1983 Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament


The 1983 Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament was held March 11–12 at Centennial Coliseum in Reno, Nevada.[1][2][3]

1983 Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament
ClassificationDivision I
Season1982–83
Teams4
SiteCentennial Coliseum
Reno, Nevada
ChampionsWeber State (4th title)
Winning coachNeil McCarthy (4th title)
MVPKen Green (Nevada)
← 1982
1984 →
1982–83 Big Sky men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Nevada 10 4   .714 18 11   .621
Weber State 10 4   .714 23 8   .742
Montana 9 5   .643 21 8   .724
Idaho 9 5   .643 20 9   .690
Idaho State 7 7   .500 10 17   .370
Boise State 5 9   .357 10 17   .370
Montana State 3 11   .214 10 17   .370
Northern Arizona 3 11   .214 10 16   .385
Conference tournament winner

Weber State defeated Nevada in the championship game 87–78 to clinch their fourth Big Sky tournament title.[4] The Wildcats and Wolf Pack were the regular season co-champions, while Idaho was attempting to win a third consecutive title.[1]

This was the twentieth season for the Big Sky and its first employing the three-point shot, for conference play only, with the line at 22 feet (6.71 m).[5][6][7] The NCAA adopted the three-point shot for the 1986–87 season, at a considerably shorter 19 ft 9 in (6.02 m).[8][9][10][11]

Format

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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 records.

No teams made their inaugural tournament appearances this season. This year was the final Big Sky tournament with four teams; it expanded to include all eight teams in 1984.

The first tiebreaker in the standings were the head-to-head meetings; Nevada defeated Weber twice during the conference regular season, so the Wolf Pack won the regular season title.[12] Montana defeated defending champion Idaho in both games to claim the third seed in the bracket.[1][13][14]

Bracket

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Semifinals
Friday, March 11
Championship
Saturday, March 12
      
1 Nevada 78
4 Idaho 73
1 Nevada 78
2 Weber State 87
3 Montana 53
2 Weber State 54
Source:[15][16]

NCAA tournament

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The Wildcats received an automatic bid to the 52-team NCAA tournament and were seeded ninth in the West region; they lost to Washington State by ten points in the first round in Boise, Idaho.[17][18] No other Big Sky teams made the NCAA field; Idaho played in the 32-team NIT, the first-ever invite for the Big Sky, but lost in the first round to Oregon State at Corvallis.[19][20][21]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Killen, John (March 11, 1983). "Will UI fly high in the Sky?". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1C.
  2. ^ Blanchette, John (March 11, 1983). "You can bet on finding seats at the Big Sky Tourney". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 23.
  3. ^ "1982-83 Big Sky Conference Season Summary". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. 2016. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
  4. ^ "Wildcats top Nevada-Reno to win title". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. March 13, 1983. p. 1B.
  5. ^ McCallum, Jack (November 29, 1982). "It will be one testy season". Sports Illustrated. p. 42.
  6. ^ "Monson not so high on the 3-point shot". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). wire services. November 11, 1982. p. 6B.
  7. ^ Kenyon, Quane (November 26, 1982). "Big Sky has new 22-foot look ready for conference contests". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. p. E3.
  8. ^ "NCAA approves 3-point goal". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. April 3, 1986. p. 27.
  9. ^ "3-point goal draws mixed reviews". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). April 3, 1986. p. 42.
  10. ^ "Three-point basket adopted". Eugene Register Guard. (Oregon). April 3, 1986. p. 1B.
  11. ^ McCallum, Jack (January 5, 1987). "The three-point uproar". Sports Illustrated. p. 40.
  12. ^ "Nevada-Reno wins right to host Big Sky tourney". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. March 6, 1983. p. 4C.
  13. ^ "Poor shooting costs Vandals a Grizzly loss". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). January 28, 1983. p. 1C.
  14. ^ Killen, John (February 13, 1983). "SNAP! Montana breaks it all to stop Idaho". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1B.
  15. ^ Killen, John (March 12, 1983). "Reno's defense turns the tables on Idaho, 78-73". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1C.
  16. ^ Blanchette, John (March 12, 1983). "Vandals stymied by Reno's secret weapon". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 15.
  17. ^ "Cougs earn a crack at Ralph". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). March 18, 1983. p. 25.
  18. ^ Ramsdell, Paul (March 18, 1983). "Bring on Ralph". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1C.
  19. ^ Henkel, Cathy (March 16, 1983). "NIT game season ends for pone of them tonight". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 2B.
  20. ^ Henkel, Cathy (March 17, 1983). "Beavers win first NIT game". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 1C.
  21. ^ Killen, John (March 17, 1983). "OSU's strong second half stymies UI". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1B.