FARMINGTON, Utah (Oct. 29, 2026) – When the Montana State Bobcats travel to Moscow this season to play the Idaho Vandals in a pivotal Big Sky Conference men’s basketball contest, it will now be on a national stage.
The game between the two schools on Thursday, February 11, 2027, at ICCU Arena will air on ESPNU, tipping off at 9 p.m. MT / 8 p.m. PT. This will mark the sixth-consecutive season that a regular season Big Sky Conference men’s basketball game has aired on the ESPN Family of Networks.
Earlier this month, the Montana State Bobcats were voted league favorites in both the Big Sky Coaches’ and Media Polls.
The Bobcats are set to return 11 players from last year’s squad, which finished second in the Big Sky regular season standings with an 18-14 overall record. They are projected to be led by 2025-26 First Team All-Big Sky performer Jed Miller, who averaged 14.9 points per game, 5.7 assists per game, 2.9 assists per game and 1.6 steals per game last season.
Idaho, the defending Big Sky Tournament champions, were voted sixth by both coaches and media.
Kristian Gonzalez, who started 29 of 32 games in 2024-25, is projected to be a major player in the Big Sky after leading the Vandals with 11.4 points per game on 44.7 percent shooting from the field. Gonzalez appeared in only one game during the 2025-26 season, posting a team-high 18 points in 18 minutes off the bench in the Vandals' season-opening win over Washington State, before missing the remainder of the season due to injury.
The game will be played inside ICCU Arena, which opened in October of 2021.
When these two teams last met, No.7-seeded Idaho upset No. 2-seeded Montana State in Starch Madness, which helped propel the Vandals to their first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 1990.
The 2027 Big Sky Basketball Championships in Boise, Idaho will take place from March 5-10 inside Idaho Central Arena. Visit
StarchMadness.com for more details.
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Big Sky Regular Season Men’s Basketball Games on ESPN2/U
February 11, 2027: Montana State at Idaho (ESPNU)
February 19, 2026: Idaho at Portland State (ESPNU)
March 3, 2025: Eastern Washington at Montana (ESPN2)
March 4, 2024: Weber State at Montana State (ESPN2)
February 6, 2023: Weber State at Northern Colorado (ESPNU)
February 27, 2022: Montana State at Montana (ESPNU)