Whether they find themselves in a bracket when March Madness arrives, the Vandals’ Sears BracketBuster match-up against the Portland State Vikings Saturday may have a significant influence on their momentum going into the final stretch of the season.
Tipoff against the Vikings (13-12, 7-6 Big Sky) is at 7:05 p.m. Saturday in Cowan Spectrum.
The hype surrounding the Vandal men’s basketball team and its potential NCAA Tournament berth may seem premature, especially considering the fact that a once-promising Idaho team fell to San Jose State in the second round of the 2011 WAC Tournament.
The Vandals busted open the WAC scene and beat the conference’s top two teams in Nevada and New Mexico State. Idaho spent the week preparing for an unfamiliar Portland State team.
The Vandals and Vikings haven’t met since 2005, when Portland State University swept Idaho in a home-and-home series that saw the Vikings outscore Idaho 142-107. While the red-hot Vandals are likely favorites Saturday, Portland State brings a three-game win streak to Moscow.
Vikings coach Tyler Geving has embraced the improvements he’s seen in his squad, which is still suffering the wrath of two lost scholarships.
“With guys leaving from last year getting the two scholarships back, we have a bunch of new faces and I thought we were a team that would start peaking kind of like end of January, first of February,” Geving said. “I feel like we’ve been playing a bit better lately and kind of like the way we’ve been playing and hopefully we can continue to play well down the stretch as we head into the Big Sky Tournament.”
Like the Vandals saw in New Mexico State’s Wendell McKines, Nevada’s Deonte Burton and Seattle’s Aaron Broussard, the Vikings pack star power in senior guard Charles Odum.
Odum’s 18.5 points-per-game is No. 2 in the Big Sky, behind the nation’s leading scorer Damien Lillard of Weber State.
Odum and senior forward Chehales Tapscott make one of the Big Sky’s most lethal combinations, according to Geving.
“Chehales Tapscott does a little bit of everything. He leads our league in rebounding, he’s our second-leading scorer,” Geving said.
Geving will attempt to contain Idaho’s senior trifecta, which will potentially see its last action in the Spectrum Saturday, the only opportunity for another home game is if Idaho hosts a game in one of a few post-season tournament possibilities.
Deremy Geiger, Landon Tatum and Djim Bandoumel have provided the senior leadership essential to Idaho’s 15-11, 7-4 WAC record, and despite the emotions of senior night the trio understands this final stretch could be crucial to the team’s success come conference tournament time.
“We have the momentum with us and with the huge games we won back-to-back against number one and number two so we’re pretty confident right now,” Bandoumel said.
Geiger said it will be essential to start Saturday’s game on the right foot and stick to the game plan.
“We just try to come in with the same game plan and mindset, play defense and start with that end of the floor,” Geiger said. “Pretty much sticking with our same things game to game with just a couple of adjustments.”
After the non-conference contest, Idaho takes to the road for a three-game road trip at Utah State, Hawaii and San Jose State.