The University of Montana men’s basketball team’s 68-55 victory at Oregon on Monday pulled the Big Sky Conference’s record to 2-3 on the year against Pacific-10 opponents.

The Grizzlies (4-1) could be faced with the unusual possibility of giving the Big Sky a winning record against the Pac-10 when they travel to Washington on Sunday.

Montana State (1-2) would first need to get their own win at Oregon when the teams meet on Saturday.

The Big Sky had finished just 2-25 against the Pac-10 over the previous two seasons.

Surprising Sacramento State (3-2), picked to finish last in the conference in both preseason polls, had the Big Sky’s other Pac-10 win this season with a 65-63 shocker at Oregon State last Saturday.

Montana could face a much stiffer test on Sunday, though, against a Washington team that dismantled Portland State 111-55 in Seattle on Nov. 15.

Eastern Washington was also previously edged at Washington State 67-61, while Northern Arizona fell at Arizona 87-70.

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Sacramento State pulled off more than an upset with its win at Oregon State. The program also snapped a pair of historical losing streaks.

First, the victory snapped the team’s run of 39 straight road losses dating back to Dec. 30, 2006, when the Hornets won at Northern Colorado. The 39 road losses had been the longest active streak in Division I.

The Hornets had also dropped 29 straight games to Pac-10 schools for an overall record of 1-30.

The school’s last win against a Pac-10 opponent came on Dec. 17, 1953, when the Hornets beat Washington State at home, 45-44.

Sacramento State’s current record of 3-2 already boasts one more victory than the team had all of last season. The Hornets finished 2-27 a year ago.

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Northern Colorado currently sits atop the conference with a 5-0 record, having won all its games in a hectic eight-day span.

The Bears, picked to finish sixth in the Big Sky in both polls, won two tournaments while knocking off a pair of larger-conference teams in their home gyms.

First, NC topped Western Athletic Conference foe Hawaii 81-75 in a nationally-televised game to win the Rainbow Classic in Honolulu on Nov. 16.

Then, the Bears trampled Mountain West Conference foe Air Force 70-46 in Colorado Springs to win the Reggie Minton Air Force Classic on Saturday.

The Bears received 99 votes in this week’s CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 coaches poll, entering the rankings at No. 25.

NC is the lone Big Sky team in the rankings, though Montana also received six votes.

Trent Makela: 447-4085 or trent.makela@helenair.com