Today's matchup between Montana and Nevada contains several intriguing story lines that will play themselves out during the contest.

The first is that Nevada's coaches — as of late Wednesday afternoon — had not shown any film of Montana to their players. One reason is that Montana isn't exactly a prime-time candidate in the world of macro TV ratings.

The second is that Nevada has come off a hard-fought overtime battle in the WAC championship last Saturday, while Montana has had eight days off after winning the Big Sky title.

And third, there's that No. 12 vs. No. 5 upset that seems to occur every year in the NCAA tournament.

Nick Fazekas, the 7-foot Nevada center, puts it this way: "They are the 12 seed and we're the fifth but that doesn't really mean anything. We're playing Montana, not a 12th seed. History is history and that's the way it goes."

"We've worked for this all season," adds Fazekas' teammate Demarshay Johnson. "That's why I'm here (at the tournament): to perform at the next stage."

Nevada coach Mark Fox isn't taking his opponent lightly.

"They are a very good offensive basketball team," he said Wednesday. "They are averaging nearly 80 points per game. They have a lot of great shooters — not good shooters — great shooters. But they also have an excellent low-block scorer (in Andrew Strait). That is a very dangerous combination."

Montana coach Larry Krystkowiak presents a realistic assessment of the two teams: "We run a lot of the same plays and call on the same things. I'd be crazy to say we're equal just because of their athletic ability in some of those positions.

"We've got our hands full. . . . We're at a a severe height disadvantage. . . . I don't think a whole lot of people have shut down Nevada this year. They execute really well and are a better defensive team than we are."

Both Nevada and Montana were in the tournament last year and are looking to build on those experiences. Nevada defeated Texas in the first round and fell to Illinois in the second. Montana, a 16 seed last time, lost to No. 1-seed Washington in round one.

"We had a horrible opening 3 1/2 minutes," Krystkowiak said. "After that we settled down and played the Huskies fairly evenly. But you can't have a 3 1/2-minute stretch at the beginning or anywhere in the game and be successful."

Look for the Grizzlies to be ready for the Wolf Pack this time around. And look for Nevada to use its size and defense to keep Montana off balance.

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E-mail: jringwood@desnews.com