Just about every single time the committee (of one) has predicted something in this column, we’ve been proven wrong to the point of embarrassment.
But in the final rankings of the year, why stop now?
Quarterfinal predictions for the 2014 Big Sky Men’s Basketball Championship: North Dakota over Sacramento State, Northern Colorado over Northern Arizona and Montana over Portland State.
Semifinal predictions: Montana over North Dakota and Weber State over Northern Colorado.
Final prediction: Weber State exorcises its championship-game demons and defeats Montana 71-66 for the Big Sky title.
Without further ado.
1. Weber State 17-11, 14-6
Last week: No. 1
The regular season champs closed out the regular season with a 66-59 loss at Portland State before bouncing back to knock off Eastern Washington 82-78.
What the committee (of one) will remember most about the 2013-14 Wildcats: Two things: Randy Rahe isn’t a big guy, but, man, would we ever hate to stand on the receiving end of his icy coaching glare.
The second thing we’ll look back on is how fun it was to watch senior guard Davion Berry evolve into one of the league’s very best. Berry’s 19.2 points and 4.5 rebounds are nice. And the fact that he led the Wildcats in assists is impressive, too. But what stood out for us was the way Berry understood the game’s inherent ebbs and flows.
When Weber State lost to Idaho State in Pocatello, Berry took over the game for WSU. Yes, the Wildcats lost in overtime to the Bengals, but where would they have been without their senior leader? It’s a special thing to watch a player actively insert his will onto a game, and Berry did it with regularity his final season in Ogden.
2. North Dakota 15-15, 12-8
Last week: No. 2
North Dakota held off Northern Colorado 94-90 in frigid Grand Forks, N.D., and then fell to Southern Utah 77-71 on the road.
What the committee will remember most about the 2013-14 mascot-less: As a team, UND has a skill few others possess in the Big Sky. With guys like Troy Huff, Jaron Nash, Aaron Anderson and Jamal Webb, North Dakota can score. Perhaps most importantly, the mascot-less can put up buckets on the road.
The Big Sky’s top five teams all won at least four road games in the league. Everybody else won three or less and in a league when teams won 69 percent the time, the ability to win in an opponent’s gym was essential.
3. Northern Arizona 15-16, 12-8
Last week: No. 4
The Lumberjacks finished the season at home, beating Montana State 61-48 and Montana 67-47.
What the committee will remember most about the 2013-14 Lumberjacks: That sophomore guard DeWayne Russell, a guy who was supposed to be a central building block of the program, left right before the season started and — still — Northern Arizona rebounded from a brutal nonconference schedule (NAU lost eight of its first 11 games) to claim the postseason’s third seed.
We’ve written it before but we’re happy to do it again: Jack Murphy is our 2013-14 Big Sky Coach of the Year.
4. Montana 17-12, 12-8
Last week: No. 3
Montana whipped Sacramento State on its home floor 70-55 and then lost to Northern Arizona (67-47) for the second time this season.
What the committee will remember most about the 2013-14 Grizzlies: That they are vulnerable. Considering coach Wayne Tinkle and Montana had won back-to-back championships while losing a grand total of two conference games since 2010-11, we were halfway convinced the Grizzlies were invincible.
5. Portland State 16-13, 11-9
Last week: No. 5
Portland State earned its way into the Big Sky tournament with home wins over Weber State (66-59) and Idaho State (78-74, overtime).
What the committee will remember most about the 2013-14 Vikings: At least two separate times, we wrote off Portland State, convinced the Vikings’ guard-heavy lineup couldn’t win on the road or consistently enough at home to make the conference tourney.
After a Feb. 15 loss in Portland, Ore., to Sacramento State, Portland State was 6-8 in the league and about to head out for a four-game road trip. But PSU slugged its way to the postseason by winning five of its last six, including wins at Eastern Washington and Northern Colorado. Head coach Tyler Geving deserves a lot of praise.
6. Northern Colorado 17-12, 11-9
Last week: No. 10
On the road, UNC lost to North Dakota 94-90 and beat Southern Utah 77-52.
What the committee will remember most about the 2013-14 Bears: Northern Colorado might have the best, top-to-bottom talent on its roster in the Big Sky. With a guy controlling the middle (senior forward Derrick Barden), shooters everywhere (Tate Unruh, Jordan Wilson, Tim Huskisson) and a deep bench (nine players average at least 13 minutes a game), the Bears were poised to win the regular season title with a 7-1 start in the league.
But as Northern Colorado’s defense slowly slipped down the conference rankings (the Bears allowed 72.5 ppg in Big Sky play, finishing eighth), UNC ended the year on a 4-8 slide.
7. Sacramento State 14-15, 10-10
Last week: No. 9
Despite losing to Montana by 15 points at home (70-55), Sacramento State snuck in at the final spot of the Big Sky tournament by downing hapless Montana State 84-59.
What the committee will remember most about the 2013-14 Hornets: That Mikh McKinney is the quickest college player we’ve ever seen in person. The junior point guard, a first-team all-Big Sky selection, can get anywhere on the floor whenever he wants. He’s dynamic and we can’t wait to see what he does as a senior.
8. Eastern Washington 15-16, 10-10
Last week: No. 6
Eastern Washington defeated Idaho State 77-69 in Cheney, Wash., but could not take care of Weber State, falling to the Wildcats 82-78, ending EWU’s season.
What the committee will remember most about the 2013-14 Eagles: Tyler Harvey, Eastern’s sophomore guard, is an elite scorer, doing a majority of his damage from 3. But the Torrance, Calif., native didn’t average 21.8 points a game by merely hitting shots from the perimeter. Harvey has just enough of a game off the bounce to keep teams honest and he’s money from the free-throw line (89.7 percent).
That’s what we’ll remember from Eastern Washington, Harvey’s brilliance on the offensive end.
9. Montana State 14-17, 9-11
Last week: No. 7
In a week Bobcat fans would like to dream never happened, Montana State lost at Montana, Northern Arizona and Sacramento State and for the first time in eight years, MSU did not qualify for the Big Sky tournament.
What the committee will remember most about the 2013-14 Bobcats: The way that Idaho State fans got after sophomore guard Marcus Colbert. Montana State lost to the Bengals in Pocatello 69-64 but Colbert had one of the best games of his career. For Idaho State, Colbert quickly became enemy No. 1. Every time he touched the ball, Bengal fans chanted, “Air ball, air ball, air ball,” never letting Colbert forget one of his 17 shots never touched iron.
Colbert seemed to relish the attention, ripping ISU for 23 points and five assists. For all the talk of poor crowd behavior at sporting events — and there’s plenty of that — this was an example where fans perfectly toed the line, creating a hostile atmosphere without actually being hostile. Chanting “air ball” at Colbert was fun, and his response to the treatment was even better.
10. Idaho State 11-18, 8-12
Last week: No. 8
Idaho State finished 2-13 on the road, falling to Eastern Washington 77-69 and Portland State 78-74 in overtime.
What the committee will remember most about the 2013-14 Bengals: It’s hard not to focus on all the close losses, but Tomas Sanchez’s fierce effort on the floor is what we’ll remember most.
Sanchez, a senior point guard, averaged 39.2 minutes a game during the conference season, playing 785 out of a possible 800 minutes in 20 conference games. The way he held up over the entire season to finish eighth in the Big Sky in scoring (15.1 ppg), third in assists (4.2 a game) and fourth in steals (1.5 a game) is a testament to his conditioning and toughness.
But the fact Sanchez had to play so much is a major reason why Idaho State finished three games out of the conference tournament.
11. Southern Utah 2-27, 1-19
Last week: No. 11
The Thunderbirds snapped a 26-game losing streak by beating North Dakota 77-71. Southern Utah responded to its lone win of the season versus a Division I opponent by losing to Northern Colorado 77-52.
What the committee will remember most about the 2013-14 Thunderbirds: Absolutely nothing. Southern Utah asked that from this point forward the 2013-14 season is referred to as the season-that-shall-not-be-remembered. We’re happy to oblige.
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