Last season Idaho and Montana faced off in what may have been the Big Sky game of the year.
Two of the top teams in the conference faced off in the Cowan Spectrum with the anticipated matchup ending in an overtime thriller, where Nate Sherwood knocked in a last-second game-winner.
Now, almost a year later, the Vandals and Grizzlies will face-off once again inside Cowan Spectrum.
It’s the same story once again for Montana (11-6, BSC 4-2), a team fighting for the spot as the top team in the Big Sky tournament as well as a chance to make it back to the NCAA Tournament.
But for Idaho (4-12, BSC 1-4), the script has flipped. The star-studded cast of seniors is gone and a fully revamped squad, led by junior guard Trevon Allen, has taken over.
Both teams enter Saturday’s contest in the latter half of scoring offenses in the Big Sky, but rank in the top five amongst scoring defenses.
That means fans should expect a grinder of a game Saturday with strong defensive battles throughout.
Montana ranks first in field goal percentage and field goal percentage defense, which means the Grizzlies are practically perfect on both ends of the court.
Idaho ranks fourth in both of those categories.
For Idaho, the name to keep an eye on will be freshman guard Cameron Tyson, who could have a Big Sky breakout performance against the tough and veteran Grizzly squad. The backcourt of Tyson and Allen will be the key to Vandal success with both being in the top-11 in scoring amongst all the Big Sky.
The Vandals will have to try to stop an efficient Grizzly offense led by Ahmaad Rorie, who is fifth in the Big Sky in scoring, averaging nearly 16 points per game.
Idaho should be well prepared going into Saturday’s matchup, having nine days off before the game against Montana. This is the longest break between games under Idaho head coach Don Verlin.
This may be the biggest game of the season for Idaho, with all eyes on how quickly this rebuild can take.
If this young Idaho team can pull off the upset against the highly favored Grizzlies, the Vandals can prove to the rest of the Big Sky that Idaho is still one of the premier basketball programs in the conference.
Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. Saturday inside the Cowan Spectrum.
Chris Deremer can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @Cderemer_VN