2023 Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament
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| 2023 Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Classification | Division I |
| Season | 2022–23 |
| Teams | 10 |
| Site | Idaho Central Arena Boise, Idaho |
| Champions | Montana State (4th title) |
| Winning coach | Danny Sprinkle (2nd title) |
| Television | ESPN+, ESPNU, ESPN2 |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Eastern Washington | 16 | – | 2 | .889 | 23 | – | 11 | .676 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Montana State † | 15 | – | 3 | .833 | 25 | – | 10 | .714 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weber State | 12 | – | 6 | .667 | 18 | – | 15 | .545 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Montana | 10 | – | 7 | .588 | 17 | – | 14 | .548 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Idaho State | 8 | – | 10 | .444 | 11 | – | 21 | .344 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sacramento State | 7 | – | 11 | .389 | 14 | – | 18 | .438 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Portland State | 6 | – | 11 | .353 | 12 | – | 19 | .387 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northern Colorado | 6 | – | 12 | .333 | 12 | – | 20 | .375 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northern Arizona | 5 | – | 13 | .278 | 12 | – | 23 | .343 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Idaho | 4 | – | 14 | .222 | 10 | – | 22 | .313 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † Conference tournament winner | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 2023 Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament was the postseason tournament for the Big Sky Conference, held March 4–8 at Idaho Central Arena in Boise, Idaho. It was the 48th edition of the conference tourney, which debuted in 1976. Formerly concluding on Saturday, this year's edition moved to an earlier schedule, with the championship on Wednesday night.
Second-seeded Montana State defeated ninth seed Northern Arizona 85–78 in the final and received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The Bobcats successfully defended their conference tournament title and earned a second straight NCAA appearance, their fifth overall.
Finalist NAU upset top-seeded Eastern Washington by a point in the quarterfinals and fourth seed Montana by twelve in the semifinals. The other semifinal was rematch of the previous year, with a similar result; this time, MSU needed double overtime to eliminate third seed Weber State 60–58. In 2022, they outlasted the Wildcats by three points in regulation.
The ten teams were seeded by conference record; the top six teams received a first-round bye.[1]
| Seed | School | Record | Tiebreaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eastern Washington | 16–2 | N/a |
| 2 | Montana State | 15–3 | |
| 3 | Weber State | 12–6 | |
| 4 | Montana | 10–7 | |
| 5 | Idaho State | 8–10 | |
| 6 | Sacramento State | 7–11 | |
| 7 | Portland State | 6–11 | |
| 8 | Northern Colorado | 6–12 | |
| 9 | Northern Arizona | 5–13 | |
| 10 | Idaho | 4–14 |
Schedule
| Session | Game | Time | Matchup | Score | Television | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First round – Saturday, March 4 | ||||||
| 1 | 1 | 5:30 pm | No. 9 Northern Arizona vs. No. 10 Idaho | 87–79 | ESPN+ | |
| 2 | 8:00 pm | No. 7 Portland State vs. No. 8 Northern Colorado | 80–84 | |||
| Quarterfinals – Sunday, March 5 | ||||||
| 2 | 3 | 5:30 pm | No. 1 Eastern Washington vs. No. 9 Northern Arizona | 80–81 | ESPN+ | |
| 4 | 8:00 pm | No. 2 Montana State vs. No. 8 Northern Colorado | 84–73 | |||
| Quarterfinals – Monday, March 6 | ||||||
| 3 | 5 | 5:30 pm | No. 4 Montana vs. No. 5 Idaho State | 83–74 | ESPN+ | |
| 6 | 8:00 pm | No. 3 Weber State vs. No. 6 Sacramento State | 70–64 | |||
| Semifinals – Tuesday, March 7 | ||||||
| 4 | 7 | 6:30 pm | No. 9 Northern Arizona vs. No. 4 Montana | 83–71 | ESPNU | |
| 8 | 9:00 pm | No. 2 Montana State vs. No. 3 Weber State | 60–58 2OT | ESPN2 | ||
| Championship game – Wednesday, March 8 | ||||||
| 5 | 9 | 9:30 pm | No. 2 Montana State vs. No. 9 Northern Arizona | 85–78 | ESPN2 | |
| Game times are in Mountain time; rankings denote tournament seeding. | ||||||