MISSOULA — Saturday on Robin Selvig Court at Dahlberg Arena will be rocking in Missoula.
Rivals Montana and Montana State will meet one another for the first time this season for a Saturday doubleheader at Dahlberg Arena. The women's game will get underway first at 2 p.m. and the men will tangle at 7 p.m. with Scripps Sports carrying both broadcasts.
Last year the men’s teams met three times, with Montana sweeping the regular-season series but MSU taking the big one in the Big Sky Conference tournament championship game in Boise, Idaho, in March.
“Just seeing those guys play, the intensity, it was just surreal, you know?" UM sophomore guard Money Williams said. "Now that I'm here, I'm just ready to play and go out there, have fun and put on a show for the fans.”
But even from a year ago, there’s plenty of new faces on both squads who will experience this game for the first time.
“It's more of a rival for the fans, the community," UM head coach Travis DeCuire said. "And then the coaching staff that's been here. At least that's the vibe that I get right now. You try to explain it to the guys, but they're going to learn when you throw them into the fire.”
“I remember freshman year because I was a newbie, you could say, and I remember DeCuire on the sideline when I was in the game, he said something like, 'Oh, he doesn't know what it means, what it's like or anything right now,'" MSU senior forward Sam Lecholat recalled. "Obviously four years now, it's a pretty serious, important thing for the state of Montana.”
The Griz men are second in the Big Sky at 12-8 overall and 5-2 in league play, while the Bobcats are seventh at 8-12 and 3-4, meaning Saturday’s game could play a pivotal role in how the standings shake out.
“You've got to find balance between operating, you know, at a real competitive intensity, but also kind of maintaining a level of discipline to stay in the flow state of, you know, who you've been throughout all the other 31 games you've played," MSU head coach Matt Logie said.
The Bobcats and Lady Griz split the season series a year ago with home teams holding serve, but MSU enters as the top team in the Big Sky with a 17-2 record, 7-0 mark in league play as the only remaining unbeaten Big Sky team, and riding a 10-game winning streak thanks to a loaded roster that has dominated the season so far.
“Your upperclassmen, they know how to lead. They know this moment. They know this, Dahlberg Arena," MSU head coach Tricia Binford said. "They know the atmosphere, so you got to really rely on your experience to kind of carry and prepare the underclassmen and, you know, just really focus on getting better in your moment.”
“Have a fearless energy coming through," MSU senior forward Lexi Deden said. "I played on that court my whole life. It's kind of like a second home to me, even though, you know, we’re rivals to it. But I think it's going to be just a super fun, competitive game that both my communities will be there. So it'll be fun.”
The Lady Griz, meanwhile, are in sixth in the league at 7-11 overall and 3-4 in Big Sky play, and operating under acting head coach Nate Harris, who has coached for both programs in his career and knows just how much a win over the rival can do for either team.
“Those are the things that the players are going to remember long after they're done," Harris said, "is these kind of games and the energy and the crowd and just all of the fun stuff that goes with it.”
