Big Sky Basketball: 2021 conference tournament preview, predictions
By David Mullen
Teams To Beat
Favorite – Southern Utah
The Southern Utah Thunderbirds finished as the top team during the regular conference and will earn a bye in the Big Sky Conference tournament for their efforts. The Thunderbirds lost three games all year to include their first game of the season against Loyola Marymount and one each to Eastern Washington University and Weber State University. However, they are currently riding high on a nine-game win streak entering the Big Sky basketball tournament.
Impressively, the Thunderbirds ranked 6th in the nation with 84.2 points per game. Their high octane offense has afforded the Thunderbirds two nine-game winning streaks including the one they are currently on. Admittedly, two wins in their current nine-game win streak were nothing but tune-up games against Benedictine and San Diego Christian with win margins hovering around 50 points for each game.
Fortunately for the Thunderbirds, they were able to get back to real competition in the twilight of the regular season and pulled off double-digit wins in five of their last six conference games. Southern Utah should have no problem in the early going of the tournament but they better watch out for Eastern Washington University and Weber State.
Dark Horse – Weber State
Weber State, coming off a second-place regular-season finish, is one of two teams to beat the top-ranked Southern Utah Thunderbirds this year. The Weber State Wildcats defeated Southern Utah by 24 points on January 21st.
Two nights later, Southern Utah exacted revenge and beat Weber State 77-72. This season series will not go unnoticed if these two match up in the conference championship. Weber State, like Southern Utah, harnesses one of the top 10 offenses in the country with 82.1 points per game.
The Wildcats are riding a six-game win streak into the conference tournament including a regular-season finale win over Northern Colorado.
Biggest Threat – Eastern Washington
Eastern Washington, last year’s regular-season champions, will look to become conference champions this year. However, they will have a rough road ahead of them. To make matters more interesting, Eastern Washington played Southern Utah but did not play Weber State.
Against Southern Utah, the Eastern Washington Eagles split the season series. In their first game, the Eagles beat Southern Utah by 12 points. Two nights later, Southern Utah beat the Eagles by 5 points. After that game, Eastern Washington lost one game to Northern Colorado and rattled off nine straight wins in mostly dominating fashion. Their closest margin of victory over those nine games was six points with most games finishing with a double-digit chasm.
Eastern Washington is the dark horse. They have proven they can beat the top team in the conference and will be entering the postseason more relaxed as the expectations are not the same as one year ago.