's not that much different now although I'm not a Fantasy guy but rather still glean what I can from box scores and game summaries and especially look for that undiscovered fact in the Big Sky and Montana stats.

You know the one - The stat behind the stat like this week discovering that Idaho State throws the ball almost 70 percent of the time and junior quarterback Kevin Yost completes about 69 percent of his opportunities.

All while being sacked a league high 29 times - just short of six per game - he completes 31 of 45 for 1713 yards, some 600 yards more than any other circuit QB, all while just being intercepted four times.

Now after five games I can't describe those as Dickensonian numbers but when Mike Kramer said he's committed to spreading the field and employing four or five receivers in the formation and also utilizing his tight end in an "Air Read" style offense he wasn't kidding.

To put this pass-happy offense in further perspective, the Bengals rush the ball an average of 24 times an outing, gaining an average of 36 yards a game and a per-carry average of 1.5 yards.

Of concern for Montana is the Grizzlies are seventh in the league in pass defense efficiency ahead of only Weber State and Northern Colorado.

But the Grizzlies are in the middle of the league pack in pass defense, allowing about 170 yards less per game than Idaho State racks up.

Idaho State hasn't really stopped anybody on the ground but few opponents have passed the ball well against the Bengals even though they have given up an average of 177 yards per game.

See I told you I liked stats!

There is just nothing like Homecoming at a school that values its traditions.

And at the University of Montana we should count our lucky stars that those traditions have not just been maintained but enhanced.

While the Homecoming parade down Higgins Avenue preceding the football game at Washington Grizzly Stadium and postgame celebrations wrap up the annual return-to-campus festivities, it's Friday night that symbolizes how special traditions can be.

And there are a group of freshman football players and hopefully a throng of new students who will be exposed to a taste of how the Missoula school and the community as a whole treasure its heritage.

It surely is a bit of a distraction to game planning but over the years coaches have realized that having the football team walk together from the Adams Center to the Oval in front of Main Hall and participate in Homecoming revelry exposes them to traditions that, while they won't return every year, could last a lifetime.

Waxing melancholic now, as we grow older it seems we further cherish and value such things as Singing on the Steps, Ringing of the Bell and the Lighting of the M, as well as the pep rally and fireworks.

There's time Saturday for the parade, tailgating, skydivers, Monte, the firing of the cannon and we're all ready for some football, but there's nothing like a crisp October evening to let our minds drift, remember for just a moment those members of Griz Nation who aren't able to attend and put aside the challenges of our daily lives and seize the moment, just for a while, for ourselves and our loved ones.

That's what I plan on doing and I hope to see you there.

There won't be a phalanx of motorcycles cops leading the team buses through the colorful sea of supporters to pilot the Montana football team from Rancho Cordova to the Sacramento State campus Saturday night.

Quite the opposite and in fact if one were to stop and ask somebody directions to the facility or inquire as to whether there is a football game or what time it might start, you'd be surprised at how often you couldn't get a correct answer.

While the presence of Hornet football has improved and some facilities have definitely been upgraded, it's small-market football in a big-market California town.

Sacramento native Marshall Sperbeck has won more games than any previous four-year coach and has strong junior college connections having coached for 15 years at Foothills College where he won twice as many games as he lost and took the school to 11 bowl games.

And it looked like this might be the Hornets' year after opening with an overtime road victory over Oregon State, but their press clippings didn't bring victory either against a tough Southern Utah 11 or at Weber State in the league opener last week.

And so for now, here before the completion of the season's first month, Sac State is again up against it and hoping by defeating Montana for the first time in 17 games, they can prove they are more than an also-ran.

It's a late leave for the Grizzlies Friday via charter and an early return on Sunday which makes for yet another short preparation turnaround.

Temps are forecast into the nineties on game day and it won't be far cooler than that with a 6 p.m. (PDT) start.

The World League used to play at Hornet Stadium and the lights are awesome as is the playing surface which is surrounded by an Olympic-style track which contributes to leaving fans a bit removed.

Greg Sundberg opted out of his sideline duties this week and will be replaced by Kent Haslem who is attempting himself to rebound from a one-game losing streak sustained during his last substitute appearance in Ogden last year.

As for the broadcast crew, well we're still "Up On The Roof," because television gets the visiting radio booth - Go figure.

It is less than adequate as is the shaking ancient elevator that takes you to the press level for an additional one-level access to the roof.

It can be windy, which causes one to scramble for your spotting chart, and a few years back before the area was covered, a torrential rain storm dropped the temp so severely I was shaking and if not for KPAX's Tom Katz, who loaned me a jacket that almost made it to my armpits I no doubt would have caught pneumonia.

There's also a fair share of kibitzing, clamoring and cheering upstairs which also makes for interesting and challenging dialogue from the radio crew.

But don't get me wrong; Sac State is doing what they can, not only to improve athletically but in all areas.

And none of that of course will have any effect on the football game, just my perception of it.

A second step to a league championship and return to the playoffs is in the offing and I like the Grizzlies in a resounding offensive showcase.

I guess I passed a milestone last Saturday as sports historian Chris Walterskirschen advised me - after the game I might mention - that the victory over Cal Poly marked my 200th Grizzly football win.

Now I've long since lost count of the number of University of Montana games I have broadcast on the radio over 27 years of being fortunate enough to be a part of first Lady Griz hoop, then for the last 19 years men's football and basketball.

It certainly seems like just yesterday when I literally fell into radio shortly after reading the bowling scores from Ruby's Café on Mark Ward's Breakfast with the Coaches program.

It's been a humbling experience to be around such a class outfit and I can share with you I have never had anything but awesome experiences with a plethora of coaches and athletes.

That's surely a testament to the school's leadership and administration that even when a change occurs of course have continued to share a vision of excellence and simply not in athletics.

And that indeed is a delicate balance and to continuously find the right persons who share the core values so necessary to such unprecedented success to me is something we as fans take for granted.

The list of names of those responsible would fill a notebook and the people who have had a hand in it aren't ones anyway who seek recognition.

But they've established and maintained the framework that as current UM President Royce Engstrom said after a gathering this summer is something to be extremely proud of and even easier to promote.

Melancholy aside and with an eye after all on Saturday's so-important game against Eastern Washington University, you'll remember one of the most controversial games ever occurred between Eastern and Montana and it didn't happen at Washington Grizzly Stadium where the Eagles have handed the Griz four of the 21 defeats they have suffered in the fabled history of the facility.

It was the last game played at Dornblaser Field in 1986 in advance of all games moving to the new facility which at the time was to seat some 14,000 fans.

I was in one of my eight years doing the public address when a highly-disputed, last-second call in the southwest corner of the end zone ruled a EWU receiver out of bounds and brought a 42-37 Griz victory in Don Read's debut season.

The Eagles lost to Montana the next three times the teams met and have won but 11 times in 37 games against the Grizzlies.

The official who made the call was from the Mining City prompting Eastern head coach Dick Zornes to proclaim he felt like a harlot in church in Butte on a Saturday night and for years fumed about the play whenever he was asked about Montana football.

Maybe that's why Eastern views this as a "rival" game.

Don't plan your post-game tailgate to get rollin' until 5 p.m. or so. This could be a marathon but I predict it won't be decided by a disputed end zone call by rather a couple of TD margin owned after all by the "good guys."

Now I'm with you, I am not much into moral victories, preferring instead to read an advancing number on the left side of the column.

But I wasn't even on the bus for the ride back to the airport in advance of a three-plus hour return flight to Missoula before I came to the realization that there were plenty of bright spots during the game against Tennessee and no shortage of experiences to propel this Grizzly team forward to a successful season.

You know me - I'm that half-glass full, sometimes removed from reality guy but there was far more speed and athleticism and adverse circumstances in Knoxville than Montana will face in the next how many games this season provides.

Defensive closing speed was evident early and when the Volunteers were in open space on offense, they ran away from even the quickest of Grizzly defenders.

And while the setting at Neyland Stadium is awesome and maybe I just got used to the crowd noise, except on a couple of occasions I'll take the involvement of the Washington Grizzly throng, especially when they are interested in the game which unfortunately isn't always, and I can explain this, the case.

Now that is certainly no criticism. Of course, you're entitled to act however, but sometimes the crowd seems removed from the action I guess in anticipation of a big play.

The crowd's involvement is especially import this week against familiar foe Cal Poly.

Watch the actions of quarterback Andre Broadous as he first approaches the line of scrimmage to analyze Mike Breske's changing defensive alignment, then backs off surveys the sidelines for either hand signals or plaster board directions, then makes his way back to the formation.

You can make a difference in his effectiveness and the Mustang's communicative efforts and there's little doubt the Grizzlies can benefit from your assistance Saturday.

After all you have waited almost 10 months for this opportunity.

And please take a personal moment today to remember those members of Griz Nation who are not with us for the opener and in remembrance of that time, a day short of 10 years ago, hold peace in your heart.

When you travel to the home field of a higher division opponent, It's a no-lose situation right?

After all, the pressure is on Goliath and while they certainly are being hospitable and friendly, I'm sure there are few fans in Knoxville that give the University of Montana any chance for success Saturday night.

But second-year Head Coach Derek Dooley is full well aware that just last year Mississippi, Kansas, Virginia, Minnesota, Akron and Ball State didn't expect to be defeated by FCS teams like Jacksonville, North Dakota State, James Madison, South Dakota, Gardner-Webb and Liberty.

And while those victories certainly aren't at the level of Appalachian State's shocker over Michigan in the Big House, they were none the less squeakers last year - six games decided by a total of 17 points where FCS teams took the quarter of an FBS school.

I'm sure we all realize it isn't so much the difference between the first-line players - although certainly at some positions Tennessee is imposing -  but the depth factor where a team with 30 more scholarships just keeps bringing it at you with players remember who are trying to find their way onto the field for additional playing time by performing when they have the opportunity.

Ask last year's opening Tennessee opponent Tennessee Martin.

Down by a pair of field goal and a touchdown in the first quarter, by the third stanza the Skyhawks had allowed four more TDs and a safety and were on their way to being shut out 50-0, the Vols 14^th straight defeat of a lower-division opponent.

Either way the outcome, Saturday surely won't determine the direction of Montana's 2011 season.

And I'm sure you have come to know that I am the eternal optimist when it comes to Grizzly sports and why shouldn't I be - In the 26 years of covering football and men's and women's basketball, Montana has won more than 75 percent of the 750 or so games I have had the privilege to broadcast.

The ambience will be spectacular and something that everyone will come back to the Treasure State proud to have been associated with it.

And the Griz will hold their head high and compete to the best of their ability - Now really isn't that all we can ask?