1977–78 Montana Grizzlies basketball team

1977–78 Montana Grizzlies men's basketball
1977–78 Montana Grizzlies men's basketball
Big Sky regular season champions
Conference	Big Sky Conference
Record	20–8 (12–2 Big Sky)
Head coach	Jim Brandenburg (2nd season);
Assistant coach	Mike Montgomery
Home arena	Adams Field House

The 1977–78 Montana Grizzlies basketball team represented the University of Montana during the 1977–78 NCAA Division I basketball season. Charter members of the Big Sky Conference, the Grizzlies were led by second-year head coach Jim Brandenburg and played their home games on campus at Adams Field House in Missoula, Montana.

1977–78 Big Sky men's basketball standings
	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Montana	12	–	2	.857	20	–	8	.714
Idaho State	11	–	3	.786	16	–	10	.615
Weber State †	9	–	5	.643	19	–	10	.655
Boise State	8	–	6	.571	13	–	14	.481
Gonzaga	7	–	7	.500	14	–	15	.483
Northern Arizona	5	–	9	.357	11	–	14	.440
Montana State	3	–	11	.214	9	–	17	.346
Idaho	1	–	13	.071	4	–	22	.154

† Conference tournament winner

They finished the regular season at 19–7, with a 12–2 record in conference to win the title and host the four-team Big Sky tournament.[1][2] The Grizzlies defeated fourth-seed Boise State in the semifinal,[3][4] then were upset by third-seed Weber State in the final in overtime.[5][6] Montana had swept the season series with Weber.

The Grizzlies were led on the court by senior guard Micheal Ray Richardson,[7] on the all-conference team for a third consecutive year; junior forward Allan Nielsen was on the second team.[8][9] An honorable mention All-American, Richardson was the fourth overall selection of the 1978 NBA draft and a four-time NBA All-Star.

Postseason results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Big Sky tournament
Fri, March 3 9:00 pm	(1)	(4) Boise State Semifinal	W 70–61	20–7	Adams Field House (9,350) Missoula, Montana
Sat, March 4 8:00 pm	(1)	(3) Weber State Final	L 55–62 ^OT	20–8	Adams Field House (9,203) Missoula, Montana
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Mountain time.

References

"Big Sky playoff starts at Montana". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. March 3, 1978. p. 5B.
Ewer, Bill (March 3, 1978). "Weber, Idaho State set for tourney test tonight". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. B5.
"Montana, Weber in Big Sky finals". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. March 4, 1978. p. 1B.
Ewer, Bill (March 4, 1978). "Weber going for Big Sky marbles". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. 6A.
"Weber State stops Montana for Big Sky title". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. March 5, 1978. p. 2B.
Ewer, Bill (March 6, 1978). "Weber not awed by NCAA foe Arkansas". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. B5.
"UM's biggest battle since..." Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 20, 1975. p. 49.
"Montana's Richardson all-conference for third year". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. March 7, 1978. p. 1B.
"Grizzlies' 'M.R.R.' 3-timer". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 8, 1978. p. 17.

External links

Sports Reference – Montana Grizzlies: 1977–78 basketball season

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[posamt-1] "Big Sky playoff starts at Montana". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. March 3, 1978. p. 5B.

[wbntwd-2] Ewer, Bill (March 3, 1978). "Weber, Idaho State set for tourney test tonight". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. B5.

[mwibsf-3] "Montana, Weber in Big Sky finals". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. March 4, 1978. p. 1B.

[marble-4] Ewer, Bill (March 4, 1978). "Weber going for Big Sky marbles". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. 6A.

[wbsstop-5] "Weber State stops Montana for Big Sky title". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. March 5, 1978. p. 2B.

[wntwd-6] Ewer, Bill (March 6, 1978). "Weber not awed by NCAA foe Arkansas". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. B5.

[umbbs-7] "UM's biggest battle since..." Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 20, 1975. p. 49.

[nosnt-8] "Montana's Richardson all-conference for third year". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. March 7, 1978. p. 1B.

[mrr3t-9] "Grizzlies' 'M.R.R.' 3-timer". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 8, 1978. p. 17.

Montana Grizzlies basketball
Venues	Dahlberg Arena (1953–present)
Culture & lore	Monte "Up with Montana"
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24