Few people will ever argue that Montana is a hotbed for college basketball, but the Montana Grizzlies have managed to develop quite a following in recent years. Cheap Montana basketball tickets have become a rarity, with the program becoming one of the best in the Big Sky Conference year after year. The fanbase has actually come to expect a certain level of success from the Grizzlies, which has helped to keep last-minute Montana basketball tickets in high demand.

One Magic Season

Montana’s best season in program history came in 1975. Head coach Bud Heathcote, who would later lead Michigan State to a national championship in 1979, guided the Grizzlies on a 21-8 season, including a 13-1 record in conference play. Montana earned a trip to the NCAA Tournament for the first time, knocking off Utah State to reach the Sweet 16, where they lost 67-64 to eventual champions UCLA in John Wooden’s final season.

Rise in the Sky

Despite several noteworthy coaches taking the reins at Montana after Heathcote, the Grizzlies didn’t make it back to the NCAA Tournament until 1991. However, the seasons in which Montana finished outside the top-4 teams in the Big Sky were increasingly rare. The Grizzlies were always in contention for the Big Sky championship and made another breakthrough in 2006 when they upset Nevada for the second NCAA Tournament win in program history.

A Winning Tradition

In some ways, that NCAA Tournament win in 2006 set the stage for great things to come. Under head coaches Wayne Tinkle and Travis DeCuire, the Grizzlies became the pre-eminent team in the Big Sky during the 2010s. During that decade, Montana won at least a share of the conference regular-season title five times while also winning the conference tournament and playing in the NCAA Tournament five times. That level of sustained success has been rare in the Big Sky, making the Grizzlies the team to beat in that league most seasons.