1989 Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament

The 1989 Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament was held March 9–11 at the BSU Pavilion at Boise State University in Boise, Idaho.^[1]

1989 Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament
Classification	Division I
Season	1988–89
Teams	6
Site	BSU Pavilion Boise, Idaho
Champions	Idaho (3rd title)
Winning coach	Kermit Davis (1st title)
MVP	Riley Smith (Idaho)
Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournaments ← 1988 1990 →

1988–89 Big Sky men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Boise State	13	–	3		.813			23	–	7		.767
Idaho †	13	–	3		.813			25	–	6		.806
Montana	11	–	5		.688			20	–	11		.645
Nevada	10	–	6		.625			16	–	12		.571
Weber State	9	–	7		.563			17	–	11		.607
Montana State	6	–	10		.375			15	–	16		.484
Eastern Washington	5	–	11		.313			8	–	22		.267
Idaho State	4	–	12		.250			9	–	18		.333
Northern Arizona	1	–	15		.063			2	–	25		.074
† Conference tournament winner

Regular season co-champions Idaho and Boise State, defending tournament champions and host, met in the championship game. Both had 13–3 conference records with five overall losses, and had split their season series with home wins. Under first-year head coach Kermit Davis, Idaho prevailed, 59–52.^[2] It was the Vandals' third Big Sky tournament title; the wins in 1981 and 1982 were under head coach Don Monson.

Idaho was also the reigning conference champion in football.^[2]

Format

The tournament format was modified again in 1989, with the field reduced from eight to six teams. The top two teams in the league standings received a bye, and the next four played in the quarterfinals.^[3]

Bracket

	Quarterfinals Thursday, March 9					Semifinals Friday, March 10					Championship Saturday, March 11
						1	Boise State	71
						5	Weber State	60
	5	Weber State	69
	4	Nevada	61
											1	Boise State	52
											2	Idaho	59
	3	Montana	87
	6	Montana State	84
						3	Montana	56
						2	Idaho	77

Source:^[4][5]

NCAA tournament

The Vandals received the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, and were seeded thirteenth in the West Regional. They played UNLV in the first round in Boise and lost by twelve points. No other Big Sky members were invited to the tournament; Boise State lost in the first round of the NIT to Oklahoma State.