Big Sky Postseason Thread - 2025

[Mvemjsunpx]

• NCAA-M

(14) Montana (25-9) 66-85 vs. (3) Wisconsin (26-9)

• NIT

Northern Colorado (25-9) 72-82 @ (1) UC Irvine (28-6)

• CBI

Queens (NC) (19-14) 85-78 vs. Northern Arizona (18-15)

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

• NCAA-W

(13) Montana St. (30-3) 51-71 @ (4) Ohio St. (25-6)

• WBIT

Northern Arizona (26-7) 71-69 @ (2) Arizona (19-13)

Northern Arizona (27-7) 80-81 @ (3) Belmont (23-12)

[Mvemjsunpx]

The above list is everything I know of. No Big Sky teams are in the WNIT or the new (men's) College Basketball Crown tournament. The WBI cancelled their tournament at the last second last year, and there's been no word from them since. That tells me the WBI is permanently defunct. There's been no announcement of a CIT field, which means that one might be dead too.

[Mvemjsunpx]

Northern Colorado's season came to an end as they fell to UC Irvine in the first round of the NIT 82-72. The Bears led by 9 about 4 minutes into the second half and still by 4 with 11:00 to go, but they only went 4/17 from the field after that point and were outscored 26-12.

[Mvemjsunpx]

As expected, Montana went down to Wisconsin in the first round of the NCAA Tournament 85-66. The Griz were not good defensively this year, to be charitable, and that showed in Denver as the Badgers shot 55% from the field and 73% from inside the arc. Wisconsin also won the boards by 11. Montana shot 39.7%, which was the first time they'd shot under 40% since that debacle in Pocatello 2 months ago.

[Mvemjsunpx]

The Big Sky won't go 0-for-the-postseason as NAU's women upset Arizona in Tucson in the first round of the WBIT 71-69. Nyah Moran hit a go-ahead shot with 1:07 to go and nobody scored again after that. The Wildcats inbounded it in the front-court with 6 seconds left but then conveniently forgot to put a shot up before time expired. Sophie Glancey had a game-high 23 points and a game-high 14 rebounds while Taylor Feldman—after scoring a season-low 1 point against Montana in the Big Sky semis—had 22 points. This was NAU's first-ever national-postseason win and their second win over Arizona this season.

The 'Jacks will play 3-seed Belmont in Nashville sometime on Sunday.

[SuperHornet]

Question: Would the Kitties beating OH State be as big as App State's win at the Big House in football?

[Mvemjsunpx]

Question: Would the Kitties beating OH State be as big as App State's win at the Big House in football?

No. OSU is only a 4-seed, not a 1-seed. You'd need a 16-over-1 or maybe a 15-over-2 (WBB only) to get to that level.

[SuperHornet]

Oh. Harvard-Stanford, then....

[Mvemjsunpx]

Montana State's women lost to Ohio State in Columbus 71-51. The Bobcats actually led 27-23 halfway through the second quarter, but the Buckeyes then went on a 24-0 run ( ) that straddled halftime to give them firm control. I figured this was a bad matchup for MSU coming in: the Bobcats relied on forcing turnovers this year and were 3rd. in the nation in TO margin coming in, but Ohio State happened to be one of the two teams in front of them in that stat. OSU won turnovers 26-16, marking just the second time all season the Bobcats lost the turnover battle (Utah, Nov. 24). Esmeralda Morales had 20 points and went 5/7 from three in the loss.

[Mvemjsunpx]

The Big Sky basketball season came to an end on Sunday as both NAU teams lost on the same day…

The NAU men lost to Queens (NC) in the first round of the CBI in Daytona Beach 85-78. The Lumberjacks trimmed a 21-point deficit down to 6, but by that point there were only 9 seconds left. Carson Towt had 22 points and 13 rebounds while Jayden Jackson led the 'Jacks with 23 points. Trent McLaughlin had 15 points, but he needed 20 shot attempts to get there (1/8 from three). The Royals shot 56% and won bench points 28-2.

Meanwhile, the NAU women choked a seemingly sure thing away against #3-seed Belmont in the second round of the WBIT and lost 81-80. NAU led by as much as 21 in the first half, and they still led by 14 with under 3:00 to play. The Bruins then went on a 17-2 run and took the lead with 12 seconds left. The 'Jacks answered with a Saniyah Neverson layup with 4 seconds left, but Jailyn Banks made a layup as time expired to win it for Belmont. NAU had 7 turnovers in final 2:30. Leia Beattie led the 'Jacks with 18 points on 7/8 shooting (4/4 from three) in the loss.