FARMINGTON, Utah (Dec. 9, 2025) – With a Big Sky-Summit Challenge victory behind them, Big Sky Conference men’s basketball teams are hitting the backstretch of their non-conference slates with league play looming after the new year.
#BigSkyMBB Notes (Dec. 9, 2025)
Below are the latest news and notes from around the Big Sky.
Big Sky Wins Summit Challenge
By a final score of 25-20, the Big Sky Conference won the Summit Challenge for the first time. A trio of Big Sky teams finished 2-0 in the challenge, with Idaho, Idaho State and Northern Colorado all scoring 2.5 points towards the effort.
Northern Colorado’s 2-0 record included a buzzer-beating putback by Ring Nyeri as time expired to keep a six game winning streak alive.
The Big Sky-Summit Challenge is a combined men’s and women’s event that awards one point for a home victory and 1.5 points for a road victory.
Northern Colorado Ranked No. 17 in Mid-Major Poll
With a 9-1 record on the season, the Northern Colorado Bears are currently ranked No. 17 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25. The Bears moved up two spots from the previous week and are the only Big Sky team currently ranked in the poll. UNC also features the best NCAA NET Ranking in the league, sitting at 121
st in the country.
Idaho’s Brickner Named Player of the Week
After leading the Idaho Vandals to two victories in the Big Sky-Summit Challenge, Isaiah Brickner has been named Big Sky Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Week. Brickner’s best performance came at home against North Dakota, where he had 26 points on 70 percent shooting. That was accomplished in just 17 minutes He also shot 80 percent from behind the three-point line.
For the week, he was incredibly efficient and shot 63 percent from the field and 92 percent from the free throw line. He also averaged 4.5 rebounds per game and finished the week with two steals. The Vandals secured 2.5 points for the Big Sky in the Summit Challenge, as they also knocked off South Dakota State on the road. Brickner is in his second season with the Vandals after transferring from Marist College.
Stat Leaders
Montana’s Money Williams is currently the Big Sky’s leading scorer, averaging 20.2 points per game through nine appearances. Eastern Washington’s Isaiah Moses is second with an 18.6 ppg average, followed by Portland State’s Jaylin Henderson at 17.5 ppg.
Sacramento State’s Prophet Johnson is currently the Big Sky’s leading rebounder, pulling down 8.7 rebounds per game on average. He is also the Big Sky leader in steals at 2.6 per contest. Portland State’s Tre-Vaughn Minott is second in that category, averaging 8.4 rpg.
PSU’s Henderson is also the Big Sky leader in assist average, dishing out 6.3 dimes per contest. Northern Colorado’s Quinn Denker is the leader in total assists with 61 (6.1 apg).
Idaho State’s Evan Otten is the Big Sky leader in blocks, averaging 1.8 swats per game.
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)
Tuesday, December 9
Northern Arizona at Arizona State | ESPN+ | 7:00 p.m.
Wednesday, December 10
Idaho at Notre Dame | ACC Extra | 5:00 p.m.
Weber State at Kansas City | Summit League TV | 6:00 p.m.
Idaho State at Utah Valley | ESPN+ | 6:00 p.m.
Salish Kootenai at Montana | ESPN+ | 7:00 p.m.
Friday, December 12
Cal Baptist at Eastern Washington | ESPN+ | 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, December 13
George Fox at Portland State | ESPN+ | 3:00 p.m.
Montana State at Oregon State | ESPN+ | 3:00 p.m.
Northern Arizona at San Diego | ESPN+ | 4:00 p.m.
Sunday, December 14
Evergreen State at Idaho | ESPN+ | 3:00 p.m.
Tuesday, December 16
Northern Colorado at #16 Texas Tech | ESPN+ | 6:00 p.m.
Montana State at Cal Poly | ESPN+ | 8:00 p.m.
Wednesday, December 17
Weber State at Utah Valley | ESPN+ | 6:00 p.m.
Montana Tech at Montana | ESPN+ | 7:00 p.m.
Portland State at Colorado | ESPN+ | 7:00 p.m.
Eastern Washington at Washington State | TBD | 8:00 p.m.