Weber State's recent meetings with Montana add an extra flavor of intrigue and intensity to their history -- and the future as well. Both schools have byes into the Big Sky tournament semifinals and could meet again next week for the tourney title and an NCAA bid.
The Griz have knocked WSU out of the Big Sky tournament in each of the past two seasons, including rallying from a 40-20 halftime deficit in 2010 to snatch an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament out of the Wildcats' grasp.
"Montana's been a thorn in my side since I've been here," Bullinger said. "They've had such a good program over the last five years. Coach (Wayne) Tinkle has done a fantastic job with them. ... They're tough, they're physical, they do a lot of things that we pride ourselves on doing."
"The fact that it is us and Montana only adds to the lure of this game. We've had some great games, we've had some battles, we've had some heartbreaks -- everybody points to the game a couple of years ago. There's definitely a history between us that helps build and set up the hype for this game, definitely."
The matchup pits two of the Big Sky's elite point guards in NBA prospect Damian Lillard of Weber State and Will Cherry of Montana. Lillard, the 2009-10 Big Sky MVP, leads the conference and is second in the nation in scoring (24.7 ppg), while Cherry ranks third in scoring (16.8 ppg) and first in steals (2.6 spg).
