January 9, 2026

HELENA, Mont. – The busy Frontier Conference basketball doubleheader continues Friday (tonight) as SWX Local Sports are set to broadcast Providence (Mont.) versus Montana Tech at Kelvin Sampson Court at Valley Bank Arena.

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

Friday’s meeting will be the first Frontier Conference meeting this season for both teams.  They will meet in the final regular season contest at McLaughlin Center Gymnasium in Great Falls, Mont., on Feb. 21.

Women’s
The host-team Montana Tech, ranked No. 14 in the latest NAIA Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 national poll, enters Friday’s contest with a 12-1 overall record.  The Orediggers currently have a one-game lead in the Frontier Conference with an 8-1 record.  MT is on a seven-game winning streak after earning victories in North Dakota last weekend (defeated Bismarck State 96-76 on Jan. 2 and Dickinson State 75-59 on Jan. 3).

Providence, receiving votes (RV) in the national poll, is 10-5 overall record and 6-3 record in the league before this weekend’s contests.  The Argos are wrapping up their four-game road trip this weekend, where they kicked off with a pair of victories in North Dakota.  UP cruised past Mayville State (N.D.) 87-66 on Jan. 2 and held off Valley City State (N.D.) 67-65 on Jan. 3.

Montana Tech won the season series with Providence last season with 2-1 record.  The Argos, however, won the last meeting in the regular-season finale on Feb. 22, 2025, by the score of 67-59 in Butte.  The previous three meetings were decided in single digits, with the Orediggers winning the first two meetings last season (62-58 in Butte on Jan. 18, 2025, and 73-66 on Feb. 6, 2025, in Great Falls).

Men’s
Montana Tech, ranked No. 19 in the latest NAIA Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 national poll, enters this weekend’s Frontier Conference play with a four-game winning streak.  The Orediggers raised their overall record to 12-3 and 6-3 conference record after defeating Bismarck State 90-68 on Jan. 2 and Dickinson State 77-57 on Jan. 3.

Providence earned their second conference win of the season after defeating Mayville State 88-82 on Jan. 2.  The Argos fell short on the next day on Jan. 3 to Valley City State 88-80.  UP is 2-13 overall record and 2-7 Frontier Conference record.

Both teams met in the Frontier Conference postseason conference tournament’s championship game in Great Falls.  The Orediggers defeated the Argos 69-50 on March 4, 2025, to earn the league automatic bid to the national tournament.

Montana Tech went 3-1 record in their four-game series last season with Providence, winning the previous two meetings.  The Argos defeated the Orediggers on Feb. 6, 2025, in Great Falls.  MT won the last six meetings with UP held in Butte since Feb. 12, 2022.

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 Saturday, Jan. 31 as Rocky Mountain hosts Montana Tech. in Billings.

Friday’s doubleheader slate includes:

• Dakota State (S.D.) @ Bismarck State (N.D.)
• Bellevue at Dickinson State (N.D.)
• Valley City State (N.D.) @ Rocky Mountain (Mont.)
• Mayville State (N.D.) @ Carroll (Mont.)
• MSU-Nortner @ Montana Western

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.