The top of the Big Sky Conference contains the national runner-up, the two-time defending conference champion and a Montana team riding the momentum of Bobby Hauck’s return with back-to-back national quarterfinal appearances.
In the preseason polls released Monday, it was the latter of those teams that took the top spot on both the coaches and media ballots, giving the Griz the advantage over Montana State and Sacramento State in a millimeter-thin result that showed the strength of – and narrow margins between – the top three in the Big Sky.
Montana, coming off a quarterfinal loss to James Madison, received the fewest first-place votes of the top three in the coaches poll but still ended up on top with 111 points to Sacramento State’s 110 and Montana State’s 109. The Bobcats received the most first-place votes with five, with four going to the Hornets and three to the Griz.
Montana did have the most first-place votes in the media poll with 14 to Montana State’s 13, but it didn’t make the result any less close, with the Griz finishing with 356 points and the Bobcats, who went all the way to the national championship game before losing to North Dakota State, with 352.
Sac State took third in the media poll with four first-place votes and 335 points.
The middle of the conference lined up the same in both polls, with Weber State in fourth followed by UC Davis (which received a first-place vote in the media poll, the only first-place vote not to go to a member of the top three), Eastern Washington and Northern Arizona.
Idaho, Portland State and Cal Poly filled in eighth, ninth and 10th in the coaches poll, with Idaho State and Northern Colorado in a tie for last.
Portland State jumped the Vandals for eighth in the media poll, with Cal Poly, Northern Colorado and Idaho State as the bottom three.
