FARMINGTON, Utah (Oct. 31, 2025) – On Monday, November 3 the Big Sky Conference men’s basketball season officially gets underway with seven of the league’s 10 members in action, and the remaining three set to play on Tuesday.
#BigSkyMBB Notes (Oct. 31, 2025)
Below are the latest news and notes from around the Big Sky.
Picked to Repeat
The Montana Grizzlies will begin their Big Sky Conference men’s basketball title defense with high expectations, as they’ve been voted preseason favorites by both the league’s coaches and media.
The Griz received six first-place votes in the coaches’ poll, and 21 in the media poll to claim the title of outright favorite heading into the 2025-26 campaign. Last season, Montana was Co-Regular Season Champions before winning the conference tournament and making its first trip to the March Madness since 2019. The Grizzlies are led by Travis DeCuire, who is entering his 12
th season as the head coach in Missoula. Last season, the Griz finished 25-10 on the year with a 15-3 record in Big Sky Conference play. The Grizzlies return last season’s Top Reserve in Money Williams.
Additionally, the Grizzlies were ranked No. 21 in the Preseason Men’s Mid-Major Top 25, putting high national expectations on the squad as well.
2025-26 Big Sky Men’s Basketball Preseason Coaches’ Poll
1: Montana (6) – 78
2: Portland State (3) – 72
3: Northern Colorado – 63
4: Idaho (1) – 59
T5: Eastern Washington – 40
T5: Montana State – 40
7: Sacramento State – 35
8: Idaho State – 31
9: Weber State – 22
10: Northern Arizona – 10
2025-26 Big Sky Men’s Basketball Preseason Media Poll
1: Montana (21) – 323
2: Portland State (9) – 302
3: Northern Colorado (2) – 245
4: Idaho (2) – 231
5: Idaho State – 202
6: Montana State – 165
7: Sacramento State (1) – 143
8: Eastern Washington – 136
9: Weber State – 113
10: Northern Arizona – 61
() – Denotes First-Place Votes
Money Williams Headlines Preseason All-Conference Team
A season removed from being named the league’s Top Reserve, Montana’s Money Williams has been named Big Sky Conference Men’s Basketball Preseason Most Valuable Player.
Williams was the lone unanimous selection to the Preseason All-Conference Team, coming off a campaign that led all the way to the NCAA Tournament. The regular season and postseason champion averaged 13.2 points per game and dished out 110 assists during the course of the year. For his efforts he was named Second Team All-Conference and earned a pair of Player of Week honors.
Portland State had Terri Miller Jr., Jaylin Henderson and Tre-Vaughn Minott all receive preseason honors, as the Vikings return an impressive core of talent.
Miller Jr. was a Second Team All-Big Sky player a season ago, averaging 12.1 points per game and 5.5 rebounds per game. Henderson was an Honorable Mention to the All-Conference Team, as the team’s spark plug averaged 13.0 points per game and claimed a Player of the Week title. Minott is the league’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year and was a member of the All-Defensive Team a season ago. He averaged 7.6 points per game, 7.6 rebounds per game and sent away 54 shots at the rim.
The Vikings are the first team to feature three players on the Preseason All-Conference Team since 2021, when Southern Utah had a trio of student-athletes named to the squad.
Eastern Washington’s Andrew Cook earned a spot on the Preseason All-Conference Team after averaging 16.1 points per game for the Eagles a season ago. Cook also earned a Player of the Week title during the 2024-25 campaign.
The final spot on the squad was awarded to Idaho’s Jack Payne, who was an Honorable Mention to last season’s All-Conference Team. Payne, who was named to the All-Tournament Team in Boise, averaged 10.8 points per game and 5.1 rebounds per game for the Vandals.
2025-26 Big Sky Men’s Basketball Preseason All-Conference Team
Money Williams, Montana (Preseason Most Valuable Player) *
Terri Miller Jr., Portland State
Jaylin Henderson, Portland State
Andrew Cook, Eastern Washington
Tre-Vaughn Minott, Portland State
Jack Payne, Idaho
* - Unanimous Member of the Preseason All-Conference Team
The Mike Bibby Era Begins
Sacramento State’s home contest against Dominican on Tuesday evening will mark the first career Division I contest for newly appointed head coach Mike Bibby. The former Sacramento King was announced as the 17
th head men’s basketball coach in program history on March 25, 2025.
Bibby, who spent half of his 14-year NBA career with the Sacramento Kings, returns to the city where he became a fan favorite while helping the Kings to multiple playoff appearances in the early 2000s. A first team all-American, Pac-10 Conference Player of the Year and the No. 2 overall pick in the 1998 NBA draft, Bibby helped Arizona to a 1997 NCAA national championship.
Recently, Bibby had assistant coaching stops with the Puerto Rican National Team, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Memphis Grizzlies summer league teams, and the NBA G-League Ignite. He coached 25 players who received collegiate scholarships during his time as head coach at Shadow Mountain High School (2014-19) in Phoenix, Ariz. During his six seasons at Shadow Mountain (five as head coach), he coached the team to five state championships, a 157-21 overall record, a 72-game winning streak, and a six-year home winning streak.
NBA 75th Anniversary Team Member & Big Sky General Manager x2
A pair of all-time NBA standouts, and members of the NBA 75
th Anniversary Team have both taken roles as Big Sky Conference men’s basketball general managers. Damian Lillard (Weber State) and Shaquille O’Neal (Sacramento State) are both helping navigate their respective programs through the new NIL era by serving as GM’s on the staff. O’Neal’s son, Shaqir, is also on the roster for Sacramento State.
Starch Madness
The 2026 Big Sky Basketball Championships in Boise, Idaho will take place from March 7-11 inside Idaho Central Arena. Visit
StarchMadness.com for more details.
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Upcoming Big Sky Men’s Basketball Games (MT)
Monday, November 3
Northern Arizona vs. Drake | YouTube | 2:00 p.m.
NW Indian at Montana | ESPN+ | 7:00 p.m.
West Coast Baptist at Weber State | ESPN+ | 7:00 p.m.
Montana State at Colorado | ESPN+ | 7:00 p.m.
Colorado College at Northern Colorado | ESPN+ | 7:00 p.m.
Idaho at Washington State | ESPN+ | 7:30 p.m.
Eastern Washington at #12 UCLA | Big 10 Network | 8:30 p.m.
Tuesday, November 4
Dominican (CA) at Sacramento State | ESPN+ | 8:00 p.m.
Park University Gilbert at Idaho State | ESPN+ | 8:00 p.m.
Portland State at Stanford | ACC Network Extra | 8:00 p.m.
Wednesday, November 5
Ottawa (AZ) at Montana | ESPN+ | 7:00 p.m.
Northwest Indian at Montana State | ESPN+ | 7:00 p.m.
Eastern Washington at Loyola Marymount | ESPN+ | 8:30 p.m.
Friday, November 7
Colorado Christian at Northern Colorado | ESPN+ | 6:00 p.m.
Justice College at Northern Arizona | ESPN+ | 6:00 p.m.
Idaho State at San Diego | ESPN+ | 7:00 p.m.
Whitman at Idaho | ESPN+ | 7:00 p.m.
Jessup University at Sacramento State | ESPN+ | 8:00 p.m.
Northwest Indian at Portland State | ESPN+ | 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, November 8
Montana at Stanford | ACC Network Extra | 2:00 p.m.
Weber State at Utah | ESPN+ | 5:00 p.m.
Eastern Washington at Colorado | ESPN+ | 6:00 p.m.
Sunday, November 9
Denver at Montana State | ESPN+ | 1:00 p.m.
Idaho State at San Diego State | MW Network | 3:00 p.m.
Tuesday, November 11
Northern Arizona at #13 Arizona | ESPN+ | 7:00 p.m.
UC Santa Barbara at Sacramento State | ESPN+ | 8:00 p.m.
Montana at UNLV | MW Network | 8:00 p.m.
Wednesday, November 12
Weber State at Utah State | MW Network | 7:00 p.m.
Idaho at San Diego | ESPN+ | 7:00 p.m.
Portland State at San Francisco | ESPN+ | 8:00 p.m.
Eastern Washington at Seattle | ESPN+ | 8:00 p.m.
Montana State at Stanford | ACC Network Extra | 8:00 p.m.