MISSOULA — Both Montana State teams are the No. 2 seeds for the 2026 Big Sky Conference men's and women's basketball tournaments, which begin Saturday at Idaho Central Arena in Boise, Idaho.
The Montana men are the No. 4 seed and the Lady Griz are the No. 8 seed.
The final seeds and brackets for the tournaments were finalized late Monday at the conclusion of the regular season. Portland State won the men's regular-season title and secured the No. 1 seed for the conference tourney, while Idaho won the women's regular-season championship and the tournament's No. 1 seed.
The eighth-seeded Lady Griz play the second game of the tournament and will face No. 7 seed Northern Arizona at 2:30 p.m. Saturday. The winner of that game will meet second-seeded Montana State in a second-round game at 2:30 p.m. Sunday. The Bobcats won last year's tournament championship.
The Montana State men will play their first tournament game at 8 p.m. Sunday. The second-seeded Bobcats will meet either Idaho or Sacramento State, who play each other in a first-round game Saturday.
Montana's men, who won last year's tournament championship, won't play their first game until Monday. The No. 4-seeded Grizzlies will play fifth-seeded Northern Colorado at 5:30 p.m.
The winners of the men's and women's tournaments clinch automatic bids to the NCAA national tournaments, which begin later this month. Full Big Sky tournament pairings are below.
The tournaments will be broadcast by Scripps Sports and air on The Spot – MTN across Montana. Daily coverage begins at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Game broadcasts are scheduled for 12 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday, Sunday and Monday and 12 and 2:30 on Tuesday.
The Spot – MTN is available on Spectrum cable, DirecTV, DirecTV Stream, Fubo and over the air with an antenna or Tablo.
Learn more about the The Spot – MTN and how to find it.
HOW TO WATCH THE SPOT – MTN
| LOCATION | OVER THE AIR | DIRECTV | SPECTRUM |
| Billings | 2.2 | 5 | 11 |
| Bozeman | 7.2 | 14 | 11 |
| Butte | 4.2 | 14 | 11 |
| Great Falls | 3.2 | 4 | 12 |
| Helena | 12.2 | N/A | 11 |
| Missoula - Flathead | 8.2 | 9 | 18 |
ESPN has broadcast rights for the men's semifinal games at 7 and 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, and both the men's and women's championship games on Wednesday. The women's title game is set for 3 p.m., and the men are slated for a 9:30 p.m. tip.
Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament
March 7-11 at Boise, Idaho (Idaho Central Arena)
All times Mountain
Saturday, March 7, first round
Game 1: No. 9 Idaho State (12-19) vs. No. 10 Northern Arizona (10-21), 5:30 p.m.
Game 2: No. 7 Idaho (17-14) vs. No. 8 Sacramento State (10-20), 8 p.m.
Sunday, March 8, second round
Game 3: No. 1 Portland State (19-10) vs. Game 1 winner, 5:30 p.m.
Game 4: No. 2 Montana State (18-13) vs. Game 2 winner, 8 p.m.
Monday, March 9, third round
Game 5: No. 4 Montana (16-15) vs. No. 5 Northern Colorado (20-11), 5:30 p.m.
Game 6: No. 3 Eastern Washington (13-18) vs. No. 6 Weber State (16-15), 8 p.m.
Tuesday, March 10, semifinals
Game 7: Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 7 p.m.
Game 8: Game 4 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 9:30 p.m.
Wednesday, March 11, championship
Game 9: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 9:30 p.m.
Big Sky Conference women's basketball tournament
March 7-11 at Boise, Idaho (Idaho Central Arena)
All times Mountain
Saturday, March 7, first round
Game 1: No. 9 Weber State (10-21) vs. No. 10 Portland State (6-24), 12 p.m.
Game 2: No. 7 Northern Arizona (10-21) vs. No. 8 Montana (8-21), 2:30 p.m.
Sunday, March 8, second round
Game 3: No. 1 Idaho (26-5) vs. Game 1 winner, 12 p.m.
Game 4: No. 2 Montana State (23-6) vs. Game 2 winner, 2:30 p.m.
Monday, March 9, third round
Game 5: No. 4 Idaho State (19-10) vs. No. 5 Sacramento State (14-17), 12 p.m.
Game 6: No. 3 Northern Colorado (22-9) vs. No. 6 Eastern Washington (14-17), 2:30 p.m.
Tuesday, March 10, semifinals
Game 7: Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 12 p.m.
Game 8: Game 4 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 2:30 p.m.
Wednesday, March 11, championship
Game 9: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 3 p.m.
