1986 Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament

1986 Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament
Classification	Division I
Season	1985–86
Teams	7
Site	Lawlor Events Center Reno, Nevada
Champions	Montana State (1st title)
Winning coach	Stu Starner (1st title)
MVP	Tony Hampton (Montana State)
Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournaments

1985–86 Big Sky Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Northern Arizona	9	–	5		.643			19	–	10		.655
Montana	9	–	5		.643			21	–	11		.656
Idaho State	8	–	6		.571			15	–	12		.556
Weber State	7	–	7		.500			18	–	11		.621
Nevada	7	–	7		.500			13	–	15		.464
Montana State †	6	–	8		.429			14	–	17		.452
Boise State	6	–	8		.429			12	–	16		.429
Idaho	4	–	10		.286			11	–	18		.379
† 1986 Big Sky tournament winner

The 1986 Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament was held March 6–8 at the Lawlor Events Center in Reno, Nevada.^[1][2]

Sixth-seeded Montana State upset rival Montana in the championship game, 82–77, for their first Big Sky tournament title. The Bobcats upset host and defending champion Nevada by a point in the first round with a field goal at the buzzer,^[3] then shocked regular season champion Northern Arizona by six in the semifinals.^[4]

Format

On probation, third-place Idaho State did not participate in this year's tournament, reducing the field to seven teams.^[1][5] Regular season champion Northern Arizona received a bye into the semifinals to play the lowest remaining seed, and the other six teams were paired up in the quarterfinals on Thursday.^[1]

Bracket

	Quarterfinals Thursday, March 6					Semifinals Friday, March 7					Championship Saturday, March 8
						1	Northern Arizona	74
						6	Montana State	80
	6	Montana State	81
	3	Nevada	80
											6	Montana State	82
											2	Montana	77
	4	Weber State	79
	5	Boise State	76
						4	Weber State	68
						2	Montana	72
	7	Idaho	60
	2	Montana	68

Source:^[3][4]

NCAA tournament

Montana State received the automatic bid to the 64-team NCAA tournament; no other Big Sky members were invited. The Bobcats were the sixteenth seed in the West regional, and lost by nine to St. John's in the first round at Long Beach, California.^[6]

Northern Arizona and Montana played in the NIT, but both lost in the first round.

References

1. Devlin, Vince (March 6, 1986). "Even for Idaho, Sky's wide open". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. C1.
2. "1985-86 Big Sky Conference Season Summary". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. 2016. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
3. "Idaho loses Big Sky opener; Montana, Weber make semis". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 7, 1986. p. 22.
4. "Krystkowiak, Ferch set up all-Montana Big Sky final". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 7, 1986. p. 22.
5. "College standings". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). March 3, 1986. p. 4B.
6. "Game Montana State doesn't play dead". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 15, 1986. p. C4.