#16 Montana versus #1 Washington

[Silvertip]

This is a far different Husky team than the Griz played 10 years ago. Romar, the ex-St. Louis coach (who Seyfert probably has an acquaintance with), has really turned that program around. Martin will see some pressure at the point unlike any he saw during UM's low RPI schedule.
BTW, The Dallas Morning News has the RPI ratings in today's paper. Among tournament teams Montana is #158. ahead of only Fairleigh Dickinson, Oakland (not the A's), and Alabama A&M.

Most embarrassing is the list of Conference RPI ratings... worse than I would have guessed. Out of 31 conferences the Big Sky is #30 ahead of only something called "Southwestern." ACC, Pac10, and Big12 are #'s 1,2, and 3. West Coast (Gonzaga) is #7, Mountain West is #11, Sun Belt is #12!?!?, WAC is #13 and Big West is #18. The Griz need a respectable effort Thursday to restore some small bit of respect to the BSC.

 

[CerealCityGriz]

As much as I would love for the Griz to win and shock the world I don't see us beating the Huskies......however Robinsons comments were stupid.....why get in the war of words....I am sure it is on the chalkboard today......hope hell freezes over.......a hole to China can be dug and there be world peace....when it happens and hopefully this week maybe we can have a Griz win.

 

[SuperHornet]

Someday a #1 seed is going to lose to a #16. Washington is looking past Montana, no doubt. Is this the year?

If it's going to happen this year, I think this is the game for it to happen. Washington is the worst of the 1 seeds. And the Griz are better than people think. I'd dearly love to see a UOP-UM game. It would certainly be more entertaining than the butt-whipping UOP would give the Huskies.

And it actuall HAS happened before. I'm not sure, but I believe that Stanford was a 1 on the girls' side and got beat by a 16. So don't think it's impossible. And like I said, this is the game for it to happen.

 

[griz8992]

The Griz are almost certain to lose this game, but the Pac 10 has been living off its Wooden-era performance since I was a kid. It seems like just about every year, the Pac 10 is listed as the 1, 2, or 3 conference in the nation, but they have come up pretty empty handed over the last 29 years. The list below shows the NCAA champion each year since 1976, and you must admit it looks pretty light on Pac 10 finalists given the ostensible strength of the conference over the years.

Not that I wouldn't trade the Pac 10's success in just about anything for the success of the Big Sky, but the Pac 10 has a history of playing beneath their capabilities all the time. Think of Stanford a couple of years ago, or Oregon State football the year they nearly got beat by EWU with the most talent of any team in the land.

If Washington comes in with an arrogant attitude, the Griz could surprise them, even if only for a half or so.

Year Champ Score Runner-Up Third Fourth
1976 Indiana 86-68 Michigan UCLA Rutgers
1977 Marquette 67-59 North Carolina UNLV Charlotte
1978 Kentucky 94-88 Duke Arkansas Notre Dame
1979 Michigan St. 75-64 Indiana St. DePaul Penn

1980 Louisville 59-54 *UCLA Purdue Iowa
1981 Indiana 63-50 North Carolina Virginia LSU
1982 North Carolina 63-62 Georgetown +Houston +Louisville
1983 North Carolina St. 54-52 Houston +Georgia +Louisville
1984 Georgetown 84-75 Houston +Kentucky +Virginia
1985 Villanova 66-64 Georgetown +St. John's (N.Y.) *+Memphis
1986 Louisville 72-69 Duke +Kansas +LSU
1987 Indiana 74-73 Syracuse +UNLV +Providence
1988 Kansas 83-79 Oklahoma +Arizona +Duke
1989 Michigan 80-79 (ot) Seton Hall +Duke +Illinois
1990 UNLV 103-73 Duke +Arkansas +Georgia Tech
1991 Duke 72-65 Kansas +UNLV +North Carolina
1992 Duke 71-51 *Michigan +Cincinnati +Indiana
1993 North Carolina 77-71 *Michigan +Kansas +Kentucky
1994 Arkansas 76-72 Duke +Arizona +Florida
1995 UCLA 89-78 Arkansas +North Carolina +Oklahoma St.
1996 Kentucky 76-67 Syracuse +Massachusetts +Mississippi St.
1997 Arizona 84-79 (ot) Kentucky +Minnesota +North Carolina
1998 Kentucky 78-69 Utah +North Carolina +Stanford
1999 Connecticut 77-74 Duke +Michigan St. +Ohio St.
2000 Michigan St. 89-76 Florida +North Carolina +Wisconsin
2001 Duke 82-72 Arizona +Maryland +Michigan St.
2002 Maryland 64-52 Indiana +Kansas +Oklahoma
2003 Syracuse 81-78 Kansas +Marquette +Texas
2004 Connecticut 82-73 Georgia Tech +Duke +Oklahoma St.

 

[NativeGriz]

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/mensbasketball/tourney/2005-03-13-brackets_x.htm

We should stay positive, the odds are only 1 in 10 trillion chance for us to win it all. Thats better than 1 in 22 Gazillion.