2026 Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament

2026 Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament
ClassificationDivision I
Season2025–26
Teams10
SiteIdaho Central Arena
Boise, Idaho
ChampionsIdaho (5th title)
Winning coachAlex Pribble (1st title)
MVPMoney Williams (Montana)
TelevisionESPN+, ESPNU, ESPN2
2025–26 Big Sky men's basketball standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Portland State 13 – 5   .722 20 – 11   .645
Montana State 12 – 6   .667 18 – 14   .563
Eastern Washington 11 – 7   .611 14 – 19   .424
Montana 10 – 8   .556 18 – 16   .529
Northern Colorado 10 – 8   .556 20 – 12   .625
Weber State 10 – 8   .556 16 – 16   .500
Idaho † 9 – 9   .500 21 – 15   .583
Sacramento State 6 – 12   .333 10 – 21   .323
Idaho State 5 – 13   .278 13 – 20   .394
Northern Arizona 4 – 14   .222 10 – 22   .313
† 2026 Big Sky tournament winner

The 2026 Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament, popularly referred to as "Starch Madness", was the postseason tournament for the Big Sky Conference, held March 7–11, 2026, at Idaho Central Arena in Boise, Idaho.[1][2] It was the 51st edition of the tournament, which debuted in 1976. The winner, Idaho, received the Big Sky's automatic bid to the 2026 NCAA tournament.

Seeds

The ten teams were seeded by conference record, with a tiebreaker system for identical conference records. The top six teams received a first-round bye.

Seed School Record Tiebreaker
1 Portland State 13–5
2 Montana State 12–6
3 Eastern Washington 11–7
4 Montana 10–8 2–0 vs. Portland State
5 Northern Colorado 10–8 1–1 vs. Portland State
6 Weber State 10–8 0–2 vs. Portland State
7 Idaho 9–9
8 Sacramento State 6–12
9 Idaho State 5–13
10 Northern Arizona 4–14

Schedule

Session Game Time Matchup Score Television
First round – Saturday, March 7
1 1 5:30 p.m. No. 9 Idaho State vs. No. 10 Northern Arizona 73–65 ESPN+
2 8:00 p.m. No. 7 Idaho vs. No. 8 Sacramento State 68–45
Quarterfinals – Sunday, March 8
2 3 5:30 p.m. No. 1 Portland State vs. No. 9 Idaho State 85–78 ESPN+
4 8:00 p.m. No. 2 Montana State vs. No. 7 Idaho 74–78
Quarterfinals – Monday, March 9
3 5 5:30 p.m. No. 4 Montana vs. No. 5 Northern Colorado 95–89 ESPN+
6 8:00 p.m. No. 3 Eastern Washington vs. No. 6 Weber State 84–79
Semifinals – Tuesday, March 10
4 7 7:00 p.m. No. 1 Portland State vs. No. 4 Montana 72–75 ESPNU
8 9:30 p.m. No. 3 Eastern Washington vs. No. 7 Idaho 68–81 ESPN2
Championship game – Wednesday, March 11
5 9 9:30 p.m. No. 4 Montana vs. No. 7 Idaho 66–77 ESPN2
Game times in MT. Rankings denote tournament seeding.

Bracket

First round
March 7
ESPN+ 		Quarterfinals
March 8–9
ESPN+ 		Semifinals
March 10
ESPNU/ESPN2 		Championship
March 11
ESPN2
1 Portland State 85
9 Idaho State 73 9 Idaho State 78
10 Northern Arizona 65 1 Portland State 72
4 Montana 75
4 Montana 95
5 Northern Colorado 89
4 Montana 66
7 Idaho 77
2 Montana State 74
7 Idaho 68 7 Idaho 78
8 Sacramento State 45 7 Idaho 81
3 Eastern Washington 68
3 Eastern Washington 84
6 Weber State 79

Source:[3]

Awards and Honors

All-Tournament Team

Player Team
Money Williams Montana
Kolton Mitchell Idaho
Jackson Rasmussen
Isaiah Brickner
Terri Miller Jr. Portland State
Alton Hamilton IV Eastern Washington

MVP in bold

Source:[4]

References

  1. ^ "#StarchMadness 2026 - Big Sky Conference". bigskyconf.com. Retrieved February 7, 2026.
  2. ^ "Big Sky Basketball Championships : Men's Finals". Idaho Central Arena. Retrieved February 7, 2026.
  3. ^ "'26 Men's Basketball Bracket (PDF) - Big Sky Conference" (PDF). bigskyconf.com. Retrieved February 7, 2026.
  4. ^ "Idaho Wins First Men's Basketball Tournament Crown Since 1990". bigskyconf.com. March 12, 2026. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
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