Montana wins Big Sky, advances to NCAA tournament
(Montana Sports Information) It was a battle three months in the making. Montana and Northern Colorado, the co-regular season champions, had separated from the rest of the Big Sky Conference over the league's 18-game regular season and arrived in Boise as the heavy favorites.
The two teams rolled into the championship game with blowout semifinal victories, setting the ultimate stage inside Idaho Central Arena. Two of the three best shooting teams in the country put on one of the best offensive displays possible to a national stage on ESPN 2.
In the end, Montana (25-9) soared past Northern Colorado (25-9) 91-83 for a Big Sky record extending 12th tournament title and the first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2019. It's the third Big Sky Tournament Championship for head coach Travis DeCuire, and the first for Montana since 2019.
"They all feel great," DeCuire said. "Every championship has its own storyline. I love every player I've ever coached, I'll never say I loved any one individual any more than the other because they all were special in my heart.
This year's team reaches the Big Dance by way of shooting 65.2 percent from the field over the course of 40 minutes and putting up 91 points in a conference championship game. It's the best shooting percentage for Montana against a D-1 opponent since 2011.
Montana opened the game with six straight made field goals, ended the first half with nine straight makes, and carried that into the second half for a grand total of 14 straight shots that found the bottom of the net.
From the time the clock read 9:31 in the first half to the 16:22 minute mark of the second half, Montana was perfect from the floor. They didn't miss a shot for over 13 minutes of game time, which equated to well over a half an hour of real time for those in attendance in Boise or watching at home.
The Grizzlies missed consecutive shots just four times throughout the entire 40 minutes, dominating on the offensive end on their way to a title.