Big Sky Basketball: 2020 conference tournament preview and predictions

ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO - DECEMBER 01: Head coach Travis DeCuire of the Montana Grizzlies encourages his team during their game against the New Mexico Lobos at Dreamstyle Arena - The Pit on December 01, 2019 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Lobos defeated the Grizzlies 72-63. (Photo by Sam Wasson/Getty Images) /

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SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – NOVEMBER 22: Sayeed Pridgett #4 of the Montana Grizzlies (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /

Montana, Eastern Washington, and Northern Colorado are the favorites to win the Big Sky Basketball tournament. Who will get the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament?

After a topsy-turvy Big Sky Basketball regular season that saw each team have a win and each team have a loss just two weeks into conference play, many teams tried to lay claim as the contender for what will be the single bid to the NCAA tournament by winning the Big Sky tournament.

The Eastern Washington Eagles (23-8, 16-4) took the Big Sky regular-season championship. EWU rode a seven-game winning streak to close out their conference schedule. Northern Colorado (22-9, 15-5) and Montana (18-13, 14-6) placed in second and third place, respectively.

Over half of the Big Sky games, this season have been decided by single digits. Expect that trend to continue in this tournament. Parity was evident throughout the season as two of Eastern’s four losses came to the bottom two teams in the league, 74-71 to Idaho (8-23, 4-16) and 75-69 to Idaho State (7-22, 4-16).

All 11 of the Big Sky teams will gather starting on Wednesday, March 11, at the CenturyLink Arena in Boise, Idaho. Pluto TV and WatchBigSky.com will stream all of the games through the semifinals. The quarterfinals and semifinals will also be televised on Eleven Sports. The championship game will be televised on ESPNU at 8 p.m. ET, Saturday, March 14.

Opening day will see the bottom six schools in the standings go at it in a single-elimination tournament. On Thursday, the top three seeds will play the Wednesday winners while the #4 and #5 seeded teams will matchup. The Big Sky Champion will be crowned on Saturday and will be awarded the bid to the Big Dance.

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