The Big Sky Tournament is set to get underway this weekend at Idaho Central Arena in Boise, Idaho. The winner will punch their automatic bid to the 2023 men’s NCAA tournament. The Big Sky is likely to be a one-bid league this year, which means the entire season comes down to the conference tournament.
The tournament has a new format this season. With the conference now down to ten teams, the top six teams in the Big Sky conference have a bye into the quarterfinals, while the bottom four teams play in the first round. If one of those teams wants to crash the big dance, they’ll have to win four game in five days to make the NCAA men’s tournament.
Eastern Washington is the top seed in the Big Sky tournament, with a 22-9 record overall, and a 16-2 record in the conference. The Eagles won their first 16 games in conference play — which set a new conference record — but they enter the tournament having lost their final two games in the Big Sky, including in their season finale against Montana State. Eastern Washington is led by guard Steele Venters, who was named the Big Sky MVP on Thursday. The 6’7 redshirt sophomore averages 15.1 points per game, and was third in the conference with 70 3-pointers made. The Eagles are also stifling on defense. They held opponents to shooting just 42% this season, and held opponents under 40% in 11 games this year.
Speaking of Montana State, they are the #2 seed in the conference, and enter the tournament with a matching 22-9 overall record. Only Montana State’s 15-3 conference record kept them from earning the top seed for the tournament. They’re led by guard RaeQuan Battle, who averages 17.1 points per game this season, as well as last year’s Big Sky MVP Jubrile Belo. Belo 12.8 points per game along with 6.1 rebounds per game.
2023 men’s Big Sky tournament bracket
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2023 men’s Big Sky tournament schedule
March 4 First Round
Game 1: Northern Arizona 87, Idaho 76
Game 2: Northern Colorado 84, Portland State 80
March 5 Second Round
Game 3: Northern Arizona 81, Eastern Washington 80
That’s right, the #9 seed Northern Arizona — who entered play Sunday with a 10-22 record — knocked off the top seed in the conference on this buzzer-beater:
Game 4: Montana State 83, Northern Colorado 73
March 6 Third Round
Game 5: Montana 83, Idaho State 74
Game 6: Weber State 70, Sacramento State 64
March 7 Semifinals
Game 7: Northern Arizona 83, Montana 71
Game 8: Montana State vs. Weber State, 9 p.m., ESPN2
March 8 Championship
Game 9: Northern Arizona vs. Winner Game 8, 9:30 p.m., ESPN2
