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Montana No. 3, Montana State No. 5 for Big Sky Conference men's basketball championship

Coverage starts Saturday on the MTN Channel
Big Sky Conference basketball championships
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MISSOULA — Montana is the No. 3 seed and Montana State the No. 5 seed for the Big Sky Conference men's basketball championship, which begins Saturday at Idaho Central Arena in Boise, Idaho.

The tournament begins with first-round games featuring Idaho versus Sacramento State and Northern Arizona versus Idaho State. The winners of those games advance to Sunday's action, where they will play Eastern Washington and Northern Colorado, the top two seeds in the tournament.

Both Montana and Montana State start their tournaments Monday, March 11, with quarterfinal games. The Bobcats will play fourth-seeded Weber State at 5:30 p.m., and the Grizzlies will meet No. 6 Portland State at 8 p.m.

All six games on Saturday, Sunday and Monday will be broadcast on the MTN Channel.

The first semifinal, which tips off at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 12, will be aired on ESPNU, and the second semifinal, scheduled to tip off at 9 p.m. Tuesday, March 12, will be aired on ESPN2. The championship will also air on ESPN2 with tipoff scheduled for 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 13.

The winner of the tournament receives the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA tournament, which begins March 19.

The full Big Sky Conference tournament schedule is below.

Men's basketball

Big Sky Conference Tournament

March 9-13 at Boise, Idaho

Bracket

Saturday, March 9

Game 1: Idaho vs. Sacramento State, 5:30 p.m.

Game 2: Northern Arizona vs. Idaho State, 8 p.m.

Sunday, March 10

Game 3: Eastern Washington vs. Game 1 winner, 5:30 p.m., quarterfinal

Game 4: Northern Colorado vs. Game 2 winner, 8 p.m., quarterfinal

Monday, March 11

Game 5: Weber State vs. Montana State, 5:30 p.m., quarterfinal

Game 6: Montana vs. Portland State, 8 p.m., quarterfinal

Tuesday, March 12

Game 7: Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 6:30 p.m., semifinal (on ESPNU)

Game 8: Game 4 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 9 p.m., semifinal (on ESPN2)

Wednesday, March 13

Game 9: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 9:30 p.m., championship (on ESPN2)