The college basketball offseason is here, and we decided to have some fun over the next few months, ranking ALL 364 teams in D1. Number 186 is Montana basketball.
Before you say we’re crazy – or that all of this is up for debate, let’s go over the very intricate process of how we came to this conclusion. We took a very statistical approach – with the help of Chat GPT – taking into consideration everything from March Madness wins and finishes, to AP Poll appearances, to conference players of the year. And then, a good friend of ours, Scott Blanchard, took our approach to the MAX.
Click here to visit the FIRST article, which explains how the formula works!
Here’s the breakdown of Montana basketball!
NCAA Tournament Success
- Championships: 0
- Finals appearances: 0
- Final Fours: 0
- Elite Eights: 0
- Sweet 16s: 1
- NCAA wins: 2
- Bids: 13
Consistency Over Time
- Wins per season: 14.2
- Bids per season: 0.11
- AP Polls: 0
Player Quality & Talent
- All-Americans: 0
- NBA players drafted & played: 3
- Conference Players of the Year: 7
Conference & Other Success
- Conference regular season titles: 14
- Conference tournament titles: 12
- NIT titles: 0
- Other tournament titles: 0
Overall scoop on Montana basketball
Montana basketball has been to more NCAA Tournaments than most mid-majors, with 13 trips in its history. However, they’ve yet to match their first tournament, where the Grizzlies went on a run to the Sweet 16. In 1975, a freshman Michael Ray Richardson had an experienced group around him, and Montana knocked off Utah State before losing to UCLA by three points in the regional semifinals.
Prior to that run, success at Montana was sparse. They had some good seasons, as most teams would consider; Montana has had a DI-level program for over a century. But when Mike Montgomery got to town as the head coach in 1978, things shifted. He went 154-77 in eight seasons, never having a losing record.
While Montgomery never led Montana to the big dance, they’ve had seven coaches since, and all but one, Pat Kennedy, brought them at least once. Here’s an outlook on the Montana coaches who have all combined to make it a great program:
- Stew Morrill (1987-91): 97-52, 1 regular season conference title, 1 NCAA Tournament bid
- Blaine Taylor (1992-98): 141-66, 2 regular season conference titles, 2 NCAA Tournament bids
- Don Holst (1999-02): 57-56, 1 regular season conference title, 1 NCAA Tournament bid
- Larry Krystkowiak (2005-06): 42-20, 2 NCAA Tournament bids
- Wayne Tinkle (2007-14): 158-91, 2 regular season conference titles, 3 NCAA Tournament bids
- Travis DeCuire (2015-present): 244-150, 4 regular season conference titles, 3 NCAA Tournament bids
Obviously, in terms of recognizable players, Michael Ray Richardson is the top guy. He was a 3x All-Big Sky guy and had an eight-year NBA career where he was named to four All-Star teams and led the league in steals three times. And as most people know, Richardson was banned for life after testing positive for cocaine use in 1986, which was his third time in three seasons. He had the option to return in 1988 but chose not to, ending a career that surely had a Hall of Fame arc.
But Montana basketball has had plenty of other great players, with seven former Big Sky Players of the Year. However, it has been a while, with the last coming in 2013.
For Montana, there’s almost nothing bad you can say. The program has been relevant for decades, and even historically, has always had some competitive teams. And nowadays, you always expect them to have a chance in the Big Sky for the automatic bid.