2018 Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament

2018 Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament
ClassificationDivision I
Season2017–18
Teams12
SiteReno Events Center
Reno, Nevada
ChampionsMontana (10th title)
Winning coachTravis DeCuire (1st title)
MVPMichael Oguine (Montana)
Attendance6,765
TelevisionPluto TV, ELEVEN, ESPNU (final)
← 2017
2019 →
2017–18 Big Sky men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Montana † 16 – 2   .889 26 – 8   .765
Idaho 14 – 4   .778 22 – 9   .710
Weber State 13 – 5   .722 20 – 11   .645
Eastern Washington 13 – 5   .722 20 – 15   .571
Northern Colorado 11 – 7   .611 26 – 12   .684
Idaho State 9 – 9   .500 14 – 16   .467
Portland State 9 – 9   .500 20 – 14   .588
Montana State 6 – 12   .333 13 – 19   .406
North Dakota 6 – 12   .333 12 – 20   .375
Southern Utah 5 – 13   .278 13 – 19   .406
Sacramento State 4 – 14   .222 7 – 25   .219
Northern Arizona 2 – 16   .111 5 – 27   .156
† Conference tournament winner

The 2018 Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament was the postseason men's basketball tournament for the Big Sky Conference. The tournament was held from March 6–10, 2018 at the Reno Events Center in Reno, Nevada. Regular-season champion Montana defeated Eastern Washington in the championship game to win the tournament and receive the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

Seeds

Teams were seeded by conference record, with a tiebreaker system used to seed teams with identical conference records. The top four teams received a first round bye.

Seed School Record Tiebreaker 1 Tiebreaker 2
1 Montana 16–2
2 Idaho 14–4
3 Eastern Washington 13–5 1–0 vs Weber State
4 Weber State 13–5 0–1 vs Eastern Washington
5 Northern Colorado 11–7
6 Portland State 9–9 2–0 vs Idaho State
7 Idaho State 9–9 0–2 vs Portland State
8 North Dakota 6–12 1–1 vs Montana State 1–3 vs Eastern Washington/Weber State
9 Montana State 6–12 1–1 vs North Dakota 0–2 vs Eastern Washington/Weber State
10 Southern Utah 5–13
11 Sacramento State 4–14
12 Northern Arizona 2–16

Schedule

Session Game Time Matchup Score Television Attendance
First round – Tuesday, March 6
1 1 12:00 pm No. 8 North Dakota vs. No. 9 Montana State 76–74 Pluto TV 231 986
2 2:30 pm No. 5 Northern Colorado vs. No. 12 Northern Arizona 82–59
2 3 5:30 pm No. 7 Idaho State vs. No. 10 Southern Utah 68–76 977
4 8:00 pm No. 6 Portland State vs. No. 11 Sacramento State 71–67
Quarterfinals – Thursday, March 8
3 5 12:00 pm No. 1 Montana vs. No. 8 North Dakota 84–76 ELEVEN 1,110
6 2:30 pm No. 4 Weber State vs. No. 5 Northern Colorado 55–80 ELEVEN Prime
4 7 5:30 pm No. 2 Idaho vs. No. 10 Southern Utah 78–92 ELEVEN 1,078
8 8:00 pm No. 3 Eastern Washington vs. No. 6 Portland State 78–72
Semifinals – Friday, March 9
5 9 5:30 pm No. 1 Montana vs No. 5 Northern Colorado 91–89 OT ELEVEN 1,236
10 8:00 pm No. 3 Eastern Washington vs No. 10 Southern Utah 82–70
Championship game – Saturday, March 10
6 11 5:00 pm No. 1 Montana vs No. 3 Eastern Washington 82–65 ESPNU 1,378
Game times in PT. Rankings denote tournament seeding.

Bracket

First round
Tuesday, March 6 		Quarterfinals
Thursday, March 8 		Semifinals
Friday, March 9 		Final
Saturday, March 10
            
1 Montana 84
8 North Dakota 76
8 North Dakota 76
9 Montana State 74
1 Montana 91*
5 Northern Colorado 89
4 Weber State 55
5 Northern Colorado 80
5 Northern Colorado 82
12 Northern Arizona 59
1 Montana 82
3 Eastern Washington 65
2 Idaho 78
10 Southern Utah 92
7 Idaho State 68
10 Southern Utah 76
10 Southern Utah 70
3 Eastern Washington 82
3 Eastern Washington 78
6 Portland State 72
6 Portland State 71
11 Sacramento State 67

* denotes overtime period

Source:[1][2]

NCAA tournament

The Grizzlies received the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament; no other Big Sky members were invited to the tournament or the NIT. Montana was seeded 14th in the West regional and lost by fourteen to Michigan in the first round in Wichita. The last Big Sky team to advance in the NCAA tourney was Montana, a dozen years earlier in 2006.

References

  1. ^ "2018 Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Championship" (PDF). Big Sky Conference. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  2. ^ "The 2018 Big Sky Basketball Championships Schedule". Big Sky Conference. Retrieved February 7, 2018.