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The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash.
Eastern Washington men, Idaho women among favorites for Big Sky crown
- Story byThe Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash.
- Eastern Washington men, Idaho women among favorites for Big Sky crown
Oct. 29—Men's Big Sky
Five years ago, when Southern Utah last played in the Big Sky Conference, the top teams in the league standings were Montana State, Weber State, Northern Colorado, Montana and Eastern Washington.
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The Thunderbirds were right there, too, sitting in second place in the 2021-22 men's basketball standings behind first-place Montana State.
This year's preseason polls look much the same as the way the league finished five seasons ago, though the Thunderbirds — back in the Big Sky this year, along with first-time member Utah Tech — appear to have some work to do. Southern Utah is 10th in the polls; Utah Tech is seventh.
Long a one-bid NCAA Tournament league, the regular season in the Big Sky only means so much; the big prize is a league tournament title. In three of the last five seasons, a team other than the regular-season champion went on to represent the Big Sky in the NCAA Tournament.
Here are the favorites, the underdogs and the builders in the Big Sky:
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Favorites: Eastern Washington, Portland State, Northern Colorado, Montana State
Jed Miller, Montana State's fifth-year guard, is the star here, leading a Bobcats team favored by coaches and media to win the league. Matt Logie, now in his fourth year as MSU's head coach after successful runs at Point Loma and Whitworth, has already won a Big Sky Tournament title, though he has yet to win a regular-season championship.
Northern Colorado is led by Langston Reynolds, who is back with the Bears after spending last season at Minnesota. He led the Golden Gophers with 150 assists. Steve Smiley, now in his sixth season as the Bears' head coach, has won the Big Sky regular season title once and finished in the top half of the league three other times.
Portland State has improved its record each year since 2022 under head coach Jase Coburn, who has earned a reputation for tenacious, scrappy teams that wear down opponents. But the Vikings are still looking for their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2009.
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Eastern Washington won back-to-back league titles in 2023 and 2024, but in both years it failed to reach the NCAA Tournament. Under third-year head coach Dan Monson, the Eagles are looking to improve on an 11-7 finish last season.
Underdogs: Weber State, Montana, Idaho, Utah Tech
Montana is the Big Sky program that most recently won an NCAA Tournament game; that was back in 2006. Head coach Travis DeCuire is looking for his fourth NCAA Tournament berth, having led the Grizzlies there in 2018, 2019 and 2025.
Idaho represented the Big Sky at the NCAA Tournament last year after winning the league tournament as a No. 7 seed. Utah Tech finished 11-7 in the Western Athletic Conference last season.
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Weber State finished 10-8 in the Big Sky last year and is now led by Kaleb Canales, who last season was the associate head coach for Troy, which reached the NCAA Tournament.
Builders: Idaho State, Southern Utah, Northern Arizona
The Bengals and Lumberjacks finished in the bottom two spots of the league standings last season; the Thunderbirds finished 6-12 in the WAC.
Women's Big Sky
After winning its first Big Sky regular season title since 2019, the Idaho women's basketball team is trying to do something it has never done as a program: win it again.
It's a feat three other Big Sky programs — Montana State, Idaho State and Montana — have accomplished at some point over the last 20 years.
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Recently, though, the Big Sky has been a league of parity. Since the 2017-18 season, seven different programs have reached the NCAA Tournament; only Montana State has qualified multiple times over that span.
It makes predicting a Big Sky champion more difficult, though this year there are a couple clear favorites:
Favorites: Montana State, Idaho
The Bobcats are coming off a 2025-26 when they finished 16-2 in league play, one game behind first-place Idaho (17-1). No one else in the league had fewer than five losses.
Reigning Big Sky Player of the Year Taylee Chirrick returns for Montana State, which has finished no worse than fourth in the league over the last seven seasons. Since Tricia Binford became head coach in 2005, the Bobcats have finished with a losing record in league play just once — and that was in Binford's first season.
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Idaho returns preseason all-Big Sky selection Hope Hassmann, who averaged 14.2 points per game last season. Ana Pinheiro is also back after earning all-conference defensive team honors last year.
Challengers: Eastern Washington, Northern Colorado, Idaho State
The Eagles return four starters under sixth-year head coach Joddie Gleason, who won a Big Sky championship in 2024.
Entering their sixth season under head coach Kristen Mattio, the Bears won 13 Big Sky games last year, seven more than they did the season before. They went 23-11 overall, the program's second-most wins since it joined the Big Sky in 2006.
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Seton Sobolewski is in his 19th season at Idaho State, where he has a 305-248 overall record that includes three Big Sky regular season championships.
Underdogs: Montana, Southern Utah, Northern Arizona
Southern Utah is back in the league for the first time since 2022, when it finished with a 14-6 record in Big Sky games. Last season in the Western Athletic Conference, the Thunderbirds went 11-7.
Montana is looking to rebound from a 5-13 Big Sky record last season, the program's worst since it went 4-14 in 2016-17.
Northern Arizona won at least 10 Big Sky games from 2022 to 2025 but is looking to find its footing after a 6-12 finish last year under first-year head coach Laura Dinkins.
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Builders: Weber State, Utah Tech, Portland State
The Wildcats and Vikings last won a league title more than 15 years ago, and Utah Tech is making its Big Sky debut. Each still has a ways to go toward achieving that goal.
