1997 Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament

Men's basketball tournament August 2023 March 2026 1997 Big Sky Conference I Men's 200px 6 Walkup Skydome Flagstaff, Arizona Montana 3rd Blaine Taylor 2nd Trenton Cross 1996 men Cal State Northridge Matadors Cal State Northridge The 1997 Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament was the 22nd edition, held March 6–8 at the Walkup Skydome at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona.1996-97 Big Sky Conference Season Summary sports-reference.com Sports Reference LLC 2016 https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/conferences/big-sky/1997.html May 5, 2016 Second-seeded Montana defeated sixth-seeded 1996 men Cal State Northridge Matadors Cal State Northridge in the championship game, 82–79, to clinch their third Big Sky tournament title. Northridge had upset host and top-seed Northern Arizona in the semifinals. Format In the summer of 1996, longtime Big Sky members Idaho (1963) and Boise State (1970) departed for the Big West, and three new teams were added: Cal State Northridge, Portland State, and Sacramento State. Northridge and Sac State came from the recently defunct American West Conference, and total conference membership was nine. Similar to the previous year, the top six teams in the regular season conference standings participated in the tournament. The top two earned byes into the semifinals while the remaining four played in the quarterfinals. The lowest remaining seed met the top seed in the semifinals. Bracket Quarterfinals Thursday, March 6 Semifinals Friday, March 7 Championship Saturday, March 8 3 1996 men Montana State Bobcats Montana State 56 6 1996 men Cal State Northridge Matadors Cal State Northridge 74 4 1996 men Weber State Wildcats Weber State 68 5 1996 men Idaho State Bengals Idaho State 58 1 1996 men Northern Arizona Lumberjacks Northern Arizona 84 6 Cal State Northridge 93 2 Montana 81 4 Weber State 56 6 Cal State Northridge 79 2 Montana 82 NCAA tournament Montana received the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, and no other Big Sky members were invited. Seeded sixteenth in the West regional, the Grizzlies lost to defending champion Kentucky in the first round at Salt Lake City.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=nUtWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=gOsDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6685%2C3460771 Eugene Register-Guard Oregon Associated Press Defending champs tame the Grizzlies March 14, 1997 4B Northern Arizona was invited to the NIT, but lost in the first round at Arkansas. See also American West Conference men's basketball tournament (1995–1996) Big Sky Conference women's basketball tournament References Category:Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament Tournament Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament Category:College basketball tournaments in Arizona Category:Sports in Flagstaff, Arizona