Idaho (12-9, 4-4) vs. Northern Arizona (8-14, 2-7)

• Findlay Toyota Court (7,000) | Flagstaff, Ariz.

• 5 PM PT: Tip-off on ESPN+

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

• Live Stats

• Game Notes

MOSCOW, Idaho – Following a tight loss on Thursday against Northern Colorado, Idaho looks to bounce back at Northern Arizona on Saturday evening as the Vandals continue their four-game road trip. The game is set to begin at 5 p.m. PT, and will air on ESPN+, the Vandal Radio Network, and the Varsity Network app. 

Northern Arizona lost all-time talents Trenton McLaughlin and Carson Towt, talents who are hard to replace. The Lumberjacks consequently struggled out of the game to the tune of an 8-14 record, but have played some of their most complete basketball over the last few weeks. They notched their first two conference wins of the year over Northern Colorado last Saturday and Eastern Washington on Thursday, winning a pair of tight contests against teams who are known to be much more talented than their records would suggest.  

R-Sophomore Forward Zack Davidson has been NAU's strongest scorer, averaging 14.0 PPG off a nearly 62% shooting clip. The Mater Dei alum also grabs the third-most boards at 4.8, behind Traivar Jackson and Ryan Abelman, who average 5.5 and 5.2, respectively. Freshman Brennan Peterson has been, far and away, the 'Jacks most lethal threat from the arc, knocking down 31 of his 60 attempts (51.7%) in his first collegiate season.

UI has found recent success in Flagstaff, beating the Jacks' on their home court in each of their last three trips to the City in the Pines, including a five-point win last February. Idaho holds a 45-31 edge in the series, which dates back to 1965, and saw the Vandals win the first four meetings between the two squads in the mid 1960s. 

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.

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 17 points to hit 500.

• 1000: Senior forward Brody Rowbury is closing in on 1,000 career points in his final collegiate season. With 965 under his belt so far, he needs 35 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.

• 15: Kolton Mitchell has put up double-figures in 15 of Idaho's 21 games so far.

• 20: Biko Johnson has put up 20 or more points in seven games this season. The Vandals are 6-1 when he crosses that threshold.

• 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 week with a trip to the Treasure State, traveling to Montana State on Feb. 5 and Montana on Feb. 7. 

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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