MOSCOW – The Idaho men's basketball team finishes out their regular-season road schedule when the team heads to face Sacramento State and Northern Colorado this week. The Vandals match up against the Hornets on Thursday, Feb. 24 (7 p.m.) before finishing out the week against the Bears on Saturday, Feb. 26 (5 p.m. PT). 

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Idaho vs. Northern Colorado // Feb. 26 at 5 p.m. PT
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The Vandals are getting hot at the right time leading up to the Big Sky Tournament next month, as Idaho has reeled off three-straight wins over top-6 teams in the league. UI finds themselves tied for the eighth spot with Northern Arizona in the conference standings entering the week after the Vandals grabbed a pair of wins over Montana (82-76) and Eastern Washington (83-30) last week. UI snapped a five-game losing streak and earned the program's first win over the Grizzlies since the 2017-18 season in last Thursday's win. 

Saturday's victory over EWU marks the third consecutive game Idaho has shot at least 50 percent from the field. The Vandals move to 6-0 overall when shooting 50 percent or better from the floor. 

The Vandals fought back from an early 14 point deficit to end Eastern Washington's three-game winning streak. Idaho shot 54.4 percent and outscored Eastern Washington 40-38 in the paint. 

Five Vandals scored in double figures, including a career-high 22 points from Rashad Smith. Smith followed up Thursday night's 4 for 5 shooting performance with an 8-of-10 effort from the floor and 5 for 5 mark from behind the 3-point line. 

Tanner Christensen enjoyed one of his best games in a Vandal uniform with a personal best 18 points on 5-of-6 from the field while Trevante Anderson added an all-around performance of 15 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Mikey Dixon pitched in 13 points and Philip Pepple Jr. scored 10 points in 13 minutes of action. 

Smith's performances in the two games against Montana and Eastern Washington earned him Big Sky Co-Player of the Week honors, becoming the first Vandal since BJ Blake (01/22/2018) to win the weekly award. He averaged 20 points a game, 4.5 rebounds and shot 80 percent from the field to receive the honor. 

A LOOK AT THE VANDALS: Idaho is 8-18 on the season and 5-11 in conference action. The Silver and Gold hold the longest active winning streak in the Big Sky, with wins over their last three games. The Vandals have enjoyed playing on their home court, especially of late, winning four of their last five games at ICCU Arena. The team looks to snap a three-game skid on the road this week and pick up its second win of the season over Sacramento State.
 
On the season, the Vandals are averaging 73.8 points per game which is the sixth-best in the league. The Vandals have scored at least 80 points on nine occasions this season and held opponents to 70 points or fewer four times. As a team, UI is shooting 44.2 percent from the floor and 37.4 percent from three. The 3-point mark is the third highest in the conference. 
  
Senior Mikey Dixon is averaging a team-high 17 points per game on 44.7 percent from the field, 42.4 percent from three, and 86.3 percent from the foul line. The New Castle, Del. native holds the second-best free throw percentage in the conference and is ranked 13th in the nation with 138 makes at the line. Dixon averages the fifth-best mark in conference games at 18.1 ppg.  

Backcourt teammate Trevante Anderson is second on the team in ppg with 13.8 ppg. He is playing his best basketball of late, averaging 17.4 points over the last nine contests. Not only has Anderson scored the ball at a high rate, but he has also set up his open teammates, averaging a team-best 3.7 assists a game.

Junior transfer Rashad Smith topped his career-high in back-to-back games to increase his scoring average to 10.2 ppg. Before the last two games versus Montana and EWU, Smith was shooting 27 percent from the floor in the last four games. The combo guard ended the cold streak last week, making 80 percent of his shots and only missing three out of 15 shots in the two games (UM, EWU). Smith has scored in double figures 14 times this year. Behind the 3-point line is where he has been on point, knocking down a team-best 44 percent of his shots from three which includes a perfect 5 for 5 effort against Eastern Washington last Saturday. 

Three Vandals pull down at least four rebounds a game, including a team-high 6.1 from Tanner Christensen. Smith is second on the team with 5.4 rebounds while Anderson posts 4.9 per game. 

SCOUTING THE HORNETS: Sacramento State is 7-16 overall and 3-13 in conference play. The Hornets have lost four of their last five games, including four straight home losses. They carry a 3-8 overall home record. Most recently, Sac State split a pair of road games against Weber State (65-50) and Idaho State (80-75).
  
The Hornets rank last in the Big Sky in scoring at 64.1 ppg while holding teams to the third-lowest mark at 70.7 ppg on the defensive end. They have been the best in the conference at taking care of the ball and not fouling, ranking first in fewest fouls (395) and fewest turnovers (273).

Offensively, the Hornets have two players that score in double figures, including a team-high 17.5 ppg from Bryce Fowler. The scoring average ranks fourth highest amongst conference players. Zach Chappell is Sac State's second-leading scorer at 11.3 ppg. 
 
SERIES HISTORY VS SAC STATE: Idaho leads the all-time series 21-8 against Sacramento State. The Vandals are 6-4 in the last 10 games against the Hornets. The two teams faced off back on Jan. 22 at ICCU Arena, where Idaho outlasted Sac State 73-72 in overtime.

SCOUTING THE BEARS: UNC is 16-12 with an 11-5 record in conference action. The Bears hold an 8-3 home record, winning its last three games in Greeley. Northern Colorado has been hot of late with wins in six of their past seven games, including most recently grabbing a 77-70 victory over Idaho State this Monday.
  
The Bears are averaging the second-most points per game on the offensive end at 78 points while their defense allows 75.9 a game. UNC ranks first in multiple statistical categories in the league, including field goal percentage (47.7), three-point field goal percentage (38.4) and total 3-point makes (291). They also defend the rim at a high level, ranking second in total blocks with 83. 

Northern Colorado's offense is led by Big Sky leading scorer Daylen Kountz, who is scoring 20.7 points per game - the 12th highest mark in the nation. Three other players record double-digit scoring efforts per game, with Matt Johnson ll adding 13.1 ppg. Sharpshooter Dru Kuxhausen posts 11.9 points per contest on 44 percent from three while Bodie Hume pitches in 11.3. 

SERIES HISTORY VS NORTHERN COLORADO: Idaho is 4-9 all-time against the Bears with the two programs first meeting in the 2014-15 season. The Vandals will look to snap a nine-game losing streak to Northern Colorado dating back to the 2017 season. Last time out, Northern Colorado earned a victory over Idaho, 87-70 on Jan. 20 in Moscow.  

NEXT UP: Idaho finishes out the regular season at home with a pair of games at ICCU Arena against Portland State and Northern Arizona. The Vandals will first host the Vikings on Mar. 3 (6 p.m.) before taking on the Lumberjacks on Mar. 5 at 2 p.m. for Senior Night.

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