The Green and White have faced much competition the last few weeks, and this weekend will be no different.

After Thursday’s homegame against middle of the pack Montana State, UND will face off against Montana at 2 p.m. on Saturday at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.

Montana, UND, Northern Colorado and Northern Arizona are all neck and neck in a race for some of the top seeds in the Big Sky — all behind conference leader Weber State.

UND’s Troy Huff has produced respectable numbers all season, and his play of late has been no different.

Last week against Idaho State, Huff went off in the first half, scoring 18 of his 22 points, while collecting six rebounds, four steals and two blocks. He is averaging 19.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.3 steals a game.

On the other side of the court, Huff will be facing off against a player who can be equally as dominant. Kareem Jamar leads the Grizzlies in most statistical categories with 19.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 4.4 assists. He also is third in the Big Sky for scoring, right behind Huff.

Last time these two teams met, Huff and Jamar went on to put up big numbers. Huff led UND with 7-of-12 shooting, scoring 24 points to go along with seven rebounds.

But it was Jamar who produced a record of his own. That night, Jamar scored a career high 33 points off of 8-of-14 shooting, and getting 14 of those points from the free throw line. Through Jamar’s efforts and solid supporting cast, Montana beat UND 84-71. That loss was the last for a while, as UND rattled off four wins in a row after that game.

After this weekend’s game, UND will not get much of a break as it will travel to Sacramento State — which is very close in the standings — before heading over to a Northern Arizona team which is right in the heat of the race for the second seed. The race for the top is a close one, and the Green and White are right in the thick of it.

Alex Stadnik is a staff writer for The Dakota Student. He can be reached at [email protected].