- Montana (17-1, 21-6). Games remaining: vs. Sac State, vs. N. Arizona. What the Griz achieved in a road sweep of Montana State and Southern Utah is pretty remarkable. They beat the Cats and the T-birds essentially with next season’s team, as senior leaders Will Cherry and Mathias Ward sat out with injuries. There’s a lot to be said for knowing how to win and this team defines that. If neither senior can return this week, it’s still going to be an uphill climb against Sac and NAU, teams that are battling for their postseason lives. The Griz, who moved up one notch to 13th in the mid-major poll, could still host the tournament for the second straight season even with a loss this week as long as MSU finishes ahead of whichever team beats the Griz. The clearest path is to close out with two home wins.
- Weber State (16-2, 22-5). Games remaining: vs. Portland State, vs. Eastern Washington. The Wildcats don’t figure to lose either of their remaining games and will still need help from the Grizzlies to bring the tournament to Ogden, Utah. Like the Grizzlies, the Wildcats nearly stumbled on the road last week, needing overtime to beat NAU, which made some bonehead plays down the stretch to hand Weber the win. If the Griz hang on to the top spot, the Wildcats would need to win three games in three days at the tournament to earn an NCAA bid, a tough task on the road.
- North Dakota (11-8, 14-15). Game remaining: vs. Southern Utah. UND is locked into the third spot in the standings in a successful debut season in the Big Sky. I’ve been saying all year how much I like Troy Huff and he’s playing his best basketball of the season at the right time. The Green & White will be a tough out at the tournament.
- Northern Colorado (9-10, 11-17). Game remaining: vs. Southern Utah. Here’s another team that will be a tough out in the postseason. The Bears are finally playing to their potential, which had them picked third in the preseason poll. A home win over Southern Utah could give UNC the fourth seed in the tournament, but fifth would amount to the same thing anyhow as No. 4 plays No. 5 in the opening round. This is another team playing its best ball in March.
- Northern Arizona (8-10, 11-18). Games remaining: at Montana State, at Montana. The Jacks absolutely blew an outstanding chance to improve their lot in the postseason by squandering a late seven-point lead against Weber State. Not only would the Jacks have their ninth win already, a win over one of the top two teams would have been very useful for tiebreaking possibilities. NAU faces a tough trip this week and desperately needs to get the front end of the trip at MSU.
- Montana State (8-10, 11-16). Games remaining: vs. N. Arizona, vs. Sac State. The Cats need to find their swagger again to take some momentum into the tournament. A home sweep of NAU and Sac State would go a long ways toward that. The Cats have lost six of seven after a promising start to the season. Freshman point guard Marcus Colbert showed his youth in the loss to the Griz last week as he was nearly nonexistent. I wouldn’t be shocked to see Antonio Biglow in the starting lineup.
- Southern Utah (8-10, 11-17). Games remaining: at N. Colorado, at N. Dakota. Home losses to Montana State and Montana really hurt the T-birds’ chances of making the postseason in their debut season. I don’t see them winning either of their final two games, which could leave them on the outside looking in.
- Sacramento State (8-10, 14-13). Games remaining: at Montana, at Montana State. The Hornets will no doubt give the Griz everything they have on Thursday because getting that second game of the UM-MSU trip is always tough. That the Hornets struggled to beat last-place Idaho State last week at home is not a good sign.
- Eastern Washington (6-12, 9-20). Games remaining: at Idaho State, at Weber State. For Eastern to get into the postseason, it would need to win both of its remaining games, one of which is at Weber State. Not going to happen. In fact, ISU will probably end the Eagles’ hopes on Thursday night.
- Portland State (5-13, 8-18). Games remaining: at Weber State, at Idaho State. There’s an excellent chance the Vikings might end up in last place after being picked fifth in both preseason polls. The Vikings will fall at Weber on Thursday, then will face ISU on senior night in Pocatello. Could the Bengals move out of the basement? See below.
- Idaho State (4-14, 5-23). Games remaining: vs. Eastern Washington, vs. Portland State. Yes, the Bengals could very well move out of the basement in Coach Bill Evans’ first season. A pair of wins over Eastern Washington and Portland State would do it and don’t be surprised if the Bengals pull it off. ISU will no doubt be on the upswing next season after Evans has a full year to recruit.
Gutty Griz return to top spot in power rankings
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