The 1997 Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Tournament was held March 6–8 at the Walkup Skydome at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona. Second-seeded Montana defeated sixth-seeded conference newcomers Cal State Northridge in the championship game, 82–79, to clinch their third Big Sky men's basketball tournament title. The Grizzlies, in turn, received an automatic bid to the 1997 NCAA Tournament. No other Big Sky members were invited.