Big Sky Champions Come Down to Earth in NCAA Tournament

The Big Sky Conference champion has advanced to the NCAA tournament every year since 1968 and will do so this season after the conference tournament concludes Saturday at Cal State Northridge.

Historically, the Big Sky hasn’t fared well at the Big Dance. Conference teams are 16-45 in NCAA tournament games, and no Big Sky representative has advanced to the Sweet 16 since Idaho in 1982. No Big Sky champion has won an NCAA championship.

The Big Sky champion usually is seeded somewhere from 14th to 16th and often eliminated in the opening round.

But that doesn’t mean the Big Sky tournament hasn’t had its moments. Nor has its champion failed to add some thrills to March Madness.

Last season, Northridge narrowly missed advancing to its first NCAA tournament when Markus Carr’s layup against Northern Arizona missed with two seconds to play in regulation. The Matadors lost in overtime, 85-81, the first overtime final in the Big Sky tournament since 1978 and only the third since the tournament began in 1976.

“There’s been great parity in the league,” said Coach Mick Durham of Montana State, who has been in the conference 10 years and took the Bobcats to the NCAA tournament in 1996.

“You don’t have a Valparaiso who is going to win it six years in a row. It’s tough to dominate, at least more than two years.”

Northridge is making its fourth tournament appearance in Coach Bobby Braswell’s fifth season. The Matadors twice have advanced to the final, losing to Montana, 82-79, in 1997, their first season in the conference.

Northridge (20-9) finished two games ahead of Eastern Washington this season while winning 20 games for the second consecutive year.

Northridge will move to the Big West next season after a beneficial tenure in the Big Sky.

“There were people here who said, ‘You’ll never win 20 games,’ ” Braswell said. “And we’ve done that with a pretty rough schedule.

“We haven’t padded our scheduled with Division IIs and Division IIIs.”

As for the NCAA tournament, in 1998, Harold Arceneaux of Weber State scored 36 points and the 14th-seeded Wildcats were the talk of the first round after a 76-74 upset of North Carolina. Weber State lost to Florida in overtime, 82-74, in the second round.

Last season, 15th-seeded Northern Arizona nearly pulled off a first-round upset of St. John’s before losing, 61-56, in a game decided in the final minute. The Lumberjacks led, 56-55, with 29 seconds to play and trailed by two with 11 seconds left when the ball was stripped from Ross Land, three-point specialist and Big Sky most valuable player.

In 1998, No. 15 Northern Arizona came up short in the first round against Cincinnati, 65-62, on D’Juan Baker’s three-pointer with seven seconds to play.

Only twice in the last 10 years has a Big Sky team been seeded higher than 14th in the NCAA tournament. Montana State in 1996 and Idaho--no longer a Big Sky member--in 1990 were seeded 13th.

As for players, few former Big Sky members grace the rosters of professional teams.

Chris Childs of the Toronto Raptors, a 1989 graduate of Boise State, is the most notable Big Sky alumnus in the NBA.

Former NBA players include Micheal Ray Richardson, who was an all-conference selection for Montana in 1978, Larry Krystkowiak, who scored 2,017 points for Montana from 1982-85, and Ron Boone, who averaged 20 points for Idaho State over three seasons.

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TOURNAMENT TIME

Northridge Results

In Big Sky Playoffs

2000: Beat Weber State, 73-68; Beat Montana, 76-65; Lost in overtime to Northern Arizona, 85-81, in championship game

1999: Lost to Montana State, 91-90

1998: Beat Eastern Washington, 104-98; Lost to Northern Arizona, 86-79

1997: Beat Montana State, 74-56; Beat Northern Arizona, 93-84; Lost to Montana, 82-79, in championship game

Big Sky Conference

Championship Game Results

2000: Northern Arizona 85, Northridge 81 (OT)

MVP--Ross Land, Northern Arizona

1999: Weber State 82, Northern Arizona 75

MVP--Eddie Gill, Weber State

1998: Northern Arizona 77, Montana State 50

MVP--Dan McClintock, Northern Arizona

1997: Montana 82, CS Northridge 79

MVP--Trenton Cross, CS Northridge

1996: Montana State 81, Weber State 70

MVP--Danny Sprinkle, Montana State

1995: Weber State 84, Montana 62

MVP--Ruben Nembhard, Weber State

1994: Boise State 85, Idaho State 81

MVP--Shambric Williams, Boise State

1993: Boise State 80, Idaho 68

MVP--Tanoka Beard, Boise State

1992: Montana 73, Nevada 68

MVP--Delvon Anderson, Montana

1991: Montana 76, Idaho 68

MVP--Kevin Kearney, Montana

1990: Idaho 65, Eastern Washington 62

MVP--Riley Smith, Idaho

1989: Idaho 59, Boise State 52

MVP--Riley Smith, Idaho

1988: Boise State 63, Montana State 61

MVP--Chris Childs, Boise State

1987: Idaho State 92, Nevada 81

MVP--Jim Rhode, Idaho State

1986: Montana State 82, Montana 77

MVP--Tony Hampton, Montana State

1985: Nevada 79, Idaho State 63

MVP--Dwayne Randall, Nevada

1984: Nevada 71, Montana 69

MVP--Curtis High, Nevada

1983: Weber State 87, Nevada 78

MVP--Ken Green, Nevada

1982: Idaho 85, Nevada 80

MVP--Ken Owens, Idaho

1981: Idaho 70, Montana 64

MVP--Ken Owens, Idaho

1980: Weber State 50, Montana 42

MVP--Bruce Collins, Weber State

1979: Weber State 92, Northern Arizona 70

MVP--Bruce Collins, Weber State

1978: Weber State 62, Montana 55

MVP--Bruce Collins, Weber State

1977: Idaho State 61, Weber State 55

MVP--Ed Thompson, Idaho State

1976: Boise State 77, Weber State 70 (2 OT)

MVP--Jimmie Watts, Weber State