Stanford at Montana (+8) - 6:00pm Pacific - Game #729-730
Second year head coach Larry Krystkowiak has transformed Montana into a quality team almost overnight.  Montana won 6 straight games at the end of last season, winning the Big Sky postseason tournament and a ticket to the big dance in the process.  Starting center John Seyfert suffered an ankle injury prior to their NCAA game vs #1 seed Washington but they still gave a respectable showing losing by only 11.  Seyfert suffered a knee injury in October and is out for the year but the Grizzlies still have three full time starters and two part time starters available from last years team.  Two freshman, two JC transfers, and a player returning after a two year absence give Montana a 10 deep rotation.  They are a bit undersized in the frontcourt but they are deep with 6-7 and 6-8 type of players.  The backcourt is solid with senior Kevin Criswell (9th all time scorer at the school) and heady sophomore point guard Matt Martin.  I saw this team win at LMU a few weeks ago.  They play smart and have a lot of heart.  Almost every guy on the court can step out and shoot.  They have won 3 straight games now and have shot over 50% in each win.  I would not want to face them on their home court. 

Stanford has not looked sharp at all out of the gate.  They lost at home to UC Irvine and then have beaten two bad teams in San Francisco and Cal Poly.  Leading returning scorer Dan Grunfeld is coming off major knee surgery in February and has definitely lost a step.  He is wearing a large brace on his right knee and is shooting just 37% from the field despite playing at home vs suspect opponents.  Stanford point guard Hernandez and F/C Haryasz are very skilled but they are not going to overwhelm anyone with strength or athleticism.  The remaining players still have not shown they are ready to step up.  Only Grunfeld and Hernandez have shown ability to shoot from behind the arc.  Fans close to the team are concerned by an apparent lack of defense and toughness. 

This is a huge game for Montana.  It is a chance for them to put themselves on the college basketball map.  The Grizzlies are 14-2 at home under the intense Krystkowiak with both losses coming by just 2 points.  They are sure to have a fired up capacity crowd for this game.  Stanford went 5-6 on the road last year and in a similar December road game barely got by Denver 56-52 in one that went down to the wire.  I expect a similar situation tonight in their first road test of the year.  Take the points.