Seven teams are going to reach the postseason tournament. It looks like Montana, Northern Colorado, Eastern Washington, Montana State, Sacramento State and ISU are all safe bets to make it — though the seedings and where it will happen are still up in the air.
If we assume those six teams I just listed are indeed going to make it then there’s one spot left. And we’ve got four teams all within a half game of each other vying for that spot (Southern Utah, Northern Arizona, Portland State and North Dakota).
All of this, of course, is spectacular. We’re just over a month away from the Big Sky tournament and we still have no idea where it’s going to take place or who will take part. All 11 teams — yes, even you Weber State — still have something to play for.
Without further ado.
1. Montana 16-5, 10-2
Last week: No. 1
Montana put down Portland State 72-61 and then avenged a two-point loss to Eastern Washington from earlier in the season with a 25-point blowout of the Eagles last Saturday.
The win over Eastern could stand as a bit of statement from the Lady Griz. It was 40-27 by the break, and Montana led by double digits throughout the second half on the way to snapping EWU’s five-game winning streak.
Katie Baker, UM’s senior forward, was 10-for-15 from the field for 22 points in 24 minutes. That followed a 15-point, nine-rebound effort against Portland State the game before.
The Lady Griz are the clear No. 1 team. We’ll know by Thursday night if Montana remains there after it travels to Greeley to face second-place Northern Colorado.
UM won the first matchup in Missoula by 14 points.
2. Northern Colorado 11-9, 8-3
Last week: No. 5
UNC takes a big leap up in the rankings after D’Shara Strange’s game-winner went down against Idaho State with less than 10 seconds to play, and then the Bears beat Weber State 65-47.
Did Strange travel with her turnaround hook shot against the Bengals last Thursday? Was San Francisco’s Michael Crabtree held on the 49ers last play from scrimmage in the Super Bowl? Ultimately neither question matters because the Bears escaped Reed Gym with a win.
And now Northern Colorado has a chance to even the score with Montana Thursday in the game of the weekend.
In the first matchup, the Bears shot 21 percent from the floor and trailed 28-11 at the half. But UNC is undefeated at home (8-0) this year and in conference play average over 65 points a night (compared to 46 on the road).
3. Eastern Washington 12-9, 8-4
Last week: No. 3
Eastern escaped The Treasure State with a split after beating Montana State 68-59 and falling to Montana 76-51.
After the loss, EWU head coach Wendy Schuller tweeted, “Got smacked. Leaving the state of MT with our tails between our legs but ears perked up (because) at least we got the split.”
The Eagles shot 45.5 percent from the field in the first half against Montana, but the Lady Griz hit 63 percent of their shots, including four 3-pointers. Some nights the opponent has it going and UM had it going.
4. Idaho State 12-9, 7-5
Last week: No. 4
Idaho State lost 50-49 to Northern Colorado — I know, I know, sorry to keep bringing that one up Bengal fans — and then the ISU controlled the second half to pull away from North Dakota 60-43.
A four-game homestand against three of the better teams in the Big Sky and the Bengals went 2-2. Not horrible, but it’s a case of “what could have been” for Idaho State.
Starting Saturday in Cedar City, Utah, against Southern Utah, the Bengals are on the road until Feb. 21.
Will Lindsey Reed’s shooting touch return? In conference action, the junior is hitting on 38.5 percent of her attempts compared to 30.6 percent in Reed Gym.
If Reed gets it going then ISU could have a three-pronged offensive attack with Ashleigh Vella and Kaela Oakes. Together, Oakes and Vella averaged 35 points a night in the last four games.
5. Montana State 14-7, 8-4
Last week: No. 2
At home, Montana State lost to Eastern Washington 68-59 and Portland State 75-72. Both teams MSU had beaten on the road earlier this season.
Since beating Montana in Missoula Jan. 19, the Bobcats are 1-3, with the lone victory at the hands of miserable Weber State.
The current three-game losing streak follows seven consecutive wins. Can we get the MSU women some deer-antler spray?
In Montana State’s first two losses of its current slide, the ‘Cats hit less than 35 percent of their field-goal attempts. Shooting wasn’t a problem, however, against Portland State. Instead, MSU’s defense allowed the Vikings to shoot nearly 62 percent in the second half on the way to scoring 44 points.
6. Sacramento State 12-8, 7-4
Last week: No. 6
At home in The Nest, Sacramento State went off for 73 points in a six-point win over Northern Arizona and 93 points in an up-and-down victory against Southern Utah.
Along with Katie Baker from Montana, the Hornets’ Fantasia Hilliard was named player of the week after averaging 17.5 points, 8.0 assists, 6.5 rebounds and 6.0 steals a game — about the best impression of Lebron James as you’ll find.
It’s tempting to moves Hilliard and Sacramento state one spot higher than Montana State — especially when considering the Hornets beat MSU 69-65 way back in December — but I’m a sucker for teams that place defense and rebounding as their major points of emphasis.
Only one team — Weber State — gives up more points a game than Sac. State and the Hornets minus-6.5 rebounding margin is 306th in the country.
7. Portland State 10-11, 4-8
Last week: No. 8
Like Eastern, Portland State left Montana with a split after losing to UM 72-61 and knocking off MSU 75-72.
This week the Vikings have Northern Arizona and Sacramento State visiting Portland. It’s a great opportunity for PSU to pick up two home wins and get a leg up on the other contenders for the final postseason spot.
8. Northern Arizona 5-15, 4-7
Last week: No. 10
On the road Northern Arizona lost to Sacramento State 73-67 Thursday and then beat Southern Utah 76-74 in overtime in Flagstaff Monday night.
I’m putting NAU one spot ahead of SUU for the moment because the Lumberjacks have beaten the T-Birds both times they’ve played this season.
On a side note, I just learned today that people will refer to the Lumberjacks as the “Jacks.”
I get it, Jacks is short for Lumberjacks. But when I hear Jacks, I think jackrabbit.
A jackrabbit and a Lumberjack don’t seem to have many things in common. If the original integrity of the mascot name is lost, doesn’t that defeat the purpose of shortening Lumberjack?
Am I thinking too much about this?
Is it possible that we could all decide together to shorten Southern Utah’s Thunderbird to “Super” for supernatural bird of power and strength?
9. Southern Utah 10-11, 4-7
Last week: No. 7
Southern Utah lost both its games on the road, first to Sacramento State 93-86 Saturday and then a 76-74 defeat in overtime at Northern Arizona.
It sets up a key stretch for the Supers starting Thursday night against Weber State, the first of four games in Cedar City. In fact, SUU has six of its last nine contests at home to finish the Big Sky regular season, big for a team that’s dropped five of its last six.
10. North Dakota 9-12, 4-8
Last week: No. 9
Mascot-less North Dakota escaped Ogden — thank goodness — with a five-point win over Weber State and then lost to Idaho State 60-43.
UND slips one spot to No. 10 in this week’s rankings because watching North Dakota on offense is similar to the New York Jets and Mark Sanchez — it’s ugly. Granted, I’ve only seen them one time in person and UND was going against ISU, one of the best defenses, if not the best, in the conference.
But those images of mediocrity are seared in my mind.
One could argue, however, that all of the contenders for the final spot, UND has the best shot with five of its last eight games in frigid Grand Forks.
11. Weber State 0-21, 0-12
Last week: No. 11
Weber State had its game of the season in a 56-51 home loss to North Dakota Thursday. Then the Wildcats fell to Northern Colorado by 18.
“The March to History” continues this week for Weber State when it travels to Southern Utah Thursday. The Wildcats have lost 40 games in a row. The record is 44. I think I speak for all of us when I say, “Go T-Birds, keep the winless streak alive.”
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