1987 Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament


The 1987 Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament was the twelfth edition, held March 5–7 at the Walkup Skydome at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona.[1]

1987 Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament
ClassificationDivision I
Season1986–87
Teams8
SiteWalkup Skydome
Flagstaff, Arizona
ChampionsIdaho State (2nd title)
Winning coachJim Boutin (1st title)
MVPJim Rhode (Idaho State)
← 1986
1988 →
1986–87 Big Sky men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Montana State 12 2   .857 21 8   .724
Boise State 10 4   .714 22 8   .733
Montana 8 6   .571 18 11   .621
Nevada 7 7   .500 15 15   .500
Northern Arizona 5 9   .357 11 17   .393
Idaho 5 9   .357 16 14   .533
Idaho State 5 9   .357 15 16   .484
Weber State 4 10   .286 7 22   .241
Conference tournament winner

Seventh-seeded Idaho State upset fourth-seeded Nevada in the championship game, 92–81, to clinch their second Big Sky tournament title (first was a decade earlier).[2]

The top three seeds (Montana State, Boise State, Montana) lost in the first round,[3] which led to a revised format the following year.[4][5] ISU had entered the tournament with a 5–9 conference record, 12–15 overall.[6]

Format

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For the fourth year, all eligible teams participated in the tournament field and were placed in the quarterfinals. Seedings and pairings were determined by regular season conference records.

Bracket

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Quarterfinals
Thursday, March 5
Semifinals
Friday, March 6
Championship
Saturday, March 7
         
1 Montana State 101
8 Weber State 106
8 Weber State 90
4 Nevada 98
5 Northern Arizona 80
4 Nevada 82
4 Nevada 81
7 Idaho State 92
3 Montana 62
6 Idaho 63
6 Idaho 63
7 Idaho State 82
7 Idaho State 78
2 Boise State 77

Source:[3][7]

NCAA tournament

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The Bengals received the automatic bid to the 64-team NCAA tournament, but were seeded sixteenth in the West regional and were routed in the first round by UNLV in Salt Lake City.[8] No other Big Sky members were invited to the tournament, but Montana State and Boise State played in the 32-team NIT and hosted first-round games.[9] BSU defeated Utah by a point and MSU lost by eight to Washington,[10] who defeated the Broncos by five points in the second round in Seattle.[11]

References

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  1. ^ "1986-87 Big Sky Conference Season Summary". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. 2016. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
  2. ^ Boling, Dave (March 8, 1987). "Idaho State takes a surprising Rhode to NCAA". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. D5.
  3. ^ a b Boling, Dave (March 6, 1987). "Idaho cures free-throw blues, upsets Griz". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 25.
  4. ^ Jacobson, Bryan (March 8, 1988). "Will Big Sky send another loser to NCAA tourney?". Idahonian. (Moscow). p. 8A.
  5. ^ "New format may favor top seeds". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. March 9, 1988. p. 1D.
  6. ^ "Big Sky Conference final standings". Spokane Chronicle. March 2, 1987. p. C4.
  7. ^ Boling, Dave (March 7, 1987). "First food, the ISU stop Vandals, 82-63". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. B1.
  8. ^ Robinson, Doug (March 13, 1987). "UNLF runs, guns, plays defense in routing Idaho St". Deseret News. p. D1.
  9. ^ "Basketball: NIT". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 11, 1987. p. D4.
  10. ^ "Huskies survive 3-point barrage". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 12, 1987. p. C2.
  11. ^ Wilson, Bernie (March 17, 1987). "UW awaits foe". Spokane Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. p. B1.