Continuous News

Griz men will dance against Syracuse

Posted: Mar 17, 2013 7:09 PM by MTN Sports

MISSOULA - The Garden City officially became a basketball town Saturday with the Griz and Lady Griz taking home the Big Sky Conference championships, and for the men, it didn't take long for them to find out where they'd be headed next.

The Griz beat Weber a little bit after 9 p.m. Saturday, and in about 19 hours the NCAA had determined where they would be sending the Griz as a #13 seed over to San Jose.

Coach Wayne Tinkle and the boys gathered at the Press Box in Missoula, where the CBS Selection Show unveiled the team's postseason destiny.

It is quite the match up as they got pitted up against prestigious Syracuse, a team with plenty of history and one of the best coaches in college basketball history in Jim Boeheim.

However the Griz are excited to be heading down to San Jose, and possibly make a run as a serious bracket buster.

"It's just a thrill to see that name pop up and then reality sets in, and you see who you're playing, and it kind of brings you back. What a thrill for our program, In though [the NCAA] showed us great respect giving us the 13 seed. And I love the fact that we're going out west to San Jose, and we've got good memories from there from a few years ago," Tinkle said.

The game is scheduled for Thursday. Syracuse will go have to go over 2,800 miles with Griz travelling 1,000. Also, both Will Cherry and Kareem Jamar have connections near the area; Kareem is from Venice and Will is from Oakland, so the site is certainly advantage Montana.