A spot in the "Big Dance" up for grabs in the Big Sky Conference Tournament

BOISE, Idaho — The Big Sky Conference Tournament is back in Boise for the fifth year as ten teams will compete for an NCAA tournament bid.

The men and women will be playing in the tournament that starts on Saturday with the championship games on Wednesday.

"We are really excited to be back, it’s a great home for us," said Big Sky Commissioner Tom Wistrcill. "The community has really supported what we are doing, it’s a great arena and our fans love it, and most importantly our student-athletes and our coaches are really excited to be back."

Both Eastern Washington teams won the regular season and secured the number one spot, they will be in action on Saturday. The men were upset last year in the first round by Northern Arizona on a buzzer-beater.

"We give byes to our one and two seeds so they get to play on Sunday and if they can win they get byes to the semifinals," said Wistrcill, who was explaining that the Eagles will have a day off if they win their first game. "We reward the teams that have done well in the regular season, but they still have to win, and last year that didn’t happen."

I thought I ran into an Eastern Washington fan in front of Idaho Central Arena, but turns out it is super fan Jim Idziak who was wearing an Eastern Washington hat, but he actually has hats of every team. I met Jim last year and we played a game of lightning in the Grove Plaza.

"Yeah and my daughter actually ended up winning that contest, that was really fun," said Jim. "I’ve been here every year since it started and each year it gets a little better."

Jim travels from Grand Rapids, Michigan every year for the Big Sky Conference tournament. He has no connections with the schools he just fell in love with the style of basketball in this one-bid league where the tournament is for all the marbles.

"The thing I like about it the best is the fact that you have young men and young women who love the game of basketball," said Jim. "They come out here and play with all their hearts and everything is on the line for the seniors some of them this will be their last game."

Here is a link to the men's bracket, here is a link to the women's bracket, and information on how to get tickets. The Big Sky Tournament also features the Idaho Vandals and the Idaho State Bengals. We will be covering those teams on Saturday.