With three games left in the season, the Frontier Conferences’ top seeds are going to come down to the last day. Currently, Montana Tech is at the top of the conference with a 9-3. MSU-Northern and Providence are two games back at 7-5. MSU-Northern has shot up the conference standings the last two-and-a-half-weeks, going on a five-game win streak and going from last in the conference at 2-5 to now 7-5 and tied for the second seed. Providence has lost three of four, after winning four straight, including a loss in their last game to MSUN that set up the tie for the second seed. Tech has gone 8-2 in the last 10 games since the turn of the calendar to keep their chokehold on the conference strong.
What’s at stake:
If Providence continues to slip, they could go from having a bye in the first round, to now having to play on the first day of the tournament. That matchup, as it stands today, would be against Montana Western, a team that they have beaten twice already. Their last three games are against Montana Western, Montana Tech and Carroll. They’ve beaten Western and Carroll twice, but have lost twice to Tech.
Possible outcomes: 10-5, 9-6, 8-7, 7-8
For MSUN, they are going to need a little help from Providence and Tech. They lost two of three to Providence, so if they end the season with the same conference record, they will be the three-seed. They have the easiest schedule out of two aforementioned teams. They play Rocky Mountain College tonight and Montana Western Saturday, before finishing the season at home with Montana Tech for their Senior Day. Rocky and Western are 4-8 in conference and either at, or below .500 overall on the season. Tech, like mentioned before, will be the toughest challenge, but MSUN has proven to play them hard, losing in double-overtime in Butte and then winning by seven in the Armory Gym.
Possible outcomes: 10-5, 9-6, 8-7, 7-8
For Montana Tech, its simple, just win the last game of the year to MSUN and you win the regular season title and go into the tournament the one-seed. If they do that, they will hold the tiebreaker over MSUN. They already hold the tiebreaker over Providence, so losing to them in the penultimate game is not that big of a deal. They are currently on a two-game win streak but have a tough three games left. Carroll at home and then they travel to Great Falls and Havre, facing Providence and MSUN.
Possible outcomes: 12-3, 11-4, 10-5, 7-8
The difference in seeds is not much, but it’s the difference between needing to win two games or three to win the tournament. A lot of seasons come down to wire and this one does not seem to be the exception.
