Tournament Notes
Five of the six teams were in the tournament field last season. Portland State is not in this year’s field. Eastern Washington returns to the tournament for the first time since 2006. Montana is in the tournament for the 10th straight season. Montana State has qualified seven straight seasons. Weber State is making its fifth straight appearance, while Northern Colorado is in the field for a third straight season. NAU is back for a second straight season and the 13th time in the last 15 years.
This is the 36th Big Sky Men’s Basketball Championship, but the first time it has been played in Colorado. Greeley will join Ogden, Utah, Pocatello, Idaho, Missoula, Mont., Moscow, Idaho, Reno, Nev., Boise, Idaho, Bozeman, Mont., Flagstaff, Ariz., Northridge, Calif, Cheney, Wash., and Portland, Ore., as sites of the Big Sky men’s championship.
Since Northern Colorado won the regular-season championship, the Bears are guaranteed a bid to the NIT if they fail to win the championship.
Montana senior center Brian Qvale has 17 blocks in five previous tournament games. Qvale needs one block to tie and two to break the career Big Sky Championship record of 18 set by Darren Engellant of Montana. Earlier this season, Qvale broke Engellant’s career Big Sky block record of 212. Qvale enters the tournament with 239 career blocks
Montana sophomore Will Cherry set a tournament record with nine steals in three games last season. Cherry needs five more steals to tie the career tournament record.
Three of this year’s tournament coaches have won past Big Sky Championships. Montana’s Wayne Tinkle won the tournament last year. Weber State’s Randy Rahe won the tournament in 2007. Northern Arizona’s Mike Adras led NAU to the 2000 championship.
If Northern Colorado wins the tournament, the Bears will be come the seventh No. 1 seed in the last 13 years to capture the championship. Just twice in the last six tournaments, however, has the No. 1 seed cut down the nets.
Just three players in this year’s tournament will be playing in a fourth Big Sky Championship: Montana’s Brian Qvale and Montana State’s Bobby Howard and Erik Rush. Qvale and Howard have each played in the previous three. Rush played in 2007, 2009 and 2010.
Northern Colorado senior Devon Beitzel will be playing in just his second tournament game on Tuesday. Beitzel missed last year’s tournament with a broken foot. He scored six points in a 67-60 quarterfinal loss at Idaho State as a sophomore in 2008.