Charter members of the Big Sky Conference, the Grizzlies were led by fourth-year head coach Jud Heathcote and played their home games on campus at Adams Fieldhouse in Missoula, Montana.

[1] They finished the regular season at 20–6, with a 13–1 record in conference to win the title (by four games)[2] and earned a berth in the expanded 32-team NCAA tournament.

[4][5] With the win, Montana advanced to the Sweet Sixteen at the West Regional in Portland, Oregon, and met second-ranked UCLA.

[3][6] In a game that went down to the last seconds, the Bruins won by just three points;[7][8][9] they went on to win the national championship in John Wooden's final season as head coach.

Two seniors were on the all-conference team, center Ken McKenzie and swingman Eric Hays; freshman guard Micheal Ray Richardson was honorable mention.