BOISE, Idaho — The Montana men’s basketball team is back in a place it is used to being: the Big Sky Conference tournament semifinals.
The No. 2 seed Grizzlies won their quarterfinal game for the third consecutive season and improved to 8-2 that round in head coach Travis DeCuire’s 10 tournaments as they rallied for a 74-65 win over No. 7 Northern Arizona on Sunday. Now, it’s on to the semis, where DeCuire holds a 5-2 mark.
This year, Montana will square off against No. 6 Idaho, which has advanced to the semifinals for the first time since 2017. They’ll play in the second semifinal at 9:30 p.m. Tuesday at Idaho Central Arena in a game that will be televised on ESPN2 and streamed on ESPN+.
The Vandals moved on to the semifinals by knocking off No. 3 Portland State, 80-70, in the last quarterfinal Monday night. Kristian Gonzalez poured in 24 points and Jack Payne, who was an All-Big Sky honorable mention, added 20 points. Idaho shot 49% from the field against the Big Sky’s top defense, statistically, during conference action.
In the regular season, the Griz posted a 2-0 record against Idaho. The Vandals are the opponent that Montana has gone the longest time without playing as they faced off twice in the first seven games of the conference season.
Montana won 73-71 on Jan. 4 in Moscow, Idaho, and 72-67 on Jan. 20 in Missoula. The second win started the Grizzlies’ 10-game winning streak that vaulted them back into the race for the Big Sky regular season title, which they shared with Northern Colorado as both had 15-3 conference records.
Idaho went 8-10 in league play to tie for sixth place and earn the tiebreaker over Northern Arizona. The Vandals are 14-18 overall while Montana is 23-9.
In the first semifinal, No. 1 Northern Colorado will play No. 5 Montana State at 7 p.m. Tuesday in a game televised on ESPNU and streamed on ESPN+. The Bobcats upset No. 4 Idaho State, 80-60, in the third quarterfinal.
The Grizzlies’ win in the quarterfinal gave them 49 Big Sky tournament wins, the second most in conference history behind Weber State (50). They can tie the Wildcats, who have already been eliminated, with a win in the semifinals. Montana is 49-33 in 46 tourney appearances; Weber is 50-38 in 48 trips.
DeCuire, who became the winningest coach in program history this year, improved his record in Big Sky tournament games to 16-7 with the victory in the quarterfinal. That is the most wins by a Griz coach in tourney history.
Big Sky tournament pairings
Game 1: No. 9 Weber State 83, No. 10 Sacramento State 70, first round
Game 2: No. 7 Northern Arizona 66, No. 8 Eastern Washington 53, first round
Game 3: No. 1 Northern Colorado 76, No. 9 Weber State 52, quarterfinal
Game 4: No. 2 Montana 74, No. 7 Northern Arizona 65, quarterfinal
Game 5: No. 5 Montana State 80, No. 4 Idaho State 60, quarterfinal
Game 6: No. 6 Idaho 80, No. 3 Portland State 70, quarterfinal,
Game 7: No. 1 Northern Colorado vs. No. 5 Montana State, semifinal, 7 p.m. Tuesday, ESPNU/ESPN+
Game 8: No. 2 Montana vs. No. 6 Idaho, semifinal, 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, ESPN2/ESPN+
Game 9: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, championship, 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, ESPN2/ESPN+
Frank Gogola is the Senior Sports Reporter at the Missoulian and 406 MT Sports. Follow him on X @FrankGogola or email him at [email protected].
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