The Big Sky Tournament starts today and it should be a good one; let's dive in:
Revised All-Conference Selections:
Best call(s): Montana and Weber State we’re both as good as predicted by college basketball nation. The Big Sky as a whole was a pretty awful conference, but these two schools stood out above the crap (sorry) that was the rest of the league. The Griz and the Cats were the only two teams ranking in the top 200 on KenPom and the Big Sky as a whole, was the 28th ranked conference (out of 32). Other good calls include picking Bolomboy, Breunig, and Jois to first team All-League spots.
Worst call(s): Wow did I get Northern Arizona and Southern Utah wrong. I’m looking at other publications and they all for the most part agreed that these two schools would be among the top-half finishers in the league. Head scratchers really. NAU was bad at basically everything and despite having junior guard Yanku, they were one of the youngest teams in the country. SUU battled injuries all year, particularly to their best player A.J. Hess, so their finish is slightly more understandable. Other bad call was completely missing on the Idaho schools. Idaho State was a consensus last-place pick by almost every publication, but the Bengals proved to be competent enough behind the leadership of Ethan Telfair.
Tournament Bracket:
Who I want to win: I’d be cool with Weber State or Montana. Neither team is going to make a splash in the tourney really, but the Wildcats probably have the better shot. A 15-seed is the ceiling for either squad.
Who I think will win: Weber State has been the best team all year and I think they take this one with relative ease. Their route to the championship is significantly easier than Montana’s as the Griz have E Wash, Idaho, and underrated Montana State to deal with.
Chance to make a run: Eastern Washington has the potential to make a run within the Big Sky tournament. Big man Venky Jois along with McBroom, Bliznyuk, and Von Hofe make for a formidable offense (65th nationally). The problem is E Wash is an absolute trash defensive team (333rd). In the NCAA Tournament, the chances to make a run are pretty bleak. No one except for Weber State really has a shot at anything outside of a 16-seed, which means almost certain death in round 1.
How it plays out:
(8) Portland State defeats (9) Northern Colorado
(5) North Dakota defeats (12) Southern Utah)
(7) Montana State defeats (10) Sacramento State
(6) Eastern Washington defeats (11) Northern Arizona
(1) Weber State defeats (8) Portland State
(5) North Dakota defeats (4) Idaho State
(2) Montana defeats (7) Montana State
(6) Eastern Washington defeats (3) Idaho
(1) Weber State defeats (5) North Dakota
(6) Eastern Washington defeats (2) Montana
(1) Weber State defeats (6) Eastern Washington
Weber State earns a 15-seed in the tourney where they give a 2-seed a run for the first half (UNC or Virginia) before succumbing mid-way through the second and ultimately losing in the first round.