This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Missoula, Mont. • Weber State and Montana meet Thursday night in the quarterfinals of the Big Sky Conference tournament. Of course.
For the fifth time in the past six years, the Wildcats and Grizzlies will play each other in the postseason. Since 2010, they have played for the Big Sky championship three times.
"We've had some great battles with them — some important battles," Weber coach Randy Rahe said earlier this season. " ... There are extra juices flowing when we play, no doubt about it. It's a rivalry game — a good rivalry, a fun rivalry. It's not a nasty rivalry. It's fun and the kids get juiced up for it."
Montana enters this tournament as the No. 1 seed after sharing the regular-season title and winning the head-to-head tiebreaker with Eastern Washington.
Weber State and Montana split their two regular-season games. tied for seventh in the league standings with Idaho, but the Wildcats lost the tiebreaker. They are 3-6 in their last nine games against Montana, but the teams split the season series this year. Both won on their home court. -
The schedule for the Big Sky Conference in Missoula:
Thursday
Quarterfinals
All times MDT
11 a.m. - No. 2 Eastern Washington (23-8) vs. No. 7 Idaho (13-16)
1:30 p.m. - No. 3 Sacramento State (19-10) vs. No. 6 Portland State (15-13)
5:30 p.m. - No. 4 Northern Arizona (18-13) vs. No. 5 Northern Colorado (15-14)
8 p.m. - No. 1 Montana (18-11) vs. No. 8 Weber State (13-16)
Friday
5:30 p.m.- Eastern Washington/Idaho winner vs. Sacramento State/Portland State winner
8 p.m. - Northern Arizona/Northern Colorado winner vs. Montana/Weber State winner
Saturday
7 p.m. - Championship game