1989 Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament

1989 Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament
ClassificationDivision I
Season1988–89
Teams6
SiteBSU Pavilion
Boise, Idaho
ChampionsIdaho (3rd title)
Winning coachKermit Davis (1st title)
MVPRiley Smith (Idaho)
← 1988
1990 →
1988–89 Big Sky men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Boise State 13 – 3   .813 23 – 7   .767
Idaho † 13 – 3   .813 25 – 6   .806
Montana 11 – 5   .688 20 – 11   .645
Nevada 10 – 6   .625 16 – 12   .571
Weber State 9 – 7   .563 17 – 11   .607
Montana State 6 – 10   .375 15 – 16   .484
Eastern Washington 5 – 11   .313 8 – 22   .267
Idaho State 4 – 12   .250 9 – 18   .333
Northern Arizona 1 – 15   .063 2 – 25   .074
† Conference tournament winner


The 1989 Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament was held March 9–11 at the BSU Pavilion at Boise State University in Boise, Idaho.[1]

Regular season co-champions Idaho and Boise State, defending tournament champions and host, met in the championship game. Both had 13–3 conference records with five overall losses, and had split their season series with home wins. Under first-year head coach Kermit Davis, Idaho prevailed, 59–52.[2] It was the Vandals' third Big Sky tournament title; the wins in 1981 and 1982 were under head coach Don Monson.

Idaho was also the reigning conference champion in football.[2]

Format

The tournament format was modified again in 1989, with the field reduced from eight to six teams. The top two teams in the league standings received a bye, and the next four played in the quarterfinals.[3]

Bracket

Quarterfinals
Thursday, March 9 		Semifinals
Friday, March 10 		Championship
Saturday, March 11
         
1 Boise State 71
5 Weber State 60
5 Weber State 69
4 Nevada 61
1 Boise State 52
2 Idaho 59
3 Montana 87
6 Montana State 84
3 Montana 56
2 Idaho 77

Source:[4][5]

NCAA tournament

The Vandals received the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, and were seeded thirteenth in the West Regional. They played UNLV in the first round in Boise and lost by twelve points. No other Big Sky members were invited to the tournament; Boise State lost in the first round of the NIT to Oklahoma State.

References

  1. ^ "1988-89 Big Sky Conference Season Summary". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. 2016. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
  2. ^ a b Schulte, Chris (March 13, 1989). "Vandals complete BSC dream season". Idahonian. (Moscow). p. 1B.
  3. ^ Boling, Dave (March 9, 1989). "Idaho-Boise rematch far from certain". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. D2.
  4. ^ Boling, Dave (March 10, 1989). "Big Sky opens with drama". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. C3.
  5. ^ Boling, Dave (March 11, 1989). "Idaho, Boise roll to rematch". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. B2.