MOSCOW – The Vandals return to ICCU Arena to open Big Sky play as they get set to host Southern Utah on Saturday. The game will get underway at 2 p.m.
FOLLOW: Saturday's matchup can be streamed live on ESPN+. Fans can also listen over the airwaves with the Voice of the Vandals, Chris King, at GoVandals.com/Listen.
LAST TIME OUT: The Vandals fell to North Dakota State in Fargo, 90-73.
Trevante Anderson had an all-around performance for Idaho, dropping his third 20-plus point game of the season with a team-high 21 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Freshman
Tanner Christensen scored a career-high 13 points while
Mikey Dixon chipped in 11. As a team, Idaho recorded a season-high 41 rebounds on the night, including 14 on the offensive end.
SCOUTING THE THUNDERBIRDS: Southern Utah is 4-3 on the season with a 1-3 record coming on the road. The Thunderbirds opened up conference play on Thursday night with a win over Eastern Washington, 89-76.
Three Thunderbirds scored in double-digits in the victory over the Eagles. Dre Marin helped lead the way for SUU, scoring 28 points and dishing out four assists. John Knight lll pitched in 22 points while Jason Spurgin added 13.
SUU leads the Big Sky in scoring with 82.1 points per game while allowing 76.6. Knight lll leads the conference with 19.7 ppg while Tevian Jones adds 13.4. Maizen Fausett provides a presence in the paint for the Thunderbirds, averaging 10.4 points and 9.3 boards.
SERIES HISTORY: Idaho will meet the Thunderbirds for the 29th time in the two programs' history as SUU holds the 17-11 advantage. Southern Utah has earned victories in six straight matchups over the Vandals, most recently earning a win in Cedar City last season, 83-67.
GETTING TO THE LINE
- The Vandals have found success drawing contact this season, heading to the free-throw line a total of 174 times in seven games. That mark is the most in the Big Sky and 29th in the nation. Idaho's 121 free throws made is also #1 in the conference.
- Trevante Anderson and Mikey Dixon lead the pack when it comes to scoring from the foul line, as the two hold the top spot in the conference with 33 made free throws each.
PROTECTING THE PAINT
- Junior big man Philip Pepple Jr. has been a bright spot for the Vandal defense, leading the team with nine blocked shots - fourth best in the Big Sky.
- Pepple Jr. had a career day against Cal Poly at the SoCal Challenge, recording a personal-best four blocks. He is averaging a team best 1.3 blocks.
INSTANT IMPACT
- Trevante Anderson added his third 20-plus point scoring performance over the weekend against NDSU, tallying a team-high 21 points. The junior also led the team with nine rebounds and six assists - the most rebounds recorded by Anderson in his career and the third time tallying six or more assists this year.
- In the opening two games of the season, Anderson made an instant impact for the Vandals as he scored 26 points against Long Beach State and 22 points in a win over George Fox.
- His fifth double-figure performance on Saturday boosted his average to a team-high 14.9 ppg, ranking him ninth best in the conference.
MONEY MIKE
- Grand Canyon transfer Mikey Dixon has been as consistent as they come since arriving at Idaho, scoring in double figures six out of seven games this season. Most recently, Dixon dropped 11 points on 3-4 shooting from the field against North Dakota State this past Saturday.
- The New Castle, Del. native is averaging 12.6 ppg and shooting 50 percent from behind the 3-point line.
ALL-AROUND EFFORT
NEWCOMERS
- Nine fresh faces will join the Vandals roster this season including six transfers and three freshmen. The six transfers are made up of three juniors and three seniors that will provide much-needed leadership and experience to a roster that lost seven upperclassmen.
- Jack Hatten, Yusef Salih and RJ Walker are the three freshmen that join the roster this season.
- Senior Mikey Dixon and junior Rashad Smith make their way to Moscow from Phoenix after spending last season at Grand Canyon University.
- Trevante Anderson (San Francisco), Nolan Bertain (Texas A&M-Corpus Christi) and Philip Pepple Jr. (SIUE) joined as transfers after spending last season on the Division 1 scene. Senior JeMeil King transferred to Idaho back in August after competing at Bellevue University the past two seasons.
SIGNING CLASS
- Head coach Zac Claus and his staff signed three future Vandals to a National Letter of Intent back in early November, including Titus Yearout, Dominique Ford, and Nigel Burris.
- Yearout, a local star from Lapwai High School will make the short drive to Moscow after averaging 24 ppg in his junior campaign - the highest points per game average in the state of Idaho.
- Ford will join the Vandals after competing at the College of Southern Nevada (CSN) in Las Vegas. Last season, he averaged 16 points and 4.8 rebounds per game while being selected to the NJCAA Region 18 Second-Team for the Coyotes.
- Burris, a three-star power forward (247 Sports) from San Francisco will join the squad after averaging 13.8 points and 6.6 rebounds per game in his senior season. Burris will compete on a prep basketball team in Napa, Calif. this season.
DOUBLEHEADER
- Idaho and Eastern Washington will continue to play a doubleheader format with the men and women this season. Both men and women will travel to Cheney on January 8 before the Vandals host the Eagles on Feb. 19.
THE BATTLE
- The Battle of the Palouse holds the streak as the longest continuously running college basketball rivalry in the country after the Ivy League opted to forego the 2020-21 season. The two programs met for the 277th time this season with the Cougs taking the victory, 109-61.
