Montana picked to finish 3rd in Big Sky preseason polls
10/13/2017 11:59:00 AM | Men's Basketball
OGDEN, Utah – Head coach Travis DeCuire and his team have high expectations for the upcoming basketball season, and so do the league's other head coaches and media outlets. The Big Sky Conference released its preseason coaches' and media polls on Friday afternoon, with Montana selected to finish third in both rankings.
"When you're picked in the top portion of the conference, it's a sign of respect," DeCuire said. "It shows that some of your opponents think that you can compete for a conference championship."
The respect is nice, but DeCuire is always looking for incentive to make his team even better.
"I'm always looking for ammunition. We want to be No. 1, so what is it going to take to get there? What is keeping us from being at the top? I might post this in the locker room to have our guys think about those things," DeCuire said with a smile.
He admitted that preseason polls can be a crapshoot, but thinks the No. 3 ranking is a testament to the veterans on his roster.
"It says a lot about guys like Fab (Krslovic) and Mike (Oguine)," he said. "They have had an impact on this league for two, three years, and it shows what they've achieved during their time."
Krslovic – Montana's lone senior – came in at the same time as DeCuire. That first season, Montana won a regular-season title. The next year, it finished second. Both years, the Griz played in the tournament championship game.
They were furthering a long line of success that the program has built all the way back to the mid-1970s, when Montana won its first conference title. Since that first championship in 1975, no Big Sky team has won more conference titles (10) than Montana. Additionally, the Griz also have nine tournament titles and nine runner-up finishes – including three championships and three runner-ups in the past eight seasons. In the league's history, Montana has won more games than any school besides Weber State.
Montana finished the 2016-17 season with an 11-7 conference mark, reaching the quarterfinals of the Big Sky Conference tournament as the No. 5 seed. The Grizzlies return four of their top five scorers from last year, including Oguine – a third-team all-conference pick – and Ahmaad Rorie – a second-team pick and 2017-18 preseason all-conference selection.
The Grizzlies return a bevy of talent, but also welcome in seven newcomers and two transfers who had to sit out last season due to NCAA transfer rules.
"Our team is hard to gauge because of the new guys," DeCuire said. "How will they be implemented? How will some of our returners, guys like Bobby Moorehead and Sayeed Pridgett, improve?"
Idaho is the heavy favorite, earning 10 of 12 first-place votes in the coaches' poll, followed by Weber State (one first-place vote) and Montana. Northern Colorado and Montana State were tied for fourth place, with the Bears earning the other top vote by the league's coaches.
The media favored the Grizzlies a little more, giving them three of the 19 first-place votes. The top three teams were the same in both polls.
"What always happens in this conference is someone picked in the lower half surprises some people," DeCuire said. "That's something I enjoy about this conference."
It happened to Montana in 2014-15, DeCuire's first season, when the Grizzlies were picked to finish eighth before going 14-4 and winning the league.
"There's a lot of talent in this league, so the bottom line is we have to keep working hard and fighting for our goals, regardless of where we were picked."
2017-18 Big Sky Preseason Coaches' Poll
Team Points
1. Idaho 117 (10)
2. Weber State 103 (1)
3. Montana 101
T4. Northern Colorado 83 (1)
T4. Montana State 83
6. North Dakota 71
7. Eastern Washington 65
8. Portland State 55
9. Sacramento State 48
10. Idaho State 25
11. Northern Arizona 23
12. Southern Utah 19
2017-18 Big Sky Preseason Media Poll
Team Points
1. Idaho 211 (12)
2. Weber State 195 (3)
3. Montana 188 (3)
4. Montana State 180
5. North Dakota 146 (1)
6. Eastern Washington 144
7. Northern Colorado 106
8. Sacramento State 87
9. Portland State 76
10. Northern Arizona 59
11. Idaho State 52
12. Southern Utah 38
Number in parenthesis denotes first-place votes
"When you're picked in the top portion of the conference, it's a sign of respect," DeCuire said. "It shows that some of your opponents think that you can compete for a conference championship."
The respect is nice, but DeCuire is always looking for incentive to make his team even better.
"I'm always looking for ammunition. We want to be No. 1, so what is it going to take to get there? What is keeping us from being at the top? I might post this in the locker room to have our guys think about those things," DeCuire said with a smile.
He admitted that preseason polls can be a crapshoot, but thinks the No. 3 ranking is a testament to the veterans on his roster.
"It says a lot about guys like Fab (Krslovic) and Mike (Oguine)," he said. "They have had an impact on this league for two, three years, and it shows what they've achieved during their time."
Krslovic – Montana's lone senior – came in at the same time as DeCuire. That first season, Montana won a regular-season title. The next year, it finished second. Both years, the Griz played in the tournament championship game.
They were furthering a long line of success that the program has built all the way back to the mid-1970s, when Montana won its first conference title. Since that first championship in 1975, no Big Sky team has won more conference titles (10) than Montana. Additionally, the Griz also have nine tournament titles and nine runner-up finishes – including three championships and three runner-ups in the past eight seasons. In the league's history, Montana has won more games than any school besides Weber State.
Montana finished the 2016-17 season with an 11-7 conference mark, reaching the quarterfinals of the Big Sky Conference tournament as the No. 5 seed. The Grizzlies return four of their top five scorers from last year, including Oguine – a third-team all-conference pick – and Ahmaad Rorie – a second-team pick and 2017-18 preseason all-conference selection.
The Grizzlies return a bevy of talent, but also welcome in seven newcomers and two transfers who had to sit out last season due to NCAA transfer rules.
"Our team is hard to gauge because of the new guys," DeCuire said. "How will they be implemented? How will some of our returners, guys like Bobby Moorehead and Sayeed Pridgett, improve?"
Because of roster turnover and influx of players, preseason polls are hard to predict. No team really knows where their opponents will be, but DeCuire does believe that Idaho was selected in the right spot, at No. 1. The Vandals return their top seven scorers, including preseason all-conference selection Victor Sanders. They also return Perrion Callandret, a former starter who sat out last season but is back for his redshirt senior season.Grinding every day! #FightUniteWin pic.twitter.com/lvPNft5QC2
— Montana Griz BB (@MontanaGrizBB) October 13, 2017
Idaho is the heavy favorite, earning 10 of 12 first-place votes in the coaches' poll, followed by Weber State (one first-place vote) and Montana. Northern Colorado and Montana State were tied for fourth place, with the Bears earning the other top vote by the league's coaches.
The media favored the Grizzlies a little more, giving them three of the 19 first-place votes. The top three teams were the same in both polls.
"What always happens in this conference is someone picked in the lower half surprises some people," DeCuire said. "That's something I enjoy about this conference."
It happened to Montana in 2014-15, DeCuire's first season, when the Grizzlies were picked to finish eighth before going 14-4 and winning the league.
"There's a lot of talent in this league, so the bottom line is we have to keep working hard and fighting for our goals, regardless of where we were picked."
2017-18 Big Sky Preseason Coaches' Poll
Team Points
1. Idaho 117 (10)
2. Weber State 103 (1)
3. Montana 101
T4. Northern Colorado 83 (1)
T4. Montana State 83
6. North Dakota 71
7. Eastern Washington 65
8. Portland State 55
9. Sacramento State 48
10. Idaho State 25
11. Northern Arizona 23
12. Southern Utah 19
2017-18 Big Sky Preseason Media Poll
Team Points
1. Idaho 211 (12)
2. Weber State 195 (3)
3. Montana 188 (3)
4. Montana State 180
5. North Dakota 146 (1)
6. Eastern Washington 144
7. Northern Colorado 106
8. Sacramento State 87
9. Portland State 76
10. Northern Arizona 59
11. Idaho State 52
12. Southern Utah 38
Number in parenthesis denotes first-place votes
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