MOSCOW, Idaho - The University of Idaho men's basketball team will play at Montana State in the ninth annual ESPN BracketBusters event, announced on Monday.

The Vandals and Bobcats will face off on Saturday, Feb. 19, at Bozeman, Mont. It will be the second time the two teams have met in the event, with the first being a 79-69 MSU victory at Bozeman in 2006.

"Montana State is going to be a tough test for us," Idaho head coach Don Verlin said. "They're very good on their home floor and we'll have to play well to get a win."

Idaho is 12-9 overall and 5-4 in the Western Athletic Conference, while Montana State is 11-10 overall and 5-4 in the Big Sky Conference. The Bobcats have an 8-1 home record this season, while Idaho is 6-5 on the road.

The two teams are former Big Sky rivals, and have a series that spans 98 games and dates back to 1917. MSU holds a 54-44 all-time lead in the series, including four consecutive wins. Idaho's last win in the series was a 76-74 victory on Dec. 23, 2000.

Idaho and MSU have played four common opponents this season. The Bobcats lost at Hawai'i in their season opener, lost by two at Seattle University on Nov. 29, beat Eastern Washington by 12 on Jan. 16, and lost twice to Montana. Idaho holds road wins over Hawai'i and EWU, and lost to Seattle and Montana.

"This game gives us another opportunity to play a quality opponent within our region," Verlin said. "We're both 5-4 and in the hunt in our respective conferences, so this game is going to be very important to both teams as we close out the final stretch of the season."

The Vandals are 2-4 all-time in ESPN BracketBusters play. They fell to Long Beach State last year by a 77-66 margin at the Cowan Spectrum, and beat Cal State Northridge in 2009, 78-75. Idaho's other win came in 2004 against UC Riverside, 70-65.