# 2009–10 Montana Grizzlies basketball team

The 2009–10 Montana Grizzlies basketball team represented the University of Montana during the 2009–10 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Grizzlies, led by fourth-year head coach Wayne Tinkle, played their home games at Dahlberg Arena and were members of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 22–10, 10–6 in Big Sky play to finish tied for third place in the conference regular season standings. Montana won the Big Sky Basketball tournament to earn the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA tournament where they lost in the first round to New Mexico.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 13, 2009* | | North Dakota | W 61–37 | 1–0 | Dahlberg Arena Missoula, Montana |
| Nov 14, 2009* | | Boise State | W 95–82 | 2–0 | Dahlberg Arena Missoula, Montana |
| Nov 15, 2009* | | Loyola Marymount | W 64–63 | 3–0 | Dahlberg Arena Missoula, Montana |
| Nov 19, 2009* | | at Denver | L 49–56 | 3–1 | Magness Arena Denver, Colorado |
| Nov 23, 2009* | | at Oregon | W 68–55 | 4–1 | McArthur Court Eugene, Oregon |
| Nov 29, 2009* | | at No. 14 Washington | L 59–63 | 4–2 | Bank of America Arena Seattle, Washington |
| Dec 4, 2009 | | Northern Arizona | W 71–54 | 5–2 (1–0) | Dahlberg Arena Missoula, Montana |
| Dec 5, 2009 | | Northern Colorado | L 48–59 | 5–3 (1–1) | Dahlberg Arena Missoula, Montana |
| Dec 10, 2009* | | at Loyola Marymount | W 82–73 | 6–3 | Gersten Pavilion Los Angeles, California |
| Dec 12, 2009* | | at Colorado State | L 61–62 | 6–4 | Moby Arena Fort Collins, Colorado |
| Dec 16, 2009* | | Montana State–Northern | W 57–43 | 7–4 | Dahlberg Arena Missoula, Montana |
| Dec 19, 2009* | | UC Riverside | W 67–52 | 8–4 | Dahlberg Arena Missoula, Montana |
| Dec 21, 2009* | | Fresno State | W 59–56 | 9–4 | Dahlberg Arena Missoula, Montana |
| Dec 23, 2009* | | Great Falls | W 100–52 | 10–4 | Dahlberg Arena Missoula, Montana |
| Dec 31, 2009 | | at Idaho State | L 65–67 | 10–5 (1–2) | Holt Arena Pocatello, Idaho |
| Jan 2, 2010 | | at Weber State | L 56–64 | 10–6 (1–3) | Dee Events Center Ogden, Utah |
| Jan 8, 2010 | | Eastern Washington | W 79–66 | 11–6 (2–3) | Dahlberg Arena Missoula, Montana |
| Jan 9, 2010 | | Portland State | W 90–58 | 12–6 (3–3) | Dahlberg Arena Missoula, Montana |
| Jan 15, 2010 | | at Sacramento State | W 57–56 | 13–6 (4–3) | Hornets Nest Sacramento, California |
| Jan 23, 2010 | | at Montana State | L 52–61 | 13–7 (4–4) | Worthington Arena Bozeman, Montana |
| Jan 28, 2010 | | at Northern Colorado | W 64–62 | 14–7 (5–4) | Butler–Hancock Sports Pavilion Greeley, Colorado |
| Jan 30, 2010 | | at Northern Arizona | W 84–64 | 15–7 (6–4) | Walkup Skydome Flagstaff, Arizona |
| Feb 5, 2010 | | Weber State | W 75–61 | 16–7 (7–4) | Dahlberg Arena Missoula, Montana |
| Feb 6, 2010 | | Idaho State | W 91–68 | 17–7 (8–4) | Dahlberg Arena Missoula, Montana |
| Feb 12, 2010 | | at Portland State | W 81–76 | 18–7 (9–4) | Peter W. Stott Center Portland, Oregon |
| Feb 14, 2010 | | at Eastern Washington | L 68–69 | 18–8 (9–5) | Reese Court Cheney, Washington |
| Feb 20, 2010 | | Sacramento State | W 86–58 | 19–8 (10–5) | Dahlberg Arena Missoula, Montana |
| Feb 27, 2010 | | Montana State | L 67–73 | 19–9 (10–6) | Dahlberg Arena Missoula, Montana |
| Big Sky tournament ||||||
| Mar 6, 2010 | (4) | (5) Northern Arizona Big Sky Quarterfinals | W 81–60 | 20–9 | Dahlberg Arena Missoula, Montana |
| Mar 9, 2010* | (4) | vs. (2) Northern Colorado Big Sky Semifinals | W 68–63 | 21–9 | Dee Events Center Ogden, Utah |
| Mar 10, 2010* | (4) | at (1) Weber State Big Sky Championship Game | W 66–65 | 22–9 | Dee Events Center Ogden, Utah |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 18, 2010* | (14 E) | vs. (3 E) No. 8 New Mexico NCAA First Round | L 57–62 | 22–10 | HP Pavilion (15,427) San Jose, California |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=NCAA East Regional. All times are in Mountain Time. Source ||||||