Big Sky rankings — Just a skosh late

Due to time constraints, I bring you an abbreviated version of this week’s Big Sky rankings.

1. Northern Colorado 6-6, 3-0
Last week: No. 3
In a two-game home stand, the UNC Bears beat Weber State like a dirty rug 69-48 and held off Idaho State late 71-63.

The Bears have yet to play a conference game away from home where they’ve won nine straight, but this week UNC travels to Bozeman Thursday and Missoula Saturday. If D'shara Strange and Lauren Oosdyke can pull off two wins then they will have made a loud and clear statement that the team to beat in the Big Sky resides in Greeley, Colo.

2. Eastern Washington 7-6, 3-1
Last week: No. 1
The Eagles defeated Montana 58-56 in Cheney and fell to Montana State 73-60 two days later.

But EWU falls no lower than the second spot because conference wins at Idaho State and over Montana are impressive. What happened against the Cats? In the second half, Montana State hit 17 of its 28 field goal attempts and the Eagles shot just 26 percent from the floor, resulting in a 45-30 second-half beat down.

3. Montana 9-4, 3-1
Last week: No. 2
Winning on the road is tough so after the Lady Griz lost to EWU 58-56 in Cheney, Montana head coach Robin Selvig must have been pleased after his team traveled to Portland two days later and beat PSU 70-55.

Montana, 6-1 in Missoula this season, hosts North Dakota tonight (Thursday) and Northern Colorado (Saturday) in a key two-game stretch.

4. Montana State 9-4, 3-1
Last week: No. 9

The Bobcats leap up five spots this week because beating Portland State 81-74 and Eastern 73-60 on the road is unquestionably impressive.

MSU’s Rachel Semansky earned Co-Big Sky player of the week honors averaging 21 points and 6.5 rebounds in the victories. And Kallie Durham, the Cats’ starting point guard who had missed the previous four games, returned against Portland State following a leg injury. In her absence, Montana State was 1-3. With her in the lineup, the Bobcats are 8-1.

5. Southern Utah 8-5, 2-1
Last week: No. 5   

The Thunderbirds lost to Northern Arizona 71-61 at home and then rebounded for a 79-71 victory over Sacramento State.

The home loss to NAU isn’t good but the T-birds have won six of their last seven, so they retain the fifth spot for the second week in a row. And North Dakota’s victories over Utah and Idaho State make Southern Utah’s Dec. 20 six-point victory in Grand Forks look better and better.

6. North Dakota 7-6, 2-2
Last week: No. 7
Mascot-less UND’s start in the Big Sky was less than stellar after dropping its first two conference games, and head coach Travis Brewster was suspended for a game after criticizing officials.

But now North Dakota has a three-game winning streak following a 64-59 victory over Idaho State and a 74-49 whitewash of Weber State in the freezing cold of Grand Forks, N.D.

7. Idaho State 6-7, 1-3
Last week: No. 4
The Bengals continue to slide down the rankings. Losses at North Dakota (64-59) and Northern Colorado (71-63) accelerated the slide this week.

For Idaho State to find any semblance of the club that was 14-2 in the Big Sky one year ago, the Bengals have to find a way to beat Southern Utah tonight (Thursday, Jan. 10), because a three-game road trip starting at Weber State, stopping by at Northern Arizona and finishing at Sacramento State awaits ISU next.

On the bright side, those are some of the weaker teams in the conference. If Idaho State finds a way to reverse its negative momentum it could be 5-3 heading into a four-game homestand starting against Montana Jan. 24.

8. Sacramento State 6-6, 1-2
Last week: No. 6
In its only game of last week, Sacramento State lost at Southern Utah 79-71.

If the Hornets are going to make a push in the conference it starts now with four games in Sacramento over the next nine days. Those opponents include Portland State, Eastern Washington, ISU and Weber State.

Realistically, the Hornets had better win at least two.

9. Portland State 7-6, 1-3
Last week: No. 8
At home, the Vikings lost to Montana State 81-74 and Montana 70-55.

I write the same thing every week, but the fact PSU is No. 9 in these rankings is a testament to the Big Sky’s abundance of talent and depth.

Interestingly, the Vikings and Bengals are the two front-runners in “most disappointing” teams four games into conference action, but unlike Idaho State, Portland State attempts to right the ship on the road this week at Sacramento State and Northern Arizona.

10. Northern Arizona 2-10, 1-2
Last week: No. 10
In an impressive road win, the Lumberjacks beat Southern Utah 71-61. The victory snapped a four-game losing streak and senior guard Amy Patton — the Big Sky’s leading scorer at 21.2 points a game — broke the program’s all-time scoring mark midway through the first half.

And perhaps even more importantly for NAU basketball fans, Amanda Frost returned from an injury suffered before the start of the season. In her 2012-13 debut the junior notched 27 points in 36 minutes. Suddenly, the Lumberjacks appear dangerous.

11. Weber State 0-13, 0-4
Last week: No. 11
The Wildcats miserable season continued with a 69-48 loss to Northern Colorado and a 73-49 defeat to North Dakota. The Wildcats’ scoring margin of -23.5 is 342 in the country (hint: 343 teams play Division I women’s basketball).