PORTLAND, Ore. - All things considered, Montana coach Larry Krystkowiak and Montana State coach Mick Durham would rather be playing someone else than each other in the semifinals of the Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament.
Like it or not, that's what they'll do Tuesday night in Portland's 12,000-seat Memorial Coliseum. The winner will play for the league championship and an automatic berth into the NCAA tournament on Wednesday night against the winner of the Portland State-Weber State semifinal.
"In a way, you already have the sweep and it would be nice to leave it at that," said Durham, whose Cats took a pair of wins from the Griz during the regular season. "But I've never beaten them three times in one season I've been beaten by them three times in one season so I would like to know what that feels like."
So how does Krystkowiak feel about facing Montana's heated rival for the third time this season in his first year at the helm of the Griz?
"Boy, is that a loaded question," Krystkowiak said with a laugh. "My excitement comes from the fact that we're still alive. It doesn't really matter to me who the opponent is."
This is unfamiliar territory for the players on both teams. The Griz haven't made it beyond the first round of the tournament since they won it all in 2002 in Bozeman. This is the Cats' first trip to the postseason since that same year, when their season was ended by Montana and Dan Trammell's put-back dunk in the semifinals.
"They're going to have the same emotions as us," said Durham, whose team was picked to finish last in both the media and coaches preseason polls.
With one possible exception: The Griz feel like they haven't given the Cats their best shot. Montana was still without leading scorer Kamarr Davis (academic suspension) when the Cats came to Missoula and stole a 62-60 win on Ja'Ron Jefferson's 3-pointer with less than a second to play. Four weeks later, the Griz came totally unglued during a 72-62 loss to the Cats in Bozeman as Casey Durham, the coach's son, scored a career-high 18 points on six 3-pointers.
"In the first one, we were really a different team," Krystkowiak said. "I can remember feeling like we were really searching for an identity. ... The second one, we just were beaten in about every category. We played very selfishly and got out of sorts because things weren't going well. We just kind of threw in the towel."
After some soul searching, the Griz regrouped to win four of their next five to tie the Cats for second in the league standings.
"That really woke them up," Durham said of Montana's loss in Bozeman. "I just don't think Montana played very well in that game. I'm not sure it was anything we did. Obviously, Casey's 18 points off the bench was big, but I'm not sure we can duplicate that."
The Griz have become the ultimate grinders in recent weeks, pounding the ball into the low post to Davis and Andrew Strait, while getting timely contributions from Matt Dlouhy and Kevin Criswell. Role players Corey Easley and Virgil Matthews have also provided solid minutes of late.
"I see Montana bringing back that old Griz tradition of inside first as the year's gone on," said Durham. "We've got to take care of the inside."
One of the key matchups there will be at power forward between the 6-foot-7, 245-pound Davis and 6-6, 230-pound Marvin Moss. The two nearly canceled each other out in their only meeting this season. Davis had 16 points and four rebounds in the loss in Bozeman; Moss had 13 points and six boards.
The Cats are strong on the perimeter, where Jefferson and point guard Branden Miller each average better than 12 points a game. And sophomore wing Nick Dissly does a little bit of everything, ranking among the league leaders in seven different categories.
"One of the reasons they're successful is their versatility," Krystkowiak said of the Cats. "What I want to do is look at the film again and pick our poison, but I haven't really determined what that's going to be yet. I don't know what our plan's going to be yet, but we're going to have one."
Like it or not, that's what they'll do Tuesday night in Portland's 12,000-seat Memorial Coliseum. The winner will play for the league championship and an automatic berth into the NCAA tournament on Wednesday night against the winner of the Portland State-Weber State semifinal.
"In a way, you already have the sweep and it would be nice to leave it at that," said Durham, whose Cats took a pair of wins from the Griz during the regular season. "But I've never beaten them three times in one season I've been beaten by them three times in one season so I would like to know what that feels like."
So how does Krystkowiak feel about facing Montana's heated rival for the third time this season in his first year at the helm of the Griz?
"Boy, is that a loaded question," Krystkowiak said with a laugh. "My excitement comes from the fact that we're still alive. It doesn't really matter to me who the opponent is."
This is unfamiliar territory for the players on both teams. The Griz haven't made it beyond the first round of the tournament since they won it all in 2002 in Bozeman. This is the Cats' first trip to the postseason since that same year, when their season was ended by Montana and Dan Trammell's put-back dunk in the semifinals.
"They're going to have the same emotions as us," said Durham, whose team was picked to finish last in both the media and coaches preseason polls.
With one possible exception: The Griz feel like they haven't given the Cats their best shot. Montana was still without leading scorer Kamarr Davis (academic suspension) when the Cats came to Missoula and stole a 62-60 win on Ja'Ron Jefferson's 3-pointer with less than a second to play. Four weeks later, the Griz came totally unglued during a 72-62 loss to the Cats in Bozeman as Casey Durham, the coach's son, scored a career-high 18 points on six 3-pointers.
"In the first one, we were really a different team," Krystkowiak said. "I can remember feeling like we were really searching for an identity. ... The second one, we just were beaten in about every category. We played very selfishly and got out of sorts because things weren't going well. We just kind of threw in the towel."
After some soul searching, the Griz regrouped to win four of their next five to tie the Cats for second in the league standings.
"That really woke them up," Durham said of Montana's loss in Bozeman. "I just don't think Montana played very well in that game. I'm not sure it was anything we did. Obviously, Casey's 18 points off the bench was big, but I'm not sure we can duplicate that."
The Griz have become the ultimate grinders in recent weeks, pounding the ball into the low post to Davis and Andrew Strait, while getting timely contributions from Matt Dlouhy and Kevin Criswell. Role players Corey Easley and Virgil Matthews have also provided solid minutes of late.
"I see Montana bringing back that old Griz tradition of inside first as the year's gone on," said Durham. "We've got to take care of the inside."
One of the key matchups there will be at power forward between the 6-foot-7, 245-pound Davis and 6-6, 230-pound Marvin Moss. The two nearly canceled each other out in their only meeting this season. Davis had 16 points and four rebounds in the loss in Bozeman; Moss had 13 points and six boards.
The Cats are strong on the perimeter, where Jefferson and point guard Branden Miller each average better than 12 points a game. And sophomore wing Nick Dissly does a little bit of everything, ranking among the league leaders in seven different categories.
"One of the reasons they're successful is their versatility," Krystkowiak said of the Cats. "What I want to do is look at the film again and pick our poison, but I haven't really determined what that's going to be yet. I don't know what our plan's going to be yet, but we're going to have one."
