Saturday, March 8th, 9:00 p.m. (et).

FACTS & STATS: Site: Dee Events Center (12,000) -- Ogden, Utah. Television: Local. Home Record: MSU 11-3, WSU 11-2. Away Record: MSU 3-11, WSU 4-9. Neutral Record: MSU 1-0, WSU 0-2. Conference Record: MSU 7-9, WSU 10-6. Series Record: Weber State leads, 67-32.

GAME NOTES: The Weber State Wildcats begin their defense of the Big Sky Conference Tournament title tonight as they host the Montana State Bobcats in first-round action at the Dee Events Center in Ogden. Weber State, which defeated Northern Arizona by a score of 88-80 in the championship game a year ago to earn its eighth crown in the event, failed to finish high enough in the standings to earn a bye in this opening round. However, the third seed does come into the game on a high note, having won its regular-season finale versus Sacramento State on Monday night. The win was the third in the last four games for WSU, which finished 10-6 in league action. As for the sixth-seeded Bobcats, a team that has won two titles in this tournament but none since 1996, they come into the postseason riding a four-game slide after losing to Northern Colorado last weekend by a score of 91-79 at home. As a result, the Bobcats were 7-9 versus the rest of the Big Sky. With respect to the all-time series between these two schools on the hardwood, Weber State won both regular-season meetings and is now ahead of MSU by a commanding 67-32 count. Depending on the outcome of this contest and the one between Montana and Idaho State, the winners will take on either Northern Arizona or Portland State on Tuesday night.

Montana State had five players score in double figures on Saturday, led by Casey Durham with 17 points, and still that wasn't enough to hold off Northern Colorado at home. Carlos Taylor added 16 points before fouling out, while the trio of Bobby Howard, Mecklen Davis and Branden Johnson all tallied 10 points. The top scorer in the conference this season, Taylor accounts for 18.3 ppg and is one of the better three-point shooters at 40.4 percent. Although, a little bit further down on the scoring list is Durham (9.4 ppg) who has been even more accurate out on the perimeter for the Bobcats with his 42.3 percent, which leaves Divaldo Mbunga (12.1 ppg) as the major influence on the inside for the team with his 5.6 rpg. Montana State ranked third in the Big Sky in scoring with 73.5 ppg, but the unit was just as quick to give away such efforts because it allowed 72.5 ppg which ranked the squad second-to-last in the league heading into the tournament.

One of only a handful of players in college basketball to accomplish the feat this season, Arturas Valeika ripped down 20 rebounds in the win over the Hornets earlier this week on the road. Valeika added 10 points and also blocked six shots for the squad, while Daviin Davis and Steve Panos produced 22 and 17 points, respectively, in the triumph. After trailing by two points at the break, WSU opened up the offense and sank an incredible 71.4 percent from the floor in the second half. Dezmon Harris maintained the top scoring average for the team during the regular season with his 10.9 ppg and inflated that number to 12.8 ppg versus the rest of the league, while Valeika (9.8 ppg) did the same with his rebounding, going from 10.0 rpg overall to 11.3 rpg versus the Big Sky, the only player in the conference to average double-digit boards in 2007-08. More than anything else, the Wildcats were more dominant on defense this season, limiting opponents to a league-low 65.9 ppg.

As long as Valeika can be the man in the middle that the Wildcats hope he can be, Weber State should be on the way to the next round of this tournament.

Predicted Outcome

Weber State 68, Montana State 55