It was two days before Christmas in 1985 and the holiday spirit hadn't quite seeped into Dahlberg Arena yet.  In fact, Larry Krystkowiak found himself on the arena floor with the arm of a Washington Husky around his neck.
Krystkowiak, then a senior for Mike Montgomery's Grizzlies, dived head first for a loose ball, nothing unusual for the tough-as-nails All-American. Apparently, some of the Huskies took exception to the rough play and some shoving ensued. Then both benches emptied as players paired off.
"I don't remember a whole lot of it actually," said Krystkowiak, now the coach of the Griz, who will face the Huskies Thursday at 1 p.m. (KGVO radio, KPAX TV) in the first round of the NCAA men's basketball tournament in Boise. "It was a heated deal. (Teammate Larry) McBride ended up in the stands with one of their guys."
Remarkably, no one was ejected and the Griz went on to a 78-65 win. Krystkowiak had 23 points, and his 10 rebounds that night made him the school's all-time leader in that category.
Krysko left Montana 2-0 against the Huskies. The Griz beat Washington 72-65 in Seattle during his freshman season.
Washington coach Andy Russo was pretty impressed with the Griz after that night in 1985.
"Montana is a very good team," Russo told the Missoulian. "I don't know if the Russian army could have beaten them tonight."
In the waning moments of the game, Krystkowiak was fouled hard from behind and swung an elbow in retaliation, prompting Russo to scream at the officials that Krystkowiak should be ejected.
"That's the way it's going to happen any time you have two big, physical teams playing that hard," Russo said.
"It was just a good, old-fashioned basketball game," Krystkowiak said.
The Griz haven't faced the Huskies since the 1994-95 season when they completed a two-year home-and-home series.
The Griz won in the 1994 season, 80-73 in three overtimes in Seattle, then downed the Huskies the next season 67-56 in Missoula.
The teams nearly met in the first game of the season this year, but Montana backed out of the deal.
"They made a decision that they had over-scheduled," Washington coach Lorenzo Romar said Monday. "They let us know in July that it wouldn't work out."
Romar wished Griz starting center John Seyfert well. Seyfert played a season under Romar at Saint Louis University.
"John was a delight to coach," said Romar, who said he offered Seyfert a scholarship when the coach left for Washington. "But once the ball is thrown up, you go to war and I know he's going to go to war.
"I hope we can win the game and he can play well. It will be good to see John and his family. I know his mother will be at the game. She's an awesome lady."
A Missoula radio interviewer told Romar he had heard that Romar considered the Griz a "weird" matchup and that he had hoped not to face the Griz in a first-round game.
Romar said he didn't recall saying anything like that, but "if I did, I was temporarily insane."
Montana junior guard Kevin Criswell was sitting out a year as a redshirt the last time the Griz made the NCAA tournament in 2002. They fell 81-62 to Oregon that year in Sacramento, Calif.
Criswell, who was put on antibiotics Monday for a staph infection in his leg, said he doesn't remember much about the trip.
"I know we played Oregon and I didn't get to sit on the bench," said Criswell. "We had to draw straws because there weren't enough seats. We had five redshirts and I drew the shortest straw and had to sit with Mick Holien on the radio sideline. That's about all I remember of it."
Corey Easley and Chris McKay were the other redshirts that season who are still with the Griz. The final two were Jeff Hays and Dwain Schallenberger, who have since left the program.
"It was one of the funnest things ever," Easley said. "I got to sit on the bench and watch the game. It was a great experience."
The Griz could have the crowd on their side Thursday. More than 600 Griz fans snatched up Montana's allotment of tickets on Monday, but many thousands more could be converted Thursday afternoon.
First of all, crowds love an underdog, and there aren't many bigger in all of sports than a No. 16 seed going against a No. 1 seed in the NCAA men's basketball tournament. Secondly, the game's being played at the home of Boise State, a former Big Sky Conference member. And third, Krystkowiak guided the Idaho Stampede to the CBA championship game last year in his only season as the team's coach.
"You hope they can remember the Big Sky Conference days," Krystkowiak said. "If they're looking for somebody to cheer for I don't know why they wouldn't pick the old Griz."
Romar said he doesn't expect his team to be affected by a potentially hostile crowd.
"I think we're going to have a pretty good crowd there, too," Romar said. "Our crowd has followed us all year and has been very supportive. I don't think the crowd is going to affect us."