Eastern Washington, Idaho basketball programs picked to finish in bottom half of conference in Big Sky preseason polls

After celebrating conference championships in men’s and women’s basketball last season, both Eastern Washington squads landed in the bottom half of the Big Sky preseason polls released on Wednesday.

Idaho’s men and women weren’t given much preseason credit, either, and just one of the four teams – the Idaho men – has anyone on the preseason all-conference teams, with Julius Mims the area’s lone selection.

The EWU men were thought of most highly of any of the teams, landing sixth among the conference’s 10 teams in the media poll. Idaho is ninth in that poll.

But in the men’s coaches’ poll, the teams are nearly flipped, with the Vandals at seventh and the Eagles at ninth, one spot ahead of Sacramento State.

In the women’s coaches’ poll, the Idaho women are seventh, followed in eighth by the Eagles. The media poll has them ranked the other way around, and the EWU women even received one of 25 first-place votes.

The Northern Arizona women sit atop both polls, followed by Montana State and Montana. NAU’s Sophia Glancey was also named preseason MVP and was joined by teammate Leia Beattie as a first-team all-conference selection.

Other first-team selections include Montana State senior Esmeralda Morales, who played the past three seasons at Portland State; SSU redshirt junior Benthe Versteeg; Montana senior Dani Bartsch; and Montana State junior Marah Dykstra.

In the men’s coaches’ poll, Montana received seven first-place votes and is the preseason favorite to win the conference, followed by three-time NCAA Tournament team Montana State, which received two first-place votes. Next is Northern Colorado in third and Weber State, which received the other first-place vote, in fourth.

The media poll has those four teams at the top but in different spots, with Montana State first, followed by Montana, Weber State and Northern Colorado.

NAU senior guard Trent McLaughlin was named the preseason MVP. Idaho senior Mims was named to the preseason all-conference team along with Montana senior Brandon Whitney, Weber State senior Miguel Tomley (who was at Idaho State last season), and two Montana State players: senior Brian Goracke and junior Brandon Walker.

The EWU men will play Whitworth in an exhibition game at 4 p.m. Saturday at Reese Court in Cheney before opening the regular season on the road at Colorado on Nov. 4.

The EWU women’s team hosts Eastern Oregon in an exhibition game at 2 p.m. Sunday before opening on the road at Washington State on Nov. 4.

Idaho’s men’s team hosts Northwest University on Nov. 4; its women’s team has an exhibition Friday at ICCU Arena in Moscow against Lewis-Clark State College.