It was a great year for the Big Sky Conference in 2010-2011. A record four teams participated in the postseason, with Northern Colorado (21-11), Montana (21-11), Weber State (18-14) and Northern Arizona (19-13) all playing into the third weekend of March.
Northern Colorado earned its first-ever Big Sky championship and NCAA Tournament berth on the back of conference MVP Devon Beitzel, who led the league in points (21.5), free throw percentage (90.4) and made 3-pointers (74). Beitzel was also selected to the United States Basketball Writers District VIII team, the Lou Henson All-America team and an AP All-American honorable mention after averaging 1.8 assists, 1.4 steals and 2.7 3-pointers made per game.
Thanks to the Bears getting the conference’s No. 1 seed and tournament championship, rookie head coach B.J. Hill earned coach of the year honors. Hill’s club went 3-7 in pre-conference play, then won 18 of its final 22 games to boost itself into unprecedented heights.
Not to be outdone, Montana won 21 games behind the low-post game of Brian Qvale. Qvale averaged 14.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game. He was a unanimous All-Big Sky first teamer, along with Beitzel, a USBW District VIII team member, and he set the Big Sky single-season (95), career (247), tournament career (22) and championship game (6) record for blocks.
Big Sky predicted order of finish:
- Weber State
- Montana
- Portland State
- Eastern Washington
- Montana State
- Northern Arizona
- Northern Colorado
- Idaho State
- Sacramento State
Big Sky Player of the Year: Damian Lillard, Weber State
Coach of the Year: Wayne Tinkle, Montana
First-team All-Big Sky:
Damian Lillard, Weber State
Will Cherry, Montana
Kyle Bullinger, Weber State
Charles Odum, Portland State
Derek Selvig, Montana
Top freshman: Danny Cheek, Northern Arizona
Top newcomer: Xavier Johnson-Blount, Montana State
Coaching changes:
Eastern Washington
IN: Jim Hayford (Whitworth University, 10 seasons, 217-57)
OUT: Kirk Earlywine (42-78, one Big Sky Tournament appearance)
