This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The Big Sky Conference regular-season championship — and the right to host the league tournament — comes down to one game.
Pretty simple stuff.
Weber State (23-4, 14-1) travels to Montana (22-6, 14-1) on Tuesday for a 7 p.m. matchup that will determine all. The Wildcats, whose lone blemish was an upset at Idaho State, defeated the Grizzlies by 16 in Ogden on Jan. 14.
Despite winning 17 of 18, Weber State coach Randy Rahe, who has guided his Wildcats through an injury-plagued season, says it is only now that everything has started to come together.
"This core group of guys … are starting to make progress," he said. "With guys going in and out, you don't get continuity. Now we're starting to make some progress in areas. It's time to get better."
WSU, paced by Damian Lillard's 30 points, comes off an 88-71 victory at Northern Colorado. The Wildcats have received consistent production as well from Scott Bamforth and Kyle Tresnak, and Kyle Bullinger is as close to 100 percent as he's been since an early-season elbow separation.
Meanwhile, Montana has won 11 consecutive games since that loss in Ogden. Kareem Jamar leads a Grizzlies attack that features seven players with double-figure scoring averages, and an eighth player at 9.5 points.
Twitter: @tribmarty —
Weber State at Montana
P Tuesday at Dahlberg Arena (Missoula, Mont.)
Tipoff • 7 p.m.
TV • Altitude
Radio • 1280AM
Records • WSU 23-4, 14-1 Big Sky, UM 22-6, 14-1
Series record • WSU leads, 64-48
Last meeting • WSU 80-64 (Jan. 14)
About the Wildcats • Damian Lillard is second nationally in scoring with a 24.7 average. … WSU has now won 23 or more games in a season eight times.
About the Grizzlies • UM's 14 conference victories is a school record. ... Coach Wayne Tinkle, now with 103 victories, is the fourth coach in UM history to reach the 100-win plateau.