1976 Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Tournament

The 1976 Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Tournament was held March 5–6 at the Wildcat Gym at Weber State College in Ogden, Utah.[1][2][3] This was the first edition of the tournament.

1976 Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
ClassificationDivision I
Season1975–76
Teams4
SiteWildcat Gym
Ogden, Utah
ChampionsBoise State (1st title)
Winning coachBus Connor (1st title)
MVPJimmie Watts (Weber State)
1975–76 Big Sky men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
Weber State9–5 .643  21–11  .656
Boise State †9–5 .643  18–11  .621
Idaho State9–5 .643  16–11  .593
Northern Arizona8–6 .571  15–12  .556
Montana7–7 .500  13–12  .520
Montana State6–8 .429  9–16  .360
Gonzaga5–9 .357  13–13  .500
Idaho3–11 .214  7–19  .269
† Conference tournament winner

The top three teams had the same 9–5 conference record and the fourth was a game back; the top two seeds won their semifinals.[4] Boise State defeated Weber State in the championship game, 77–70 in overtime.[5] and received an automatic bid to the 32-team NCAA Tournament, their first appearance, but fell to UNLV in Eugene, Oregon.[6]

Format

The Big Sky had eight members for the 1975–76 season, but only the top four teams from the standings qualified for the tournament, and the regular season champion was the host. This format was in place for the first eight editions, through 1983.

This was the thirteenth year of the conference and the ninth season in which the Big Sky champion had an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament, all in the West regional. Two years earlier, a one-game tiebreaker playoff was required to determine the champion,[7] also won by the visiting team.[8]

The seeding of the three co-champions for the four-team bracket was done by a random draw in late February, conducted via a Saturday night conference telephone call by commissioner John Roning from Moscow, Idaho.[9][10][11] Weber was drawn as the top seed, which included the right to host at Wildcat Gym in Ogden, Utah. At this time, both Weber and Boise still played in small gymnasiums, while ISU's Minidome had about triple the seating capacity of the others.

Bracket
Semifinals
Friday, March 5 		Championship
Saturday, March 6
      
1 Weber State 63
4 Northern Arizona 58
1 Weber State 70
2 Boise State 77*
3 Idaho State 81
2 Boise State 93

References
  1. Ferguson, George (March 5, 1976). "Beehive hoop blitz tonight". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. 5D.
  2. Blodgett, Gary R. (March 6, 1976). "Big Sky feud: Weber-Boise State". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. 6A.
  3. "1975-76 Big Sky Conference Season Summary". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. 2016. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  4. "Weber, Boise advance in Big Sky". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. March 6, 1976. p. 2B.
  5. "Boise rules Big Sky after overtime win". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. March 7, 1976. p. 1B.
  6. Withers, Bud (March 14, 1976). "Rebels running to Los Angeles". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 5B.
  7. "ISU holds off Grizzlies". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. March 6, 1974. p. 13.
  8. "Growing rookie key for Bengals". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. March 6, 1974. p. 17.
  9. "Top four head for tourney". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. March 1, 1976. p. 2B.
  10. "Weber hosts Sky playoffs". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). March 1, 1976. p. 16.
  11. "Wildcats win tourney 'draw'". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). March 1, 1976. p. B7.
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