Idaho (12-7, 4-2) vs. Portland State (12-5, 6-0)

• ICCU Arena (4,200) | Moscow, Idaho

• 2 p.m. PT: Tip-off on ESPN+

• Listen: Vandal Radio Network | The Varsity Network App (Dennis Patchin)

• Live Stats

• Tickets

• Game Notes

MOSCOW, Idaho – Following one of their strongest shooting performances of the conference season against Sacramento State, the Vandals turn their attention to conference leaders Portland State, who enter Saturday's contest in the Palouse with a 6-0 Big Sky record, the best in school history. Tip-off for Saturday's conference clash is set for 2 P.M. PT, and the game will air on ESPN+, the Vandal Radio Network, and the Varsity Network.

"Yeah, it's the big three again," Coach Pribble said of Portland State in his postgame press conference Thursday. "Coach [Jase] Coburn is doing a great job keeping his group together. Jaylin Henderson, Terri Miller Jr., and [Tre-Vaughn] Minott are all very good players, and they're very similar to last year. The difference is Terri Miller is shooting the heck out of the basketball right now, where he wasn't really able to shoot last year. So last year we really collapsed the paint, and made him shoot the ball from the perimeter. So, we'll dig into the scout tomorrow and find a way to create an advantage for our guys, but it's going to be a big challenge."

A big challenge indeed, as Saturday's contest will be the only matchup of top-four teams in the Big Sky standings. The series of UI vs. PSU has been tabbed as must-see action since before the season tipped off. The Vandals and Vikings were picked fourth and second, respectively, in the league preseason polls and received a combined 15 first-place votes between the coaches and media rankings. In anticipation of a contest between two of the top projected teams in the Big Sky, the Feb. 19 faceoff between Idaho and Portland State will be featured on ESPNU, the first Idaho regular season game to appear on a linear ESPN channel since the 2010-11 season.

Portland State narrowly beat Eastern Washington in Cheney on Thursday, 65-61, behind 22 points from preseason all-conference selection Terri Miller Jr. Miller Jr. is the lone member of PSU's "three-headed monster" to not earn a Big Sky Player of the Week award this season, even as the senior forward averages a conference-leading 19.1 points and 6.4 rebounds a night, while shooting over 54% from the field. 

Tre-Vaughn Minott and Jaylin Henderson, the other two members of the Vikings' dynamic trio, are having banner years of their own, each averaging north of 11 points a game and proving to be effective defensive threats. Minott ranks third in the Big Sky in defensive rebounds and blocks per game, and Henderson is second in steals per contest. 

As a team, the Vikings are 6-0 in league play for the first time in school history under fifth-year head man Jase Coburn, and have used their conference-leading size throughout the season to shut down opposing offenses, leading the Big Sky in blocks per game and defensive field goal percentage. PSU holds teams to an effective field goal percentage of just 47.8, a top-50 mark nationally. 

Saturday will mark the 43rd meeting between the Vandals and Vikings. Portland State swept Idaho in the 2025 regular season, before the Black and Gold took victory when it mattered most, beating PSU 80-70 in the third round of Starch Madness. Even with the Vandals' win in March, Portland State still holds a seven-game winning streak in the series, with Idaho's last regular-season win against them coming in January of 2022 and UI's last victory in Moscow against the Vikings coming in 2019. 

IDAHO NOTES

• Idaho features five players on the roster that hail from the Gem State for the first time since the 1971-72 season

  • Brody Rowbury (Meridian), Jack Payne (Boise), Titus Yearout (Lapwai), Kolton Mitchell (Coeur D'Alene), and Jackson Rasmussen (Meridian)

• Idaho's February 19, 2026 game at Portland State was selected to air on ESPNU as part of the Big Sky's distribution deal with the Worldwide Leader in Sports.

  • This will mark the first time the Vandal men have had a regular season game appear on a linear ESPN channel since the 2010-11 season.

• Idaho has found points from its entire roster this season with four or more Vandals finishing in double-figures in 11 of 19 games so far.

NUMBERS TO KNOW

• 120: The 2025-26 season marks the 120th year of Idaho men's basketball. In the first 119 seasons, the Vandals won five conference titles, made four NCAA tournament appearances, and had five All-American players.

• 100: All season long, Idaho Basketball is remembering the life and legacy of the legendary Vandal, Don Monson. Monson was a three-time basketball letterman as a student, but his biggest honor was as head basketball coach from 1978 to 1983, where he led the Vandals to a Sweet Sixteen appearance and earned 100 wins over five seasons

• 5: Five Idaho natives are on this season's roster, the most since the 1971-72 season

• 60: Idaho's streak of games with 5+ made threes came to an end vs. Montana, having previously accomplished the feat in 60 straight contests.

• 137: Idaho was 137th in the Dec. 8 NET rankings, the highest mark in program history since the rankings debuted in time for the 2018-19 season.

• 5: Following Kolton Mitchell's 14-point performance against Eastern Oregon, five Vandals have now crossed over the 500-point mark in their careers (Mitchell, Kristian Gonzalez, Brody Rowbury, Biko Johnson, Isaiah Brickner)

  • Jack Payne is also rapidly approaching this milestone, needing 32 points to hit 500.

• 1000: Senior forward Brody Rowbury is closing in on 1,000 career points in his final collegiate season. With 952 under his belt so far, he needs 48 to hit that margin.

  • Rowbury would be the first to hit that milestone in Black and Gold since Kyson Rose did the same in the 2024-25 season. 

• 4: Idaho's preseason ranking in both Big Sky Preseason Polls, its highest since 2017

• 62.7: The Vandals return the most minutes in the Big Sky, with three out of their five most common starters staying in Moscow for the 2025-26 season

• 14: Head Coach Alex Pribble led Idaho to 14 regular season wins last year, the most since the 2017-18 season.

• 2: Two of Idaho's regular season games are set to take place in Boise this season, the first time the Vandals will play a regular contest in the state capital since the fall of 2018

• 308: The 2024-25 Vandals relied heavily on play from beyond the arc, setting a new school record for made triples at 308.

• 10: Idaho is averaging 10.6 made threes per contest, a top-25 mark in the nation. 

• 21: The Vandals earned the program's largest comeback win of the 21st century vs. Montana State in January, trailing by 21 points just before halftime and coming back to win 92-89 at the final buzzer.

UP NEXT

Idaho's Big Sky slate will continue next weekend with games against Northern Colorado and Northern Arizona on Thursday, January 29 and Saturday, January 31. 

TICKETS 

Season tickets are on sale now! For more information, call the Vandal ticket office at (208) 885-6466 or visit govandals.com/tickets. 

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