Members of the Big Sky Conference, the Wildcats were led by second-year head coach Neil McCarthy and played their home games on campus at Wildcat Gym in Ogden, Utah.
[1][3] The Wildcats won their semifinal by a point over underdog Gonzaga;[4] and advanced to the final again, this time to host Idaho State; the teams had split the season series with home wins.
The trend continued as Idaho State won the tournament final at home by six points.
[5] They advanced to the NCAA Tournament's Elite Eight, upsetting #2 UCLA in the Sweet Sixteen.
It remains the best-ever showing in the NCAA tournament by a Big Sky team.