The 2014 schedule for the Idaho men’s basketball team is filled with regional rivalry games due to the new Big Sky schedule.
In addition to the instate rivalries of Boise State and Idaho State and the longstanding rivalry against Washington State, Idaho adds regional games against Montana, Montana State, Eastern Washington and Portland State to its schedule.
“I’m extremely excited about the new schedule, because the Big Sky is a very good basketball conference,” Idaho coach Don Verlin said. “Last year they were actually rated higher than the Western
Athletic Conference.”
The new conference means a return to old rivalries that Idaho established during its first stint in the Big Sky from 1964 to 1996. Now, Idaho will play most of its games against teams in the Pacific Northwest instead of travelling to Chicago State and Missouri-Kansas City for conference games like it did in the WAC.
“Looking forward to renewing the regional rivalries … Montana is a short distance away, Eastern (Washington) is a short distance away, Portland State is a bus ride away,” Verlin said. “Obviously Weber State has been the class of the league. I think those are teams that our fans can relate to. If you look at the history of Idaho basketball, Montana, Montana State, Eastern and Weber have played vital roles in the history of Idaho basketball.”
But Verlin said Idaho’s biggest rival is still Washington State. The Vandals play Cougars Dec. 3 in Pullman.
“I’m just thankful every year that Washington State plays,” he said. “It’s the longest rivalry west of the Mississippi. It’s so close to us and they play us home-and-home, which there’s not a PAC-12 school in the country that would do that.”
Verlin said he wishes instate rivals Boise State could come up to Moscow for games, but acknowledged that the CenturyLink Arena in Boise allows the southern Vandal fans to attend the annual game. The Vandals and the Broncos compete
Nov. 25 in Boise.
Idaho’s out-of-conference games start with home games against Eastern Oregon and South Dakota State to start the season Nov. 7 and Nov. 17, respectively.
“We had to work really hard to get some home games,” Verlin said. “We’re playing a home-and-home with South Dakota State, which is a very good opponent. Playing South Dakota State is very similar to playing North Dakota in our league.”
One thing lacking on Idaho’s schedule is a game against a powerhouse opponent.
“Last year we played at Oklahoma,” Verlin said. “We’ve played at New Mexico, we’ve played at Oregon, at UTEP and Oregon State. This year it just didn’t work out that way. We always look for one but we just didn’t quite get it.”
The season ends with a March 7 contest at Idaho State in Pocatello. Idaho’s last home game is Feb. 28 against Montana State in Memorial Gym.
“I’m excited about our schedule,” Verlin said. “There’s, optimistically speaking, not a game on that schedule that we can’t win. I’m not saying we’re going to win every game but I think it will allow this team … to gain some confidence.”
Stephan Wiebe can be reached at [email protected]