OGDEN, Utah—Idaho, the 2016 Big Sky Tournament Champions, were picked to repeat as conference champs by the Big Sky coaches the conference announced on Tuesday. The Vandals totaled 110 points and four first-place votes. Idaho was picked second by the league's media.

Idaho finished last season with a 24-10 record, went 13-5 in the Big Sky. The Vandals won the tournament as the league's No. 3 seed, advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in four years.

"I say this all time when these polls come out," head coach Jon Newlee commented. "My teams have been picked anywhere from first to last through the years. It is great to acknowledged, but it is all based on what we did last year. Ultimately, these polls are not going to mean much come conference play and in when March rolls around. It is a great honor for our program. I think it is a mark of respect for our program.
But our players are going to have to play like we are picked last."

The Big Sky coaches slated Idaho to finish atop the league. Idaho edged out North Dakota, who earned 107 total points and four first-place votes. Montana State, the 2016 regular season champions, are slated third and Montana received one first-place vote in fourth.

The media selected Montana State to finish atop the league in 2017. The Bobcats totaled 156 points and six first-place votes. The Vandals came in behind MSU with 153 points and two first-place votes. Montana totaled 143 points and three first-place votes in third, while Eastern Washington was fourth with 140 points and three-first place votes.

Each head coach in the Big Sky Conference contributed a ballot of predicted finishes for each team, but could not vote for their team. Media and sports information directors from around the conference voted on predicted finishes for the Media Poll.

Idaho junior Geraldine McCorkell was announced as a Preseason All-Big Sky selection on Monday. 

Yesterday's Preseason All-Conference selections and today's poll announcements are a build up to Thursday's Big Sky Media Day. Idaho's portion of the event is set for 12 p.m. The event is will be streamed through WatchBigSky.com.

The Reno Events Center will once again serve as the host of the 2017 Big Sky Tournament. The tournament is set for March 6-11. 

For more information on Idaho Athletics, visit GoVandals.com.  Fans can also follow Idaho women's basketball on Twitter, @VandalsWBB.