Let’s see if we can get through some of the news piling up…
CHN averages the rankings from the three preview magazines that are already out (Athlon, Lindy’s and TSN/S&S). UNC still #1. CHN gives us the mid-majors to keep an eye on this season as possible NCAA Cinderellas. And here’s your EA Sports NCAA Basketball 09 Top 25 (now partnered with Blue Ribbon). We know you were waiting for it.
Hahahahaha, so it appears the ACC is cooking the books Wachovia-style in an attempt to act like it has more televised games this year than it actually has.
North Dakota Fighting Maize? According to the North Dakota state legislature, the Fighting Sioux are out.
Syracuse had best hope that Jonny Flynn doesn’t get hurt this season, as the Orange’s backup PG Scoop Jardine is redshirting.
Nevada starting guard Brandon Fields and two freshmen were charged with petty larceny last week, and suspended indefinitely. Brilliance. Oh, and Fields was all-academic WAC, proving that good grades doesn’t necessarily mean you have a brain.
Katz hints on our issue with UConn as a F4 threat (zero postseason wins since 2006) in this story about Stanley Robinson. He also provides us with a nice update of open questions as we head into the first week of practices.
Yep, this is going to get old real, real fast. Tyler Hansbrough, the symbol of all things good and merciful.
Dan Hanner over at YABB throws us some love (thanks, Dan!), and does a breakdown of the preseason tournaments by school participation – cool concept.
Truly, the most Epic Post of all-time. Maybe the author wants to be an RTC correspondent??? Our fave blurbs were Florida and Colgate, fyi.
Mark Bryant, the Coordinator of New Media for the Big South conference and writer for Big South SHOUT, is an RTC correspondent.
Predicted Order of Finish:
Winthrop (19-10, 13-5)
Radford (17-12, 12-6)
Gardner-Webb (16-13, 11-7)
Liberty (16-15, 11-7)
High Point (15-14, 9- 9)
Charleston So. (13-16, 9- 9)
VMI (13-16, 8-10)
Coastal Carolina (14-16, 7-11)
UNC Asheville (11-18, 6-12)
Presbyterian (6-23, 4-14)
What You Need to Know (WYN2K). When the preseason balloting of the media and coaches produces seven teams with first-place votes (out of ten teams overall), it’s a pretty good clue that the race is wide open and/or that nobody really knows how it’s going to shake out. Why the mystery? Well, player losses may be cyclical for everyone, but the hits were hard across the board for Big South teams: a high number of star seniors, career record-holders, and all-conference representatives have departed (see: Arizona Reid, Reggie Williams, Chris Gaynor, and Jack Leasure, among many others). That turnover has left several coaches wondering what they have to work with this season—for example, Winthrop draws its somewhat traditional slot at the top, but as Head Coach Randy Peele pointed out, that’s without any Eagles on the preseason All-Conference team and with only 18 ppg returning this year! If Media Day interviews are to be taken at face value, the majority of Big South coaches believe the greatest talent pool likely belongs to Radford, so the Highlanders may make some noise. New member Gardner-Webb won’t be able to sneak up on anyone, a by-product of last year’s epic upset of UK at Rupp Arena. Liberty’s Anthony Smith has the skills to play anywhere, and he has earned preseason Player of the Year honors as he begins his senior campaign. The middle of the pack could finish in any order, with High Point, Charleston Southern, VMI and Coastal Carolina all working on their identities for 2008-09—only VMI and its trademark up-tempo offense offer a good sense of what may come this season. Between senior departures and the loss of 7-7 center Kenny George to injury, UNC Asheville will not be expected to duplicate last year’s surprising run to the top. Presbyterian is working through its transition to D1 and will have its work cut out for it just to stay off the bottom this year.
Predicted Champion.Winthrop Eagles(#14 NCAA). Last year’s top three scorers may be gone, but enough pieces are still there—including tournament experience and skilled coaching. WU has won the last four conference tournaments and the Eagles grabbed a first round NCAA win for the Big South in 2007 by toppling Notre Dame, so there are still plenty of guys in Rock Hill who know all about winning when it counts. If players like Charles Corbin and Mantoris Robinson step into the leadership void with some authority, the team will be fine—but they will be challenged by others who think there may be room at the top this year. Look for Winthrop to be touch-and-go for 20 wins, maybe coming up just short and finding a #14 seed in the works when the brackets are announced. Below are some highlights of Winthrop’s most recent Big South championship game.
Others Considered.
Radford Highlanders. Forward/center Joey Lynch-Flohr gives RU a strong presence in the middle and the Highlanders certainly have their share of talent, but Coach Brad Greenberg will have to catch some breaks to pass Winthrop and break Radford’s poor postseason history (only Big South Tournament Championship: 1998).
Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs. All-Conference junior guard Grayson Flittner is a complete player, and GWU returns most of the team that pulled off the upset heard ‘round the nation (over UK), but the Bulldogs fell flat after that early win and there’s nothing to indicate that they will be better off this time out.
Liberty Flames. Anthony Smith is sensational, and you have to keep your eyes on a team that has an asset like that, but there are still too many unknowns for Coach Ritchie McKay in his second season at LU—look for the Flames to keep improving and to produce for McKay after this building year with its wave of freshmen.
Important/Key Games & RPI Boosters. A year ago, teams in the current Big South knocked off multiple teams in the ACC and the SEC, so where could that come from this year? There are games on the slate against the ACC, SEC, Big 10, Big East, Big 12 and other significant out-of-conference foes—plus the opponents still to be announced for the ESPN Bracketbusters games with Gardner-Webb, Liberty, and Winthrop. Here are a dozen to watch:
VMI @ Kentucky (11/14/08)
Radford @ Virginia (11/21/08)
Winthrop @ Davidson (11/21/08)
Gardner-Webb @ Oklahoma (11/22/08)
High Point @ NC State (11/22/08)
Liberty @ Virginia (11/25/08)
Gardner-Webb @ South Carolina (11/25/08)
Liberty @ Clemson (12/7/08)
UNC Asheville @ Ohio State (12/22/08)
Winthrop v. Florida (12/28/08)
Virginia Tech @ Charleston Southern (12/29/08)
Radford @ Wake Forest (12/30/08)
Honorary Big South members among majors this year? Try Virginia (3 games), South Carolina (3), Florida State (2), Clemson (2), Cincinnati (2), NC State (2), and Virginia Tech (2). Additional opponents in the RPI hunt for the Big South: Duke, UNC, Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, Minnesota, Iowa, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Kansas St., West Virginia, and USF, among others.
Here are a half-dozen games to watch in Conference play:
Radford @ Gardner-Webb (12/4/08 – December showdown for the challenger and the newcomer)
Winthrop @ Radford (12/6/08 – a very early barometer of the potential duel for first)
Liberty @ Winthrop (1/3/09 – gauge to see if Liberty will make a 2009 charge)
Radford @ Winthrop (2/2/09 – will it be a fight for first or a battle to stay in the race?)
VMI @ Liberty (2/24/09 – old rivalry may determine if either will be contender)
Did You Know?
the Big South Conference is marking its 25th Anniversary this season
star recruit Seth Curry (bother of Stephen) will play for Liberty this year…the son of former NBA player Dell Curry is not the only Big South newcomer with a pro pedigree—GWU adds junior transfer Roy Hinson III, son of the NBA’s Roy Hinson
VMI has led the nation in scoring for two consecutive years, only the 11th team to ever accomplish that feat (and a 3-year run has only been done twice before)
as alluded to above, the 2004-05 All-Freshman Team has departed, but its members have left their marks on the Conference record book: Reggie Williams (all-time leading scorer), Arizona Reid (all-time leading rebounder), Jack Leasure (the Big South 3-point record-holder), and Chris Gaynor (Conference career marks for assists and steals).
games against Presbyterian will count in the regular season standings, and the Blue Hose can compete for the regular season title, but PC is ineligible for any postseason play (as part of its transition to D1)
two coaches in the Big South have major conference head coaching experience: Coastal Carolina’s Cliff Ellis (Clemson, Auburn) and Liberty’s Ritchie McKay (Colorado State, Oregon State, New Mexico)…plus Radford’s Brad Greenberg has been an assistant in the NBA (Knicks, Clippers)
65 Team Era. UNC Asheville was the first to win an NCAA Tournament game, with its PiG win over Texas Southern in 2003. Winthrop has been the Big South representative for four consecutive seasons, and was the first to advance past the first round with its win over Notre Dame in 2007. In two other years (2005 and 2006), the Eagles gave #2 Tennessee (63-61) and #3 Gonzaga (74-64) all they wanted in first round matchups.
Final Thoughts. There are those outside the region who will overlook the Big South as a one-bid league without a history of deep tournament runs, but that would be short-sighted. The conference has now been around for a quarter-century; its caliber of coaching has improved and its competition for recruits has stepped up; its teams have demonstrated the ability to take down foes like Kentucky, Georgia Tech, Notre Dame, South Carolina, Miami (FL) and other teams from the major conferences. With this year’s conference race believed to be an open playing field, any team could get hot at the end of the year if it finds the right chemistry among its young players and then perhaps enjoy an extra turn (or two?) at the Dance. It should definitely be fun to watch unfold over the course of the season.
Lost in the detritus of last week’s news was an interesting interview that Bob Knight did with a public television station in Indianapolis (WFYI), where he talked about various topics including cheating (“In college basketball, if you get caught cheating, they should shoot you because you’re too dumb to be alive.“) and his public image as a rude boor (“I simply tried to do what I thought was right. I never really particularly cared about what other people thought except those I knew knew what they were talking about.”). But the truly newsworthy takeaway from the interview were Knight’s comments regarding a possible return to coaching someday. From the AP:
“I got nothing else to do. It would just depend on the circumstances,” the former Army, Indiana and Texas Tech coach told host Mickey Maurer on “Mickey’s Corner” on Indianapolis public TV station WFYI.
There’s no doubt that this man loves yellingmentoring and coaching young minds about the nuances of the game of basketball. And as much as he seemed a natural fit for studio work last March on ESPN, we’d give him only one more go-round before he ends up shoving a green highlighter up… physically assaulting Digger Phelps on national tv.
So we got to thinking… if Knight wanted to take another head coaching job next season, where would his most likely opportunities lie, and which school’s set of circumstances would be most conducive to landing him? To help us answer that question, we came across a neat site called Coaches Hot Seat, which purports to list the top twenty or so head coaches who are one more bad season away from the pink slip and unemployment line. We whittled the list down a little bit (Billy Gillispie??? – puh-lease… that guy is adored in Lexington), but for good measure, we threw a few more names of coaches who are, um, for lack of a better phrase, approaching retirement age.
We dunno, for some reason we can totally see Knight stalking the sidelines in his golden years somewhere like Lehigh. Stay tuned.
Ed. Note 2 – Ok, we get it – Dick Vitale is NOT a front-runner. Thank you to all Rays fans for enlightening us. As an offer of our sincere apologies, we’re sending some peace offerings in the form of team gear to DV at the ESPN studios – his new Duke sweatshirt, Notre Dame cap and Yankee pullover are on their way (being such a longtime fan, season-ticket holder and Tampa Bay area luminary, we figure he has enough Rays gear).
Ed. Note – to all Rays fans, of course we knew that DV was a season-ticket holder. All he ever wants to talk about during the season is Duke and Sarasota. We still think it’s funny that he’s a self-described Yankees fan by birth, yet he’s such a wild Rays (sorry we’re so used to saying Vitale is a (Blue) Devils fan all year long) fan in the photo. We guess it’s ok to have Team A and Team B, but even you’ll agree Vitale tends to have a Team C, D, E, F, G, and H…
Spotted at the BoSox-Devil Rays game tonight, cheering wildly for the Rays. Is there any front-runner local team that he’s supported since the franchise’s birth this guy won’t sell his soul for?
One of the cooler stories we posted last year involved the emergence of the ridiculously oversized 7’7, 360 -lb Kenny George at UNC-Asheville. He gained notoriety for his well-publicized duel with UNC and Tyler Hansbrough early last season (dropping 14/11 on UNC in a relatively close loss), and we kept an eye on him the rest of the year. Led by George’s 12/7/3 blks on nation-leading 69% FG shooting, UNCA had its best season in a generation, winning 23 games and the Big South’s regular season championship. We were rooting very hard for the Bulldogs to make the NCAAs, but they got upset in the Big South title game by conference stalwart Winthrop. Notwithstanding the comical interest we had in George based on his cartoonishly freakish features, we also wanted to see him succeed due to the chronic injuries that a person his size has sustained (multiple knee problems resulting in several missed seasons). Now comes the sad news that George underwent surgery in September for a staph infection that reportedly resulted in the amputation of part of his right foot, and is definitely out this season (if not for good). From the AP report:
The source said the amputation, which occurred three weeks ago, was the result of George’s battle with MRSA, a difficult-to-treat and sometimes life-threatening antibiotic-resistant staph infection. In August, George returned to his Chicago home from Pete Newell’s Big Man Camp in Las Vegas with an infection in his foot. Doctors there suggested that George immediately see a specialist. He’s been hospitalized in Iowa since then, the source said, enduring several surgeries and at one time battling for his life. He’s expected to remain in the hospital for at least another month. “This is a terrible setback for his basketball life but there is so much more to him than basketball,” [UNCA coach Eddie] Biedenbach said. “The students at this school think the world of Kenny George outside of basketball. We’re looking forward to him coming back second semester — that’s what he wants to do — and complete his degree. At that point, we’d still like him to be a part of our basketball program and part of this school.”
We’re Really Rooting For The Big Guy (photo credit: Inside Carolina)
We love Biedenbach’s positivity here, and we’re certainly not a member of the medical profession, but we have to believe that having a partial foot amputation effectively ends George’s basketball career. We love the underdog stories (inasmuch as George could be considered an under-anything), but this is really disheartening news, and we’ll just leave it at that (along with a couple of ESPN features on George from last year).
Shamelessly cribbing from last spring’s very clever NBA catch phrase, we here at RTC will present to you the Thirty Reasons We Love College Basketball as we gear up toward the start of the season a little over a month from now. We’ll be bringing you players to watch for this season and moments to remember from last season, courtesy of the series of dump trucks, wires and effluvia known as YouTube.
#19 – Where You Can Paint That Line Wherever You Want Happens
Marty Leon is the RTC correspondent for the Patriot League.
Predicted Order of Finish:
American (24-5, 14-0)
Navy (19-10, 8-6)
Lehigh (18-11, 7-7)
Colgate (17-11, 7-7)
Holy Cross (16-14, 7-7)
Lafayette (13-15, 7-7)
Army (13-15, 6-8)
Bucknell (5-23, 0-14)
What You Need to Know (WYN2K). The Patriot League is the second cousin of the Ivy, with academic standards for student-athletes tougher than 90% of the rest of the country. Bucknell and Holy Cross have been the historical kings of this league until American emerged last year. With four starters returning led by Garrison Carr, they are a lock to win the league again. Navy’sKaleo Kina and Lafayette’s Andrew Brown are two of the league’s best returnees. Here’s a clip from American’s clincher last year versus Colgate (love the RTC footage).
Predicted Champion.American(#14 NCAA) should repeat as champions. Colgate, a conference tourney finalist last year, was set to challenge until 1,000 point scorer Kyle Roemer went down for the year with an ACL tear. The experience of American and the program’s momentum after last years great season will lead them to Selection Sunday again. A possible #14 seed, Jeff Jones’ squad gave Tennessee all they could handle for 35 minutes in last year’s first round of the NCAA Tourney.
Others Considered.Navy, Lehigh, and Colgate shore up the middle of the pack. The Midshipmen return nine of their top ten scorers. Marquis Hall and Zahir Carrington of Lehigh are both potential all league performers and they could be a sleeper. Emmit Davis’ Colgate five were primed for a title run until Roemer went down, but still will be a tough out. Holy Cross is striving to return to its glory days under Ralph Willard. Jim Crews’ Army team had a nice year in 07-08 and will compete. Bucknell,with new mentor Dave Paulsen, has been crushed by preseason injuries and only has ten healthy bodies at this time.
Key Games & RPI Boosters.
American @ Oklahoma (11/14/08)
American @ Georgetown (12/6/08)
American @ Maryland (12/22/08)
Colgate @ American (2/14/09)
Neat-O Stat. Patriot League coaches have sigificant experience at multiple levels of college basketball. American’s Jeff Jones has been head coach at Virginia, Holy Cross’ Ralph Willard has been head coach at Pitt, and Army’s Jim Crews has been head coach at Evansville. On the flip side, Bucknell’s Dave Paulsen has been head coach of D3 Williams and St. Lawrence, and Emmit Davis of Colgate and a member of his staff played at St. Lawrence.
65 Team Era. The Patriot League didn’t come into existence until the 1991-92 season, but despite its pedstrian record (2-15, .118), in its short time it’s managed to make some NCAA Tournament noise over the years. Everyone of course remembers the Bucknell upsets of 2005 (Kansas) and 2006 (Arkansas), as the Bisons made it to the second round in consecutive years. But from 2001-03, Ralph Willard’s Holy Cross team seemed to live on throwing major scares into top-tier seeds, losing by only four to #2 Kentucky (2001), eleven to #1 Kansas (2002), and four to #3 Marquette (2003).
Final Thoughts. When evaluating this league, the word that comes to mind is parity. These teams are all evenly matched so rarely do you get a blowout in any conference games. This is a great coach’s league. Winning at home is crucial to having a successful season. Anyone but American emerging this season would be a huge surprise, and AmU has a chance to break through the first round and make some noise in the NCAA tournament.
Ok, we’ve got some information flowing in tonight this weekend…
The production values on these things are unbelievable, considering they’re still just glorified practices… from Georgetown…
How about Tom Crean’s first Hoosier Hysteria (Indiana)…
It looked like a great time at the Kennel (Gonzaga) on Friday night…
From Michigan State – a nasty 360-degree left dunk from Durrell Summers…
The original venue of Midnight Madness (Maryland)…
Here’s some K-State footage… what happened to that Beasley kid?
How about a little George Mason love with Michael Jackson in the background…
Dunk you very much at UConn…
Some Mackey Madness at Purdue…
Here’s an excerpt from Corey Johns, our America East correspondent, at UMBC Sports Blog with a description of their festivities on Fri. night.
Then came the dunk contest. Freshmen Brett Burrier (6-6), Jake Wasco (6-9) and Chauncey Gilliam (6-2) and junior Matt Spadafora (6-4) all took the floor for the contest. The first round Spadafora was the only one to
make both dunks sending him automatically to the finals, and the next guy was up to fan vote, and they choose Chauncey Gilliam.The finals were set and Spadafora hit is first one sending the crowd in an uproar thinking he won it right there, but Gilliam made and even more impressive shot making the crowd even crazier. With the second shot at a dunk Spadafora barely missed hitting the back of the rim and shooting the ball back out. Gilliam went on the court with the contest on the line. He ran up did a 360 hook tomahawk dunk for the win and a floor storming performance as some fans and both the men’s and women’s team’s picked him up and carried him around as he celebrated.
Josh over at Big Ten Geeks, RTC’s Big 10 correspondents, was kind enough to allow us access to some live-blogging he did last night while watching the BTN coverage…
Live-Blogging Midnight Madness in the Big Ten
Josh here, from Big Ten Geeks, blogging the Midnight Madness festivities from…my living room. But hey, I have the Big Ten Network in HD, and if you’re not one of the 12 or so households that receive the network – no fear! – I’ll be here to give you the rundown. Looks like we have Wisconsin, Purdue, Indiana, Minnesota, and Michigan State on tap.
…Jim Jackson just compared Wisconsin to the New England Patriots. I hope Marcus Landry has strong knees.
…Lots of dancing at the Night of the Grateful Red. Each of the players has a silly dance routine with a cute co-ed (dance team members? Does Wisconsin have a dance team? Does Bo Ryan coach that too?). Some are…better than others. Jared Berggren gave a rythmically-challenged dance to Vanilla Ice.
…Man, Wisconsin has a lot of tall white guys. Bo certainly has a type.
…Wisconsin fans hope Jason Bohannon has a better outside shot this season than pop-and-lock.
…Am I alone for thinking Bo Ryan bears a striking resemblance to Jon Voight? Everytime I see him, Coach Kilmer’s voice pops in my head.
…Yes, Bo danced again this year, but it wasn’t as good as last year’s Soulja Boy routine. But how can you top that?
…The festivities are tipping off in Mackey Arena. Purdue has a Mission Impossible theme going.
…Chris Kramer – not a dunker.
…BTN cuts away from the dunk competition as super-athlete Lewis Jackson starts his routine. That’s just bad scouting.
…Hey, Kramer threw one down, and it appears he’s worked his way into the finals. Well, hey, Purdue figures to rely on outside shooting anyways.
…JaJuan Johnson takes home the crown. No LewJack highlights to be seen. Color me disappointed.
…Coach Tom Crean figures that IU will shoot a lot of 3s this season. The talent certainly seems to be on the perimeter.
…Flipping over to ESPNU. It’s ex-Big Ten coach Bill Self with a blue microphone. He looks like he’s lost some weight.
…Scrimmage at Purdue. A lot of defense being played for a scrimmage. The Boilers will be tough to score on this season.
…Wild prediction time: LewJack will supplant Chris Kramer as the starting PG by the end of the season. He looks good out there.
…A lot of growing pains at Indiana. The fans are still figuring out how to cheer their coach. Right now, they’re adapting the classical two-syllable chant (“Mich-ael Jor-dan” clap clap clapclapclap) to an elongated “To-om Cre-ean.” Err, needs some work. A modest proposal: why not go with the two-syllable “TomCrean!” clapclap, or the “U-S-A! U-S-A” three syllable cheer (“Coach Tom Crean! Coach Tom Crean!”)?
..Out to the Barn now. You really have to like what Tubby’s done in a short time at Minnesota. I’m sure Billy Gillispie is a great coach, but I can’t help but feel that Kentucky chased away a good one.
…Announcers are debating whether or not Blake Hoffarber should come off the bench. Please – no! The Hoff needs minutes! It would be a mistake to relegate the best returning scorer to anything less than significant minutes.
…Why is Minnesota showing old footage of Flip Saunders runing some globetrotter-type drills?
…Every time I flip over to ESPNU to check out non-Big Ten festivities, I just get Andy Katz arguing with Adrian Branch in a studio. Madness!
…Cut to the Breslin Center, which is having a flashback night to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the 1979 championship season. Izzo hints that we might see some crazy 70s hair, mustaches, and short shorts. Hopefully Goran Suton does not partake in that last one.
…Minnesota scrimmage time! The Hoff is on the bench and…Tubby calls a timeout? He can’t help himself, he’s always got to be coaching.
…IU scrimmage time! Yeah, the Hoosiers will be short this season. Either Tom Crean is mic’ed up, or he’s just really loud. Chastising players for a lot of bad shots.
Well, that does it for the BTN’s Midnight Madness coverage. Fun night for the fans, and it means that the season is just around the corner.
From Greg Miller at S. Illinois –
Even though they’re coming off their first non-NCAA Tournament season since 2001, the 2008-09 Salukis had a good crowd on hand at the SIU Arena for this year’s version of Maroon Madness (despite it being a high school football Friday night). It was the first chance to really get a look at a big group of newcomers that have been highly touted as the best recruiting class in SIU history. From my perspective, a lot of them showed some serious potential. Kevin Dillard (2008 Illinois Mr. Basketball) didn’t score much, but his ball-handling skills show he will be able to help Bryan Mullins out a lot at the point this season. Ryan Hare is an explosive wing out of Chicago who can get the rim quick. Torres Roundtree put on a well-rounded display. He threw down an alley-oop from Mullins, drove hard to the rack for an easy lay-up and also did a good job running the break and finding the open man at the other end. He will be a welcome addition to the backcourt. Didn’t see a lot from fellow McCluer North alum Anthony Booker. But size alone, he is a monster. A legit 6’8 that will definately be able to bang in the Valley. Justin Bocot was a pleasant surprise. After sitting out last year with academic problems, Bocot is back and has some serious offensive game. He showed the ability to get the rim and knock down the long three (depsite having a knuckleball shot). All in all, it was a showcase for the freshman. And they showcased some skills. The one thing that remains to be seen is if these young ‘Dawgs can play that Chris Lowery-defense that has made SIU famous. Here is a link to some interviews from SIU Media Day and highlights from tonight’s Maroon Madness.
Jordan Freemeyer is the RTC correspondent for the Mountain West and Big Sky conferences.
Predicted Order of Finish:
Portland State (20-9, 13-3)
Northern Colorado (21-10, 11-5)
Idaho State (15-14, 10-6)
Montana (18-11, 10-6)
Weber State (13-16, 8-8)
Northern Arizona (12-15, 7-9)
Montana State (11-17, 6-10)
Eastern Washington (10-19, 5-11)
Sacramento State (6-23, 2-14)
What You Need to Know (WYN2K). The Big Sky is a nine-team conference stretching from the Pacific Ocean to the southern Rocky Mountains. The Big Sky has historically been an eight-team conference, but added Northern Colorado as its ninth member in 2006. Unlike most conferences that feature a balanced eight or twelve team tournament, only the top six Big Sky teams get the chance to go dancing. The conference is generally a power in FCS (formerly I-AA) football, but does not have a rich men’s basketball tradition. However, Weber State in particular has been noted for big upsets in the NCAA Tournament. In 1995, a #14 seed Weber State team beat #3 seed Michigan State 79-72, and in 1999 the Wildcats repeated the feat, taking down another #3 seed, North Carolina, 76-74. More recently, Montana made a run to the second round in 2006 with a wins over #5 Nevada.
Predicted Champion.Portland State (#14 NCAA). This is a relatively safe pick, as the Vikings won both the regular season and tournament championships last season. Portland State returns three starters, including 2007-08 Big Sky Newcomer of the Year and Player of the Year Jeremiah Dominguez (pictured below). The 5’6” Dominguez scored 14.4 points per game last season, while averaging 4 assists per game and leading the conference with 1.9 steals per game. Also returning for the Vikings is junior Kyle Coston. The 6’8” forward averaged 7.4 points per game last season and made over 40 percent of his three-point attempts. PSU lost leading rebounders Scott Morrison and Deonte Huff, but return enough firepower offensively to make them the favorites in the Big Sky.
Others Considered. Behind the Vikings is a pack of about four teams that can challenge them. Northern Colorado is my pick to finish second in the league. The Bears return nine letterwinners from last season, the most in the conference, and are led by all-conference center Jabril Banks. Banks led UNC last season with 13.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. Idaho State should also contend for the conference title; the Bengals are led by guards Matt Stucki and Amorrow Morgan, who combined to average just under 22 points per game last season. Perrenial favorites Montana and Weber State should also be in the mix, led by forward Jordan Hasquet and guard Kellen McCoy, respectively.
Important Conference games.
Northern Arizona @ Montana State (1/10/09) – This game could go a long way toward determining the final berth in the Big Sky Tournament.
Portland State @ Northern Colorado (1/19/09) – This is just Northern Colorado’s third year in the conference, but Butler-Hancock Sports Pavilion is already proving to be one of the toughest places to play. The Bears were 9-4 there last season.
Idaho State @ Weber State (1/31/09) – Dee Events Center should be rocking for this matchup between rivals that will have a big impact on what the top of the conference standings look like.
Montana at Montana State (2/7/09) – It’s Montana against Montana State, when is it ever not important?
Big Sky Championship Game (3/11/09)
RPI Boosters.
Northern Colorado @ Colorado State (11/18/08) – This is perhaps the biggest college basketball rivalry in the state of Colorado. The Bears beat the Rams, 72-59, last year.
North Dakota State @ Northern Arizona (11/25/07) – This is the first of two meetings between the two teams this season, and catches the Bison in the midst of a very tough three-game road trip.
BYU @ Weber State (12/3/08) – This is yet another chance for the Big Sky to prove itself against an in-state rival. You can bet the biggest venue in the Big Sky will be nearly full for this one.
Portland State @ Washington (12/14/08) – This game presents a good chance for the Vikings to make a statement against a quality Pac-10 opponent.
Idaho @ Idaho State (12/29/08) – The Bengals host their former conference-mate and in-state rival at Holt Arena with a chance to prove basketball supremacy in the state of Idaho.
Neat-O Stat. Sacramento State hired a new head coach for the 2008-09 season, Brian Katz. This is Katz’s first NCAA head coaching job, but he is not the only coach in the league that is in a relatively new place. Only one coach in the Big Sky, Northern Arizona’s Mike Adras, has been at his school for more than four years. Portland State’s Ken Bone is entering his fourth season with the Vikings, and is the second-longest tenured coach in the conference. Idaho State’s Joe O’Brien, Montana’s Wayne Tinkle, Montana State’s Brian Huse, Northern Colorado’s Tad Boyle and Weber State’s Randy Rahe are all in their third season with their respective teams. Last year, Eastern Washington brought coach Kirk Earlywine into the mix.
65 Team Era. The Big Sky is only 3-24 (.111) over the era, but as stated above, it has some quality upsets on its resume, with #14 Weber St. in both 1995 and 1999, and #12 Montana breaking into the second round in 2006. Its champion typically receives a #14 or #15 seed in the NCAAs, but generally avoids the dreaded #16. Here’s an amusing YouTube clip of some of Portland State’s practice and media session before playing #1 Kansas in last year’s first round below.
Final Thoughts. The Big Sky should be a very interesting conference to watch this season. There are about five or six teams that could win the regular season title, and the conference tournament should amount to a crap shoot. Whoever wins the league, I wouldn’t be all that surprised to see them upset a big conference team in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
It’s been 193 days and nights since the Kansas Jayhawks walked off the floor with a national championship trophy held high above their heads. In the interim, we’ve debated draft stock, analyzed the new three-point line and otherwise provided the daily filler that keeps and justifies your rapt attention on this site (ahem). But now it’s time to get back to business. It’s time to start traveling on the long road to the Final Four in Detroit. It’s time to start listening for the squeaks of sparkling new Nikes on the hardwood, coaches making excuses as to why their players just aren’t ‘getting it,’ and various media idiots luminaries blather on about the strengths and weaknesses of the AASAA offense (present company excluded, of course). As of tonight, each of the nation’s 343 teams has a dream – a dream of one kind or another – whether it’s simply advancing a round or two in their conference tournament, making the Big Dance for the first time, or actually cutting down the nets at the national championship.
So let’s get it rolling tonight, with the inappropriately named Midnight Madness celebrations (who actually celebrates at Midnight anymore?), and the warm blanket security that college hoops is, once again, on the horizon.
We’ll be bringing you coverage of some of the celebrations tonight, as we get information from them around the country. ESPNU and the Big Ten Network are providing television coverage (although we don’t get either channel). If anyone goes, send us in some photos and/or videos!
Here’s a partial list of some of the most notable events.
