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Sacramento State at Northern Arizona, 4:00 PM Eastern, NAU-TV, Fox College Sports-Atlantic, watchbigsky.com
Portland State at Southern Utah, 9:00 PM Eastern, watchbigsky.com
All but a small handful of the conferences that have not yet completed their regular seasons will be wrapping them up today. Regular season championships and conference tournament seeding will be determined in a multitude of leagues. For the UTR Game of the Day, there are a ton of games we could have focused on, including first place showdowns in the Sun Belt and Southland conferences, the league leader in the Big West getting its toughest conference road test of the season, and a trip by Yale to Dartmouth with a chance to clinch their first NCAA tournament bid since 1962. However, despite all of these games, it is impossible to pass over what is going to happen in the Big Sky conference today, and it is so wild and crazy that we could have listed all six conference games as our UTR Game of the Day. In the end though, we narrowed it down to two prime choices.
The craziness in the Big Sky today starts at the top of the standings, where Eastern Washington, Montana and Sacramento State all enter play today tied at 13-4, with Northern Arizona one game behind at 12-5. The first place finisher not only clinches the top seed in the conference but also the right to host the entire conference tournament. Sacramento State (19-9 overall) will be at Northern Arizona (17-13 overall) in a huge game this afternoon. A win by the Hornets will lock up the top spot and send the Big Sky tournament to Sacramento for the first time ever, where it will be played on a temporary court at “THE WELL”, which can accommodate about 3000 more fans than the tiny Hornets’ Nest that the school plays its home games in. A loss will open the door for Montana (at Montana State, 9:00 PM) to take the top spot. Should both Sacramento State and Montana lose, Eastern Washington can then clinch it with a win (at Weber State, 9:00 PM). Losses by all three teams will create a four way tie (with NAU as well) and give the top seed back to Sacramento State.
As if the wildness at the top of the Big Sky standings was not enough, there is also a four team battle for the final three spots in the conference tournament that will be decided today. Portland State, Idaho and Weber State all enter play tied at 8-9 with Southern Utah a game behind at 7-10. Our second UTR Game of the Day is Southern Utah’s home contest against Portland State. If the Vikings win, Southern Utah will be eliminated and the field for the Big Sky tournament will be set. A win by SUU though (which upset Sacramento State at home just two nights ago, creating both of these crazy battles) would guarantee at least a two-way tie with Portland State, and perhaps a three or four way tie if Idaho and/or Weber State also lose (Idaho is at Idaho State while Weber State hosts Eastern Washington, both at 9:00 PM). The tiebreakers if this happens are so complex that you need an advanced degree in mathematics to figure them out, so the best we can say is keep your eyes on the Conference Tournament Info tab for the field announcement which will be posted as soon as we have it.
Portland State enters tonight’s game at 14-13 overall while Southern Utah is 10-18. Despite only having 10 wins so far, this season has actually been a remarkable one in Cedar City, Utah. The Thunderbirds finished 2-27 on the season last year and captured the HOOPS HD Centenary Award as the worst team inn Division I. To have added at least eight more wins to their total this year, and actually have a shot at making the Big Sky tournament, is a truly remarkable feat. It has been with great pride that we watched Towson rebound from a Centenary Award and build a competitive program, and it appears that Southern Utah is well on their way to doing the same. Of course, a win tonight and a berth in the Big Sky tournament will be the icing on the cake for this team’s season.
UPDATE: Thanks to bigskybball.com, the following are the most likely tiebreaker scenarios for the final tournament spots, which among other things appears to guarantee Southern Utah a tournament spot if they win:
Two way tie between Southern Utah and Portland State: Southern Utah in, Portland State out
Three way tie between Southern Utah, Portland State and Weber State: Southern Utah and Portland State in, Weber State out
Three way tie between Southern Utah, Portland State and Idaho: Southern Utah and Portland State in, Idaho out
Four way tie between Southern Utah, Portland State, Idaho and Weber State: Southern Utah, Portland State and Idaho in, Weber State out
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