This week, the Idaho Vandals basketball team will go on to face Weber State in the ICCU Arena on Thursday, Feb. 12, at 6 p.m. That game will be followed up by one against rival Idaho State on Saturday in the ICCU Arena at 2 p.m.
Idaho is sitting right in the middle of the Big Sky Conference standing, in fifth place. After a much better year than last, they struggled in the middle of the season. Coming off two losses, they can bump up a spot in conference if they beat Weber State.
Weber State is 6-6 in conference play and holds fourth place, while the Vandals are 5-6. Vandals will have to look out for offensive weapon Tijan Saine Jr. He averages 16.6 points a game along with a 45.3 field goal percentage. In their previous matchup this season, Saine Jr. had 25 points. Idaho won their last game against Weber State 75-67.
In this game, Biko Johnson went off and scored 26 points. This put the Vandals to 11-7, and they were pretty high in the conference standings at the time. Idaho has a 68.3% chance of winning, according to ESPN. A win for Idaho would be huge, as it would put them back on a win streak after going 1-4 in their previous 5 games.
Looking ahead to the Idaho State game, there is a lot riding on this game as well. Idaho State has not had the best season, and they currently sit at 10-15 on the season and 3-9 in conference play. At ninth place, the Bengals will not have much to lose.
On the other hand, this is always a heated rivalry between the in-state rivals. Idaho has lost the last nine out of ten games, and the winner will get the King Spud trophy.
The trophy was not around after the 1979 season and was brought back as a replica in 2022. Since the reintroduction of the trophy, Idaho State has had possession of it the whole time.
The Vandals hope to get it back this year. In the previous meeting between these two teams this season, Idaho State took the win 76-68. Idaho had a consistent lead and an 80% chance of winning with just seven minutes left in the game, and ISU came back to win the game.
Idaho will have to shoot a better free throw percentage than their last game. On top of that, Idaho only shot 15% from three, which allowed Idaho State to crawl back and win.
Both of these matchups are promising wins if the Vandals can turn around their losing streak, and it would place them at 8-6 in conference play. Both games can be found on ESPN+ and will be played in Moscow.