Conference tournament action continues to get every single basketball fan ready for the exciting action that is March Madness. 32 automatic tickets to the “Big Dance” are up for grabs by hundreds of teams across America!
One single ticket will come out of a conference that isn’t talked about much; all the way out in the wild, wild west. The Big Sky Conference is another 10-team conference featuring universities from the states of Oregon, Washington, Montana, Idaho, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and California.
All 10 of those teams will converge on Boise, Idaho from March 4 to March 8 to crown the champion of the conference, who will play in the NCAA tournament as a reward. That seems like a pretty sky-high deal if you ask me (see what I did there?).
Last year’s tournament champion was the top-seeded Montana State Bobcats, who won by 19 over Northern Colorado in the tournament final. However, the champions didn’t fare so well in the NCAA Tournament, as they were blitzed by third seeded Texas Tech 97-62 in the first round.
Now that the stage has been set, here is the favorite, the contenders, the dark horse, and my pick of who will win the 2023 Big Sky Conference Tournament!
The Favorite:
Eastern Washington Eagles (22-9, 16-2)
The Eastern Washington Eagles were having the best conference season that you may have never heard of. Well, that was up until the last week of their regular season. EWU rattled off 16 straight Big Sky conference wins to start the season, and was one of only two undefeated teams in conference play in the nation at one time. That was until the Eagles lost their final two regular season games at Idaho State and versus Montana State.
It’ll be up to the Eagles to break that bad stretch of form in Boise as they’ll come in with the top overall seed. Like many favorites in conference tournaments, EWU has the player of the year in the Big Sky: Steele Venters. He scored 15.1 points per game and coupled that by shooting 46% from the field. He’s paired alongside another Big-Sky First teamer, Angelo Allegri, who is second in scoring for the Eagles with 13.5 points per game.
Another thing that shouldn’t be understated is the work that Big Sky Coach of the Year David Riley has done with the Eagles in just his second year. After an 18-16 season in year one, Riley has put this program in great shape. He’ll now hope to lead Eastern Washington back into the tournament for the third time in the past 10 years.
Riley will hope to reignite the offense that has helped the Eagles in the Big Sky regular season. In their last two games, EWU has put up two of their three lowest points totals in conference games this season. When the other players from EWU help out the Eagles’ stars in Venters and Allegri on offense, then the best team in conference play in the Big Sky could be the best team in the conference tournament.
The Contenders
Montana State Bobcats (22-9, 15-3)
Last year’s Big Sky tournament champions will feel very good about themselves going into this year’s bracket after winning their final five games in Big Sky play. That included a five point win on the road at Eastern Washington in their final game before the tournament.
Even though the Bobcats lost two of their top three scorers from last season, their offense still remains strong due to a fantastic season from Washington transfer and junior guard RaeQuan Battle. His 17.1 points per game is the best in his career for a single season and it earned him a first team Big-Sky selection.
The Cats also get it done on defense. They’ll have Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year Darius Brown on their side to create problems for opposing offenses in the tournament. Brown, a graduate transfer from Cal State Northridge, led the conference in total steals this season. He also made the All Big-Sky third team.
Head Coach Danny Sprinkle has been the catalyst of it all. After Sprinkle gave the Bobcat fans their most wins in a season in over a century, he’s looking to make more history by getting Montana State in the NCAA Tournament for back-to-back years for the first time in program history. And if they can win the Big Sky tournament this year, who knows if they can be the Cinderella everyone is talking about in March?
Weber State Wildcats (17-14, 12-6)
Weber State is a team that will feel they are due to go back to the Dance at some point after making six appearances during the years 1995-2015. It will be a different feel in this tournament, as 16-year head coach Randy Rahe retired after last season.
So it’ll be one of Rahe’s assistant coaches, Eric Duft, who will guide Weber State in Boise this season. Third place in the Big Sky this season for Rahe and his men has seemed to be an impressive start to his tenure, which included splitting the season series with Montana State and Montana.
As for the Rahe’s players, the one that opposing teams will be keying on containing is unanimous All Big-Sky First Team selection Dillon Jones. The sophomore forward from South Carolina has averaged 16.6 points per game, but also is one of the leading rebounders in the Big Sky, with 11 rebounds per game. He also shoots 82% from the free throw line, which could be crucial in tournament games.
However, outside of Jones, the Wildcats are one of the worst rebounding teams in the Big Sky. If Rahe’s guys aren’t able to battle on the boards, Weber State could have an early exit instead of a great run in this year’s tournament.
Montana Grizzlies (16-13, 10-7)
The other Division 1 team in the Big Sky has had a satisfactory season in conference play this year. The “Griz” did get swept by Montana State and Eastern Washington this year, but kept those games close and made sure they beat the majority of the teams in the bottom half of the Big Sky standings.
The one-two punch of Josh Bannan and Aaron Moody will be important for Montana if they want to turn those close losses into big wins in the tournament. Both average over 15 points a game and both shoot over 40% from 3. Don’t be surprised if Montana gives some of the top teams in the conference a run for their money and makes a run in this tournament.
The Dark Horse
Idaho State Bengals (11-20, 8-10)
Idaho State didn’t look like a threat at all to be a competitor in the Big Sky this year after finishing just 3-10 in non conference play, but the Bengals have worked throughout the winter to turn themselves into a team that others in the Big Sky don’t necessarily want to play in this tournament.
The Bengals made a statement by winning at home against top-seeded Eastern Washington in late February, breaking the Eagles’ unbeaten conference record. They also beat Weber State early on in conference play and have kept games close with other top teams in the conference.
The only player from the Bengals who made an all Big-Sky team was Brayden Parker (third team selection). But he’s only the third leading scorer on this Idaho State team, with Brock Mackenzie (12.9 points per game) and Miguel Tomley (11.7 points per game) leading in that category.
If the Bengals, who are pretty long and tall, can control the boards and force turnovers, like they did against Eastern Washington, who says the Bengals can’t make a miracle run and qualify for their first ever tournament in NCAA history?
My Pick: Montana State
Not an easy call here, but in a conference tournament that looks like a two-horse race, I got Montana State to repeat as champions in Boise. I think the momentum the Bobcats got after their victory over Eastern Washington combined with the fact that many of the Bobcat players won this tournament last season will be enough to get over the line.
The Bobcats have an easier run to the tournament final, and it’s tough to trust Eastern Washington after their drop in form at the end of the season. I think Montana State will get a second straight shot to shock people in the NCAA tournament and pull off a remarkable upset.