Northwest Notes Oct. 24, 2024

Big Sky men's basketball preseason polls announced

FARMINGTON, Utah — Idaho was picked to finish seventh by the media and ninth by the coaches in the Big Sky Conference's preseason and media polls, announced by the conference on Wednesday.

Montana State, which has won the conference the past three seasons, was voted the preseason favorite by the media, receiving 14 first-place votes and was second in the Coaches' Poll, with two first-place votes.

Eastern Washington, with new coach Dan Monson, was picked ninth by the coaches and sixth by the media.

Trent McLaughlin of Northern Arizona was named the Big Sky Preseason Most Valuable Player after averaging 16.6 points per game and finishing with 63 assists and 48 steals.

Senior Julius Mims, the former North Idaho College star, was named to the all-conference team in his second season at Idaho.

Mims, a 6-foot-9 forward from Billings, Mont., started all 32 games for the Vandals last season, averaging 11.1 points and 7.2 rebounds per game.

All Big Sky Conference home women’s basketball games are available to stream on ESPN+.

BIG SKY MEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON COACHES' POLL

First-place votes in parentheses

1, Montana (7), 78. 2, Montana State (2), 72. 3, Northern Colorado 62. 4, Weber State (1), 61. 5, Northern Arizona 51. 6, Portland State 38. 7, Idaho 32. 8, Idaho State 21. 9, Eastern Washington 19. 10, Sacramento State 15.

BIG SKY MEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON MEDIA POLL

First-place votes in parantheses

1, Montana State (14), 297. 2, Montana (11), 279. 3, Weber State (7), 270. 4, Northern Colorado (1), 211. 5, Northern Arizona 209. 6, Eastern Washington 139. 7, Portland State 124. 8, Idaho State 108. 9, Idaho 104. 10, Sacramento State 74.

BIG SKY MEN'S BASKETBALL ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM

Trent McLaughlin, Northern Arizona (MVP); Brian Goracke, Montana State; Brandon Whitney, Montana; Miguel Tomley, Weber State; Brandon Walker, Montana State; Julius Mims, Idaho.

Big Sky women's basketball preseason polls announced

FARMINGTON, Utah — Idaho was picked to finish seventh by the coaches and eighth by the media in the Big Sky Conference preseason polls.

Eastern Washington, last year's league and conference tournament champion, was picked to finish eighth by the coaches and seventh by the media.

Northern Arizona, which lost to EWU in the conference title game, was picked to win the league by the coaches and media.

NAU junior Sophie Glancey was tabbed as the league's preseason MVP.

The Big Sky Conference Men's and Women's Basketball Championships will take place from March 8-12 at Idaho Central Arena in Boise.

All Big Sky Conference home women’s basketball games are available to stream on ESPN+.

BIG SKY WOMEN'S BASKETBALL COACHES POLL

First-place votes in parentheses

1, Northern Arizona (7), 79 points. 2, Montana (3), 73. 3, Montana, 66. 4, Sacramento State, 48. 5, Northern Colorado, 47. 6, Idaho State, 44. 7, Idaho, 36. 8, Eastern Washington, 28. 9, Portland State, 15. 10, Weber State, 14.

BIG SKY WOMEN'S BASKETBALL MEDIA POLL

First-place votes in parentheses

1, Northern Arizona (16), 246 points. 2, Montana State (5), 227. 3, Montana (3), 217. 4, Idaho State, 143. 5, Northern Colorado, 136. 6, Sacramento State, 135. 7, Eastern Washington (1), 132. 8, Idaho, 102. 9, Weber State, 55. 10, Portland State, 37.

BIG SKY WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM

Sophie Glancey, Northern Arizona (MVP); Esmeralda Morales, Montana State; Benthe Versteeg, Sacramento State; Dani Bartsch, Montana; Leia Beattie, Northern Arizona; Marah Dykstra, Montana State.

Gonzaga men seventh in 

USA Today preseason poll

The Gonzaga men's basketball team was ranked seventh in the preseason USA Today Sports/Coaches Poll, announced on Wednesday.

Gonzaga opened in the Top 20 of the poll for the 12 straight year and in the poll 15th straight season.

Kansas was No. 1 for the second straight season, receiving 15 of 31 first-place votes. Alabama received six first-place votes and was No. 2. UConn also received six first-place votes and was No. 3. Gonzaga and UConn face off in New York City on Dec. 14. Houston (No. 4) and Duke (No. 5) round out the top five.

Gonzaga opens the regular season against No. 8 Baylor on Nov. 4 at the Spokane Arena. The Bulldogs face No. 22 UCLA in Inglewood, Calif., on Dec. 28 and play No. 23 Kentucky in the Battle in Seattle on Dec. 7.

Potential Battle 4 Atlantis opponents Arizona (No. 9) and Indiana (No. 18) were also ranked. Saint Mary's and San Diego State received votes.

Gonzaga opens the season with an exhibition game against USC on Saturday in Palm Desert, Calif.