2018-19 Big Sky Post-Mortem

Montana made good on predictions tabbing it as 2018-19 Big Sky Conference favorites in the preseason and doubled its pleasure with second straight regular season and tournament championships.

Ho-hum. How the Grizzlies did it, though, deserves to be appreciated, probably more than it will be given that it came from a traditional heavyweight in the Big Sky. This was a lot more than a team accomplishing just what was expected of it, but the result was a very nice two-year run for a cast of familiar characters.

Montana returned four starters, including three all-conference performers, from the 26-win team that mowed through the Big Sky to the tune of a 19-2 mark against conference teams a year ago. The Grizzlies were not a huge team then, though, and the one starter lost was valuable 6-foot-8 glue guy Fabian Krslovic, who teamed with also fellow 6-8 and also 253-lb. big man Jamar Akoh to make a formidable frontline.

This year’s Montana squad was still a quality team, but also a size-deficient one. Thus, it was a major blow when the Griz played two long stretches of the season without Akoh, who appeared in just 15 games and did not play again after Feb. 7. Akoh was arguably the Big Sky’s most important player because of his efficiency inside, his rebounding and defensive presence and the way he gave a guard-oriented team balance.

Without Akoh, Montana was a team playing small. Very small. The Grizzlies started just one player taller than 6-5, and 6-foot-7 defensive specialist Bobby Moorehead was more guard than frontcourt focal point. Moorehead and 6-5 Sayeed Pritchett regularly had to dig down in the post defensively for a proficient offensive team that severely lacked size.

Even with usually a seven-man rotation with no one taller than 6-7, Montana still rolled. After some early conference hiccups in January, the Grizzlies won 13 of their final 15, claimed the Big Sky regular season title and then fought through the conference tournament, too, rallying from a halftime deficit to defeat Eastern Washington. For the second straight year, the season ended in the NCAA Tournament with a loss to Michigan, but Montana only further established that it is the standard by which the rest of the Big Sky is measured by.

The Grizzlies highlighted what was overall a parity-filled year for the 11-team Big Sky. Northern Colorado gave Montana a good challenge for the regular season crown and joined the Griz as 20-game winners overall. Beyond those two was a mass of teams between 12-8 and 8-12. Teams 3-through-6 were separated by one game; seventh place through 10th were just two games apart.

The league again was entertaining, with its share of individual talent. Montana’s Michael Oguine and Ahmaad Rorie, Montana State’s Tyler Hall, Northern Colorado’s Jordan Davis and Weber State’s Jerrick Harding all were guards who could take over a game. Portland State continued to be one of the most unique teams in the country, even as it struggled to shoot. Sacramento State is perennially one of the most stubborn teams anywhere, rarely a heavy favorite but seldom an easy out.

Lack of performance outside of conference was a problem, though. The Big Sky came in 27th in the NCAA NET rankings (per WarrenNolan.com), slightly better at 23rd in the conference RPI. More importantly, the Big Sky was outflanked by peer leagues in the West, going 4-10 against the Big West, 1-10 against the Pac-12, 2-9 vs. the WAC and 5-12 against the WCC. (The league did post a reasonable 4-6 record vs. the Mountain West).

Final Standings:

Conference Tournament
The Big Sky tournament moved from one of the conference’s former locales to another for 2019. After a three-year run in Reno, Nev., the event migrated north to Boise, Idaho and the 5,300-capacity CenturyLink Arena.

A solid if unspectacular first two days began with one of just two games where a lower seed won, as No. 9 Sacramento State knocked out 8 seed Northern Arizona 72-60. The Hornets would go on to give top seed Montana a test in the quarterfinals, the Grizzlies eventually prevailing 79-73. The other major development was Southern Utah coming through a first round game to reach the semifinals for the second straight year. The seventh-seeded Thunderbirds handled No. 10 Idaho State 94-80 in their opener, making 11 of 15 from three-point range, and then delivered the stunner of the event, eliminating 2 seed Northern Colorado in emphatic fashion. Southern Utah’s 83-64 victory included 11 more threes made in 21 tries, while the free-firing Bears shot 39.6% and hit only 9 of 32 from three-point range.

Also advancing from the quarterfinals was 4 seed Weber State, an 81-71 winner over previously hot No. 5 Portland State, and that set up an appealing semifinal game against Montana. The Grizzlies made it a dud, drilling the Wildcats 78-49. Montana led by 20 at halftime, by as much as 37 with six minutes left, and Ahmaad Rorie scored 28 points and Weber shot a feeble 31.5%. The other semifinal saw Southern Utah against No. 3 seed Eastern Washington-which held off 6 seed Montana State 90-84 in the quarterfinals. The Eagles eliminated SUU in the semis for the second straight year, using a 22-0 run to build a 21-point first half lead and withstanding a second-half run for a 77-61 win.

Montana and Eastern Washington met in the final for the second straight year. The Eagles broke to a quick 12-point lead and controlled the first half behind 12 early points from Kim Aiken. Slowly, the Grizzlies seized control in the second half. Sayeed Pritchett and Ahmaad Rorie combined for 23 over the final 20 minutes, when Montana shot 60.7%. Donaven Dorsey hit four big three-pointers in the game in a 68-62 victory for the Griz’s league-best 11th Big Sky tourney title, one more than Weber State.

Postseason Awards
Most Valuable Player: Jordan Davis, G, Sr., Northern Colorado
Defensive Player of the Year: Jonah Radebaugh, G, Jr., Northern Colorado
Freshman of the Year: Bodie Hume, G, Northern Colorado
Co-Newcomer of the Year: Bernie Andre, F, So., Northern Arizona; Cameron Oluyitan, G/F, Jr., Southern Utah and Kendal Manuel, G, Jr., Montana
Top Reserve: Kendal Manuel, G, Jr., Montana
Coach of the Year: Jeff Linder, Northern Colorado

All-Conference Team
Jordan Davis, G, Sr., Northern Colorado
Tyler Hall, G, Sr., Montana State
Jerrick Harding, G, Jr., Weber State
Sayeed Pritchett, G, Jr., Montana
Ahmaad Rorie, G, Sr., Montana

Season Highlights

• Montana claimed the Big Sky regular season and tournament titles both for the second straight year. The Grizzlies became the sixth team in conference history to accomplish both feats in back-to-back years and appeared in the NCAA Tournament for the 12th time, losing to Michigan in the first round for the second straight year.
• Southern Utah earned its first-ever NCAA Division I tournament victory, defeating Drake in the first round of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament before falling to Cal State Bakersfield in the next round.
• Montana State’s Tyler Hall became the Big Sky’s all-time leading scorer, finishing his terrific career with 2,518 points. Hall also holds the conference’s all-time records for three-pointers made with 431 and overall field goals (849).
• Northern Colorado’s Jordan Davis also concluded his career as the Big Sky’s No. 2 career scorer, finishing with 2,272 points.
• Portland State led NCAA Division I in offensive rebounding, averaging 15.6 per game. Individually, Hall was sixth in the country in three-pointers made per game (3.63).

What we expected, and it happened: Montana was the conference’s preseason favorite, and the Grizzlies delivered regular season and tournament championships.

What we expected, and it didn’t happen: We thought Weber State was capable of overtaking Montana for league supremacy even when the Griz were whole. Weber started 7-1 in the Big Sky, too. Uncharacteristically, the Wildcats faded badly down the stretch, losing nine of their final 14 games.

What we didn’t expect, and it happened: It was a modest step forward, but Northern Arizona rose above a last-place finish the year before and a dismal outlook this year to tie for eighth in the Big Sky and come within two games of .500 in conference. The Lumberjacks doubled their overall win total from five to ten and increased their league wins from two to eight.

Team on the rise: Southern Utah. The Thunderbirds have gone from six wins two years ago to 17 under Todd Simon. The talent level is up with Simon leaning heavily for transfers. The next stop is Big Sky contention.

Team on the decline: Idaho. From 22 overall wins to five and from 14 league wins to two, the Vandals fell like a rock down the Big Sky standings this year.

2019-20 Big Sky Outlook
The Big Sky often comes down to Montana or Weber State; one of those two has represented the league in the NCAA Tournament in 12 of the last 18 years. As usual, those two are a good place to start.

Montana will miss the outstanding backcourt of Michael Oguine and Ahmaad Rorie and dirty-work delight Bobby Moorehead, but it still returns an all-conference player in Sayeed Pritchett, and Timmy Falls and Kendal Manuel both will take on increased roles in the backcourt. Weber State has some similar key graduation losses with Zach Braxton and Brekkott Chapman, but Jerrick Harding is a scoring machine, Cody John is a plenty capable sidekick, Michal Kozak should see his production increase considerably with more minutes up front, and a talented freshman class will be a year older. The Wildcats have one of the league’s best coaches in Randy Rahe, and won’t lack for motivation after a disappointing 2018-19 season.

Beyond those two, Eastern Washington and Northern Colorado should remain contenders. The Eagles have a formidable post with Mason Peatling and should get back productive guard Jacob Davison from injury. Shoot-it-up Northern Colorado will need a new lead shot-taker, but the Bears will launch plenty of threes again.

Portland State and Southern Utah are intriguing. The Vikings play one of the most distinct styles in the country, a rarity with their employing a full-court press while offensively pounding the offensive glass, regularly sending three and four to the boards. Holland (Boo Boo) Woods also is poised to be a first team all-conference performer, but he needs help on a team that shot poorly this past year. Southern Utah has made moves forward the last two years, and Cameron Oluyitan could be one of the most dominant players in the league next year.

Beyond that, Montana State and Idaho State have new coaches, though the Bobcats still have an excellent guard in Harald Frey. Sacramento State will remain pesky as always. Northern Arizona was improved last year and needs more. Idaho will try to make its way back to respectability after a bad year.

There’s no obvious candidate to break through this year, but at some point the Big Sky is due for some NCAA tourney success. Big Sky champions have lost their last 13 NCAA first round games. Not since Montana as a 12 seed toppled Nevada in 2006 has the Big Sky won in the NCAAs. The Big Sky has managed to stay out of the NCAA’s First Four as it has the distinction of its champions never having appeared in a play-in game.

Twitter: @HoopvilleAdam