PDF of Release
NCAA Tournament
Start Time: 7:50 p.m. Mountain, 6:50 p.m. Pacific
TV: CBS. Records: Montana is 22-9. New Mexico is 29-4.
Looking ahead: The winner will take on the winner of the first-round game between No. 6 Marquette and No. 11 Washington.
NIT Tournament
Start Time: 5 p.m. Mountain. TV: ESPN2.
Records: Weber State is 20-10. Cincinnati is 18-15.
Looking ahead: The winner will play the winner of the first-round game between No. 3 Dayton and No. 6 Illinois State.
CollegeInsider.com
Postseason Tournament
Start Time: 7 p.m. Mountain.
Internet video stream: Click here to view the game. Cost is $8.
Records: Northern Colorado is 24-7. Portland is 21-10.
Looking ahead: There is no set bracket in the CIT. The second-round matchups are TBA.
This Week’s Highlights
For the third time in conference history, three Big Sky teams will play in national postseason tournaments…Montana will represent the Big Sky in the NCAA Tournament. The 14-seeded Grizzlies take on No. 3 seed New Mexico of the Mountain West Conference on Thursday in San Jose, Calif. The game will be televised nationally on CBS. Montana is making its eighth appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Grizzlies won a first-round game in 2006 against Nevada…Weber State plays in the NIT for the second straight seasons. The Wildcats face Cincinnati of the Big East on Wednesday in a game that will be televised nationally on ESPN2 at 5 p.m. Mountain…Northern Colorado plays its first Division I postseason national tournament on Wednesday at home against Portland of the West Coast Conference in the first round of the Collegeinsider.com Postseason Tournament. The Bears (24-7) are looking to set a school record for victories in a season. The game can be viewed for a fee at Foxsports.com.
Around the Big Sky
LILLARD NAMED TO ALL-DISTRIC TEAM: Weber State’s Damian Lillard, the Big Sky MVP, has been selected to the USBWA District VIII All-America Team. The team can include players from Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, New Mexico, Colorado and Nevada. BYU’s Jimmer Fredette was named the District VIII Player of the Year. New Mexico’s Steve Alford was selected as the Coach of the Year. Lillard was joined in the team by Fredette, BYU’s Jackson Emery, Nevada’s Luke Babbitt, Colorado’s Cory Higgins, New Mexico’s Darington Hobson and Roman Martinez, Utah State’s Jared Quayle, UNLV’s Tre’von Willis and New Mexico State’s Jahman Young.
RAHE TABBED COY: For the third time in four seasons, Weber State’s Randy Rahe has been selected by his conference peers as the Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year. Rahe guided the Wildcats to the regular-season title for a second straight season and a third time in four seasons. Weber State finished the regular season 13-3 in conference and 19-9 overall. Weber State won its semifinal game in the conference championship over Portland State, but fell 66-65 to Montana in the championship. Rahe has compiled a 49-15 conference record and is 77-46 in his four seasons. Rahe was named Coach of the Year following the 2006-07 season and the 2008-09 seasons. Rahe has led Weber State to the NCAA Tournament once, and to the NIT twice. Rahe is the fifth coach in league history to win the honor three times. He joins Weber State’s Phil Johnson, Neil McCarthy and Rob Abegglen, as well as Boise State’s Bobby Dye and Montana State’s Mick Durham as three-time winner. No coach has won the award four times. Rahe is the first coach to win the honor in back-to-back years since Abegglen in 1997-98 and 1998-99. Rahe is the seventh coach in league history to win the honor in consecutive seasons.
BOYLE HONORED: Northern Colorado’s Tad Boyle was selected as the District 6 Co-Coach of the Year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches. Boyle shared the honor with Utah State’s Stew Morrill. The Sporting News tabbed Boyle as its Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year. Boyle is eligible to win the NABC National Coach of the Year. Boyle has also been named a finalist for the Hugh Durham Mid-Major Coach of the Year, awarded by collegeinsider.com. Boyle, in his fourth season, guided Northern Colorado to 24 regular-season victories, tying the school record. Northern Colorado finished second in the Big Sky at 12-4. Boyle has led his team to more victories in each of his four seasons, starting with just four wins in his first campaign.
RPI REPORT: The Big Sky enters the national postseason tournaments ranked 18th in the RPI among Division I conferences. The Big Sky is once again just behind the Southern and just ahead of the Big West. The Big Sky was rated as high as 14th this season, and spent much of the season 17th. Montana enters the NCAA Tournament with an RPI of 97, a jump of 27 spots after beating Northern Colorado in the semifinals and Weber State in the Big Sky Championship. Weber State dropped eight spots to 85. Northern Colorado is at 117. Northern Arizona is at 197, followed by Montana at 200. The Big Sky’s non-conference strength of schedule rates 15th among the Division I conferences.
THREE WIN 20: For the first time since the 1995-96 season, three Big Sky teams posted 20-win seasons. Northern Colorado enters its CBI game with 24 school wins, tying the school single-season record. Montana enters the NCAA tournament with 22 victories. Weber State enters the NIT with 20 wins. In 1995-96, Montana State had 21 victories, while Weber State and Montana each had 20.
JONES SETS BLOCK RECORD: Portland State’s Jamie Jones became the school’s single-season leader in blocks in the Vikings’ quarterfinal win over Montana State. Jones notched his 71st block in the game, surpassing the previous mark of 70 set by Scott Morrison during the 2006-07 campaign. Jones added four blocks in the Vikings’ semifinal loss to Weber State. His 75 blocks are the third-most in league single-season history. Idaho State’s Slim Millien set the record of 93 in 2005-06. Idaho State’s Steve Hayes is second with 76 in 1975-76. Jones recorded 34 blocks in his last 11 games.
QVALE TIES BLOCK RECORD: Montana’s Brian Qvale tied the record for blocked shots in the championship game with six in the Grizzlies’ 66-65 win over Weber State. Qvale tied the mark set by Northern Arizona’s Adrian Hayes in 2004 against Eastern Washington. Qvale fell one block short of tying the Big Sky Tournament single-game record of seven set by Idaho’s Kelvin Smith against Nevada in a 1983 semifinal game. Qvale, a junior, has 59 blocked shots this season and 150 for his career. Qvale ranks eighth on the Big Sky’s all-time list, just six behind Boise State’s John Coker with 156. Montana’s Daren Engellant holds the all-time record with 212, a mark Qvale should challenge next season.
Big Sky Tournament Notes
P The Big Sky is 17-53 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. Since the tournament expanded 27 years ago, conference teams have won three times. In 2006, Montana upset Nevada as the No. 12 seed in Salt Lake City. In 1999, Weber State upset North Carolina as the No. 14 seed in Seattle. In 1995, Weber State upset Michigan State as a No. 14 seed in Tallahassee, Fla.
P The Big Sky is 3-15 all-time in the NIT. A Big Sky team is playing in the NIT for the 13th time. Weber State is 1-2 all-time in the NIT, with the victory coming at home in 1984 over Fordham.
P This marks the third time in conference history, and the first time since 1987 that three Big Sky teams are playing in national postseason tournaments. In 1986, Montana State made the NCAA Tournament, while Northern Arizona and Montana played in the NIT. In 1987, Boise State and Montana State played in the NIT. Idaho State represented the Big Sky in the NCAA.
P Montana is making its eighth trip to the NCAA Tournament, and the fourth since 2002. Montana lost to Oregon in 2002, to Washington in 2005 and to Boston College in the second round in 2006. This is the first time the Grizzlies have played an NCAA game in San Jose.
P Montana is a 14 seed, which could be a good omen. The last two times a Big Sky team has been seeded 14th, it has led to a first-round victory. In 1995, Weber State stunned Michigan State. In 1999, the 14th seed was kind to the Wildcats again, as they upset North Carolina. Since 1985, this is the ninth time the Big Sky representative has been seeded fourth.
P Wayne Tinkle is the sixth coach to lead the Grizzlies to the NCAA tournament. Jud Heathcote guided UM to a tournament win in 1975. Stew Morrill led UM to the 1991 tournament. Blaine Taylor was UM’s coach in appearances in 1992 and 1997. Don Holst led UM to the 2002 Big Dance. Larry Krystkowiak was the Grizzly coach in 2005 and 2006.
P Three former Grizzly coaches will coach this week in the Big Dance. Taylor is now the head coach at Old Dominion. Taylor guided Old Dominion to the title in the 2009 Collegeinsider.com Postseason Tournament. Morrill is at Utah State. Mike Montgomery is Cal’s coach.
P Several other former Big Sky assistant or head coaches will partake in this year’s NCAA Tournament. Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon is a former Northern Arizona assistant coach. Former Eastern Washington head coach Ray Giacoletti, who led the Eagles and Utah to the NCAA tournament, is an assistant coach at Gonzaga. Former Montana State head coach Mick Durham is an assistant at New Mexico State, under Marvin Menzies, who was an assistant at Sacramento State in 1996-97. Former Montana point guard Travis DeCuire is an assistant at Cal.
P Former Big Sky Freshman of the Year Cameron Rundles is also playing in the NCAA Tournament. Rundles, who won the award with Montana in 2006-07, is a senior guard for Wofford. The Terriers play Wisconsin in the first round.
P Big Sky Conference Commissioner Doug Fullerton is in the first year of serving a five-year term on the NCAA Basketball Committee. Fullerton was in Indianapolis last week with the other nine members of the committee, selecting the 65-team field.
P The Bay Area will be a hot spot for the Tinkle family this weekend. Wayne will guide the Grizzlies in San Jose, while his daughter Joslyn will play in the first round of the NCAA Women’s Tournament for second-ranked Stanford. The No. 1 seeded Cardinal open at home against UC Riverside.