BOISE, Idaho (Mach 6, 2026) – Starch Madness is upon us, with nine Big Sky Conference men’s basketball tournament games taking place over the span of five days inside Idaho Central Arena.
#BigSkyMBB Notes (March 6, 2026)
Below are the latest news and notes from around the Big Sky.
Portland State Secures Outright Regular Season Title
The men’s basketball bracket is set for Starch Madness, highlighted by the Portland State Vikings claiming a Big Sky Conference title outright on Monday evening.
The Vikings finished Big Sky play with a 13-5 league record, which was good enough to claim their first regular season title since 2007-08. They’re 19-10 on the season, and 11-3 at home in Viking Pavilion.
Montana State (18-13, 12-6) will be the No. 2 seed in Boise. Both the Vikings and Bobcats will play on Sunday, and square off against the winers of Saturday’s matchups.
The tournament will begin Saturday with No. 9 Idaho State squaring off against No. 10 Northern Arizona at 5:30 p.m. MT, followed by No. 7 Idaho playing No. 8 Sacramento State at 8:00 p.m. MT.
Montana State’s Jed Miller Snags Player of the Week Nod
Jed Miller led Montana State to three wins in five days to close the regular season, averaging 18.7 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game against Portland State, Sacramento State, and Northern Arizona. This performance has earned him Men’s Basketball Player of the Week honors.
Miller ranked second in the Big Sky in rebounds and assists during the final week of the regular season while also shooting 18-of-37 (48.6%) from the field and 11-of-22 (50.0%) from three during that stretch. Miller's strongest performance of the week came during the Cats' 84-69 win over the Vikings on Feb. 26, when he tallied 25 points (7-of-15 FG, 4-of-8 3FG), nine rebounds, six assists, three steals, and one block.
His efforts helped Montana State earn three-straight double-digit victories to clinch the No. 2 seed in the Big Sky Tournament. He is the second Bobcat this season to earn the honor, joining teammate Patrick McMahon.
Nearing Top 10 All-Time For Assists
With 203 assists on the year, Northern Colorado’s Quinn Denker needs just three more (206) to reach the Big Sky all-time top-10 for single-season assists. Denker is currently tied for ninth in the NCAA for dimes.
DeCuire Chasing History
Montana head coach Travis DeCuire is just four victories away from tying for second all-time in Big Sky history for career wins. DeCuire currently has 242 career wins, and is chasing Montana State legend Mick Durham, who had 246 wins during his career. Long-time Weber State head coach Randy Rahe holds the Big Sky record for total coaching victories with 316 in 16 seasons.
Four Big Sky Players Earn National Recognition
During the course of the regular season four different Big Sky Conference men’s basketball players earned National Player of the Week honors from CollegeInsider.com. Through the course of the year, Montana’s Money Williams, Northern Colorado’s Quinn Denker, Sacramento State’s Prophet Johnson and Idaho State’s Gus Etchison all earned the Lou Henson Award.
2025-26 Men’s Basketball All-Conference Team & Individual Awards
The Big Sky Conference office released its 2025-26 Men’s Basketball All-Conference Teams and Individual Award Winners on Friday, headlined by Portland State’s Terri Miller Jr. being named the league’s Most Valuable Player.
Portland State, the Big Sky’s regular season champions, earned two more individual awards along with Miller’s, as Tre-Vaughn Minott being named Defensive Player of the Year and Jase Coburn earning Coach of the Year honors.
Miller Jr. averaged 18.9 points per game for the Vikings, which puts him second in the Big Sky. Minott ended the regular season as the league’s top rebounder, averaging 8.9 boards per contest.
The Vikings finished the regular season 19-10, with a 13-5 record in Big Sky play. PSU claimed the No. 1 overall seed for Starch Madness on Monday.
Eastern Washington’s Isaiah Moses was named the league’s Newcomer of the Year, after transferring to the Eagles by way of UC Riverside. He averaged 17.9 points per game for the Eagles this season.
The Idaho Vandals also picked up a pair of individual honors, as Jackson Rasmussen was named Freshman of the Year and Isaiah Bricker was tabbed the league’s Top Reserve.
Five players were unanimous selections to the Big Sky’s All-Conference First Team, as Miller Jr and Moses were joined by Northern Colorado’s Quinn Denker, Montana State’s Jed Miller and Montana’s Money Williams as players to earn that designation.
All awards are voted on by the league’s 10 head coaches. Coaches are not permitted to vote for their own players.
2025-26 Men’s Basketball Individual Awards
Most Valuable Player: Terri Miller Jr., Portland State
Newcomer of the Year: Isaiah Moses, Eastern Washington
Freshman of the Year: Jackson Rasmussen, Idaho
Defensive Player of the Year: Tre-Vaughn Minott, Portland State
Top Reserve: Isaiah Brickner, Idaho
Coach of the Year: Jase Coburn, Portland State
2025-26 Men’s Basketball First Team All-Conference
Terri Miller Jr., Portland State*
Quinn Denker, Northern Colorado*
Jed Miller, Montana State*
Isaiah Moses, Eastern Washington*
Money Williams, Montana*
Jaylin Henderson, Portland State
Tijan Saine Jr., Weber State
*Unanimous First Team Selection
2025-26 Men’s Basketball Second Team All-Conference
Brock Wisne, Northern Colorado
Prophet Johnson, Sacramento State
Alton Hamilton IV, Eastern Washington
Tre-Vaughn Minott, Portland State
Kiree Huie, Eastern Washington
Patrick McMahon, Montana State
2025-26 Men’s Basketball All-Conference Honorable Mention
Kolton Mitchell, Idaho
Christian King, Montana State
Viljami Vartiainen, Weber State
Te’Jon Sawyer, Montana
2025-26 Men’s Basketball All-Defensive Team
Tre-Vaughn Minott, Portland State (DPOY)
Zach Bloch, Northern Colorado
Evan Otten, Idaho State
Prophet Johnson, Sacramento State
Jeremiah Davis, Montana 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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Starch Madness Men’s Basketball Schedule (MT)
Saturday, March 7 (First Round)
#9 Idaho State vs. #10 Northern Arizona | ESPN+ | 5:30 p.m.
#7 Idaho vs. #8 Sacramento State | ESPN+ | 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, March 8 (Second Round)
#1 Portland State vs. Game 1 Winner | ESPN+ | 5:30 p.m.
#2 Montana State vs. Game 2 Winner | ESPN+ | 8:00 p.m.
Monday, March 9 (Third Round)
#4 Montana vs. #5 Northern Colorado | ESPN+ | 5:30 p.m.
#3 Eastern Washington vs. #6 Weber State | ESPN+ | 8:00 p.m.
Tuesday, March 10 (Semifinals)
Game 3 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner | ESPNU | 7:00 p.m.
Game 4 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner | ESPN2 | 9:30 p.m.
Wednesday, March 11 (Championship)
Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner | ESPN2 | 9:30 p.m.