Men's Basketball Notes - Championship Edition
PDF of Notes
Tournament Tidbits
TV/Radio/Internet Information
Tournament Central
This Week’s Sky Highlights
The 2013 Big Sky Conference Championship begins Thursday at Dahlberg Arena in Missoula, Mont. The Montana Grizzlies won the regular season title for the second straight season and the right to host the championship. As the No. 1 seed, Montana gets a bye to the semifinals on Friday night...No. 2 seed Weber State will take on No. 7 seed Northern Arizona in Thursday’s first game at 3 p.m. Mountain. WSU swept NAU in the regular-season, but the second meeting went to overtime. Weber State has won 11 straight games...In the second game, No. 3 North Dakota will take on No. 6 Southern Utah in a battle of the league’s two newest members. The teams split regular-season meetings, with UND winning 68-61 on Saturday in Grand Forks. UND has won four straight conference games, while SUU enters on a seven-game conference losing streak. In the final game on Thursday at 8 p.m., No. 4 seed Montana State takes on No. 5 Northern Colorado. The teams split regular-season meetings. Northern Colorado enters on a three-game winning streak. MSU won its final two regular-season games...Montana will play the winner of the MSU-NC game, unless No. 6 Southern Utah or No. 7 Northern Arizona pulls off an upset.
First Round - March 14
(Dahlberg Arena, Missoula, Mont.)
3 p.m. - No. 7 Northern Arizona vs. No. 2 Weber State
5:30 p.m. - No. 6 Southern Utah vs. No. 3 North Dakota
8 p.m. - No. 5 Northern Colorado vs. No. 4 Montana State
Semifinals - March 15
5:30 p.m
Highest Remaining Seed vs 2nd Highest Remaining Seed
8 p.m.
Lowest Remaining Seed at No. 1 Montana
Final - March 16
7 p.m. - Semifinal Winners (ESPNU)
All Times are Mountain/Subject to Change
Around the Big Sky
TWO IN A ROW FOR GRIZ: Montana secured its second consecutive outright conference title with a 65-57 win over Northern Arizona on Saturday. Montana has now won our shared nine Big Sky regular-season titles. UM won a single-season record 19 conference games this season. Middle Tennessee State of the Sun Belt Conference was the only other team in the nation to win 19 conference games. Montana finished 10-0 in conference home games. The Grizzlies have won 26 straight regular-season conference home games, and 29 in a row overall against Big Sky teams at Dahlberg Arena. UM’s last loss to a Big Sky team in Dahlberg Arena was a 73-67 setback to Montana State on Feb. 27, 2010. Montana has combined to go 33-2 in regular-season conference games the past two seasons, and enters the tournament with a 35-2 overall record against league opponents over the past two years. Montana’s only league losses during the span were on the road at Weber State. Montana has won at least 21 games each of the past four seasons. UM’s combined record over the last four seasons is 91-34 overall, and 56-12 against Big Sky teams. Montana is 13-1 at home this season, and has won 10 straight. Over the past three seasons at home, the Grizzlies are 42-5. By winning the regular season championship, Montana is guaranteed a bid to the NIT if it fails to win the postseason championship.
WEBER KEEPS ROLLING: Weber State extended its winning streak to 11 games with home wins over Portland State and Eastern Washington last weekend. Weber State finished 18-2 in conference. The 18 conference wins in a season are second-most in league history, behind Montana’s 19 this season. Weber State has amassed a 32-4 conference record the past two seasons, but failed to win a regular-season title as Montana has finished 15-1 and 19-1. Weber State is the only conference team to beat Montana the past two seasons. Weber State has won at least 10 conference games in seven straight seasons under Randy Rahe. Under Rahe, Weber State is 92-24 in regular-season conference games. As of Monday, Weber State’s 11-game winning streak is the fifth-longest active streak in the nation. Davidson has the longest active streak at 17 games following a win in the Southern Conference Tournament on Monday night.
FIRST-YEAR HITS: North Dakota and Southern Utah both qualified for the Big Sky championship in their first season in the league. North Dakota won 12 conference games, the most ever by a first-year Big Sky team. The two squads will square off in a first-round game on Thursday, marking the first time that two first-year teams have ever played in the Big Sky Championship. North Dakota and Southern Utah are just the second and third teams, respectively to qualify for the Big Sky Championship in their first season. Cal State Northridge advanced all the way to the championship game in 1997, the Matadors’ first season in the Big Sky. The Big Sky began its postseason championship in 1976. Since then, Eastern Washington (1988), Portland State (1997), Sacramento State (1997), and Northern Colorado (2006) joined the Big Sky, but didn’t qualify in their first seasons.
NCAA LEADERS: Weber State enters the Big Sky Championship leading the nation in three statistical categories. The Wildcats are the only team in the nation to lead in three categories. WSU is first in field-goal percentage (.508 percent), first in 3-point field-goal percentage (.433) and first in 3-point field-goal percentage defense (.280). WSU also ranks fifth in scoring margin (+14.8). Montana is fifth in the nation in free-throw shooting percentage (.775). WSU’s Scott Bamforth ranks ninth in the nation in 3-point FG percentage (.448).
500 for SALIDVAR: Northern Arizona senior Stallon Saldivar moved into sixth place on the Big Sky’s all-time assists list on Thursday with five assists in a loss to Montana State. Saldivar enters the tournament with 504 career assists. He is one of eight players in league history to amass 500 assists.
MARKSMEN MOVING UP: Northern Arizona senior Gabe Rogers enters the Big Sky Championship with 245 career 3-pointers He ranks sixth all-time in Big Sky history, and is just one away from tying Damian Lillard for fifth place. Weber State’s Scott Bamforth enters the tourney with 228 career 3-pointers, which ranks 10th in Big Sky history. Rogers has made 93 3-pointers this season, which is tied for eight-most in single-season history. Northern Colorado’s Tate Unruh has made 87 3-pointers, which is tied for 11th all-time.
RPI UPDATE: Montana has moved back in front of Weber State in the RPI. As of Monday, Montana has an RPI of 89. Weber State is at 94. UND is 229, NAU is 260, NC is 272, SUU is 306, MSU is 310. Montana’s non-conference strength of schedule is ranked 28th in the nation. NAU is 48th.
Tip-ins: Eastern Washington finished the season with 176 blocks, falling just short of the Big Sky single-season record of 179 set by Idaho State in 2005-06...Northern Colorado’s Derrick Barden leads the league with 10 double-doubles entering the conference tournament. ...Home teams finished 71-39 in conference games, a winning percentage of .645. Montana and Weber State were the only teams not to lose a home conference game. Portland State was the only team to go winless on the road in conference...NAU’s Gabe Rogers has scored in double figures in 16 straight games...SUU coach Nick Robinson is a finalist for the Joe B. Hall Award, which goes to the top first-year coach at the Division I level... Montana is ranked 13th in this week’s College Insider.Com Mid-Major Top 25. Weber State is 15th...Entering the tournament 29 players have recorded a double-double this season in the Big Sky.