It was a tough weekend for the conference leaders. They really had to earn it this week.
1. Northern Colorado 16-4 (5-2) --Yes, the Bears lost in Portland this last week and nearly suffered a set back against Eastern Washington as well, but the schedule favors the team from Greeley the rest of the way. The toughest remaining game is in Ogden on February 13. Other than that, the Bears do not have a lot of wiggle room if the Big Sky Tournament is going to be played on the Front Range this year.
2. Weber State 11-7 (5-1) -- Weber State began the season 1-4, but since the loss at BYU in Provo; WSU is 10-3. Idaho State took them to triple OT in Pocatello on Saturday. If you missed this game to watch the NFL playoffs, you lost. Right now the WebCats are in first place, but will have to work extra hard to stay ahead of the Bears and win their 19th conference championship. They still have to travel to Montana and to the Northwest where NCU has made these trips already.
3. Montana 13-6 (4-3) -- The Grizzlies added a close shave at Sacramento State to their resume. The Grizz have some ground to make up to bring the Conference Tournament to Missoula.
4. Montana State 10-7 (4-3) -- The Bobcats have played a little inconsistently, lately. The had a Monday afternoon loss to CS-Bakersfield. So if you have MSU on your schedule, you do know which one you will get.
5. Portland State 8-10 (3-3) -- If the MSU Bobcats are playing inconsistently, then the Vikings have been playing erratic. PSU has some very good wins on their resume, like last Friday's win over conference leader Northern Colorado, followed up by a big defensive lapse against Northern Arizona. I don't expect that the Vikings will win the conference, but they will make the end of the season miserable for someone before it is done.
6. Northern Arizona 9-9 (3-4) -- The Lumberjacks really boosted their season by going northwest and winning both games last week. The folks in Flagstaff should feel really good about that.
7. Sacramento State 7-12 (1-5) -- None of the bottom three teams in the conference won last week, but the Hornets came close, twice. There was a one-point heart breaker to Montana, followed by a five point loss to Montana State. Kudos for avoiding a letdown after the heart breaker.
8. Eastern Washington 6-13 (2-4) -- The Eagles also lost a pair of close games. One by 3 points to NAU and the other by four to the rebounding NCU Bears.
9. Idaho State 4-14 (1-5) -- Came closer than any of the bottom three to a victory last week by taking Weber State to triple overtime in Pocatello. One more loss guarantees a sub-.500 season and a combination of 8 ISU losses or NAU/PSU wins will eliminate the Bengals from the BSC tourney. They could be out of the running by Super Bowl Sunday. They need a win this weekend in the worst way, but should get it if they play as desperately as they did in last week's border battle.
Games this week:
Northwesterns travel to I-15 with Friday/Saturday match-ups. PSU is in Ogden on Friday.
Sacramento State travels to the Northerns. Friday in Greeley, Sunday in Flagstaff
Montana and Montana State play on Saturday in Bozeman
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