Freshman sensation Tevin Svihovec and the Northern Colorado Bears take on Weber State on Thursday.
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This Week’s Sky Highlights
Eleven conference games remain, and seven will be played this week. Five teams are battling for the final three spots in the Big Sky Championship…Action this week starts on Thursday. Eastern Washington is at Idaho State, which has already clinched a spot in the tournament. The Eagles and Bengals play two times over the final seven days of the regular season. EWU is on the verge of clinching a postseason bid for the second straight season…Weber State, which is tied for first in the loss column with Montana, is at Northern Colorado. The Bears on the verge of being eliminated from postseason contention…Portland State travels to Sacramento State. The Vikings are eying the No. 3 seed with a strong finish. Sacramento State’s slim postseason hopes will end with a loss…Montana plays host to Northern Arizona in the Altitude Sports & Entertainment Game of the Week. The Grizzlies play three times in six days, including Saturday’s showdown with Montana State in Missoula. The Bobcats will look to snap a six-game conference losing streak…ISU plays host to Sacramento State, while Eastern Washington is at Portland State…All seven games can be viewed for freeon Big Sky TV.
This Week’s Sky Schedule
Thursday, Feb. 23 Time
*Weber State at Northern Colorado (Big Sky TV) 7:05
*Eastern Washington at Idaho State (Big Sky TV) 7:05
*Portland State at Sacramento State (Big Sky TV) 7:35
Altitude Game of the Week
*Northern Arizona at Montana (Big Sky TV) (Altitude/Altitude2) 7:05
Saturday, Feb. 25 Time
*Montana St. at Montana (Big Sky TV)(Montana’s News Stations) 7:05
*Sacramento State at Idaho State (Big Sky TV) 7:05
*Eastern Washington at Portland State (Big Sky TV) 7:05
*Big Sky Conference Game
Game Times Local to Site/Subject to Change
Around the Big Sky
BENGALS POSTSEASON BOUND: Idaho State didn’t play a conference game last week, but the Bengals clinched a spot in the Big Sky Championship thanks to a loss by Northern Colorado. Idaho State can finish as high as third, but no worse than sixth. This marks the first since 2008-09 that the Bengals have qualified for the tournament. ISU has seven conference wins this season, just one shy of its combined total for the last two seasons. ISU advanced to the conference semifinals in 2008 and 2009. ISU closes out the regular season with two games against Eastern Washington, and a home game against Sacramento State.
20 FOR MONTANA: For the third straight season, Montana has reached the 20-win plateau. The Grizzlies won their ninth straight game and 20th of the season with a 94-79 win over Hawai’i on Saturday. Montana finished 22-10 in 2009-10, and went 21-11 last season. The Grizzlies are currently 20-6. This is the first time Montana has recorded three consecutive 20-win seasons since Blaine Taylor led the Grizzlies to win total of 21, 20 and 21 victories from 1994-97. This marks the first time a Big Sky team has won 20 games in three consecutive seasons since Northern Arizona won 20 in four consecutive seasons from 1996-97 through 1999-2000. Montana coach Wayne Tinkle has compiled an overall record of 111-70 in six season with the Grizzlies. He is 63-30 in conference play. Montana’s current nine-game winning streak is tied for the seventh-longest active streak in the nation. Kentucky is first with an 18-game streak.
WSU CONTINUES STREAK, ENDS ANOTHER: Weber State moved to 15-0 at home for the first time in school history with its 72-70 victory over Texas-Arlington on Saturday in a Sears BracketBusters Game. Weber State ended Arlington’s 16-game winning streak, which was the second-longest in the nation. Weber State has won 16 straight home games dating back to last season. Weber State’s 16-game home winning streak is tied with Michigan for the ninth-longest active streak in the country. Kentucky is first with a 50-game home winning streak. Weber State trailed 28-24 at the half against the Mavericks, but came out on fire in the second half. The Wildcats scored 48 second-half points, hitting 10-of-20 from 3-point range. WSU will not play another home game this season unless the Wildcats host the Big Sky semifinals and championship, or host a game in a national postseason tournament. Three times, Weber State has gone 14-0 at home during a season. Weber State also went 16-1 at home in 1979-80.
BULLINGER HITS 1,000: Weber State senior Kyle Bullinger became the second Big Sky player this season to score his 1,000th career point. Bullinger surpassed the mark in the Wildcats’ 72-70 win over Texas-Arlington on Saturday. Bullinger scored eight points, giving him 1,004 for his career. Montana’s Will Cherry scored his 1,000th career point earlier this season. Cherry now has 1,104 career points. Weber State’s Damian Lillard is the career active leader with 1,786 points. Lillard ranks 12th in Big Sky history. He’s 25 points away from moving into 11th place.
GRIZ-JACKS ON ALTITUDE: Montana will play host to Northern Arizona in the Altitude Game of the Week on Thursday at 7 p.m. Mountain. Montana enters with a 12-1 conference record and a nine-game winning streak. Northern Arizona is looking to snap a 14-game losing streak. The game will air on the regular Altitude channel in Montana and Utah. In other states, the game will be on Altitude 2 (DirecTV 682, and Dish Network 447). Rich Winter and Jay McMillin will serve as the commentators.
RPI REPORT: Weber State’s 72-70 win over Texas-Arlington helped the Wildcats jump nine spots to 77 in this week’s RPI Report. Weber State’s non-conference RPI rank is 52. Montana is second in the Big Sky with an RPI of 98. UM has a non-conference RPI of 121. Portland State is at 196, followed by Eastern Washington. The Big Sky’s 3-6 record on BracketBusters Saturday, including a 1-4 mark against Big West schools cost the league. The Big Sky dropped from 24th to 26th among Division I conferences, switching spots with the Big West.
NCAA RANKINGS: For the first time since early in the season, Weber State’s Damian Lillard is not the national leader in scoring. Lillard, who is averaging 24.5 points per game, dropped to second behind Oakland’s Reggie Hamilton (25.1 points per game). Lillard ranks eighth in the nation in 3-point field-goals per game, and is ninth in 3-point field-goal percentage. Eastern Washington’s Collin Chiverton is fifth in 3-point field-goals per game. Weber State’s Scott Bamforth (13th) and Lillard (17th) both rank in the top 20 in free-throw shooting percentage. Sacramento State freshman Dylan Garrity is sixth in assists per game at 6.8. Montana’s Will Cherry is sixth in the nation in steals per game (2.6). Northern Colorado continues to lead in the nation in 3-point field-goal percentage at 45.4 percent. Weber State is ninth at 40.7 percent. Weber State continues to lead the nation in free-throw shooting at 80.9 percent. Weber State is third in the nation in 3-point field goals per game (9.3), and is followed by Eastern Washington. Weber State’s winning percentage of 84.6 percent is 11th in the nation.
NATIONAL PROPS: Big Sky Conference players were named the Lou Henson National Mid-Major Player of the Week on Feb. 6 and Feb. 13. Weber State’s Damian Lillard won the award on Feb. 6. Montana’s Will Cherry followed up on Feb. 13. The Lou Henson Player of the Week is presented by Collegeinsider.com. At the end of the season, The Lou Henson Award will be presented to the top Mid-Major player in Division I college basketball.
VOTES FOR WEBER: Weber State received two votes in this week’s USA Today/ESPN Coaches’ Poll. Weber State was 14th among those receiving votes outside the top 25. Weber State was the last Big Sky team to receive votes in a major poll. The Wildcats received votes in the Coaches’ Poll and the AP poll in March of 2009.
Tip-ins: EWU’s Cliff Colimon just missed a triple-double in the Eagles’ 79-76 win over Northern Colorado. Colimon finished with 22 points, nine rebounds and nine assists..PSU’s Chehales Tapscott recorded his 10th double-double of the season with 17 points and 11 rebounds in a win over Sacramento State. Tapscott also had five blocks and three steals...Montana State’s Shawn Reid scored a career-high 31 points in a 79-70 loss to Weber State. Reid was 12-of-15 from the field, 5-of-8 from 3-point range...Northern Colorado freshman Tevin Svhovec scored 34 points in the Bears’ 81-73 win over Cal Poly. The 34 points were the most by a Bears player since the program moved to Division I...Sacramento State’s Dylan Garrity recorded his third double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 assists in a loss to San Jose State...UM’s Will Cherry has 208 career steals, which is tied for seventh in Big Sky history...Weber State’s Damian Lillard has 233 career 3-pointers. He needs two more to tie for seventh place, and is nine away from moving into sole possession of fifth place...Kareem Jamar’s triple-double for Montana was the first in school history since Delvon Anderson had 11 points, 13 rebounds, and a school record 10 steals in an 87-56 home win over Simon Fraser on Nov. 15, 1990...With 11 conference games remaining, home teams are 31-30 in conference games...Northern Arizona lead UC Davis by 19 at halftime, but lost 70-65. Durrell Norman scored a career-high 26 points in his final home game for the Lumberjacks...Idaho State played just six players in its 66-64 overtime loss to Pacific...Northern Colorado shot 61 percent from the field in its win over Cal Poly...Montana drew a season-high 5,009 fans for its win over Hawai’i. Weber State drew 8,952 for its win over Texas-Arlington, the second-largest crowd of the season for the Wildcats...NAU point guard Stallon Saldivar needs three assists to tie for 20th place on the Big Sky’s all-time list. Saldivar currently has 369...Montana has won 15 of its last 16 games. Weber State has won 16 of its last 17 games.