Big Sky Basketball Thread - 2014-15

[kalm]

Taken from eGriz, which was a sum-up from the postgame radio interview with Travis DeCuire…

TDC just said that prior to the tipoff, he was told by ewooo staff to have his team exit from the door behind their bench "when the fans stormed the court". TDC that really gave them some fire.

Why would EWU fans even storm the court with a win here? It's not like they would've clinched the title.

I agree. Montana is not even remotely worthy of court storming.

[Grizalltheway]

Yeah, you should really save that for making the Big Dance. Oh wait...

[kalm]

Yeah, you should really save that for making the Big Dance. Oh wait...

Lots of game left there slappy.

[Mvemjsunpx]

NoCo students half-assedly rushing the court after beating NAU…

Seriously?

[AZGrizFan]

Well, losing to Idaho Thursday really put a turd in Montana's punch bowl regarding conference the championship.....

[SDHornet]

Hornets take care of business at PSU, and get some help from UM by knocking off EWU, and NAU losses as well (although less important IMO). One more win and we host and get at least a share of the regular season title. Win out and we take the whole kitten caboodle....er ah, Hornet caboodle.

2 tough games left at SUU and NAU. We need to close this baby out.

[Mvemjsunpx]

• Men
  
  UMT 77-76 EWU; Montana goes a perfect 12/12 from the line in a one-point game
  SAC 73-60 PSU; The Viks uncharacteristically commit 17 turnovers while Sac goes 20/22 on FTs
  MSU 73-80 ID; Marcus Colbert scores a ton (26) in a loss again
  ISU 57-61 WEB; Wildcats hold on despite losing turnovers 14-6
  NAU 74-76 UNC; The 'Jacks shoot 68% in the second half and somehow get outscored
  SUU 71-65 UND; NoDak finishes 1-8 at home in conference play
  
  
  
  Women
  
  PSU 77-123 SAC; Hornets set Big Sky records for single-game points & single-season steals
  WEB 56-63 ISU; Wildcats go 1/8 from the arc and shoot 58% from the line
  UND 66-73 SUU; The reeling Thunderbirds stay alive by besting the arguably more reeling No-Nicks
  UNC 88-67 NAU; The surging Bears shoot 63% on the road
  EWU 59-69 UMT; Delaney Hodgins went 7/10 from the field, but the rest of the Eags shot 28%
  ID 62-71 MSU; Idaho manages just 6 assists as they fall into real trouble

[Mvemjsunpx]

Montana kept themselves alive with a win in Cheney, but Sac's win in Portland put the Hornets firmly in control of the title race. Sac will win the tiebreakers in any tie they end up in, so if they win just 1 of their final two they'll clinch hosting rights. EWU would win a two-way tie with Montana because it's now impossible for Sac to finish below NAU (UM needs to win it outright to host). SUU also kept themselves alive for making the tournament (& eliminated ISU & UND) with their win. If—as expected—Sac beats SUU & Weber beats Idaho Thursday, that will render Saturday's slate of games largely meaningless.

On the women's side: the race for hosting is over, but there's still plenty left to be decided as far as simply making the tournament. At present, none of the 8-win teams have clinched berths and none of the 6-win teams have been eliminated (Suutah's win over UND saved them and prevented MSU from clinching). Whoever loses the Weber/Idaho game Thursday will be out, and the winner would also be eliminated if NAU & ISU both win. If those things happen plus a Suutah loss in Sacramento, all the spots would be sewn up.

• • Men
    
    1. Sacramento State ____13-3_____19-8_____ W3
    2. Montana _____________13-4_____17-11____ W1
    3. Eastern Washington__12-4_____21-8_____ L1
    4. Northern Arizona ____11-5_____16-13____ L1
    5. Northern Colorado____9-8_____14-14____ W2
    6. Idaho _________________8-8_____13-14____ W2
    7. Portland State_________8-8_____14-12____ L1
    8. Weber State___________7-9_____12-15____ W1
    9. Southern Utah ________6-10_____9-18____ W1
    10.Montana State ________4-13_____7-22____ L2
    11.North Dakota _________4-13_____8-20____ L7
    12.Idaho State ___________3-13_____6-22____ L4

• • Women
    
    1. Montana _____________14-3_____21-7_____ W4
    2. Sacramento State ____11-5_____13-14____ W2
    3. Northern Colorado___11-6_____17-11____ W7
    4. Eastern Washington__10-6_____17-10____ L2
    5. North Dakota _________9-8_____17-12____ L3
    6. Northern Arizona _____8-8_____12-15____ L1
    7. Idaho State ___________8-8_____13-14____ W2
    8. Montana State ________8-9_____14-14____ W2
    9. Idaho _________________6-10____12-15____ L2
    10.Weber State___________6-10____11-16____ L4
    11.Southern Utah ________6-10____13-13____ W1
    12.Portland State_________1-15_____3-24____ L12

[Mvemjsunpx]

Men

Connor Hill (ID) - 22 ppg, 3 rpg (2 games)
Chris Golden (WEB) - 24 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, 6/11 on treys (1 game)


Women

D'Shara Strange (UNC) - 19 ppg, 6 rpg, 5.5 apg, 2.5 spg (2 games)

[Mvemjsunpx]

• Men
  
  OMAHA 80-78 UND; NoDak's bench scores 27 in the first half, then just 4 in the second

[Mvemjsunpx]

With a win needed to stay alive, the SUU women trail Sac State 43-12.

[Mvemjsunpx]

No home-court clinch for the men yet, as Sac falls in Cedar City by 4. They'll still clinch if they can win in Flagstaff Saturday. That opens the door for Montana and for Eastern, who just escaped with a win in Pocatello. The T-Birds also escaped elimination despite Weber's win, and tonight's results still leave a possibility that either PSU or Idaho could end up out of the tournament.

NAU is at home and has senior night going for them against Sac, but the game is meaningless for the 'Jacks in concrete terms because they've now clinched the #4-seed.

[grizzaholic]

No home-court clinch for the men yet, as Sac falls in Cedar City by 4. They'll still clinch if they can win in Flagstaff Saturday. That opens the door for Montana and for Eastern, who just escaped with a win in Pocatello. The T-Birds also escaped elimination despite Weber's win, and tonight's results still leave a possibility that either PSU or Idaho could end up out of the tournament.

NAU is at home and has senior night going for them against Sac, but the game is meaningless for the 'Jacks in concrete terms because they've now clinched the #4-seed.

Really?

I thought if NAU wins out, and Sac loses out, NAU would get the 3 seed?


THEN, once EWU loses to the Weebs, and UM thumps the cats, the tourney comes to Missoula, right?

[SDHornet]

Hornets missed their chance. I don't see us getting a win in Flagstaff. SUU was hitting their 3 pointers and we didn't take full advantage of our FT shots. Ugh...

[Mvemjsunpx]

No home-court clinch for the men yet, as Sac falls in Cedar City by 4. They'll still clinch if they can win in Flagstaff Saturday. That opens the door for Montana and for Eastern, who just escaped with a win in Pocatello. The T-Birds also escaped elimination despite Weber's win, and tonight's results still leave a possibility that either PSU or Idaho could end up out of the tournament.

NAU is at home and has senior night going for them against Sac, but the game is meaningless for the 'Jacks in concrete terms because they've now clinched the #4-seed.

Really?

I thought if NAU wins out, and Sac loses out, NAU would get the 3 seed?


THEN, once EWU loses to the Weebs, and UM thumps the cats, the tourney comes to Missoula, right?

NAU can't do any better than tie Sac, and Sac would win the tiebreaker because they have a better record against the Griz (Sac actually wins any tiebreaker they end up in).

The Griz would host the tourney in your scenario because UM would finish first alone. If UM ties with Sac, Sac wins. If UM ties with just EWU, it gets complicated…


*edit* - I was mistaken in the above paragraphs. If UM wins & Sac loses, the Griz host. I thought that EWU split with NAU when they actually went 0-1. The tiebreaking procedure has returned to the system of 5-or-so years ago where, when looking at tied common opponents, you look at records against those teams collectively. That means, if EWU & UM tie at 14-4 while Sac & NAU tie at 13-5, the Griz would win the tiebreaker because they're 1-1 against the 3rd. place tie while EWU is 1-2.

It is also still possible for NAU to get 3rd., but that doesn't affect Montana's hosting possibilities. NAU can get 2nd., too, in the scenario where Montana wins the league outright. It is not possible for the 'Jacks to host, however, because Sac would win the 4-way tie.

[Mvemjsunpx]

• Men
  
  EWU 85-81 ISU; Jois & Brandon get double doubles as the Eags survive after nearly blowing a 19-point lead
  SAC 65-69 SUU; The T-Birds stay alive by offsetting 53% free-throw shooting with 54% field-goal shooting
  ID 63-74 WEB; Weber never gets threatened despite going 0/6 from the arc in the second half
  PSU 51-58 NAU; How do you win while shooting 32%? By winning the glass by 23
  
  
  
  Women
  
  ISU 58-62 EWU; Bengals fail to clinch a berth despite winning the boards by 11
  NAU 79-62 PSU; The Lumberjacks will make the Big Sky Tournament for the first time this decade
  SUU 73-107 SAC; The Hornets get seven in double figures as they dismiss the desperate T-Birds early
  WEB 42-71 ID; Weber gets nobody in double figures as they are eliminated for the 8th. straight year

[Mvemjsunpx]

I already covered most of the men's title race a couple posts earlier, so I'll focus on the last few tournament berths here. Tonights results meant that nobody clinched & no-one was newly eliminated. Idaho will miss in a 2-way tie with SUU for 8th. or a 3-way tie with PSU & SUU. PSU will miss in a 2-way tie with SUU, as well. I believe Weber needs a win or an SUU loss because the tiebreakers are not friendly to them. I also think SUU is in as long as they win & anybody else loses. That PSU/SUU game we all thought would be meaningless is now majorly important. I'll try to figure out some better specifics later.

On the women's side: SUU's loss eliminated them & also clinched a berth for Montana State. NAU also clinched a berth with their win, and Idaho stayed alive by eliminating Weber & getting an Idaho State loss. Even if Idaho beats ISU, though, the Vandals still need a ton of help to get in. Sac will get the important #2-position with a win, but they can't win a tiebreaker for it if they lose.

• • Men
    
    1. Sacramento State ____13-4_____19-9_____ L1
    2. Montana _____________13-4_____17-11____ W1
    3. Eastern Washington__13-4_____22-8_____ W1
    4. Northern Arizona ____12-5_____17-13____ W1
    5. Northern Colorado____9-8_____14-14____ W2
    6. Portland State_________8-9_____14-13____ L2
    7. Idaho _________________8-9_____13-15____ L1
    8. Weber State___________8-9_____13-15____ W2
    9. Southern Utah ________7-10____10-18____ W2
    10.Montana State ________4-13_____7-22____ L2
    11.North Dakota _________4-13_____8-21____ L7/L8
    12.Idaho State ___________3-14_____6-23____ L5

• • Women
    
    1. Montana _____________14-3_____21-7_____ W4
    2. Sacramento State ____12-5_____14-14____ W3
    3. Northern Colorado___11-6_____17-11____ W7
    4. Eastern Washington__11-6_____18-10____ W1
    5. North Dakota _________9-8_____17-12____ L3
    6. Northern Arizona _____9-8_____13-15____ W1
    7. Idaho State ___________8-9_____13-15____ L1
    8. Montana State ________8-9_____14-14____ W2
    9. Idaho _________________7-10____13-15____ W1
    10.Weber State___________6-11____11-17____ L5
    11.Southern Utah ________6-11____13-14____ L1
    12.Portland State_________1-16_____3-25____ L13

[Mvemjsunpx]

After thinking about this a little more…


PSU - In with a win or a loss by either Idaho or Weber. Only the 2-way tie with SUU for 8th. leaves them out. It's theoretically possible for PSU to still win common games with SUU, but not really because EWU & Weber would both have to win and that's impossible since they play each other.

ID - The Vandals have a similar situation to PSU, except the 3-way tie with SUU & PSU leaves them out. They need a win or an SUU loss or a Weber loss.

WEB - Weber loses any tiebreaker for the last tournament spot (they were swept by SUU), so they need a win or a Suutah loss.

SUU - They now have a straight-up playoff game: win & they're in, lose & they're out. The T-Birds will win any tiebreaker.


If I had to predict, I would take Idaho as the odd-team out that chokes away the tourney spot. All the games involving these teams are pretty close to coin flips, though.

[kalm]

[grizzaholic]

I wished SDHornet the best of luck, kinda. Apparently not enough.

GREAT GAME though. Sac State missed a 3 to win it at the buzzer.


"shudder" go weebs . ick. I feel dirty now.

[kalm]

I wished SDHornet the best of luck, kinda. Apparently not enough.

GREAT GAME though. Sac State missed a 3 to win it at the buzzer.


"shudder" go weebs . ick. I feel dirty now.

I'd sing the MSU Fight Song, but I'm afraid I don't know the words.

[SDHornet]

I wished SDHornet the best of luck, kinda. Apparently not enough.

GREAT GAME though. Sac State missed a 3 to win it at the buzzer.


"shudder" go weebs . ick. I feel dirty now.

Thanks for the texts, it was good to hear from you.

Hornets left it all on the court just came up short. Disappointing end to a great season.

[grizzaholic]

I wished SDHornet the best of luck, kinda. Apparently not enough.

GREAT GAME though. Sac State missed a 3 to win it at the buzzer.


"shudder" go weebs . ick. I feel dirty now.

Thanks for the texts, it was good to hear from you.

Hornets left it all on the court just came up short. Disappointing end to a great season.

You do understand that you are in the BSC tourney..right?
You do understand that you could still host the BSC tourney...right?
You do understand that your dunce hat needs to be returned to maintenance from SH by Friday...right?

[grizzaholic]

I wished SDHornet the best of luck, kinda. Apparently not enough.

GREAT GAME though. Sac State missed a 3 to win it at the buzzer.


"shudder" go weebs . ick. I feel dirty now.

I'd sing the MSU Fight Song, but I'm afraid I don't know the words.

Classic

[grizzaholic]

OK. I am full of ribs and got a glass of Jamison. I am ready for 7MST to get here.