1986 Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Tournament

The 1986 Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Tournament was held March 6–8 at the Lawlor Events Center in Reno, Nevada.[1][2]

1986 Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
ClassificationDivision I
Season1985–86
Teams7
SiteLawlor Events Center
Reno, Nevada
ChampionsMontana State (1st title)
Winning coachStu Starner (1st title)
MVPTony Hampton (Montana State)
1985–86 Big Sky Conference men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
Northern Arizona9–5 .643  19–10  .655
Montana9–5 .643  21–11  .656
Idaho State8–6 .571  15–12  .556
Weber State7–7 .500  18–11  .621
Nevada7–7 .500  13–15  .464
Montana State †6–8 .429  14–17  .452
Boise State6–8 .429  12–16  .429
Idaho4–10 .286  11–18  .379
† Conference tournament winner

Sixth-seeded Montana State upset rival Montana in the championship game, 82–77, for their first Big Sky tournament title. The Bobcats upset host and defending champion Nevada by a point in the first round with a field goal at the buzzer,[3] then shocked regular season champion Northern Arizona by six in the semifinals.[4]

Format

On probation, third-place Idaho State did not participate in this year's tournament, reducing the field to seven teams.[1][5] Regular season champion Northern Arizona received a bye into the semifinals to play the lowest remaining seed, and the other six teams were paired up in the quarterfinals on Thursday.[6]

Bracket
  Quarterfinals
Thursday, March 6		 Semifinals
Friday, March 7		 Championship
Saturday, March 8
                           
       
  1 Northern Arizona 74  
    6 Montana State 80  
6 Montana State 81
  3 Nevada 80  
    6 Montana State 82
  2 Montana 77
  4 Weber State 79  
5 Boise State 76  
4 Weber State 68
    2 Montana 72  
7 Idaho 60
  2 Montana 68  

Source:[3][4]

NCAA tournament

Montana State received the automatic bid to the 64-team NCAA tournament; no other Big Sky members were invited. The Bobcats were the sixteenth seed in the West regional, and lost by nine to St. John's in the first round at Long Beach, California.[7]

Northern Arizona and Montana played in the NIT, but both lost in the first round.

References
  1. Devlin, Vince (March 6, 1986). "Even for Idaho, Sky's wide open". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. C1.
  2. "1985-86 Big Sky Conference Season Summary". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. 2016. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
  3. "Idaho loses Big Sky opener; Montana, Weber make semis". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 7, 1986. p. 22.
  4. "Krystkowiak, Ferch set up all-Montana Big Sky final". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 7, 1986. p. 22.
  5. "College standings". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). March 3, 1986. p. 4B.
  6. Devlin, Vince (March 6, 1986). "Even for Idaho, Sky's wide open". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. C1.
  7. "Game Montana State doesn't play dead". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 15, 1986. p. C4.
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