Championship Bracket Set for #BigSkyMBB; Action Tips Off Wednesday
BOISE, Idaho (March 6, 2021) – With the No. 1 seed up for grabs heading into the last week of the regular season, Southern Utah capitalized on every opportunity to claim its first regular-season title since joining the Big Sky in 2012.
Southern Utah finished its Big Sky slate with a 12-2 record and .857 winning percentage to earn the No. 1 seed and first-round bye. The Thunderbirds will face the winner between No. 8 Northern Colorado and No. 9 Sacramento State for their quarterfinal game on Thursday.
Eastern Washington captured the No. 2 seed with a 12-3 Big Sky record and .800 winning percentage. Weber State also finished at 12-3 in conference play but lost in the tiebreaker to take the third seed.
The Eagles will await the winner of No. 7 Portland State and No. 10 Northern Arizona while the Wildcats will open tournament play against either No. 6 Montana or No. 11 Idaho in the quarterfinal round.
No. 4 Idaho State and No. 5 Montana State rounded out the top five seeds that earn a first-round bye. Both teams ended regular season play with an 8-6 Big Sky record and a .571 winning percentage with Idaho State winning the tiebreaker. The Bengals and Bobcats will get ready to meet on Thursday in the quarterfinals.
The road to the championship will take place across four days in the newly renamed Idaho Central Arena in Boise, Idaho. Action gets underway Wednesday with three first round games starting at 9 a.m. MT. Thursday’s quarterfinals tip-off at 11 a.m. MT while Friday’s semifinals begin at 5 p.m. MT.
The men’s first round, quarterfinal and semifinal games will be streamed on Pluto TV channel 1050 and WatchBigSky.com with Jon Oglesby and Joe Cravens calling the action.
The men’s championship game will air on ESPNU on Saturday at 6 p.m. MT with Malcolm Huckaby and Rich Hollenberg on the call. The game can also be heard on Westwood One.
For information about this year’s tournament visit bigskyinboise.com.
Follow the Big Sky Conference on social media – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat at @BigSkyConf – and use the hashtag #ExperienceElevated. Fans can also follow Big Sky men’s basketball on Twitter at @BigSkyMBB.
Wednesday, March 10
Game 1
No. 9 Sacramento State vs. No. 8 Northern Colorado – 9 a.m. MT
Game 2
No. 10 Northern Arizona vs. No. 7 Portland State – 12 p.m. MT
Game 3
No. 11 Idaho vs. No. 6 Montana – 3 p.m. MT
Thursday, March 11
Game 4
No. 1 Southern Utah vs. Game 1 Winner – 11 a.m. MT
Game 5
No. 5 Montana State vs. No. 4 Idaho State – 2 p.m. MT
Game 6
No. 2 Eastern Washington vs. Game 2 Winner – 5:30 p.m. MT
Game 7
No. 3 Weber State vs. Game 3 Winner – 8 p.m. MT
Friday, March 12
Game 8
Game 4 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner – 5 p.m. MT
Game 9
Game 6 Winner vs. Game 7 Winner – 8 p.m. MT
Saturday, March 13
Game 10
Game 8 Winner vs. Game 9 Winner – 6 p.m. MT
