Idaho and Eastern Washington Set for Saturday Tip in Cheney

The Vandals ride two-game win streak into matchup at EWU.

MOSCOW, Idaho – Idaho men's basketball (9-14, 3-7 Big Sky) makes its second run through league play and wraps up a four-game road stretch when the team travels to face Eastern Washington (15-8, 9-1 Big Sky). The Vandals and Eagles meet for the second time in less than a month on Saturday, February 10 for a doubleheader with women's basketball at Reese Court.

Saturday's action gets underway with the Vandal women at 2 p.m. PST before the Vandal men take the court for a 4:30 p.m. tip. SWX features the television broadcast, with Austin Getz (play-by-play) and Marc Axton (color) on the call.

How to Follow
Idaho vs. Eastern Washington // Feb. 10 at 4:30 p.m.
Watch: SWX // ESPN+
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Listen: The Varsity Network or GoVandals.com/Listen

Last Time Out
The Vandals went 2-1 in a three-game road stretch that lasted over five days and delivered two consecutive conference wins away from Moscow for the first time since 2017-18. Idaho dropped a close meeting to Montana (70-73) before defeating third-ranked Montana State (81-75) and Sacramento State (61-45).

Idaho continued its impressive offensive efficiency against Sac State, shooting above 50 percent for the third straight game with a 54 percent (22-41) clip from the field. The Vandals led for over 36 minutes and held a 21-point advantage at one point.

Three Vandals scored in double figures, including a game-high 15 points from EJ Neal. The San Francisco native tied his season-high point total, while also shooting 5-of-7 from the field and forcing two steals.

Kyson Rose scored in double figures for the second consecutive game with 14 points on a 4 for 5 clip from the field. Rose added three rebounds and tied for a team-high in assists with four. Fellow frontcourt teammate Julius Mims posted another strong effort on both ends of the floor, posting 10 points, eight rebounds, two blocks and two steals.

Series History vs. The Eagles

The first meeting between the two regional rivals dates back to the 1905-06 season. Idaho owns a 59-38 overall record.
Idaho holds the longest win streak in the series, earning 22 consecutive victories between 1986 and 1996.
Since rejoining the Big Sky in 2014-15, the Vandals are 7-14 over the past 21 meetings versus the Eagles. Eastern has been dominant on their home court over that span, winning seven of nine games in Cheney.

First Time Around vs. EWU

Eastern Washington earned a 79-58 road win at the ICCU Arena on Jan. 13.
Two Vandals scored in double figures, led by Quinn Denker scoring a team-high 16 points. Mims was another key contributor with 13 points and five rebounds.
The first half saw 12 lead changes and six ties as EWU held a four-point advantage (31-27) at the half. Idaho kept it to a one-possession game with 13 minutes remaining but the Eagles used a 19-6 run and a 13-6 spurt to put the game out of reach.

Vandal Notables

After two straight wins, the ninth-ranked Vandals are two games out of entering the top 5 in the Big Sky Conference standings.
Idaho held Sacramento State to 45 points, which is the fewest allowed against a Division 1 opponent since 2015-2016 (Southern Utah, 44 points).
UI is finding success scoring the basketball as of late, shooting 50 percent or better in three consecutive conference road games for the first time since at least the 2004-05 season.
It was also a successful night from the foul line at Sac State, as the Vandals made all 12 of their free throws. This is the first time a Vandal team has gone perfect (Min. 10 FTM) from the charity stripe since the 2020-21 season (vs. Montana State, 15-15).
Idaho's 81-75 road win over Montana State was the first time the Vandals won in Bozeman since February 5, 2015.
Idaho ranks third in the Big Sky in bench points, scoring 23.6 per game. The Vandal second unit scored the most points in a conference game this season with 30 against Sacramento State.
Julius Mims tied a season-high with 14 rebounds against Montana State. He also posted 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting to post his fifth double-double of the season.
Mims ranks first in the Big Sky in blocks (38), second in blocks per game (1.7), fourth in double doubles, and fifth in rebounds per game (7.3), defensive rebounds (5.3) and offensive rebounds (2.0).
The Billings native has been a force protecting the rim, posting two or more blocks in 12 games and at least three blocks in five games.
Guard Quinn Denker leads the Vandals in scoring in conference play, averaging 13.4 points per game. At Montana last week, Denker posted 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting to notch his third game of 20 or more points.
Not only is Denker an effective scorer, but he's also been Idaho's best passer. He has dished out the sixth most assists in the Big Sky at 78 and the eighth-best assist per game average at 3.4.
Terren Frank has scored in double figures in three of the last five games. Frank is averaging 10 ppg over that span before previously averaging 4.4 over the last eight games.
Forward Kyson Rose scored 13 and 14 points in back-to-back games against Montana State and Sacramento State. The Kennewick, Wash. native missed just three shots for a 75 percent (9-12) average from the field.

Up Next
The Vandals make a return to their home court next week when Weber State and Idaho State visit Moscow. The week gets started with a Thursday, Feb. 15 matchup against the Wildcats before a Saturday, Feb. 17 meeting against the Bengals.

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