MOSCOW, Idaho - Idaho men's basketball (11-20, 5-13 BSC) enters postseason action as the No. 9 seed at the 2024 Big Sky Championships in Boise, Idaho this weekend. The Vandals are set to face the tenth-seeded Sacramento State Hornets in the first round on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. PT inside the Idaho Central Arena.

The winner of Saturday's contest will face the first-place Eastern Washington Eagles in the quarterfinals on Sunday, March 10, at 4:30 p.m. PT.




How to Follow 
Idaho vs. Sacramento State // March 9 at 4:30 p.m. PST
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Listen: The Varsity Network or GoVandals.com/Listen
Tickets: Big Sky Tournament Tickets

Big Sky Championship History

• The Vandals will make their 27th appearance at the Big Sky Tournament, holding a 17-22 overall mark dating back to 1980-81
• The Vandals are 2-9 in Big Sky Tournament games since rejoining the conference in 2014-15.
• The Big Sky Tournament was relocated to Boise in 2019. Idaho is 0-5 in the Treasure Valley since the move.
• The Vandals have appeared in six Big Sky Tournament Championship games with a 4-2 record. Idaho's last tournament title came in 1990 when they defeated Eastern Washington 65-62 on March 10. On March 15, the Vandals faced Louisville in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Salt Lake City, Utah, where Louisville earned a 78-59 victory.

Scouting the Hornets

• Sacramento State completed the regular season in last place in the Big Sky Conference with an 8-23 overall record and a 4-14 Big Sky mark.
• The Hornets rebuilt this year with 11 newcomers under second-year head coach, David Patrick.
• Sacramento State takes control of the glass with the Big Sky's highest rebound margin (6.8) and most offensive rebounds per game (11.90). They stand at second in the league grabbing 35.84 rebounds per game. 
• Forward Duncan Powell leads the team in total field goals (130), rebounds (203), and free throws made (76). The sophomore also averages a team-best 12.1 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.
• Zee Hamoda is the only other Hornet scoring in double figures at 11.8 per game.
• Six players average at least 20 minutes of action while scoring the conference's third-most bench points at 23.2.

Series History

• Idaho leads the all-time series 24-11 against Sacramento State, dating back to 1968-69. 
• The Vandals are winners of the past three meetings, including a regular season sweep in 2023-24. Idaho earned a 61-58 win in Moscow on Dec. 28 before posting a 61-45 road victory on Feb. 5.  
• The two programs will meet in the postseason for just the second time this Saturday. Sacramento State edged out the Vandals by a score of 57-54 at the Big Sky Tournament in 2022. Idaho associate head coach Brandon Laird served as the Hornets' interim head coach in the March 9th meeting.   

Vandal Tidbits

• Idaho held Sacramento State to 45 points in their February 5 meeting, which is the fewest allowed against a Division 1 opponent since 2015-2016 (Southern Utah, 44 points). The defensive intensity for the Vandals was on full display right out of the gate, as the Vandals held the Hornets to 20 first-half points - the lowest number of points allowed in an opening half since Feb. 3, 2018 (Sac State) 
• In the first time around on Dec. 28, 2023 against Sac State, the Vandals' held the Hornets to 58 points.
• Idaho's win over Sac State in the Big Sky opener marked the first victory in a conference opener since 2017-18 (vs. North Dakota, 74-57) and first home win in a conference opener since 2014-15. (vs. Idaho State, 77-54).
• 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.
• Quinn Denker leads the Vandals in scoring in conference play, averaging 13.6 points per game. Denker has scored 10 or more in 21 games and 15 or more in 10 games this season.
• Not only is Denker an effective scorer, but he's also been Idaho's best passer. He has dished out 115 assists and averaged 3.7 per game ranking seventh and eighth in the conference, respectively.
• After his first-half rejection at Portland State on March 4, Mims has now totaled 46 blocks on the season, passing Frank Waters and Deon Watson for the seventh most in a Vandals' single season. Waters and Watson both recorded 45 of their own in the 1991-92 season. The junior has posted two or more blocks in 15 games and at least three blocks in six games this year.
• Amongst Big Sky players this season, Mims is rated in the top 10 in total blocks (2nd, 46), blocks per game (2nd, 1.48), total rebounds (4th, 222), rebounds per game (5th, 7.2), defensive rebounds per game (4th 5.39), and double-doubles (8th, 5).
• The Vandals shot 46.1 (19-of-41) percent from the field at Portland State, which marks the 14th time this season an Idaho team has shot 45 percent or better in a single game. 
• Mims and Denker have started all 31 games for the Vandals in 2023-24. Both have played no less than 16 minutes in a contest.
• Idaho ranks fourth in the Big Sky in free throw percentage, drilling 73 percent of their shots from the foul line. D'Angelo Minnis leads the squad at the charity stripe making 34 of his 36 attempts for 94.4 percent. The Idaho single-season record (minimum of 50 attempts) is held by Dale James who completed 92.4 percent of his free throws in 1959-60. Montana State's Brian Goracke holds a league-best 87.5 percent mark. 
• With their victory at Northern Arizona on February 24, Idaho has their most wins in a season (11) since 2017-18. It also marks the most conference road wins (5) since 2017-18. 
• The Vandals' 86 points in their victory at NAU on February 24, were the most against a D-1 opponent this season and their most on the road since beating NAU 88-83 last year on January 19. They are 6-0 when scoring at least 80 points this year. They also recorded a 30-of-63 clip from the field making them 5–0 when completing at least 30 field goals.

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