Around the Treasure State, it doesn’t get much bigger than when the Bobcats and the Grizzlies square off in their annual rivalry showdown. One of the fiercest rivalries in the West permeates many aspects of day-to-day life in Montana, whether the schools are competing on the gridiron, the track or the hardwood.
Brian Fish has a different perspective.
“They have won 13 in a row so it’s not a rivalry,” Montana State’s third-year head basketball coach said on Tuesday morning. “They are winning the game. We have to do a better job of making it a rivalry. When you win 13 in a row or lose 13 in a row, it’s not much of a rival. We have to play better and find a way to win this game.”
MSU guard Tyler Hall (3)
Montana State’s losing streak against its arch rival dates back February of 2010. That season, the Bobcats swept the Griz, capped by a 73-67 win in Missoula to sew up their 10th conference win and stretch MSU’s winning streak over UM to three. It was the Bobcats’ second straight win in Missoula.
Montana State entered the Big Sky Tournament as the No. 3 seed that season and the Griz took the 4th seed. MSU lost in the first round to Portland State while Montana upset No. 2 Northern Colorado and No. 1 seed Weber State en route to the NCAA Tournament.
The Bobcats haven’t beaten the Grizzlies since that season. UM advanced to three NCAA Tournaments under Wayne Tinkle. The Griz have played in the Big Sky Tournament title game against Eastern Washington and Weber State, respectively, in Travis DeCuire’s first two seasons.
Montana posted a 90-84 win in Missoula earlier this month to stretch the streak into this season. The victory helped DeCuire move to 5-0 against Fish. But the upcoming matchup in Bozeman is packed with intrigue given Montana’s recent struggles.
“This is why you get into the business,” Fish said. “It’s not fun playing in games where the winner of the game is the only thing that matters. This game has a lot of different avenues to it. The winner of the game is in a better positioning for the conference tournament. The winner of the game is the Cat-Griz winner. The winner of the game starts to figure out where they are going and gets their season going in the right direction.
MSU guard Harald Frey (5)
“I hate when you are 5-25 and the win is the only thing that matters. You want to play for something and we are starting to get to the point where this late in the season, it matters.”
To say Saturday’s matchup matters would be an understatement, at least within the context of this specific unpredictable Big Sky season. Montana State seems to have turned a corner as Fish’s third season winds down. MSU enters the contest with eight wins in its last 10 outings. The Griz navigated the most challenging non-conference schedule in school history with a 5-8 mark, then started 5-1 in conference play. Montana is 4-5 since, including a four-game losing streak in the previous four before beating MSU. That Cat-Griz win sparked a three-game winning streak before UM lost to Sac State 67-65, the Hornets’ first regular season win in Missoula.
The rivalry game matches a pair of 14-14 squads. Both teams are 9-6 in conference play, tied for fourth behind North Dakota (12-3), Weber State (11-3) and Eastern Washington (10-4). In the wild Big Sky this season, UM and MSU are just 1.5 games clear of seventh-place Sac State in the race for a top five finish and the bye in the BSC tourney that comes with it.
“When you are winning games, it makes the next game more important and gives you a chance to continue and advance,” Fish said. “There’s a small scope and then there’s a larger scope. The small scope is we have to get ready to play for Saturday. The big scope is we have to get better and continue to improve to give ourselves a chance two weeks from now when the tournament starts.”
MSU forward Quinton Everett (24)
The Bobcats extended their home winning streak to five straight by beating Portland State 92-90 in overtime and holding on for a 62-59 win over Sac State to complete the season sweep of both teams. The Hornets came to Bozeman on a three-game winning streak that included wins over Weber State and Montana, the Big Sky’s two premier programs.
The Griz can put a serious dent in Montana State’s aspirations of a first-round bye in Reno. UM can still get to 12 league wins after posting 14 in each of DeCuire’s first seasons if the Griz can figure out how to win three straight on the road. For Montana State, snapping the streak against the Griz is just a piece to the puzzle of an improving program.
“Honestly, I didn’t really pay attention to (the standings) until recently, seeing that,” Montana State sophomore Tyler Hall after Tuesday’s practice. “We don’t talk about that. We just keep playing and take it one day at a time because we don’t want to expect that and then not get that. But a bye would be huge. And we are obviously going to play for it.”
Last week, DeCuire said this season “has been a hell of a rollercoaster ride” following his team’s 85-82 win over Portland State. Montana has battled the challenge of replacing stud center Martin Breunig while working efficient scoring guard Ahmaad Rorie, a former Oregon transfer, into the rotation. UM has endured erratic offensive play from senior guards Walter Wright and Brandon Gfeller. The team has battled rumors of infighting after Wright, a preseason All-Big Sky selection, missed part of UM’s loss at Sac State and all of the Grizzlies’ home loss to Eastern Washington due to suspension. Rorie was also suspended for the EWU game. Sayeed Pridgett, a part-time starter and UM’s most consistent bench player as a true freshman, did not play against PSU.
If Montana’s season has been a roller coaster, Montana State’s has been a bungee jump. And the Bobcats are on the way back up. MSU endured 10 losses in 11 games during December and early January. A 90-85 loss to UND in Bozeman put Montana State at 1-4 in Big Sky play. Following the game, Fish lamented that he refused to believe his team’s 6-12 record was indicative of their upside and talent.
MSU forward Sam Neumann (4) & guard Harald Frey (5) go up top last Saturday in a win vs. Sac State
MSU responded by winning five straight, including a road sweep of Sac State and Portland State, MSU’s second road sweep of the Fish era. It also included a double-overtime 94-91 win against Idaho and a 91-90 OT win over EWU less than 48 hours later. But the win streak was snapped in Missoula and stretched to two with a 69-63 loss at Northern Arizona. The Bobcats have won three straight since and have a chance to finish inside the Big Sky’s top four for the first time since 2013.
“We feel excitement throughout the locker room and the team,” MSU sophomore center Sam Neumann said. “We are excited to play, the fans are excited. It’s a good feeling around here. We will be ready to go come game time.”
Montana State has played in front of more than 2,500 fans at home six times this season, including 2,916 last Saturday, the second-largest crowd at Brick Breedin Fieldhouse this season. Twice that many could show up Saturday with the rivals in town. Fish hopes the Bobcats experience a home court advantage in their final home game of the season.
“We have gone from 1,000 to 2,000 to 3,000 a game now and it’s grown and that’s certainly good but I thought last year, the crowd just sat and watched,” Fish said of the crowd of 5,407 January 30 of 2016. “I hope the crowd is a little more rabid this time. I hope they are loud and cheering. I thought the loud activity the crowd had on Thursday night caused (De’Sean Parsons) a little bit of hesitation on that free throw. Our crowd caused him to miss that second free throw to get the game to overtime. The crowd needs to understand that they can have an affect. Let’s come in, let’s not sit down, let’s stand up and cheer, be a factor in the game and we will see what happens.”
Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
