MOSCOW, Idaho – Idaho celebrates senior night on Saturday, with in-state rival Idaho State coming to town. Seeding is on the line, with tipoff set for 7 p.m. in the Cowan Spectrum.
FOLLOW LIVE - Live stats and live audio from the game will be available through the links on the right or through the men's basketball schedule page. There will also be a FREE live stream that can be found through the link on the right or through WatchBigSky.com. Fans can also follow @VandalHoops on Twitter for in-game updates of all games.
MATCHUP – Idaho (19-11, 11-6 BSC) is 57-45 all-time against Idaho State (16-13, 11-6 BSC). The two teams split the series last season, with the home team winning each game.
SEEDING ON THE LINE – The winner Saturday takes the No. 3 seed at the Big Sky Tournament in Reno next week. Idaho State could slip as fall as fifth with a loss, while the Vandals are guaranteed a top-four seed, regardless of Saturday's outcome.
LAST TIME OUT – The Vandals took down the Wildcats of Weber State, 62-58. Idaho dominated the glass, outrebounding top-seeded Weber State 50-30 on the day, including 20-6 on the offensive glass. Victor Sanders was the hero of the night, draining the game-winning 3-pointer with under one minute to play. The sophomore called his own number, signaling for the play coming off an inbound pass.
EVERY DAY COUNTS – Idaho is 7-1 in Big Sky play on Thursdays, but just 4-5 on Saturdays. Interestingly, Idaho's Thursday opponents have a higher overall conference winning percentage than Idaho's Saturday opponents.
SENIOR NIGHT SUCCESS – The Vandals are 7-0 on senior night under head coach Don Verlin.
PROTECTING THE BALL – Idaho is 6-1 in games that it commits fewer turnovers than its opponents and 2-0 in games where turnovers are even. The Vandals are just 11-10 in games where they commit more turnovers than their opponents. However, Idaho is 9-3 in games where it commits four or fewer turnovers more than its opponents.
INJURY BUG – Idaho is getting over its injury issues, with just one rotation player currently listed as day-to-day, in Ty Egbert. Egbert played two minutes against Weber State.
BIG SKY PLAY – Idaho is 11-6 so far in the Big Sky, with its first three games taking place on the road. Only one other Big Sky team opened play with three straight on the road, with Sacramento State going 0-3. Idaho went 2-1 during the road stretch. The Vandals close out the regular season with five over their last seven at home.
NOTES – For more notes and stats, check out the notes package linked on the right.
Check back with GoVandals.com following the game for the complete recap.
Fans can stay up-to-date on all things Idaho men's basketball by following the team on twitter, @VandalHoops.
For more information on Idaho Athletics, visit GoVandals.com. Fans can also find Idaho on Twitter and Instagram, @Idaho_Vandals, or on Facebook by searching Idaho Vandals
