1977 Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament
The 1977 Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament was held March 4–5 at the ISU Minidome at Idaho State University in Pocatello, Idaho.[1][2]
| 1977 Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament | |
|---|---|
| Classification | Division I |
| Season | 1976–77 |
| Teams | 4 |
| Site | ISU Minidome Pocatello, Idaho |
| Champions | Idaho State (1st title) |
| Winning coach | Jim Killingsworth (1st title) |
| MVP | Ed Thompson (Idaho State) |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Idaho State † | 13 | – | 1 | .929 | 25 | – | 5 | .833 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weber State | 11 | – | 3 | .786 | 20 | – | 8 | .714 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gonzaga | 7 | – | 7 | .500 | 11 | – | 16 | .407 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Montana State | 6 | – | 8 | .429 | 12 | – | 14 | .462 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northern Arizona | 5 | – | 9 | .357 | 12 | – | 15 | .444 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Boise State | 5 | – | 9 | .357 | 10 | – | 16 | .385 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Montana | 5 | – | 9 | .357 | 7 | – | 19 | .269 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Idaho | 3 | – | 11 | .214 | 5 | – | 21 | .192 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † Conference tournament winner | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Top-seeded Idaho State defeated Weber State in the championship game, 61–55, to clinch their first Big Sky men's basketball tournament.[3][4]
The Bengals received an automatic bid to the 32-team NCAA tournament, hosted Long Beach State,[4] and won. In Provo, Utah, they upset UCLA by a point, but lost to UNLV in the Elite Eight.
Format
First played in 1976, the Big Sky tournament had the same format for its first eight editions. The regular season champion hosted and only the top four teams from the standings took part, with seeding based on regular season conference records.
Montana State and Gonzaga made their first appearances, not having qualified as a top-four team the previous year.[2] It was Gonzaga's sole Big Sky tournament; they narrowly missed the next two and left for the WCAC in the summer of 1979.
Bracket
| Semifinals Friday, March 4 | Championship Saturday, March 5 | ||||||||
| 1 | Idaho State | 93 | |||||||
| 4 | Montana State | 77 | |||||||
| 1 | Idaho State | 61 | |||||||
| 2 | Weber State | 55 | |||||||
| 3 | Gonzaga | 68 | |||||||
| 2 | Weber State | 69 | |||||||
References
- "1976-77 Big Sky Conference Season Summary". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. 2016. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
- "Gonzaga, Montana State in tough but not without chances". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). March 4, 1977. p. 31.
- Missildine, Harry (March 6, 1977). "Idaho State dumps Weber; earns title and NCAA berth". Spokesman-review. (Spokane, Washington). p. D2.
- Benson, Lee (March 7, 1977). "A secure 'Dome-ain' for ISU". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. B4.