On Wednesday night, one Big Sky Conference team will be crowned the 2011-12 champion, and earn the right to represent the Big Sky in the NCAA Tournament. The league semifinals are Tuesday. No. 2 seed Weber State takes on No. 3 seed Portland State in the first semifinal. Weber State beat Portland State in both regular-season meetings. The Wildcats are seeking to return to the title game for the second time in three seasons. Portland State last made the championship game in 2009. In the second semifinal, top-seeded and tournament host Montana takes on No. 4 seed Eastern Washington. The Grizzlies enter with a 12-game winning streak and can tie the all-time school record with a win over the EWU. The Eagles haven’t been to the title game since 2004. Both semifinals will air on Altitude. Wednesday’s championship is at 7 p.m. on ESPN2, and will be available on the radio nationally through Dial Global/Westwood One. UM is seeking its third straight trip to the title game.

 

 

GRIZZLIES CLINCH: In arguably the most-anticipated regular-season game in conference history, Montana beat Weber State 66-51 on Tuesday night in front of more than 7,100 fans at Dahlberg Arena to clinch the Big Sky regular-season championship. Both teams entered the contest 14-1 in conference play, marking the first time two one-loss conference teams met on the final night of the regular season to determine the champion. Will Cherry scored 23 points Sophomore Kareem Jamar added 17 points and seven rebounds. Mathias Ward netted 15 points. Montana shot 45.8 percent from the floor. The story of the night, however was Montana’s defense. The Griz limited Weber State to 30.2 percent shooting. Weber State, which entered the game ranked ninth in the nation in 3-point field-goal shooting, made just 3-of-26 from beyond the arc. Weber State junior Damian Lillard was 2-of-11 from 3-point range, and Scott Bamforth was 1-of-8. Weber State had not been held below 57 points all season. Montana finished conference play 15-1 for the first time in school history. The Grizzlies went 14-2 in league in 1991-92, the last time the Grizzlies won an outright Big Sky regular-season title. The 15-1 record ties the best by a Big Sky team in a 16-game conference season. Weber State finished 15-1 in 2008-09, but lost in the semifinals of the conference tournament. Montana also finished 13-1 in conference in 1974-75 under Jud Heathcote. Montana had not claimed a share of the conference regular-season title since 2000. Montana coach Wayne Tinkle has led the Grizzlies to three straight 20-win seasons, something previously accomplished only by coaches Blaine Taylor, now at Old Dominion, and Mike Montgomery, currently with Cal. Montana is guaranteed a spot in the NIT if it fails to win the Big Sky Tournament.

 

WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO DO: Weber State finished 14-2 in conference play this year, but failed to win the regular-season title. It marked the first time in league history a two-loss team didn’t win the outright conference title. In 1985-66, Weber State and Gonzaga tied for the conference title with 8-2 records. Each of the past two seasons, 13-3 won the regular-season title. Weber State has won at least 10 conference games in six consecutive seasons. The Wildcats went 63-17 in conference play over the past five seasons.

 

WILL THE THRILL: Montana junior guard Will Cherry is just one steal away from becoming the all-time leader in two different places. Cherry enters Tuesday’s semifinal with 215 career steals, which ties him for the Montana all-time record with J.R. Camel. Cherry is currently tied for fifth place on the Big Sky’s all-time list with Camel and former NBA guard Chris Childs (Boise State). Cherry also enters Tuesday with 14 career steals in the Big Sky Championship, which ties the all-time tournament record. Currently, Cherry is tied with Northern Arizona’s Kawika Akina, Idaho’s Ken Owens, and Weber State’s Jason Joe for the career tournament record. Cherry is the only player from the 2010-11 All-Tournament team playing in this year’s tournament.

 

RPI Report: Weber State is 71 in the latest RPI. Montana is 83, followed by Portland State at 169 and Eastern Washington at 207. The Big Sky is 25th among Division I conferences.

 

DAMIAN’S CORNER: Weber State junior Damian Lillard continued his climb up the Big Sky record book with 19 points in a 66-51 loss to Montana on Tuesday. Lillard now has 1,835 career points, which places him ninth on the Big Sky’s all-time scoring list. Lillard needs just six points to tie Montana State’s Tom Domako for eighth on the all-time list, and is just 29 points away from passing Nate Holmstadt and moving into seventh on the all-time list. Lillard is 65 points away from becoming the seventh player in league history to score 1,900 career points. Lillard enters Tuesday’s semifinal with 685 points this season, which ranks 12th on the Big Sky’s all-time list. Devon Beitzel, the 2010-11 Big Sky MVP from Northern Colorado, is 11th on the list with 687 points. Lillard has a chance to move up to third place on the single-season scoring list with a strong finish. Willie Humes of Idaho State sits third on the list. Humes scored 733 points in 1969-70 and 1970-71. Current Detroit Pistons guard Rodney Stuckey is fifth on the list with 726 points (2005-06). Just 10 players in Big Sky history have scored 700 points in a season. Lillard also enters the semifinals with 240 career 3-pointers, which ties him for sixth all-time in Big Sky history along with Sacramento State’s Loren Leath. With one more 3-pointer, Lillard will tie John Hamilton for the all-time Weber State record. Lillard has made 88 3-pointers this season, which ties him for ninth place on the Big Sky’s single-season list. Just three players in Big Sky history have made 100 3-pointers in a season. Lillard did not play in the Big Sky Championship last season because of an injury. In three previous tournament games, Lillard has scored 46 points.

 

NCAA STATISTICS: Weber State continues to lead in the nation in free-throw percentage at 81.0 percent per game. Northern Colorado leads the nation in 3-point field-goal percentage (44.4 percent). Weber State is fourth in the nation in 3-point field goals per game (9.1), and is followed closely by EWU. Damian Lillard continues to rank second in the nation in scoring offense at 24.5 points per game. He’s a full point behind leader Reggie Hamilton of Oakland. Lillard is eighth in the nation in 3-point field goals per game, 10th in 3-point field-goal percentage, and 15th in free-throw percentage. Dylan Garrity of Sacramento State ranks sixth in the nation in assists per game. Montana’s Will Cherry is sixth in steals per game.

 

Tip-ins: Home teams won the final four games of the regular season to finish 38-34 in conference games this season. The .528 winning percentage is the lowest by home teams since at least the 1970s. Weber State and Montana both finished 8-0 in conference home games...Portland State will play a regular-season game on March 10 at Seattle...Montana is 18-0 when shooting better than 45 percent from the field this season...Portland State’s Charles Odum needs 10 points to reach 1,000 for his career...PSU’s Renado Parker has scored in double figures in eight straight games.