The 1973–74 Idaho State Bengals men's basketball team represented

Idaho State University Idaho State University (ISU) is a Public university, public research university in Pocatello, Idaho, United States. Founded in 1901 as the Academy of Idaho, Idaho State offers more than 250 programs at its main campus in Pocatello and locations ...

during the

1973–74 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 1973–74 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began in November 1973, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1974 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament Championship Game on March 2 ...

. The Bengals were led by third-year head coach

Jim Killingsworth James Austin Killingsworth (June 19, 1923 – June 10, 2007) was an American college basketball coach. He was best known for his tenures at Idaho State University and Texas Christian University (TCU). Born in Checotah, Oklahoma, Killingsworth pl ...

and played their home games on campus at the ISU Minidome in

Pocatello Pocatello () is the county seat of and the largest city in Bannock County, with a small portion on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in neighboring Power County, containing the city's airport. It is the principal city of the Pocatello metro ...

. They finished the regular season at with a record in the

Big Sky Conference The Big Sky Conference is a List of NCAA conferences, collegiate athletic conference, affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I with college football, football competing in the Football Cha ...

, as did the

Montana Grizzlies The Montana Grizzlies and Lady Griz are the nicknames given to the athletic teams of the University of Montana, located in Missoula, Montana, Missoula. The university is a member of the Big Sky Conference and competes in NCAA Division I, fieldin ...

, and the teams split their season series. With two years until the conference tournament was introduced, the Big Sky title was decided with an unscheduled one-game playoff at

Missoula Missoula ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Missoula County, Montana, Missoula County, Montana, United States. It is located along the Clark Fork River near its confluence with the Bitterroot River, Bitterroot and Blackfoot River (Montana), ...

on Tuesday night. A coin flip eleven days earlier determined the host. Before a record crowd at

Dahlberg Arena Dahlberg Arena is a 7,321-seat multi-purpose arena in the western United States, located on the campus of the University of Montana in Missoula. The arena opened in 1953 and is home to the Montana Grizzlies and Lady Griz basketball teams. It has ...

, the visiting Bengals won 60–57 and advanced to the 25-team NCAA tournament, their first appearance in ISU hosted the first round (subregional) of the West regional, and met #17

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

in the nightcap on Saturday night. Lobos, WAC champions, won by eight to end the Bengals' season Senior forward Jim Anderson was named to the all-conference team; senior center Dan Spindler and junior guard Kevin Hoyt were honorable mention. Idaho State returned to the NCAA tournament three years later and advanced to the Elite Eight, which remains the best-ever showing for a Big Sky team.

Postseason results

, - !colspan=9 style=, Big Sky Playoff , - !colspan=9 style=, NCAA tournament

References

External links

Sports Reference
– Idaho State Bengals – 1973–74 basketball season {{DEFAULTSORT:1973-74 Idaho State Bengals men's basketball team Idaho State Bengals men's basketball seasons

Idaho State Idaho State University (ISU) is a public research university in Pocatello, Idaho, United States. Founded in 1901 as the Academy of Idaho, Idaho State offers more than 250 programs at its main campus in Pocatello and locations in Meridian, Idaho ...