MOSCOW, Idaho - The Idaho men's basketball team (11-17, 5-10 BSC) hosts its final home games of the 2023-24 regular season, welcoming Montana State and Montana with just over a week before the 2024 Big Sky Championships in Boise, Idaho. The Vandals look to complete their season sweep over the Montana State Bobcats on Thursday, February 29 at 6 p.m. before facing the Montana Grizzlies on Saturday, March 2 at 2 p.m. for Senior Day. 





How to Follow 
Idaho vs. Montana State // Feb. 29 at 6 p.m. PST
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: SIDEARM Live Stats
Listen: The Varsity Network or GoVandals.com/Listen
Tickets: GoVandals.com/Tickets

Idaho vs. Montana // Mar. 2 at 2 p.m. PST
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: SIDEARM Live Stats
Listen: The Varsity Network or GoVandals.com/Listen
Tickets: GoVandals.com/Tickets

Idaho vs. Portland State // Mar. 4 at 7 p.m. PST
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: StatbBroadcast
Listen: The Varsity Network or GoVandals.com/Listen

Last Time Out
The Vandals erased a 15-point deficit to comeback and defeat Northern Arizona, 86-76 on Saturday afternoon in the Walkup Skydome. The 11th win marks the most in a single season for the Vandals since 2017-18. Quinn Denker was an all-around performer with 20 points, seven assists, and seven rebounds in his fifth 20-point effort of the season.

Julius Mims continued his dominance on both ends of the floor with 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting, two blocks, and one steal. EJ Neal scored in double figures for the fifth time this season with 14 points.
Idaho's second unit stepped up to contribute 30 points from four players.

Freshman Takai Hardy became the 11th Vandal to score in double figures this season after posting 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting off the bench. Terren Frank added eight points and a team-high eight rebounds while Kristian Gonzalez notched eight of his own, shooting a perfect 3 for 3 from the field. Titus Yearout scored four with a block to round out the bench scoring.

It was all NAU over the first 12 minutes of action as the Lumberjacks scored the first eight points of the game that later on led to a 31-16 advantage with 8:48 to go in the first half. 

Gonzalez landed one of his two-made threes to help bring it back within single digits. From there, Idaho scored five of the next six baskets to even the score at 38-38 with 2:04 remaining, credited by an 11-2 Vandal run. Hardy knocked down a jumper from the top of the key to give the Vandals their first lead of the game and go into halftime up, 42-40.

In the second 20 minutes of action, neither team was able to gain complete control, as both teams traded baskets and stops during a 19-minute stretch that included seven ties and six lead changes.

With the score even at 68-68, the Vandals used a 9-2 run to build the separation they needed and make it a seven-point game (77-70) with one minute remaining. Idaho finished the job at the foul line, scoring nine more points to earn an 86-76 road win.

Vandal Tidbits

• The Vandals host Montana State on February 29, a day that only occurs every four years. Idaho has played six times on a Leap Day in its 119-year history, holding a 1-5 record. The last win came in 1928 at Gonzaga by a margin of 32-21. Harold Stowell scored a game-high 10 points.
• The Vandals will honor their lone senior, D'Angelo Minnis, before tip-off versus Montana on Saturday. In the past fifteen years, Idaho is 13-2 on Senior Day.
• With their victory at Northern Arizona, Idaho has their most wins in a season (11) since 2017-18. The road victory also marks the most conference road wins since 2017-18. 
• The squad's 86 points are the most against a D-1 opponent this season. They are now 6-0 when scoring at least 80 points in a game. It is also the most points scored in a road contest since their 88-83 win at NAU, on January 19th of last year.  
• The Vandals' outrebounded the 'Jacks 40-34 moving to 9-4 when out-rebounding opponents and 3-0 when grabbing at least 40 boards this year.
• Following his performance in Flagstaff, Quinn Denker became the first Vandal to record at least 20 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists in a game against a Division 1 opponent since at least the 1998-99 season.
• Denker leads the Vandals in scoring in conference play, averaging 14.5 points per game. Denker has scored 10 or more in 20 games and 15 or more in 10 games this season.
• Idaho moves to 2-0 against opponents who beat the first-place Big Sky team in their previous game. Montana travels to face the first-place Eagles of Eastern Washington prior to visiting the Vandals in Moscow on Saturday.
• With two blocks against Northern Arizona, Julius Mims has now totaled 44 on the season, passing Raymond Brown (1987-88, 43) for the ninth most in a single season from a Vandal. At least four games remain in the 2023-24 season and Mims is on pace to enter the top 5 and pass former Vandal great Kyle Barone (50, 2011-12). The junior has posted two or more blocks in 15 games and at least three blocks in six games. 
• Amongst Big Sky players this season, Mims is rated in the top 10 in rebounding (4th, 7.3), blocks per game (2nd, 1.57), total blocks (2nd, 44), offensive rebounds (6th, 1.89), defensive rebounds (5th 5.43), and double-doubles (6th, 5).
• Not only is Denker an effective scorer, but he's also been Idaho's best passer. He has dished out 105 assists and averaged 3.8 per game - both marks rank sixth in the Big Sky.
• Freshman guard Kristian Gonzalez has stepped up shooting 52.6% off of the bench in the last three contests.
• After 1,442 days and seven winless contests later, the Idaho Vandals came out on top over their in-state rival Idaho State, 55-53 at home to increase their series lead to 66-54 overall. 
• The five steals recorded by Julius Mims against Idaho State were the most by an Idaho player against a Division 1 opponent since Rashad Smith in 2023 (5). The output was also good enough for the third most in a Big Sky game this year (6, Robert Ford lll). 
• Mims has tallied 14 rebounds in games against St. Thomas, Montana State and Idaho State. He became the first Vandal player to grab at least 14 rebounds in three different games in a single season since BJ Blake (2017-18). His 14 rebounds in the two conference games also rank second most in a Big Sky game this season, right behind Dillon Jones and Laolu Oke (15). 
• Idaho's 81-75 road win over Montana State was the first time the Vandals won in Bozeman since February 5, 2015.

Scouting Montana State

• The Bobcats are currently in sixth place in the Big Sky Conference at 12-16 overall, and 7-8 in league play.
• Montana State opened Big Sky play at 6-3. They've since lost five of their last six beginning with a 75-81 loss to the Vandals on February 3 in Bozeman. The 'Cats posted a -9.8 rebound margin across that six-game stretch. They hold the second-lowest rebound margin in the conference at -5.4.
• Five Bobcats post at least 10 points per game, led by Robert Ford III who averages 15.3, the sixth highest in the Big Sky. Ford also grabs 7.9 rebounds per game, the third-most in the conference.
• Montana State shoots 35.6% beyond the arc, only trailing Eastern Washington who posts a league-best 37.2%.

Series History

• Idaho is in search of its first season sweep over the Bobcats since the 2014-15 season. Idaho earned an 80-71 win over the Bobcats on Feb. 5 in Bozeman before earning an 80-73 victory in Memorial Gym on Feb. 28.
• Idaho is 53-70 all-time against Montana State.
• The two teams split the season series in 2022-23, both earning a win in their home gym
• Idaho beat MSU in Bozeman, 81-75, on Feb. 3
• Idaho shot 54.4% from the field while Julius Mims had game-highs in points (15) and rebounds (14). Idaho scored 16 second-chance points and 17 points off of turnovers.

Scouting Montana

• The Grizzlies hold the Big Sky's best overall record of 19-9 but stand in second place with a conference record of 10-5.
• Montana boasts a three-game win streak heading to Eastern Washington on Thursday. They face the first-place Eagles whom they lost to 65-78 at Dahlberg Arena in Missoula on February 3.
• The Grizzlies rank fifth in the nation and first in the conference shooting 79.4% from the free-throw line, just 2.4% behind the nation's leading mark of 81.8% held by Villanova.
• The Grizzlies take care of the rock ranking first in the conference in assist/turnover ratio (1.55) and turnovers committed per game (9.8).
• Senior guard Brandon Whitney posts a league-best assist/turnover ratio of 3.26.
• Whitney also dishes 4.4 assists per game with a season total of 124, ranking fifth and fourth in the Big Sky, respectively.
• Aanen Moody has scored at least 20 points in eight games for the Grizzlies. Moody scored a career-high 36 points on 13-of-19 shooting at North Dakota State on January 3rd. His 13 makes are tied for the most field goals in a game by a Big Sky player this season.
• Redshirt senior forward Laolu Oke grabs a league-leading 2.93 offensive rebounds per game with a team-high 7.3 boards per game.

Series History

• Idaho and Montana meet for the 206th time. The Vandals lead 112-93. 
• Idaho is 1-9 in the last 10 meetings. The Vandals' lone win came on February 17th, 2022 at home, 82-76.
• Montana beat Idaho, 73-70, on February 1 at Dahlberg Arena.

Up Next
The Vandals conclude regular season play and complete their second round of three game stretches over the span of five days when the team travels to face Portland State on Monday, March 4 at 7 p.m. PST. 

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