Men's Championship Headed to Missoula
PDF of Bracket
The Montana Grizzlies clinched their second straight Big Sky Conference outright championship on Saturday night, downing Northern Arizona 63-50 to finish 19-1 in conference.
Montana will play host to the Big Sky Conference championship beginning on Thursday at Dahlberg Arena. Montana as the No. 1 seed gets a bye to the semifinals, which will be played on Friday.
In first-round games on Thursday, No. 7 seed Northern Arizona (11-20) will play No. 2 seed Weber State (24-5) at 3 p.m. Mountain. At 5:30 p.m. Mountain, No. 6 seed Southern Utah (11-19) takes on No. 3 North Dakota (15-15). Both Southern Utah and North Dakota joined the Big Sky on July 1, 2012. In the third first-round game at 8 p.m., No. 5 Northern Colorado will play No. 4 Montana State.
Montana (23-6) will play the lowest remaining seed from Thursday’s games in a semifinal.
Southern Utah, Northern Arizona and Sacramento State all finished the regular season 8-12 in conference. Southern Utah went 3-1 against Northern Arizona and Sacramento State. Northern Arizona was 2-2 against Sacramento State and Southern Utah. Sacramento State was 1-3 vs. Northern Arizona and Southern Utah. Based on those records, Southern Utah earned the No. 6 seed and Northern Arizona the No. 7 seed.
Montana State and Northern Colorado tied for fourth at 10-10. The teams split regular-season meetings. Montana State earned the No. 4 seed because of a win over No. 2 Weber State.
The women's tournament will begin on Wednesday with three first-round games. No. 2 Northern Colorado will play No. 7 seed Southern Utah at 3 p.m. No. 3 seed Eastern Washington will take on No. 6 seed Montana State at 5:30 p.m. At 8 p.m. No. 4 Idaho State meets No. 5 Sacramento State.
The women's semifinals on Friday will be played at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. The Lady Griz will play in the late semifinal. The men's semifinals will be Friday at 5:30 and 8 p.m.
On Saturday, the women's championship will begin at 2 p.m., followed by the men at 7 p.m.
2013 Big Sky Men's Basketball Championship
First Round - March 14
(Dahlberg Arena, Missoula, Mont.)
3 p.m. - No. 7 Northern Arizona (11-20) vs. No. 2 Weber State (24-5)
5:30 p.m. - No. 6 Southern Utah (11-19) vs. No. 3 North Dakota (15-15)
8 p.m. - No. 5 Northern Colorado (12-17) vs. No. 4 Montana State (13-16)
Semifinals - March 15
5:30 p.m - Highest Remaining Seed vs 2nd Highest Remaining Seed
8 p.m. - Lowest Remaining Seed at No. 1 Montana (23-6)
Final - March 16
7 p.m. Mountain - Semifinal Winners (ESPNU)