Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament explained

Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament
Optional Subheader:Conference basketball championship
Sport:Basketball
Conference:Big Sky Conference
Number Of Teams:10 (Since 2023)
 11 (2019-2022)
 12 (2016-2018)
  8 (2015)
  7 (2013–2014)
  6 (1989–2012)
  8 (1984–1988)
  4 (1976–1983)
Format:Single-elimination tournament
Current Stadium:Idaho Central Arena
Current Location:Boise, Idaho
Years:1976–present
Most Recent:2024
Current Champion:Montana State
Most Championships:Montana (11)
Website:BigSkyConf.com Men's Basketball
All Stadiums:Campus sites (1976–2015)
Reno Events Center (2016–2018)
Idaho Central Arena (formerly CenturyLink Arena) (2019–present)
All Locations:Campus sites (1976–2015)
Reno, Nevada (2016–2018)
Boise, Idaho (2019–present)

The Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament is the conference championship tournament in men's basketball for the Big Sky Conference. The event has been held annually since 1976,[1] the conference's thirteenth year.

The tournament winner earns a berth in the NCAA Division I tournament.

Format and host sites

For the Big Sky's first twelve seasons, it did not have a conference tournament. Starting with its fifth season of the regular season champion received a berth in the West regional of the NCAA tournament. an unscheduled tiebreaker playoff was held; the two had identical records (conference & overall) and each had won at home to split the season series; visiting Idaho State prevailed at Montana in the Tuesday night playoff.[2] [3]

For the tournament's first eight editions (19761983), only the top four teams (of eight) in the conference standings participated. The tournament expanded to eight teams in 1984,[1] then scaled back to six in 1989. Before 2016, when the tournament moved to a predetermined neutral site, it was often hosted by the regular season champion, but not always. If two or more teams tied for the regular season title, all were declared co-champions, but hosting rights were determined by a tiebreaker procedure. The first tournament in which the regular season champion did not host was in 1985.

Since the 2016 tournament, all full conference members (currently 10) have participated (barring NCAA sanctions or self-imposed postseason bans, the latter of which kept Northern Colorado out of the 2017 tournament), and the tournament is held at a predetermined site. The first such site to host was the Reno Events Center in Reno, Nevada, which hosted from 2016–2018.

On September 18, 2017, the Big Sky announced that its men's and women's tournaments would relocate in 2019 to Boise, Idaho; the initial contract runs for three years at CenturyLink Arena, through 2021.

History of the tournament finals

YearChampionsScoreRunner-upMVPVenue
1976Boise State77–70OTWeber StateJimmie Watts, Weber StateWildcat Gym (Ogden, Utah)
1977Idaho State61–55Weber StateEd Thompson, Idaho StateISU Minidome (Pocatello, Idaho)
1978Weber State62–55MontanaBruce Collins, Weber StateAdams Field House (Missoula, Montana)
1979Weber State92–70Northern ArizonaBruce Collins, Weber StateDee Events Center (Ogden, Utah)
1980Weber State50–42MontanaBruce Collins, Weber State
1981Idaho70–64MontanaKen Owens, IdahoKibbie Dome (Moscow, Idaho)
1982Idaho85–80NevadaKen Owens, Idaho
1983Weber State87–78NevadaKen Green, NevadaCentennial Coliseum (Reno, Nevada)
1984Nevada71–69MontanaCurtis High, NevadaDee Events Center (Ogden, Utah)
1985Nevada79–63Idaho StateDwayne Randall, NevadaBSU Pavilion (Boise, Idaho)
1986Montana State82–77MontanaTony Hampton, Montana StateLawlor Events Center (Reno, Nevada)
1987Idaho State92–81NevadaJim Rhode, Idaho StateWalkup Skydome (Flagstaff, Arizona)
1988Boise State63–61Montana StateChris Childs, Boise StateBrick Breeden Fieldhouse (Bozeman, Montana)
1989Idaho59–52Boise StateRiley Smith, IdahoBSU Pavilion (Boise, Idaho)
1990Idaho65–62Eastern WashingtonRiley Smith, Idaho
1991Montana76–68IdahoKevin Kearney, MontanaDahlberg Arena (Missoula, Montana)
1992Montana73–68NevadaDelvon Anderson, Montana
1993Boise State80–68IdahoTanoka Beard, Boise StateKibbie Dome (Moscow, Idaho)
1994Boise State85–81Idaho StateShambric Williams, Boise StateBSU Pavilion (Boise, Idaho)
1995Weber State84–62MontanaRuben Nembhard, Weber StateDee Events Center (Ogden, Utah)
1996Montana State81–70Weber StateDanny Sprinkle, Montana StateBrick Breeden Fieldhouse (Bozeman, Montana)
1997Montana82–79Cal State NorthridgeTrenton Cross, Cal State NorthridgeWalkup Skydome (Flagstaff, Arizona)
1998Northern Arizona77–50Montana StateDan McClintock, Northern Arizona
1999Weber State82–75Northern ArizonaEddie Gill, Weber StateDee Events Center (Ogden, Utah)
2000Northern Arizona85–81OTCal State NorthridgeRoss Land, Northern ArizonaDahlberg Arena (Missoula, Montana)
2001Cal State Northridge73–58Eastern WashingtonBrian Heinle, Cal State NorthridgeMatadome (Northridge, California)
2002Montana70–66Eastern WashingtonDan Trammel, MontanaBrick Breeden Fieldhouse (Bozeman, Montana)
2003Weber State60–57Eastern WashingtonJermaine Boyette, Weber StateDee Events Center (Ogden, Utah)
2004Eastern Washington71–59Northern ArizonaBrendon Merritt, Eastern WashingtonReese Court (Cheney, Washington)
2005Montana63–61Weber StateKamarr Davis, MontanaMemorial Coliseum (Portland, Oregon)
2006Montana73–60 Northern ArizonaVirgil Matthews, MontanaWalkup Skydome (Flagstaff, Arizona)
Weber State88–80Northern ArizonaDavid Patten, Weber StateDee Events Center (Ogden, Utah)
2008Portland State67–51Northern ArizonaDeonte Huff, Portland StateRose Garden Arena (Portland, Oregon)
2009Portland State79–77Montana StateJeremiah Dominguez, Portland StateDee Events Center (Ogden, Utah)
2010Montana66–65Weber StateAnthony Johnson, Montana
2011Northern Colorado 65–60MontanaDevon Beitzel, Northern ColoradoButler-Hancock Sports Pavilion (Greeley, Colorado)
2012Montana85–66Weber StateKareem Jamar, MontanaDahlberg Arena (Missoula, Montana)
2013Montana67–64Weber StateKareem Jamar, Montana
2014Weber State88–67North DakotaDavion Berry, Weber StateDee Events Center (Ogden, Utah)
2015Eastern Washington69–65MontanaTyler Harvey, Eastern WashingtonDahlberg Arena (Missoula, Montana)
2016Weber State62–59MontanaJeremy Senglin, Weber StateReno Events Center (Reno, Nevada)
2017North Dakota93–89OTWeber StateQuinton Hooker, North Dakota
2018Montana82–65Eastern WashingtonMichael Oguine, Montana
2019Montana68–62Eastern WashingtonAhmaad Rorie, MontanaCenturyLink Arena (Boise, Idaho)
2020Canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic
2021Eastern Washington65–55Montana StateIdaho Central Arena (Boise, Idaho)
2022Montana State87–66Northern ColoradoXavier Bishop, Montana State
2023Montana State87–66Northern ArizonaRaequan Battle, Montana State
2024Montana State85–70MontanaRobert Ford III, Montana State

Finals performance by school

SchoolChampionshipsAppearancesclass=unsortable Title Years
Montana11211991, 1992, 1997, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2018, 2019
Weber State10181978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2014, 2016
Montana State591986, 1996, 2022, 2023, 2024
Boise State451976, 1988, 1993, 1994
Idaho461981, 1982, 1989, 1990
Eastern Washington392004, 2015, 2021
Nevada261984, 1985
Idaho State241977, 1987
Northern Arizona291998, 2000
Portland State222008, 2009
Cal State Northridge132001
North Dakota122017
Northern Colorado[5] 01
Sacramento State00
Southern Utah00

Broadcasters

Television

YearNetworkPlay-by-playAnalyst
2024ESPN2Tony ParksJoe Cravens
2023
2022ESPNU
2021Rich HollenbergMalcolm Huckaby
2020Eric RothmanRichie Schueler
2019Sam FarberNoah Savage
2018Roxy BernsteinAdrian Branch
2017Corey Williams
2016
2015
2014
2013Kanoa Leahey
2012[6] ESPN2Roxy BernsteinMiles Simon
2011[7]
2010[8] Dave FlemmingBob Valvano

Radio

YearNetworkPlay-by-playAnalyst
2024Westwood OneJ.B. LongNick Bahe
2023Jason Benetti
2021J.B. LongDan Dickau
2019Ted Emrich
2018
2017Kevin Lee
2013Dial Global SportsWayne LarriveePerry Clark
2012[9] Ted RobinsonSteve Lappas
2011Westwood One

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Big Sky expands basketball tourney . Spokesman-Review . (Spokane, Washington) . Associated Press . December 1, 1983 . 19.
  2. News: ISU holds off Grizzlies . Lewiston Morning Tribune . (Idaho) . Associated Press . March 6, 1974 . 13.
  3. News: Growing rookie key for Bengals . Spokane Daily Chronicle . (Washington) . Associated Press . March 6, 1974 . 17.
  4. News: NCAA forces Northern Colorado to vacate 2011 Big Sky title, hits ex-coach hard. CBSSports.com. 2018-01-04. en.
  5. News: NCAA forces Northern Colorado to vacate 2011 Big Sky title, hits ex-coach hard. CBSSports.com. 2018-01-04. en.
  6. Web site: Championship Week: Coverage of a Record 137 Men's Games Begins March 1 | ESPN MediaZone . 2012-02-29 . dead . https://archive.today/20120301005847/http://www.espnmediazone3.com/us/2012/02/27/championship-week-coverage-of-a-record-137-men%E2%80%99s-games-begins-march-1/ . 2012-03-01 .
  7. Web site: Championship Week Presented by DICK'S Sporting Goods Schedule ESPN MediaZone. dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110710202157/http://www.espnmediazone3.com/us/2011/02/28/championship-week-presented-by-dick%e2%80%99s-sporting-goods-schedule/?s-sporting-goods-schedule/ . 2011-07-10 .
  8. Web site: Championship Week Begins Thursday, March 4 | ESPN MediaZone . 2011-03-16 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100412122753/http://www.espnmediazone3.com/us/2010/03/championship-week-begins-thursday-march-4/ . 2010-04-12 .
  9. Web site: Big Sky Championship Highlights: Montana 85 – Weber State 66 | Westwood One SportsWestwood One Sports . 2019-08-15 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160326192908/http://dialglobalsports.com/2012/03/big-sky-championship-highlights-montana-85-weber-state-66/ . 2016-03-26 . dead .