FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - Let the madness begin. The dream that started in Canada in August gets a chance to come true this week. Win three games and the Lumberjacks are going dancing into the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2000.
The first step towards the Big Sky Tournament Championship starts Saturday when the Lumberjacks (18-11) host Montana State (13-17) at 6:35 p.m.
"It is an unbelievable part of the season," said NAU head coach Mike Adras. "Maybe this is a cliche. The season is broken into three parts. There is the non-conference season. There is the conference season when the intensity picks up and games mean something. The third season is the madness. It is the most exciting part and it is the cruelest part. You either win and advance or lose and go home."
NAU is making its 20th Big Sky Championship appearance and 10th in 12 years under Adras. The Lumberjacks are hosting a home postseason game for the first time since the 2006 season.
"The team that is capable of playing their best for 40 minutes night in and night out is going to be the team that continues to advance as this month moves on," said Adras.
The Lumberjacks bring a six-game home-court winning streak into the Saturday's game and are 11-1 at home this season, the second-best single-season winning percentage in school history. NAU's 18 wins are the most since 21 in 2007-08.
NAU leads the all-time series with Montana State 45-41 and has won the last nine meeetings in Flagstaff.
Cameron Jones and Shane Johannsen will be playing in their third conference tournament. They advanced to the championship game in 2008, losing to Portland State, and were defeated by Montana in the quarterfinal round in 2010. Stallon Saldivar, Gabe Rogers, DeAngelo Jones, Julian Oluboyi, Josh Lepley, Michale Dunn and Luis Flores all saw action in the road game at Montana in 2010.
The experience across the roster should be a benefit.
"I hope so,"said Adras. "We got bounced so fast last year our madness ended before it begun. Hopefully that is motivation for our guys to step up and get things done."
Saturday's game can be seen on Fox College Sports Pacific and the NAU Network on Dish Network Channel 9411.
Tickets are available at a cost of $15 for a reserved seat and $50 for courtside. Season ticket holder prices are $12 for reserved seats and $40 for courtside seats. Season ticket holders can secure their tickets by calling the NAU Athletics department at 928-523-5353, while the general public can purchase seats at the Central Ticket Office at the University Union on campus.
Fans can also purchase tickets online at http://nau.ticketforce.com/.
A generous donation from a former NAU basketball player has been made to purchase 250 tickets for Northern Arizona University students to attend the Big Sky Tournament game Saturday night at the Rolle Activity Center.
The first 250 students to show-up Saturday for the NAU men's quarterfinal game against Montana State will get in free. Students must show their student ID to the table inside Rolle Activity Center entrance at the game. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m.
For students who have already purchased tickets, the first 250 will be refunded at the student ticket table.
Men's Basketball Big Sky Championship
Saturday, March 5
Quarterfinals
No. 6 Eastern Washington at No. 3 Weber State, 7:35 p.m.
No. 5 Montana State at No. 4 Northern Arizona , 6:35 p.m.
Semifinals and finals at Northern Colorado
Tuesday, March 8
No. 2 Montana vs. Highest Remaining Seed, 5:30 p.m.
No. 1 Northern Colorado vs. Lowest Remaining Seed, 8 p.m. .
Wednesday, March 9
Championship, 7 p.m. MST (ESPN2)
