Griz face Weber State with championship on the line

Saturday, March 12

Reno, Nev.

6:45 PM (MT)

Montana

Weber State (BSC Championship)

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Griz face Weber State with championship on the line

3/12/2016 2:47:00 PM | Men's Basketball

By: gogriz.com

NOTES | WATCH | LIVE STATS | LIVE TWEETS

The No. 2 Montana Grizzlies take the court in the Big Sky Conference championship game tonight, seeking the program's eleventh trip to the NCAA tournament on Saturday, March 12, at 5:45 p.m. PT (6:45 MT).

Standing in their way are the No. 1 Weber State Wildcats, setting up an epic one versus two showdown, the third time in the last five years the two teams have met in the title game.

Montana (21-10, 14-4 BSC) returns to the Big Sky championship game for the seventeenth time in program history, and will face the Wildcats for the seventh time in the chipper. Montana has won four of the seven championship games against the Wildcats, including the last three meetings in 2010, 2012 and 2013.

The Grizzlies have had the Wildcats' number in recent postseason history, winning the last five overall meetings between the two league powerhouses in Big Sky tournament play.

COVERAGE: The Big Sky men's championship game will be broadcast live nationwide on ESPNU, and available to watch via web stream at WatchESPN.com. Roxy Bernstein and Corey Williams will provide the call. Fans can also tune in to hear Mick Holien on the radio call via the Montana Grizzlies Radio Network, or via web stream at gogriz.com. Links to live stats and live tweets are also available on gogriz.com.

LAST MEETING: Due to an unbalanced Big Sky schedule, the Griz and Wildcats have only seen each other once this season, when Montana traveled to Utah and fell to WSU in a 60-54 slugfest.

True freshman Michael Oguine had one of his top-three performances of year, scoring 21 points to lead the Griz. As a team UM had its worst three-point shooting display of the season, making only two shots on 11 attempts. From the field, UM was 22-61, shooting an overall 36% from the floor.

UP NEXT? The Big Sky Conference tournament champion earns an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Pundits have the winner of the Big Sky traveling anywhere from Spokane, Wash., to Brooklyn, N.Y., in the opening round of the national tourney.

Should the Grizzlies win, the team will gather at the Press Box in Missoula at 3 p.m. on Selection Sunday to find out whom they play, and where they travel.

SERIES HISTORY: Weber State leads the all-time series with Montana 68-55, including February's Montana loss in Ogden.

HOW THEY GOT HERE: No. 2 Montana picked up two comfortable wins in the conference quarterfinal and semifinal against Sacramento State (70-53), and Idaho (81-72) respectively.

The No. 1 Wildcats needed overtime to get past North Dakota 83-78 in the Big Sky semifinal. Jeremy Senglin had 31 points and made seven 3-pointers in Friday's win. The Wildcats allowed UND's Big Sky first team all-conference guard Quinton Hooker to go off for 38 points to lead all scorers.

UP NEXT? The winner of the Montana/Idaho semifinal advances on to face the winner of the No. 1 Weber State/No. 5 North Dakota semifinal in the Big Sky Conference championship game. The winner of the conference tournament receives an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

The Big Sky men's championship game will be broadcast live on ESPN U. Tipoff is set for Saturday, March 12 at 5:45 p.m. PT (6:45 MT).

DECUIRE MAKES HISTORY: The Griz are now at 21-10 on the season, and head coach Travis DeCuire is now the first coach in Montana history to reach the 20-win mark in his first two seasons at UM.

In his first year at Montana, DeCuire's Grizzlies finished the 2014-15 season at 20-13, a season that included a Big Sky regular season championship and a trip to the NIT.

BREUNIG NOTE: Montana senior forward Martin Breunig has now scored 584 points this season, making it the sixth-best single season in Montana history. In his illustrious two-year career, the senior forward from Germany has now posted 1,118 points, moving him into No. 19 on the UM all-time scoring list.

Breunig posted his thirteenth double-double of the season on Thursday against Sacramento State, netting 24 points and 16 rebounds.

With six double-double's to his name in the 2014-15 season, Breunig's career double-double total is now at 19.