The pairings and schedules have been set for the eight-team Big Sky Conference women’s and men’s basketball tournaments, which will be held Wednesday through Saturday at Dahlberg Arena in Missoula.
Montana clinched the right to host the women’s tournament last week. The Griz men did the same thing Saturday night. It will be the second time in three years Montana has hosted both tournaments.
The women’s tournament will be held Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, the men’s tournament Thursday, Friday and Saturday
The Lady Griz (21-8, 14-4 BSC), who lost their final regular-season game Saturday afternoon at Montana State, will face No. 8 Idaho State (13-16, 8-10 BSC) Wednesday at 8 p.m. in the final women’s quarterfinal game of the day.
Earlier quarterfinal matchups will be No. 2 Sacramento State (15-14, 13-5 BSC) against No. 7 Montana State (15-14, 9-9 BSC) at 11 a.m., No. 3 Northern Colorado (18-11, 12-6 BSC) versus No. 6 North Dakota (17-13, 9-9 BSC) at 1:30 p.m. and No. 4 Eastern Washington (19-10, 12-6 BSC) against No. 5 Northern Arizona (13-16, 9-9 BSC) at 5:30 p.m.
The women’s semifinals will be played at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. on Friday, with the winners of the first two quarterfinal games on Wednesdaymeeting at 11 a.m. and the winners of the final two quarterfinal games playing at 1:30 p.m.
Saturday’s championship game will be played at 2 p.m.
Montana swept the season series with Idaho State, winning 77-65 at Missoula and 69-51 at Pocatello.
Montana (18-11, 14-4 BSC), which won at Montana State Saturday night to earn hosting rights, shared the regular-season men’s championship with Eastern Washington (23-8, 14-4 BSC).
The men’s quarterfinals will open Thursday at 11 a.m. with the No. 2 Eagles facing No. 7 Idaho (13-16, 8-10 BSC). No. 3 Sacramento State (19-10, 13-5 BSC) will play No. 6 Portland State (15-13, 9-9 BSC) at 1:30 p.m., and No. 4 Northern Arizona (18-13, 13-5 BSC) will face No. 5 Northern Colorado (15-14, 10-8 BSC) at 5:30 p.m.
No. 1 Montana will host No. 8 Weber State (13-16, 8-10 BSC) Thursday at 8 p.m. The two teams split their season series, with the Wildcats winning 68-60 at Ogden, the Grizzlies winning 74-63 at Missoula.
The men’s semifinals, with Thursday’s first two quarterfinal winners and final two quarterfinal winners squaring off, will be played on Friday at5:30 and 8 p.m. Saturday’s championship game, which will be on ESPNU, will tip off at 7 p.m.
All-session packages for the two tournaments will be available for sale Sunday at the Adams Center ticket office from 1-6 p.m. The ticket office (1-888-MONTANA; griztix.com) will be open Monday and Tuesday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Single-session tickets will go on sale Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. for the women’s tournament, Thursday at 8:30 a.m. for the men’s tournament.
Big Sky Conference women’s basketball tournament schedule:
Wednesday, March 11
No. 7 Montana State vs. No. 2 Sacramento State — 11 a.m.
No. 6 North Dakota vs. No. 3 Northern Colorado — 1:30 p.m.
No. 5 Northern Arizona vs. No. 4 Eastern Washington — 5:30 p.m.
No. 8 Idaho State vs. No. 1 Montana — 8 p.m.
Friday, March 13
Semifinal I (MSU/SAC vs. UND/UNC) — 11 a.m.
Semifinal II (NAU/EWU vs. ISU/UM) — 1:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 14
Championship — 2 p.m.
Big Sky Conference men’s basketball tournament schedule:
Thursday, March 12
No. 7 Idaho vs. No. 2 Eastern Washington — 11 a.m.
No. 6 Portland State vs. No. 3 Sacramento State — 1:30 p.m.
No. 5 Northern Colorado vs. No. 4 Northern Arizona — 5:30 p.m.
No. 8 Weber State vs. No. 1 Montana — 8 p.m.
Friday, March 13
Semifinal I (UI/EWU vs. PSU/SAC) — 5:30 p.m.
Semifinal II (UNC/NAU vs. WSU/UM) — 8 p.m.
Saturday, March 14
Championship — 7 p.m.