Montana State Women favorite for Tournament bid, Work continues for others

With February come and gone, it’s time for March Madness! With Champ Week beginning Saturday, March 8th, the Big Sky Conference meets in Boise, Idaho to officially crown a champion and deliver their March Madness tournament bid. Montana State Women won the regular season title and the 1st seed, going 27-3 (17-1), while the UM Lady Griz got the 6th seed with their 12-17 (8-10) record. On the men’s side, the University of Montana grabbed the 2nd seed, just missing out on the tiebreaker with Northern Colorado. The Cats will be playing from the fifth seed, finishing the season 14-17 (9-9).

RELATED: Here's How You Enter the 2025 Million Dollar Bracket Challenge

Montana State Women

The Lady Cats have absolutely run through the Big Sky Conference this year, their sole loss coming to Sacramento State in the season's penultimate game. Esmeralda Morales has been their leader, scoring 15.2 per game and leading the team in assists at 3.6. They’ll face the winner of Northern Colorado and Portland State on Sunday, March 9th, at noon MST, aired on ESPN+.

Montana Women

The Lady Griz haven’t been as dominant as the Cats, finishing the season at 12-17 and going 8-10 in conference. They’ll get the 6th seed in the tournament, facing #3 Idaho in their first game of the tournament. Mack Konig has been their leading scorer, with 10.6 per game and 298 in the season. The Lady Griz lost both matchups against them this year, and they’ll hope to win the important one on Monday, March 10th, at noon MST on ESPN+.

Montana Men

The University of Montana men narrowly missed out on the #1 seed, with the gap to Northern Colorado being 16 points after they tied the season series. They look in form as we head into Champ Week, having won 11 of their last 12 games, stretching back to January 20th. Money Williams and Malik Moore both have 13+ points per game this year, with Williams having 417 points on the season. They’ll face the winner of NAU and Eastern Washington on Sunday, March 9th, at 8:00 pm MST on ESPN+.

Montana State Men

The Cats have had a rough year following last year’s tournament appearance, going 14-17 (9-9) and going 4-4 in their last 8 games of the season. Brandon Walker has been the leading scorer, with 14.7 per game on 21 minutes. They’ll have a tough road ahead of them, first facing #4 Idaho State at 5:30 pm MST on Monday, March 10th, on ESPN+, and then #1 Northern Colorado should they get past the Bengals.

Get our free mobile app

With two teams earning top-2 seeds in the Big Sky Conference, there’s a good chance Montana could have a team to cheer for in both the men's and women’s brackets. All games will be broadcast on ESPN+, with the semifinals and championship games broadcast on ESPNU and ESPN2.

Update by Caden Bjornstad

Original story below, posted on Jan 28, 2025 by Michael Foth

After the Super Bowl, March Madness may be the most celebrated sporting event in the United States. With 68 teams included in the tournament, both Montana colleges are eyeing prospects of a tournament bid this year.

Montana State Men

After making it in last year, the Bobcats came into this year with high hopes of another appearance. Unfortunately for the Cats, 3 of their first 5 games were against perennial basketball schools Wisconsin, Wichita State, and Northwestern. While losses themselves don’t eliminate you from the tournament, the Cats have since gone 8-13 on the season, including 3-5 in conference and a 6-game losing streak.

Though the chances of making the tournament look grim currently, the Cats could still plausibly make it with a very strong finish to the year but would definitely need to win the Big Sky Conference Title.

Montana Men

The Grizzlies last tournament appearance was before COVID in 2019, where they lost in the first round to Michigan. Going from 17-14 in 2023 to 24-12 last year, the Grizzlies are 13-8 at the time of writing.

Get our free mobile app

2nd place behind Northern Colorado, the maroon and silver squad has one more game to try to gain the #1 spot in the Big Sky over the Bears. 6-2 in conference, the Grizzlies have a paw reaching out for the Madness of March.

Montana Women

Entering coach Brian Holsinger’s fourth year, the Lady Griz are coming off of their hottest season in recent memory where they reached their first postseason tournament for the first time since 2014-15.

Currently sitting 6th in the Big Sky with a 3-5 conference record, it looks like the Lady Griz will be climbing uphill both ways in their pursuit of a second-straight postseason tournament. With conference play in full swing, the Lady Griz don’t have much room for error if they want to get back to the Big Dance.

Montana State Women

The strongest team in Montana currently, the #1 team in the Big Sky is looking strong moving into February. Undefeated in conference games and boasting an 18-2 schedule, the Lady Cats might be pushing themselves toward a top-14 seed in March.

Schools from the Big Sky and other smaller conferences rarely get seeds above the 15-16 range, but if the Montana State Women can keep up the 11-game winning streak they're currently on (and win the Big Sky), they might have a claim to a higher seed for the big tournament.