January 2, 2026

HELENA, Mont. – As the calendar year flips to 2026, the Frontier Conference basketball resumes to their busy schedule this weekend.  The SWX Local Sports live broadcast returns Friday evening at PE Center as the host-team Carroll (Mont.) welcomes Dakota State (S.D.).

The women’s game kicks off at 6 p.m. (Central Time)/5 p.m. (Mountain Time), with the men’s game to follow at 8 p.m. (Central Time)/7 p.m. (Mountain Time) in Helena. 

Friday’s meeting will be the first Frontier Conference meeting this season for both teams.  They will meet for their second meeting a month later at DSU Fieldhouse in Madison, S.D.

Dakota State is in their middle of their six-game Frontier Conference road contests, while Carroll is in their middle of their six-game conference home stand.

Women’s
Dakota State and Carroll had history in the NAIA National Tournament where their previous two meetings occurred at the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa, producing a program history first NAIA national semifinal in both meetings.

The Trojans defeated the Fighting Saints 82-72 on March 14, 2023, in the NAIA Round of 16, paving the way for DaSU’s first semifinal appearance in program history after defeating Indiana Wesleyan in the quarterfinals.

Both teams met again on March 23, 2024, where CC earned their first ever NAIA semifinal appearance after defeating the Trojans 71-56 in the quarterfinals.

Dakota State enters Friday’s contest on a nine-game winning streak after their 69-62 road victory at (RV) Providence (Mont.) on Dec. 13.  The Trojans are ranked No. 4 in the national poll with an overall record of 12-1.  DaSU is the lone undefeated team in the Frontier Conference standings with a 7-0 league record.

Dakota State’s recent Frontier Conference contests were completing their season series sweeps of MSU-Northern and Providence.

Carroll, ranked No. 24 in the latest NAIA national poll, dropped a pair of games in Daytona Beach before Christmas break.  The Saints dropped a 62-60 overtime contest to Rochester Christian (Mich.) on Dec. 17, and 59-57 to (RV) William Carey (Miss.).

CC won the last two Frontier contests, earning their season series sweep of Bismarck State (N.D.) and Dickinson State (N.D.).  Carroll is 7-6 overall record and 5-2 record in the conference.

Men’s
Dakota State and Carroll are meeting for their first ever meeting in program history.

The Trojans had their best start in program history with an overall record of 11-1, carrying their seven-game winning streak before Friday’s contest.  DaSU is coming off from a pair of exhibition contests against NCAA Division I Summit League members, falling short for an upset bid at South Dakota 80-71 on Dec. 18 and North Dakota 88-56 on Dec. 28.

Dakota State’s last Frontier Conference action was on Dec. 12-13 as they extended their conference’s winning streak to six games after completing a season series of MSU-Northern and Providence. 

The Saints, who entered in the NAIA national poll for the first time at No. 15 ranking, went 1-2 record before Christmas break in the Cactus Classic held in Arizona.  CC fell to No. 22 Benedictine-Mesa (Ariz.) 102-80 on Dec. 17, defeated Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) 84-70 on Dec. 18, and closed the tournament with a 91-76 setback to No. 4 Arizona Christian on Dec. 20.

Carroll remained undefeated in their league play after earning a season series sweep of Bismarck State (N.D.) and Dickinson State (N.D.) on Dec. 12-13 at home.  The Saints had scored at least 94 points in the previous four Frontier Conference contests, including a pair of 100-point contests in the last two league games.

CC is a co-leader in the Frontier Conference standings with 7-0 record (Bellevue, Neb.).

SWX Local Sports Frontier Basketball Doubleheader
Six different doubleheaders will be broadcast live throughout Montana on SWX stations throughout the conference basketball season. Fans can follow along with all the action at the Frontier Conference by downloading the SWX Local Sports App through the App Store or Google Play Store or by visiting their website.

SWX Local Sports will also broadcast both Frontier Conference women’s and men’s basketball championships games on Monday, March 2 in Butte, Mont.

The image below displays the SWX Local Sports coverage map. 
The next FC basketball televised broadcast on SWX Local Sports will be on Friday, Jan. 9 as Providence (Mont.) travels to Montana Tech in Butte.

Friday’s doubleheader slate includes:

• Bellevue (Neb.) at Rocky Mountain
• Montana Western at Dickinson State (N.D.)
• Montana Tech at Bismarck State (N.D.)
• Providence (Mont.) at Mayville State (N.D.)
• MSU-Northern at Valley City State (N.D.)

Visit fcsports.org for more information on all the Frontier Conference matchups for the upcoming weekend.

Don’t forget to download the Frontier Conference app, in partnership with Snap! Mobile.  The app is free to download in the App Store on Apple or Google Play for Android.  Click here to download the Frontier Conference app.