Weber State consensus pick in preseason Big Sky poll

By SKYLNE SPORTS

Weber State, the Big Sky Conference Tournament champions two of the last three seasons, are the consensus selection by the league’s coaches and media in the preseason polls released on Friday afternoon.

Weber picked up seven of the 12 first-place votes from the coaches and 10 of the 16 first-place votes from the league’s affiliated media.

Weber State finished the 2015-16 season with a 26-9 overall record and a 15-3 mark in conference play. The Wildcats earned the 2016 Big Sky regular-season championship and went on to win the first-ever neutral site conference championship in Reno, Nevada on their way to their 16th NCAA tournament appearance.

WSU lost the Big Sky’s all-time leading rebounder and current Utah Jazz forward, Joel Bolomboy to graduation, but most of last year’s starting corps will return with first team All-Big Sky honoree, Jeremy Senglin and last season’s Top Reserve Kyndahl Hill expected to take on a leadership role this season.

Weber State senior guard Jeremy Senglin/ by Brooks Nuanez

Weber defeated Montana in last year’s league championship game, 62-59. The Griz (21-12, 14-4 BSC) claimed the conference’s NCAA Tournament bid two seasons ago. The Griz earned three first-place votes in the media poll to come in second. Montana received no votes in the coaches’ poll and came in fourth. The Griz return All-Big Sky performer Walter Wright as well as up and coming sophomore Michael Oguine. UM also adds Oregon transfer Ahmad Rorie, a sophomore who sat out last season.

Idaho, a semifinal qualifier in the league tournament a season ago and the third-place team in the regular-season standings, finished second in the coaches’ poll and third in the media poll. The Vandals, who went 12-6 in league play last season, return its top five scorers, including All-Big Sky wing Victor Sanders and solid point guard Perrion Callandret. UI earned one first-place vote in the coaches’ poll and two first-place votes in the media poll.

North Dakota earned a third-place nod from the coaches with 103 points and three first-place votes. UND was picked fourth by the media with 137 points and one first-place vote. The Fighting Hawks will welcome back first-team All-Big Sky guard Quinton Hooker as well as the conference’s leading rebounder in junior forward Drick Bernstine.

Idaho State, which was ranked fifth in both polls, boasts the league’s top returning scorer, Ethan Telfair. Last season the Bengal guard averaged 20.2 points per game last season and led the league with 5.4 assists per game on his way to the 2016 Big Sky Newcomer of the Year award.

Montana State, the league’s seventh-place finisher a year ago, was the sixth-place pick by the coaches and the sevent-place pick by the media. The Bobcats return Tyler Hall, the Freshman of the Year last season. The Bobcats picked up the other first-place vote from the league’s coaches.

Eastern Washington, who must replace three-time All-Big Sky forward Venky Jois, tied with Idaho State for fifth in the media poll and finished seventh in the coaches poll.

Portland State finished eighth in the coaches and ninth in the media, while Sac State was the opposite. Northern Arizona was picked to finish 10^th by the coaches and 11^th by the media. Northern Colorado, although ineligible for the postseason because of a self-mandated ban, was the 11^th pick in the coaches poll and 10^th by the media. Southern Utah was picked last in both polls.

The 2017 Big Sky men’s basketball championship will take place March 7 through 11 at the Reno Events Center in Reno, Nev. Tickets for the 2017 Big Sky Basketball Championships go on sale on Nov. 11. Visit RoadtoReno.com for more information.

MEDIA POLL