Big Sky Basketball: 2022 Conference Tournament preview

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - MARCH 21: The NCAA March Madness logo is seen on the basket stanchion before the game between the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles and the Florida Gators in the second round game of the 2021 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Indiana Farmers Coliseum on March 21, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /

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Big Sky Basketball Nick Gazelas Borja Fernandez Montana State Bobcats (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

Teams to look for in the Big Sky Tournament

Favorite: Weber State

Montana State may have won the regular-season title, I feel as though Weber State should be considered the favorites due to their postseason experience. They have split with Montana State this season and seniors Koby McEwen and JJ Overton along with Jones and sophomore Seikou Sisoho Jawara give the Wildcats one of the most dominant foursomes in the Big Sky.

Top contender: Montana State

The contender for me is the regular-season champ Montana State. The Bobcats won the league by two games and two of their four losses came by just two points. The Bobcats score over 76 points per game and rely heavily on five players who average over 20 minutes per game with the frontcourt duo of Jubrile Belo and Abdul Mohamed combine for 21.4 points and 13.5 rebounds per contest. The team’s ability to be efficient offensively is key, as a team, they shoot 47% from the field and are a 36.5% three-point shooting team.

Darkhorse: Montana

If you’re picking a dark horse in the Big Sky, you can do worse than picking the team that has 11 titles, Montana. While the Grizzlies finished 5th in the conference, they were just three games out of second place, in this tightly contested conference. While not much that coach Travis DeCuire’s team does sticks out statistically, they have two important things going for them that make them successful this time of year.

With 11 titles, they clearly know what it takes to win in a tournament setting, and they are one of the best teams in the country at getting to the free-throw line, and once they get there they shoot 79%.

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