1981 Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament

The 1981 Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament was the sixth edition of the tournament,^[1] and was held March 6–7 at the Kibbie Dome at the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho.^[2][3]

1981 Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament
Classification	Division I
Season	1980–81
Teams	4
Site	Kibbie Dome Moscow, Idaho
Champions	Idaho (1st title)
Winning coach	Don Monson (1st title)
MVP	Ken Owens (Idaho)
Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournaments ← 1980 1982 →

1980–81 Big Sky men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Idaho †	12	–	2		.857			25	–	4		.862
Montana	11	–	3		.786			19	–	9		.679
Montana State	11	–	3		.786			16	–	11		.593
Idaho State	6	–	8		.429			12	–	14		.462
Nevada	5	–	9		.357			11	–	15		.423
Weber State	5	–	9		.357			8	–	19		.296
Boise State	4	–	10		.286			7	–	19		.269
Northern Arizona	2	–	12		.143			8	–	17		.320
† Conference tournament winner

Top-seeded Idaho defeated Montana in the championship game, 70–64, to clinch their first Big Sky tournament title.^[4]

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.

No new teams qualified for the Big Sky tournament this year. This was the first year in which three-time defending champion Weber State was not in the title game; the Wildcats tied for fifth and failed to make the field.

Bracket

	Semifinals Friday, March 6					Championship Saturday, March 7
	1	Idaho	69
	4	Idaho State	45
						1	Idaho	70
						2	Montana	64
	3	Montana State	64
	2	Montana	85

Source:^[4][5]

NCAA tournament

The Vandals (25–3) received an automatic bid to the 48-team NCAA tournament, their first appearance, and were seeded seventh in the West region.^[6] They lost to Pittsburgh by a point in overtime at El Paso, Texas.^[7][8][9]

References

1. Van Sickel, Charlie (March 6, 1981). "Idaho choice in Sky showdown". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). p. 15.
2. Missildine, Harry (March 6, 1981). "Big Sky's big night". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 25.
3. "1980-81 Big Sky Conference Season Summary". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. 2016. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
4. Sahlberg, Bert (March 10, 1981). "Vandals win it all over stubborn Grizzlies". Idaho Argonaut. (Moscow). (University of Idaho). p. 9.
5. Van Sickel, Charlie (March 7, 1981). "Idaho battles potent Grizzlies". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). p. 11.
6. Missildine, Harry (March 9, 1981). "NCAA: Idaho draws Pitt". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 15.
7. Missildine, Harry (March 13, 1981). "Idaho vs. Pitt: a guessing game". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 35.
8. Missildine, Harry (March 14, 1981). "Vandals victimized in overtime". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 17.
9. "'Prayer shot' ends Vandal NCAA dreams". Idaho Argonaut. (Moscow). (University of Idaho). March 24, 1981. p. 6.