2026 Big Sky Conference Basketball Tournament Odds & Predictions

The Big Sky Conference Tournament is conveniently scheduled, as the 10 teams in the field wrapped up the regular season on Monday and the tourney doesn’t start until Saturday. Most conferences seem to be on some sort of tight timeline, but not the Big Sky. This is usually a hotly-contested conference tournament and the winner often gives some major-conference squad a bit of a scare in the NCAA Tournament.

All 10 teams qualified for the tournament, with the bottom four seeds on the court for the first round and the top six awaiting their first game in the quarterfinals. Six of the 10 teams in the conference won at least 10 regular season conference games and No. 7 Idaho was 9-9, so there’s a lot of parity here.

How to Watch the Big Sky Conference Tournament

When: March 7-11

Where: Idaho Central Arena in Boise, ID (repeat venue for years)

Format: Seeds 7 through 10 play in the first round; the top six seeds get a bye to the quarterfinals; No. 1 and No. 2 seeds play the first day of quarterfinals as their advantage

Watch: ESPN+, ESPNU, ESPN2; Championship Game on ESPN2 on Mar. 11 at 11:30 p.m. ET

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Big Sky Conference Tournament Bracket

Coming soon.

Big Sky Conference Tournament Seeds, Teams and Odds

1. Portland State (+400)

2. Montana State (+340)

3. Eastern Washington (+475)

4. Montana (+700)

5. Northern Colorado (+425)

6. Weber State (+850)

7. Idaho (+950)

8. Sacramento State (+20000)

9. Idaho State (+3500)

10. Northern Arizona (+30000)

Current Odds

(odds from DraftKings Sportsbook accurate at time of publish)

Favorite To Win Big Sky Conference Tournament

Can Portland State end the reign of terror from the state of Montana? Eastern Washington went dancing in 2021, but Montana State won the conference tournament three straight years after that prior to rival Montana’s triumph last year. Montana also won in 2018 and 2019, so only once in the last seven Big Sky Tournaments has a team outside of Montana won. Even though the Vikings are the No. 1 seed, it is No. 2 Montana State who is the favorite.

Probably the most interesting number is Northern Colorado at +425 despite being the No. 5 seed. Portland State is the conference’s best defensive team by a pretty good margin, but they’re also 10th in adjusted offensive efficiency. Montana State is second in adjusted offensive efficiency and third in adjusted defensive efficiency, so they are the most balanced team in the field. With a recent hot stretch, Eastern Washington boasts the top adjusted offensive efficiency and is also third in 2P% and second in 3P%, trailing Montana and Northern Colorado on 2s and Montana State on 3s.

As you can see, the top seven seeds range from +340 to +950, so that speaks to the parity I mentioned above. Generally speaking, this is a conference where minimal defense gets played.

Big Sky Conference Tournament Darkhorse

None of the bottom three seeds can win this tournament in my opinion, so “darkhorse” odds are hard to come by. I do think No. 4 Montana is being a tad disrespected relative to everybody around them at +700. The Grizzlies turn the ball over too much and that has been their undoing, but they are tops in 2P% and FT%, as well as No. 1 in eFG% offense in conference play. They’re also shooting 36.5% from 3, which is only fourth in this conference, but well above the national average and 71st in the nation in conference games.

Montana also just so happened to sweep Portland State during the regular season and that looks like their semifinal opponent if they can get there. They split with Northern Colorado, their quarterfinal opponent, losing by 28 in the regular season finale and winning by 9 on Jan. 3. They were locked into the No. 4 seed, so the game didn’t matter to them.

Betting Pick to Win The Big Sky Conference Tournament

Parity. Eastern Washington and Montana State split the regular season, with both losing at home. Portland State started 11-1 in conference play before going just 2-4 over the last four games, losing to each one of the No. 2 through No. 5 seeds in that span. Montana State beat Northern Colorado twice, but also lost to Idaho State, Idaho, Sacramento State, among others. With limited defense and a lot of jump shots, it’s a high-variance conference. Weber State recently beat both Montana State and Montana. Everybody can beat everybody.

If you like Montana like I do, play a moneyline rollover. They’ll be an underdog in every game and rolling over the moneyline is going to yield better than +700. I’d also rather attack Portland State’s half of the bracket than Montana State’s.

Pick: Montana (+700) – play a moneyline rollover for more value instead

Makinen Power Ratings for Sun Belt Conference

Coming soon.

  • Single-digit favorites in the Big Sky tourney are on an amazing 59-18 SU and 49-27-1 ATS (64.5%) run since 2015, including 7-2 SU and ATS last season.
  • Lower totals of 140 or less in the Big Sky tourney have gone Over at a 22-7 (75.9%) rate since 2016.

Check out the other previews in our 2026 College Basketball Conference Tournament Betting Guide.

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