DENVER -- The Idaho men's basketball team officially opens the 2022-23 campaign on Monday evening at the University of Denver. Tip is scheduled for 4 p.m. Pacific.

How to follow 
Idaho vs. Denver // Nov. 7 at 4 p.m. PT
Watch: Altitude 2/denverpioneers.com
Live Stats: SIDEARM Live Stats
Listen: The Varsity Network

Opening Night

• Idaho opens the 2021-22 season on the road for the first time since 2018-19. The Vandals fell at home to eventual Big West runner up Long Beach State in a 95-89 overtime affair in the first game of the season.  
• UI is 37-22 (.627) in season openers since 1963-64 and is 5-5 in their last 10 to begin the season. 

The Series 

• Idaho will meet Denver for the fifth time in school history and first time since 2012-13. The Vandals will look for its first win against the Pioneers as they are 0-4 overall and 0-1 on the road.

Notables

• Fourth-year head coach Zac Claus returns five players from last season, including two starters that combined to start in 40 games. Claus and his staff brought on board 10 newcomers, that include six transfers and four freshmen.  
• Idaho posted a 9-22 overall record and 6-14 conference mark last season. The Vandals 2021-22 season was highlighted by a win over Summit League Champions South Dakota State and a three-game win streak over Weber State, Montana and Eastern Washington.The Silver and Gold finished off the season tied for eighth in the Big Sky. 
• Senior guard Rashad Smith begins his second season in Moscow after averaging 10.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game in 2021-22. Smith formed into one of the best sharpshooters in the conference, as he shot an impressive 44.9% against NCAA D1 opponents on 127 three-point attempts and 46.9% on 96 threes versus conference foes. 
• Sophomore guard Yusef Salih is back after appearing in 29 contests and starting in 14 as a true freshman. The Gainesville, Va. native posted 6.1 points per game, averaged 38.5 percent from three and knocked down 42 shots from behind the arc, which is third most in program history.
• Idaho reloaded in the transfer portal at the post position, adding forward/center Isaac Jones (Wenatchee Valley College) and forwards Terren Frank (Vanderbilt) and John Harge (Northeastern Oklahoma A&M). 
• Jones put together a monster season at WVC in 2021-22, leading the Northwest Athletic Conference in scoring (25.3 PPG), rebounding (13.2 RPG) and field goal percentage (69.5) to earn NWAC Player of the Year.
• The backcourt features transfer guards Dom Ford (College of Southern Nevada), Divant'e Moffitt (Seattle Pacific) and Trey Smith (San Jose State).  
• Moffitt will use his last year of eligibility to play for the Silver and Gold after spending four seasons at SPU, where he earned First Team All-GNAC and averaged the second most points in the league with 19.3 ppg. 
• The freshmen class is led by Nigel Burris, a three-star (247 Sports) forward from San Francisco, Calif. Burriss is joined by Mikhail Abdul-Hamid (St. Louis, Mo.) Tyler Halligan (Green, Ohio) and Titus Yearout (Lapwai, Idaho). 
• Other returners include Michael Hanshaw (Sr., Moorpark, Calif.), Jack Hatten (R-Fr., Bakersfield, Calif.) and RJ Walker (R-Fr., Decatur, Ill.). 

Scouting the Pioneers 

• Denver went 11-22 last season and 7-11 in the Summit League. The Pioneers fell in the quarterfinals to North Dakota State, 82-62. 
• Denver was picked fifth in the Summit League preseason poll with 432 total points - the highest spot in the poll since 2018. 
• The Pioneers return 2022-23 Preseason All-Summit League Team member Tevin Smith. The second-year guard averaged 10.4 points per game and shot an efficient 54.3 percent from the field. 

Up Next
Idaho returns to the Palouse on Thursday, Nov. 10 for its home opener against Walla Walla. Action is set to get underway at 6 p.m. on ESPN+

Tickets
Single-game and season tickets are available now. For more information, call the Vandal ticket office at (208) 885-6466 or visit GoVandals.com/tickets. 

Follow
Fans can follow the Vandals all season long on Twitter and Instagram, @VandalHoops, and with the Voice of the Vandals, Chris King, at GoVandals.com/Listen. All home and conference contests will be streamed live through ESPN+.

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