1 Montana

Montana has been a very solid team the past few years, and that won’t change going into this season as I expect them to finish first. Montana were Big Sky champions back in 2019 and finished third last season. They’ve got a solid group of players that know how to score efficiently and are coached well.

2 Eastern Washington

Eastern Washington finished last season winning the Big Sky regular season title, and that will look to continue as they will remain one of the best teams in the conference. Eastern Washington has added four new freshmen but the veteran leaders Jacob Davison and Kim Aiken Jr. will continue to lead the team. Sophomore Elliss Magnuson put up a great performance as a freshman last season, and his growth will continue going into this season.

3 Northern Colorado

Northern Colorado was runner-up for the regular-season title last season, and they will continue to perform well going into this season. Last season, their high-powered offense of three-point shooting and getting to the basket looks to continue with Bodie Hume leading the way for Northern Colorado this season after leading scorer Jonah Radebaugh graduated last spring.

Junior guard Keyshaad Dixon, brings the ball up the floor during a hard fought first half against Northern Colorado. Saydee Brass | Argonaut

4 Northern Arizona

Expect Northern Arizona to be performing well with top scorer Cameron Shelton leading the team once again. The loss of Bernie Andre and Brooks DeBisschop will play a factor, but other players on the team will fill that void as Northern Arizona is larger than many of the teams in the conference.

5 Portland State

Portland State will finish in the middle of the Big Sky standings going into this season as they’re a veteran team with most of the team full of graduate students and seniors. They have the experience to gain an edge over some of the other teams in the conference that have younger talent. However, with the loss of many of their top scorers from last season, time will tell how they perform this season at a top level.

Senior Trevon Allen stepping back on the wing against Portland State | Courtesy UI Athletics

6 Montana State

Montana State will have to look towards Jubrile Belo as a leader on the floor after Harald Frey’s departure. Frey led the team in points last season with Belo following right behind him. Montana State has a young core that they’ll have to integrate more in order to see success early on in the season.

7 Southern Utah

Southern Utah will have a challenge this season as Cameron Oluyitan graduation has left the team without their best scorer and three-point shooter. John Knight III will take over as the leader for the team as he finished second in scoring for the team last season. The team is filled with veterans looking to make a big push for the top five seeds in the Big Sky.

8 Idaho

Idaho finished last in the Big Sky last season and fell out of the first round to Southern Utah, but they put up a good fight to make Southern Utah work for the win. The graduation of the team leader and top scorer Trevon Allen raises many questions for how Idaho will compete this year, but with Zac Claus named as the official head coach and plenty of young talent to build around, Idaho has a good chance of improving from last season.

Players walk back out onto the court after a timeout in the University of Montana game on Feb. 8 in Cowan Spectrum. Saydee Brass | Argonaut

9 Sacramento State

Sacramento State finished in eighth last year, but it will be tough to compete with some of the top teams this year as leading scorer Joshua Patton has graduated. They’ve got a veteran team with a collection of tall players looking to make an impact this season.

10 Weber State

Weber State struggled last season to get wins against top conference opponents and will need to use Michal Kozak’s size and shooting ability to do well this upcoming season. The team is fairly young with some senior leaders who will take on big leadership roles, but overall they’re going to struggle against the top five teams this season.

Weber State player looks to the sideline during the March 5 in Cowan Spectrum. Saydee Brass | Argonaut

11 Idaho State

Idaho State struggled last year along with Idaho, so the younger guys on the team will have to make a difference for the team to be successful. Seniors Malik Porter and Tarik Cool led the team in scoring last season and will return to lead the team again as the veteran leaders. Porter and Cool will have to lead the younger talent in order to get more wins this season.

Armin Mesinovic can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @arminmesinovic.

POWER RANKINGS: Big Sky Men’s Basketball Preseason