Frontier Notebook: Frontier titles come down to one last Thursday night

Thanks to the 15-game Frontier Conference schedule, Thursday night is gong to be entertaining, as both the league regular season titles go down to the final games.

On the women's side, there's a three-way tie entering the final night of the regular season, with Rocky Mountain College, Providence and Carroll College all sitting at 11-3. The tie between Carroll and Providence will be broken for sure as they meet each other Thursday in Great Falls, while RMC takes on Montana Western in Billings. So, a multitude of things can happen still, but with the No. 1 seed in the upcoming playoffs on the line, it's going to be entertaining.

The two teams with a shot to win the Frontier men's title are also tied going into Thursday night, as both Carroll College and Montana Tech sit at 12-2. The Saints go to Great Falls to play struggling Providence, while Tech stays home to host Montana State University-Northern. So, just like the women's side, the men's side is coming down to the final hours of the final night of the regular season.

Home Games

The Frontier playoffs will begin next Tuesday, with the top two seeds in the men's and women's brackets receiving first-round byes. The third-place finisher will host the No. 6 team and No. 4 will host No. 5 in the first round.

The Montana State University-Northern men are in contention to host a game, but will be trying to move into third place with a win at Montana Tech Thursday night. Northern is tied for third in the Frontier with Montana Western, which hosts Rocky Thursday night.

The Northern women won't be able to improve their standings in the upcoming playoffs, as they take on Tech Thursday night. Northern is two games in back of the Orediggers in the league standings, and will travel to the third-place team, which will be either RMC, Providence or Carroll.

The league playoffs for the women will continue with semifinal games next Friday, followed by the chipper Monday, Feb. 28. The men's semifinals will be held next Saturday, and the men's championship game will be played Tuesday, March 1.

Award Picks

With just one game left in the regular season, it's time to see who might be the favorite to win the conference' postseason honors.

For the women, Rocky's N'Dea Flye likely has Player of the Year locked up, and she could be in line to be named Newcomer of the Year as well. Flye also should be a candidate for Defensive Player of the Year as she leads the league in rebounding and steals, while Coach of the Year should go to RMC's Wes Keller.

On the men's side, Carroll's Jovan Sljivancanin is the frontrunner for Player of the Year, though Northern's Mascio McCadney should be in the hunt as well. Montana Tech's Caleb Bellach is no doubt the league's Newcomer of the Year, while Defensive Player of the Year could go to UP's Dawson Fowler or perhaps Northern's Jesse Keltner. Coach of the Year honors should definitely go to Tech's Adam Hiatt.

The Frontier honors will be announced following each of the league's championship games.