Big Sky Basketball Tournament: Montana, Northern Colorado favored

Top-seeded Montana enters the Big Sky Tournament at less than full strength. Can they hold off their competitors? Here is a preview of the action.

At the beginning of the season, it was thought the Big Sky was going to be a three-team race between defending champ Montana, Northern Colorado, who took Montana to overtime in last year’s semifinals, and Weber State. For most of the season, that looked like it would be the case. Montana began Big Sky play 3-2, but after losing back-to-back games to Portland State and Eastern Washington by a combined 10 points, they reeled off 10 straight wins that included a convincing road win at Northern Colorado and a season sweep of Weber State.

Weber State fell off the pace in that time, going 8-6, but despite the 13-2 league mark, Montana was unable to shake Northern Colorado. The Bears were 4-0 before getting handled at home by Montana, since then they had losses to Montana State, Weber State, and Eastern Washington sprinkled around winning streaks of three, three, and four games. Jeff Linder’s Bears finished the season winning four of their last five games, and right on the heels of the Grizzlies.

Behind those three teams, there are some teams that could pull a surprise and knock off a higher seed in the tournament. Eastern Washington made the tournament final last season, while Southern Utah made the semifinals as a No. 10 seed and Portland State has a team capable of making that kind of a run this season. While the Big Sky might not be wrought with high-profile players or coaches, there are enough good teams to make this tournament intriguing.