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BIG SKY
Since 2009 the Big Sky has been dominated by Montana and Weber State. In that 7 year span, at least one of those two teams has won the regular season, won the automatic bid, or at least advanced to the conference tournament championship game. Last season, Weber State suffered a setback, finishing 8th in the conference and falling in the conference tournament quarterfinals (to Montana). Montana did take the regular season title and advanced to the championship game where they were upset by Eastern Washington. The Eagles captured the automatic bid and a 13 seed, losing in the Round of 64 to Georgetown. Montana played in the NIT, while Sacramento State (making their first postseason appearance ever) and Northern Arizona were in the CIT. Northern Arizona advanced all the way to the CIT title game, falling there to Evansville.
This season, things should be back to normal in the Big Sky as Weber State is the pick to rebound from last year and take the conference title. In fact, the Wildcats appear to be a good measure better than the rest of the league, though if someone will knock them off Montana is as good a pick as any (Northern Arizona and Portland State being the other top contenders). Winning the automatic bid in the Big Sky will take a different path this season as the conference has moved its tournament from the home court of the regular season champion to a neutral site in Reno, Nevada. Additionally, for the first time in conference history, every team will be invited to play in the tournament. In other words, the regular season is now only about seeding in the conference tournament, and no longer about qualifying for it and earning home court advantage.
Predicted Order of Finish
1. Weber State – Joel Bolomboy down low and Jeremy Senglin in the backcourt lead a solid core that appears to have enough pieces to take the league title.
2. Northern Arizona – The Lumberjacks lost their top two scorers from last season but still have enough pieces to contend with Kris Yanku at guard and Jordyn Martin and Ako Kaluna down low, plus a strong recruiting class.
3. Montana – The Grizzlies have some questions in the backcourt with leading scorer Jordan Gregory gone and Mario Dunn coming off of surgery. Martin Breunig figures to be the team’s leading scorer down low, but he is going to need some help.
4. Portland State – The Vikings add Arizona State transfer Caleen Robinson and Georgia transfer Cameron Forte. They also return some solid frontcourt payers such as Braxton Tucker and a solid wing in Bryce White. Despite losing three starters, Portland State could surprise this year.
5. Eastern Washington – The Eagles do return Venky Jois down low, but he is the only starter back. It will probably be impossible to replace Tyler Harvey, the nation’s leading scorer at 23.1 points per game.
6. Sacramento State – A return to the postseason will be difficult without Mikh McKinney and Dylan Garrity but there are enough solid pieces here to be competitive.
7. Southern Utah – The Thunderbirds return all five starters. Unfortunately, these are the same players that won just 10 games last season, and only 2 the year before. Things are improving in Cedar City, but just having a winning overall record would be a huge success.
8. North Dakota – Carson Shanks is 7 feet tall down low, but he will need help down there for UND to be successful. The team does have some solid pieces in the backcourt — enough to at least keep them in games.
9. Idaho State – Almost everyone is gone from a team that won only 7 games. Head coach Bill Evans added a group of JC transfers that will all need to excel to avoid a finish at the bottom of the league standings.
10. Northern Colorado – Five of the Bears’ top seven players are gone and there is virtually no experience in the frontcourt. This could be a long year.
11. Montana State – The Bobcats simply do not have enough pieces to avoid being among the league’s cellar dwellers.
12. Idaho – Things look like they will be worse rather than better in the Vandals’ second season back in the Big Sky. Only one starter returns from last season, and he only averaged 2.6 points per game.