The Idaho men's basketball team looks to continue its recent success when they travel to the Treasure State to take on Montana and Montana State. Idaho will make their first stop in Missoula to face the Grizzlies on Jan. 27 at 6 p.m. Pacific Time before heading to Bozeman to go up against the Bobcats on Jan. 29 at 3 p.m. PT.

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Idaho vs. Montana State // Jan. 29 at 3 p.m. PT

Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast 
Listen: KRPL 1400 AM // The Varsity Network

The Vandals found their place back in the win column with two conference wins over Sacramento State (73-72) and Portland State (84-79) that was part of a stretch of six games in 12 days for Idaho. 

Idaho ended their six-game losing streak last Saturday in an overtime thriller over the Hornets to jumpstart some momentum into a matchup with Portland State two days later. The Vandals shot 56.9 percent overall and an incredible 60.9 percent in the second half to will their way to its second consecutive win and first road win since Feb. 13, 2020 (Eastern Washington, 74-71). The efficient display of shooting was the highest mark for a Vandals team against a Division l opponent since Feb. 3, 2020 (57.7 vs. Idaho State).

Guard play proved to be the difference in helping guide the Vandals out of its slump, as Idaho's two leading scorers, Mikey Dixon and Trevante Anderson, combined to score 47 points in the win over PSU. Dixon delivered a game-high 27 points on 10-14 shooting from the field while Anderson added 20 points and five rebounds. It was the first time Idaho had two 20 point scorers since January of 2020 (Montana State). The two upperclassmen were especially crucial in crunch time as the two guards scored the final 10 points to close out the Vikings. 

Idaho was productive from behind the 3-point line in both wins over Sac State and Portland State, shooting at a 40 percent clip behind a combined 18 threes. The consistency from behind the arc has the Vandals ranked best in the conference and 28th in the nation in team three-point percentage (37.6) while averaging 8.8 3-point makes a game. On the season, Idaho has shot at least 40 percent or better in eight games, including a season-high 54 percent on 13-of-24 shooting against South Dakota State (12/8). Rashad Smith has had the hot hand from 3-point distance lately, shooting 50 percent from three in nine conference games - ranks second-best in the conference.

The free-throw line has been another point of production where the Silver and Gold have found success, ranking top-3 in the Big Sky in terms of made baskets (296) and percentage (73.8) from the charity stripe. 

Dixon has been one of the leaders at the foul line, taking advantage of every opportunity with 112 made free throws on 130 shots which is third-best in the nation and first in the Big Sky. The 6-2 guard is shooting the second-best league mark from the line at 86.2 percent. Anderson has also been productive from the charity stripe, knocking down 70 shots which is good enough for sixth-best in the conference.
 
SCOUTING THE VANDALS: Idaho is 5-14 on the season and 2-7 in conference action. The Vandals are 2-3 in their last five games and will look to build on a 1-7 record away from Moscow. 
 
Offensively, Idaho averages 74.5 points per game, ranking sixth in scoring offense in the league. The Vandals have scored at least 80 points six times this season and held opponents below 70 points three times. As a team, UI is shooting 49 percent from the floor in the past three games and hitting 40 percent from behind the arc in two-straight games. 
  
Senior Mikey Dixon leads all scorers with 18.3 points per game on 45.7 percent from the field, 43 percent from three, and 86.2 percent from the foul line. His 18.3 ppg is the highest average by a Vandal since Trevon Allen's 21.6 in 2019-20. The New Castle, Del. native finds himself in the top-3 of multiple statistical categories in the conference, ranking first in made free throws (112), second in total points (348), second in free-throw percentage (.862) and third in points per game (18.3). In the last five games on the road, Dixon is posting 21.8 points. 

Guard Trevante Anderson has boosted his points per game average to 12.6 after tallying 20 points against Portland State and 17 versus Sac State. The 6-1 guard has done about everything for Idaho since coming over from the University of San Francisco this season, posting five games of 20+ points, five games of 7+ assists and six games of 7+ rebounds. His 3.8 assists a game is the highest on the team and ranks seventh in the Big Sky while his 72 total assists are fifth-best amongst conference players. 

Junior transfer Rashad Smith is scoring an average of 10.2 points and shooting a team-best 44.6 from behind the arc this season. The 6-4 combo guard has scored in double figures in 10 games this year, including in six of the last eight contests. Behind the 3-point line is where Smith has been dangerous, knocking down at least two shots from three in six of last seven games and doing so at a 55% rate. 

Four Vandals pull down at least four rebounds a game, including a team-high 6.2 from Tanner Christensen. The Spokane Valley native has been a presence on the glass of late, securing double-digit rebounds in three of the last four games. Smith is second on the team with 5.3 rebounds while Anderson (4.8) and Pepple Jr. (4.1) pitch in a healthy dose.   

SCOUTING THE GRIZZLIES: Montana is 13-6 overall and 6-2 in conference play. UM has won four of their last five games and holds a perfect 9-0 record at home. The Grizzlies most recently picked up a pair of road wins at Portland State (66-64) and Northern Arizona (58-48).
  
Montana is scoring 72.5 ppg and allowing 62.4 ppg - the best in the Big Sky and 30th in the nation. As a team, the Griz are ranked first in a handful of stat categories in the league, including assist-turnover ratio (1.51), free-throw percentage (80.4), scoring margin (10.1), turnover margin (4.4) and turnovers per game (9.8). 

It has been an all-around scoring effort for Montana this season with seven Grizzlies scoring five or more points. Leading the charge is Josh Bannan with 13.2 points and Robby Beasley with 11.3 ppg. Besides the double-figure scoring by Bannan, he's also added 8.1 rebounds a game which is sixth in the conference. Senior guard Cameron Parker leads all conference players with his 5.7 assists per game. 

SERIES HISTORY VS MONTANA: UI owns a 110-92 all-time series record over Montana with the two programs first meeting in 1915-16. Idaho has the most wins over the Grizzlies versus any other opponent in Vandals history. As of recently, UM has won the past five meetings. The two teams met last season in the Big Sky Tournament where Montana was able to earn a 69-64 win over Idaho.

SCOUTING THE BOBCATS: Montana State is 14-5 and 6-2 in league play. The Bobcats have been on a tear as of late, winning 10 of their last 11 games, including a 5-1 record at home during that span. Montana State is coming off a pair of road wins over Northern Arizona (89-84) and Portland State (73-60). 
  
MSU is scoring the fourth-best mark in the conference at 77.5 ppg while allowing 68.7 ppg - ranks second in the Big Sky. The Bobcats lead the conference in total blocks with 69 and hold the highest win-loss percentage at 73.7. Scoring margin (8.8) and field goal percentage (46.8) have also been areas where Montana State excels, ranking second in both categories. 

Offensively, the Bobcats deliver a balanced attack with five scorers averaging at least nine points per game. Forward Jubrile Belo leads the team with 13.3 ppg while also getting it done on the defensive end with a Big Sky leading 31 blocked shots. Guards Xavien Bishop and Amin Adamu feature a talented backcourt for MSU with the two averaging double figures on the season. Bishop is scoring 13.1 points while Adamu adds 11.4 per contest.  

SERIES HISTORY VS MONTANA STATE: MSU is 68-51 overall against UI and holds a 4-1 record in Bozeman in the last five games. This will be the second time the two teams have faced each other this year, as Montana State defeated Idaho in Moscow, 92-72 back on Jan. 6.

NEXT UP: Idaho will round out a road schedule that has featured eight of the last 10 games away from Moscow when they travel to face Southern Utah for the second time this season on Feb. 3 at 6 p.m. Pacific Time.

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