MOSCOW, Idaho – The Idaho men's basketball team welcomes the Washington State Cougars to town for the Battle of the Palouse on Thursday night in ICCU Arena.
LAST TIME OUT: The Vandals fell in a hard-fought battle with the Fresno State Bulldogs on Monday, 69-62. Mikey Dixon added his third double-digit game of the season to lead Idaho with 15 points and three assists. Freshman Yusef Salih continued to be a bright spot off the bench and from the 3-point line, dropping nine points on 3 of 3 shooting from behind the arc.
OFFENSIVE FIREPOWER: Over the first three games, the Vandals have been one of the most efficient teams from the offensive end of the floor in the Big Sky. They currently rank first in 3-point percentage (.478), second in field goal percentage (.484), and third in scoring offense (82.0) in the conference.
THE BATTLE: The Battle of the Palouse will continue its streak as the longest continuously running college basketball rivalry in the country after the Ivy League opted to forego the 2020-21 season.
Thursday's matchup will be the 277th time the two programs have squared off with the first matchup beginning in the 1905-06 season.
The Cougs have earned victories in two straight years against Idaho, defeating the Vandals, 58-61 last season. WSU leads the series, 166-110.
SCOUTING THE COUGARS (3-0): Washington State started the season with three-straight victories over Alcorn State (85-67), Seattle U (79-61) and UC Santa Barbara (73-65).
In their most recent win over UC Santa Barbara, four Cougars scored in double figures. Forward Efe Abogidi led the way for WSU, tallying 18 points, eight rebounds and six blocks.
FOLLOW: Fans can watch the game live on ESPN+ or listen in with the Voice of the Vandals, Chris King, at GoVandals.com/Listen.
3PT SUCCESS: The Vandals are shooting 47.8 percent from behind the arc, ranking the team first in the Big Sky and 10th in the nation. They have tallied 9 or more 3-pointers in every game and notched a season-best 15 against Long Beach State - a mark that was the most in a game since Idaho made 17 against Western Michigan back in December of 2017.
INSTANT IMPACT: Junior Trevante Anderson showed out in his first appearances as a Vandal, dropping 26 points against Long Beach State and 22 points versus George Fox. The native of Tacoma, Washington was also instrumental in setting up his teammates as he totaled 16 assists in three games. He leads the Big Sky in assists per game with 5.3 and sits in 5th for scoring with 17.3 ppg.
MAN IN THE MIDDLE: Transfer Philip Pepple Jr. has made an immediate impact for the Vandals since making his way from Southern Illinois-Edwardsville. He recorded two double-figure scoring performances to start the season against LBSU (10) and George Fox (13). He is averaging 10.3 points, 6.3 boards and 1.7 blocks per game. In the conference, People Jr. ranks tied for fourth in blocks and tied for 10th in rebounds.
MONEY MIKE: Grand Canyon transfer Mikey Dixon has been as consistent as they come to start the season, leading Idaho with three double-digit performances. His 15.7 points per game average rank him second-best on the team and tied for 7th best in the conference.
ALL-AROUND EFFORT: Seven different players have scored in double digits so far this season.
In the season opener, Trevante Anderson (26), Mikey Dixon (16), Rashad Smith (12), and Philip Pepple Jr. (10) scored at least 10 points against Long Beach State.
In a 95-85 win over George Fox, Trevante Anderson (22), Nolan Bertain (18), Mikey Dixon (16), Philip Pepple Jr. (13), Yusef Salih (11) and JeMeil King (11) added double-figure performances.
