The Montana men’s basketball team is dancing again for the first time in six years, and they will head to Denver, Colo. to face off against 3-seed Wisconsin. The game will be played on Thursday, March 20. The time has not been announced yet.
The Grizzlies claimed the Big Sky Tournament title for the first time since 2019 to advance to the program’s 13th overall NCAA Tournament. They will once again face off against a Big 10 opponent for the fourth time in their last five appearances.
This will be the second meeting between the Grizzlies and Badgers at the NCAA Tournament. Wisconsin defeated Montana 73-49 in 2012 in a 4-13 matchup.
Wisconsin finished the season just minutes before the selection show tipped off, losing to Michigan in the championship game of the Big 10 Tournament. The Badgers are 26-9 overall and went 13-7 in Big 10 play to finish fourth.
They reached the Big 10 title game with wins over Northwestern, UCLA, and Michigan State. They dropped the championship game 59-53 to Michigan.
The Badgers were ranked No. 18 in the AP Poll in Week 19. They are 14th in the NCAA Net Rankings and 13th in the KenPom Ratings.
Guard John Tonje is a finalist for the Jersey Mike’s Naismith Men’s College Player of the Year Award. Tonje averages 19.5 points per game, 28th most in the NCAA. He has 80 made three-pointers on 38.8 percent shooting, and also averages 5.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists.
Wisconsin has one of the top offenses in the country, averaging 80.5 points per game. They allow just over 70 points, giving them the 28th best scoring margin in the country at 9.7.
MONTANA’S NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
This will be Montana’s 13th appearance at the NCAA Tournament, and third under head coach Travis DeCuire. The Grizzlies are 2-13 all-time at the Big Dance with the last win coming in 2006.
The win was also the last by a team from the Big Sky Conference as the Grizzlies will look to end the conference’s 18-game losing streak at the NCAA Tournament.
BIG SKY CHAMPS AGAIN
Montana won the Big Sky Conference Tournament for a record-extending 12th time this season. The Grizzlies have more Big Sky Tournament Championships than any other school, and have also won the most games (51) at the tournament.
This is the third title under DeCuire in six appearances in the championship game. He’s reached the title game in 60 percent of his appearances, winning it in 30 percent.
The Grizzlies have 18 wins at the Big Sky Conference Tournament under Coach DeCuire. It’s the 14th most conference tourney wins in the NCAA in that time.
Montana also shared the regular season championship with Northern Colorado. It was the 13th regular season Big Sky Championship for Montana, the 2nd most in league history.
The Grizzlies have now won seven Big Sky Regular Season Championships this century, more than any other school in the Big Sky.
ADDITIONAL GRIZ NOTES AND NUGGETS
- Montana is one of just 14 teams in the entire country that has been .500 or better in 17 straight seasons.
- The Grizzlies have reached 20 wins 10 times in the previous 16 years, and have reached the 20 win mark 26 times in program history.
- Montana has had just one losing season in the last 20 years, and they have also had just five losing seasons in the previous half century. Since 1970, Montana has gone .500 or better 48 times.
- Montana has won 49 games over the previous two seasons. It is the fourth most in a two-year span in program history. The 2018 and 2019 teams won 52 games, followed by 50 wins from the teams in ’91 & ’92 and ’12 & ’13.
- The 49 wins are tied for the 29th most in the NCAA during that time, and it is the 16th among mid-major teams.
- Since Jan. 20, Montana has gone 14-1. The 14 wins are tied for the 6th most in the NCAA during that time.
- Travis DeCuire was named the 2025 Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year. It’s just his second career honor despite winning four regular season titles and three Big Sky Tournament championships.
- Senior guard Brandon Whitney was named the Big Sky Tournament MVP. He was also a Second Team All-Big Sky selection this year and a member of the league’s All-Defensive Team.
- Whitney is Montana’s career leader in assists (442), minutes (4,727), appearances (156), starts (150), and is 9th in scoring (1,618).
- Whitney has started more games at the same school than any other player in the NCAA.
- Kai Johnson and Money Williams also earned All-Tournament Team honors at the Big Sky Championship.
- Joe Pridgen was a First Team All-Big Sky member this season after averaging 10.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. Malik Moore, Brandon Whitney, and Money Williams were all Second Team selections. Williams was also named the league’s Top Reserve.
- Montana is shooting 50.2 percent from the floor this season, the 2nd best percentage in the entire country. They are one of only two teams that have made at least half of their attempts from the field entering the NCAA Tournament, and the only team that reached the tournament to do so.
- Montana shot over 60 percent from three-point range for the third time this season in the Big Sky title game. It’s the 2nd-most games in the NCAA shooting at least 60 percent from arc.
- The Grizzlies are 21-1 when shooting a better percentage from three-point range than their opponents.
- DeCuire has equal-or-more title game appearances (6) as head coach than five of the other nine Big Sky programs do in their histories.
- Montana has a legendary coaching tree that includes two College Basketball Hall of Famers in Jud Heathcote and Mike Montgomery. Jim Brandenburg, Stew Morrill, Blaine Taylor, Larry Krystkowiak, and Wayne Tinkle have all coached at Montana before moving up to have success at the higher levels.
- Brandon Whitney became the Big Sky’s all-time leader in career minutes played on Tuesday night. He now has over 4,700 minutes in a Montana uniform, passing Northern Colorado’s Jonah Radebaugh for the league record. It also moves him into the top 100 in minutes played in NCAA history, according to Stathead.com.
- The Grizzlies have won at least 24 games for the second straight season. They are one of 19 teams in the country with at least 24 wins in each of the last two years.
- The Grizzlies claimed the Big Sky Tournament for the 3rd time under head coach Travis DeCuire. Since DeCuire started at Montana, the Grizzlies are 33-19 in games played in March. The 33 wins are 31st most in the NCAA during the time.
