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Griz 67, Cats 58

TrueGriz

TrueGriz

Well-known member
Griz kicked butt today in front of just over 5,400 fans. And I think there may have been over that in reality.

Kamaar Davis had a big night today to offset the scoring output of the Cat's Ento, who had 30 points. But the difference was that the Griz got scoring production from other players and the Cat's missed crucial free throws down the stretch.

In addition, Criswell really outplayed Erickson. Griz played a box and one defense, with Criswell defending Erickson. Erickson missed quite a few layups and shot horrible. I think the Rivalry got the best of Erickson this game. Criswell scored 12 points to Erickson's 6 points.

What really turned the game around though, is Dlouhy. He scored at the end of the first half, and that was the catalyst. Then he had a huge dunk off of a rebound.

Pederson had his best game as a Griz. Saw him get a couple of key rebounds for the Griz and played good defense. He did get a total 6 rebounds for the game.

Booker did not have a turnover in the game (unless I missed it), and scored 11 points. He didn't get an assist, though, but that is alright.

Derrick Mansell had 7 assists, and only 1 turnover as point guard. He was a bit cold at shooting though, but still, played an outstanding game at point.

Rebounds were even for both teams at 37.

Both teams turned the ball over 13 times, which isn't that bad, so game wasn't all that sloppy by either games. Just that what turnovers there were came in bunches it seemed.

Griz win both games next week, and may find themselves hosting a game in the Big Sky tournament. That is, if they can get into 3rd or 4th place in the Big Sky. Will need help.
 
Weber State had to win. what a bummer.

Now there is a log jam at the bottom, and it really doesn't look bad for the Griz if they win next week.

The Sac St - ISU game isn't over but Sac St has 20 point lead with 5 minutes to go.

But here is the standings assuming Sac State won (which they should):

EWU 11 - 1
NAU 6 - 6
Sac St 6 - 6
PSU 5 - 7
UM 5 - 7
MSU 5 - 7
WSU 5 - 7
ISU 5 - 7

UM is one game away from second place.

If Griz win both games next week, Griz will earn second or third. Will need to have PSU to lose to get second, as PSU has a tie breaker over Griz. That is why I put PSU ahead of Griz.

Anyway you look at it though, Griz should be at least 3rd place if win both games next week. If Griz win both games, they will be at least in a tie with NAU and Sac State, but will have a tie breaker over both due to beating EWU.

So, this team has gone from rock bottom two weeks ago, to becoming a contender for the Big Sky Conference tournament Championship. And because there is a three day break, second place is really not that big of a deal anymore. Getting a chance to play in your own home for one more game can be a plus. Especially for us fans who may want to watch them play one more time in the fieldhouse. Naturally, I would like the Griz to be second, but third or fourth place is no disadvantage.


OKay, now that I mentioned all the good that may come if Griz win both next week, I will say, if Griz lose one game next week, they may see themselves out of the tournament. Due to tie breakers, I think the Griz will be in the tournament but will have to hit the road for all three games if they lose one of the games.

But if Griz lose both, only luck will allow the Griz to be in the tournament. I see the Griz out if lose both.
 
Thanks for making sense of that True. It all looked like a logjam to me, and I had us closer to the bottom.

Did anyone notice the MSU football players making buttheads of themselves? Glad I'm not from Bozeman--how embarrassing! :oops:
 
I was at the game, but didn't notice the MSU football team making buttheads of themselves. What did they do??

Also, great game for the Griz! Criswell really did an excellent job on Erikson.
 
Basically, they were just getting in a shouting match with the student section. But the people that were really getting them going were the band. It was hilarious actually, but all the band members were really getting under their skin. Then they were out in the lobby talking about the band and their back-to-back big sky titles. It was rather amusing, it sucked that they could brag about two in a row though. But thats for next season. It was the best atmosphere i think we have had for a basketball game in quite a while, which I guess would be expected for Griz-Cat but it was still fun. The one thing I still dislike about the stadium is that the section next to the band is general addmission and not exclusively students. It kind of takes away from the whole student atmosphere with little kids scattered throughout, but it is not too bad. Hopefully they dont take any of the comments too seriously.
 
grizfanatic said:
Thanks for making sense of that True. It all looked like a logjam to me, and I had us closer to the bottom.
Click to expand...

I didn't mention everything that can happen. WSU could sweep the EWU and PSU trip and may affect where the Griz are, whether Griz win the next two. This is something I really didn't think about last night. But, it is so much of a log jam, it is hard to determine every tie breaker situation.

So, I should amend one thing I mentioned in the above post. If Griz win both next week, EWU wins both it's games, Griz should be at least second or third. If WSU wins both of it's games next week, than I am not sure what will happen at this point, but Griz SHOULD have at least second, third, or fourth place. Will mean having to wait till all the games are played to determine tie breaker. I do not have time to determine all the tie breakers.
 
grzz,
aaaaah, that's why I didn't see it. I was on the other end. I agree with the atmosphere being great. Haven't seen one like that in a while. I'm not surprised about the behavior of the Cat football team though. Some people don't handle success very well.
 
Thanks for the recap TrueGriz.

We didn't have all of the turnovers (like the last game against MSU) and the Cats didn't get all of the easy shots (thus FG% went down). We are getting better guard play, making us more competitive.

Go Griz!
 
MontanaRaised said:
I was at the game, but didn't notice the MSU football team making buttheads of themselves. What did they do??
Click to expand...

They put their league championship rings on their middle fingers and were flipping off the student section. A couple of our football players responded by putting their national championship rings on their middle fingers and flipping off the Bozo players. It was a little tense for a bit...I'm actually surprised a fight didn't break out during the game (or after...there was a bit of a confrontation with Vernon Smith and JR Waller after the game but nothing happened).
 
I think this was probably the best regular season Griz-Cat game I've seen. And it was great to finally see the student section excited. Dlouhy's dunk got us really going and we were really into it from then on harrassing the bobcat shooters. It was actually really funny at the end of the game. When it became obvious that we were gonna win (15 pt lead with about 90 seconds to go) Criswell came down to the baseline in front of the student section when one of the Griz was shooting free throws and told us to start chanting "poor bobcats".
 
They put their league championship rings on their middle fingers and were flipping off the student section. A couple of our football players responded by putting their national championship rings on their middle fingers and flipping off the Bozo players.
Click to expand...

That's pretty sad. They are CO-champions, yet they go to the game and try and flaunt it as some huge accomplishment. It would have been difficult, but I wish the Griz fb players would have taken the high road. Hopefully the AD's got a glimpse of what happened and gave the players an earful. It's sad that grown men (I use that term loosely) need a babysitter and some manners. After the last two Cat-Griz football games, and the last couple of Cat-Griz basketball games, it doesn't appear sportsmanship 101 is offered at MSU.

I agree that this was the best regular season game in quite some time.
 
Yeah, and everyone associated with grizzly athletics, from the coaches to the fans, is a perfect example of sportsmanship; all grizzly athletes are choir boys and girls. LOL. I would venture to guess that there was something said to make these players flip off whoever they did. Something like that doesn't happen without some sort of provocation. Not saying it is right, I am just saying there is probably another side of the story. I do have to say that I am happy our players don't flip off the other team and their fans when they are on the field or court, and go unpunished.
 
here we go again....
Yeah, and everyone associated with grizzly athletics, from the coaches to the fans, is a perfect example of sportsmanship; all grizzly athletes are choir boys and girls.
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blah blah blah

I'm certainly not saying that Griz fans are angels, but I've watched both teams play since 1980 (or there-a-bouts). I'm a Montana fan, but I used to cheer on State when they weren't playing the Griz. Lately though (last couple of years), I've noticed the Cat fans have a huge sense of bitterness over the 16 year streak and the success the Griz have had.

An example...Two years ago in Missoula my buddy and I sat in front of one of the Cat sections. All game long they shouted, not for their team, but expletives towards the Griz and Griz fans. When it became apparent the Cats were going to win, it got out of hand. Even my buddy was embarrased, and he's a Cat fan and MSU grad.

You could say that it was just bad luck where I sat, but it happened this past year in Bozeman, and at the bb game this past weekend. Also, when I watched the bb game in bozeman on TV, I can't remember how many times I heard the "F" word coming from the Cat fans, directed toward the Griz players.

Makes it hard to cheer for them....when they aren't playing the Griz.
 
I think fans should act differently toward other fans than they do toward players themselves. I have to admit, when the game's going on and you want your team to win, you should be able to go pretty far to distract, demoralize, and harass the other team, if only because it could actually affect the out come of the game. That's what home court advantage is all about.

What I can't tolerate is people trying to intimidate the opponents' fans, swear out parents who have kids with them, and the like. There's absolutely nothing to gain from it. As far as I'm concerned, a friendly ribbing is okay, but there are a lot of idiots who don't know when they've gone too far.

At least the MSU football players got some of what they deserved when their basketball team couldn't get the job done.
 
MontanaRaised said:
They put their league championship rings on their middle fingers and were flipping off the student section. A couple of our football players responded by putting their national championship rings on their middle fingers and flipping off the Bozo players.
Click to expand...

That's pretty sad. They are CO-champions, yet they go to the game and try and flaunt it as some huge accomplishment. It would have been difficult, but I wish the Griz fb players would have taken the high road. Hopefully the AD's got a glimpse of what happened and gave the players an earful. It's sad that grown men (I use that term loosely) need a babysitter and some manners. After the last two Cat-Griz football games, and the last couple of Cat-Griz basketball games, it doesn't appear sportsmanship 101 is offered at MSU.

I agree that this was the best regular season game in quite some time.
Click to expand...

Sportsmanship? Yes, that is why I've been almost in 3 fights from Griz fans here in Billings in the last 2 months. Wearing my Cats 'State' hat and Griz fans seem to come up to me at the bar all the time and just can't handle they lost. I tell them that its great that both teams are good and the rivalry is GREAT now and then it ESCALATES. Bartender kicked one of them out (I even bought the guy a drink) and told them not to come back. And the funny thing is that I'm a mild mannered guy and love to talk smack with the best of them (with a smile I might add). But I have had 3 experiences in the last 2 months that went way beyond that just while I was sitting at the bar minding my own business/talking to some friends.

So in short, there are bad sports/bad fans on both sides of the fence. No team's fans are better or above the other fans. Its a rivalry and you should treat it as one and love it for what it is, talk some smack if you want to and smile. I have done this since when I can remember (even when they were losing 16 straight to you guys :). Sorry to get off subject, but I have had that experience in last 2 months and just had to put that in there that there are bad fans on both sides.
 
And one thing I will add is that the Griz played a hell of a game defensively I thought. That new 3 guard set they are running helped them a lot this game. The game in Bozeman, the CATS beat them with their quickness at the guard spot. This was not the case in the 2nd game. They shut Erickson down by not letting him touch the ball which is what you need to do to shut a scorer of his ability down. Plus, it makes that player a lot more tense (tendancy to shoot the ball quicker when he finally gets it). I also noticed that the Griz assist/turnover ratio has been slowly getting better (and notice they have won their last 4 games). Its amazing what passing to get open shots and not turning the ball over can do for a team. Those are just some of the things that really stuck out from watching both games.
 
So in short, there are bad sports/bad fans on both sides of the fence.
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WildCat, I agree. Maybe it's because I'm a Griz fan first, that I don't notice it on the maroon side. Plus, I'm usually sitting in a mostly adult Griz section, and the Cat fans seem to be much younger. I also agree that the rivalry is great now, and sometimes brings out the worst in fans (and players). I've seen a lot of your posts and respect what you have to say, unless it's just smack :lol:

I would hate to see the Griz do so well recently and then flop with two games left and not make the tournament. I hope the Griz and Cats meet again this year. Preferably in Missoula :D
 
WILDCAT said:
I also noticed that the Griz assist/turnover ratio has been slowly getting better (and notice they have won their last 4 games). Its amazing what passing to get open shots and not turning the ball over can do for a team.
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The Griz actually had more assists (14) than turnovers (13) against the Cats which is highly unusual for our team...but a good sign.
 
gg317, what concerns alot of EWU fans is that UM played perhaps their best game in Cheney. They will have confidence coming into the tourny at Reese Court.
 
Though we may be at a disadvantage having already beaten Eastern becasue they rebounded from that loss and beat us pretty handily here as well as everyone else in the league. I have a feeling our best bet for a big win might be playing PSU because I've seen it time and time again (including in 2002 when we won the tourney) that its really really hard to beat a team 3 times in a season.
 
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