Griz tabbed second by media, fourth by coaches in preseason polls

After two-straight trips to the Big Sky tournament championship game and a pair of 20-win seasons, it's no surprise the Montana Grizzlies are picked once again to finish near the top of the league standings.

The '16 - '17 Griz return six starters from last year's team that advanced to the CBI postseason tournament, but they'll be missing one big piece: leading scorer and dominant big man Martin Breunig.

So the question becomes: The Griz will be good, but missing Breunig's 19 points-per-game, where will they fall among the tops in the Big Sky?

It turns out the league's media and coaches have differing opinions on exactly where UM fits into that equation. But one thing everyone can agree on: The Griz will once again be in the mix for another shot at a Big Sky championship.

The Montana men's basketball team has been selected to finish second in this year's Big Sky title chase in the annual media poll, picking up 167 points and three first place votes.

Coaches around the Big Sky have a different picture of the top of the conference come tournament time, however.

The Grizzlies have been picked to finish fourth by the coaches with 96 points, but no first-place votes.

Defending champion Weber State was selected to win the league by both the media and the coaches. The Wildcats picked up 181 points and 10 first-place votes in the media poll and 114 points and seven first-place votes in the coaches' poll.

Idaho and North Dakota, who return their major scoring and rebounding personnel from last season, were picked by the coaches to finish second and third, respectively.

"To be honest, I'd rather be picked twelfth than first," joked head coach Travis DeCuire, who sees the polls as motivation for his squad.

"I knew the top four would pretty much come out the way we finished last year. I figured we'd be somewhere one through four, and given the way that votes have come out in the last two years we'd probably be fourth."

The 2016 preseason polls reflect a conference where wins could be hard to come by, with plenty of returning stars from last season that could produce a balanced and challenging league schedule.

"I think this is the strongest year of my three years here so far," added DeCuire. "I thought the first year was strong because there were so many 20-win teams. I don't know what our schedule will permit with it being tougher than it has been in the past, but I wouldn't be shocked to see three or four teams win 20 games."

The Grizzlies return their second-leading scorer and the third-best assist man in the league in Walter Wright from last season's 21-12 team that only suffered four Big Sky losses. Wright, who scored 50 points in three games at the Big Sky championship to earn a place on the all-tournament team, averaged 13.2 points-per-game last year.

Montana returns four guards in its lineup of six returning starters, a situation that is common around the league this year with guards making up the bulk of the star power.

Weber State may have lost big man Joel Bolomboy to the NBA, but returns first team All-Big Sky guard Jeremy Senglin. Idaho returns their top five scorers, led by guard Victor Sanders who averaged 15.9 points-per-game last year. Also returning is first team All-Big Sky guard Quinton Hooker at North Dakota, who finished last season as the league's third-leading scorer.

One guard that isn't in the conversation yet is Grizzly guard Ahmaad Rorie, who will play his first official game in maroon and silver on November 11 at USC. Only a redshirt sophomore, Rorie already has more experience against Power-Seven opponents than nearly anyone in the league after making 15 starts and 36 appearances for the Pac-12's Oregon Ducks as a true freshman.

"The league is definitely guard-heavy, and I think that's part of where the voting comes too," says DeCuire. "Weber, Idaho, North Dakota return all-conference guards. So on paper, they return stronger backcourts and probably as many or more starters. It makes sense on paper and we look forward to using that as motivation to improve."

The Grizzlies open one of the most challenging seasons in program history at USC on Nov. 11, with the home opener set for Nov. 14 against the Wyoming Cowboys.

Coaches Poll
Team – Points (First place votes)
1. Weber State 114 (7)
2. Idaho 104 (1)
3. North Dakota 103 (3)
4. Montana 96
5. Idaho State 79
6. Montana State 73
7. Eastern Washington 56
8. Portland State 49
9. Sacramento State 44
10. Northern Arizona 36
11. Northern Colorado 25
12. Southern Utah 13

Media Poll
Team – Points (First place votes)
1. Weber State 181 (10)
2. Montana 167 (3)
3. Idaho 158 (2)
4. North Dakota 137 (1)
5. Eastern Washington 121
5. Idaho State 121
7. Montana State 92
8. Sacramento State 78
9. Portland State 69
10. Northern Colorado 54
11. Northern Arizona 40
12. Southern Utah 30

University of Montana Athletics

Griz tabbed second by media, fourth by coaches in preseason polls

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Martin Breunig

Ahmaad Rorie

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