The University of Idaho Argonaut

Vandal guard Mac Hopson, who was named Preseason All-WAC First Team, drives to the basket over sophomore forward Luiz Toledo during the first public inter-team scrimmage Oct. 30 in Memorial Gym. The Vandals open their 2009-2010 campaign tonight in an exhibition contest against St. Martin's in Memorial Gym. Tipoff is set for 8:05 p.m. Nick Groff/Argonaut

Tonight’s matchup between the Idaho Vandals and the St. Martin’s Saints may be an exhibition game — but don’t tell coach Don Verlin or his players that. To them, it might as well be the NCAA Tournament.

“You always have to take these games seriously,” Verlin said. “We’re going to go out there and play to win.”

Point guard Mac Hopson leads four returning starters as the Vandals hit the Memorial Gym floor for Idaho’s first action against an outside foe this season. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m.

The Saints are a Division II team, competing in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. They lost their first exhibition game last Sunday, falling to Eastern Washington by the score of 98-61.

Even with their comparative lack of depth and talent, D-II squads can be dangerous foes in exhibition games. On Tuesday, the LeMoyne Dolphins stunned the basketball world by knocking off Syracuse — a Top 25 squad that made it to the NCAA Sweet 16 last year. Two years ago, Grand Valley State upended Big 10 power Michigan State.

“Any team can win any game,” Verlin said. “St. Martin’s is a traditionally good Division II program and we’re looking forward to a challenge on Friday night.”

This exhibition will be Idaho’s first and only tune-up against outside competition before beginning the regular season next Friday against Utah. That gives tonight’s game special importance, Verlin said.

“This is our chance to rehearse everything we need to do to win this season,” Verlin said. “I’ve always thought we had an advantage over a sport like football with these games. We use exhibitions to cover all the game situations and even stuff like pregame warmups and scouting.”

At practice on Wednesday, Hopson spoke for his team in their readiness for the hard work of the season ahead.  The days in the weight room over the summer, the hours spent watching game film and talking with coaches — the results are now about to be apparent.

“It’s so exciting for all of us to get started,” Hopson said. “It’s early and we still have adjustments to make. People need to get settled in some and know their roles, but we are way ahead of where we were last year as a team.”

Because exhibition games don’t count toward eligibility, Verlin can use tonight’s battle as one final opportunity to test out his whole squad before making decisions about redshirting players for this season. With 16 players, including seven seniors, playing time will be at a premium — but unlike last year, options will abound on offense.

“We’re so even across the board, it’s going to be tough figuring out who plays,” Verlin said. “We’re going to need every single one of those guys at some point, though. I talk to my players all the time about the importance of accepting your role and doing the very best job you can in that role.”

One place he knows his team needs to get better: free throw shooting. It’s a stat where Idaho finished last in the WAC last season, and “hack-a-Vandal” became a known strategy in the conference. Things looked improved, but not stellar, in last Friday’s open scrimmage. Wednesday’s practice ended with an extended set of free throw drills — and those who missed were running the baselines.

“We’ve shot somewhere around 16,000 free throws (in practice),” Verlin said. “We gotta make them, no doubt about it.”