It is common to overlook an opponent with one league win, but when the Idaho men’s basketball team meets San Jose State in both teams’ regular season finale, the stakes will be raised for a showdown that could determine a lot prior to the annual WAC tournament.
The Vandals (16-12, 7-5 WAC) have yet to forgive the Spartans (9-19, 1-11 WAC) for causing Idaho’s first-round exit in last year’s conference tournament.
One of the WAC’s youngest and least experienced teams, San Jose State maintains a starting line-up comprised of two freshmen, one sophomore, one junior and one senior. Despite its inexperience, the potential and talent of such a youthful team have made their mark on the WAC this season.
After losing one of the nation’s most prolific scorers in Adrian Oliver and another all-WAC honoree in Justin Graham, the Spartans have hopped on the back of senior forward and Pocatello, native Wil Carter, who is the conference’s No. 4 rebounder with 8.4 per game.
Though he was only mediocre in Idaho’s 74-66 win over San Jose State Jan. 26, guard James Kinney has emerged as a natural scorer. The junior was most impressive though, in the Spartans’ 76-60 home loss to Nevada Feb. 11. Kinney’s 15.8 points per game average is No. 4 in the WAC while sophomore Keith Shamburger’s 13.3 isn’t far behind.
Idaho dominated the battle of the bigs in the teams’ last affair, something sophomore Stephen Madison said was crucial last time around.
“We have bigger players but we’re also quicker and we get those rebounds so that’s a key against them, especially because they’re a scrappy team,” Madison said.
Madison was a dependable shooter as a freshman on last year’s Vandal squad but has developed into a reliable defender, as well as a key component of Idaho coach Don Verlin’s defensive schemes.
“I’ve gotten a lot more skill down there especially playing against some of the bigger players, not playing the post last year and now I’m playing more of the four and three at the same time,” Madison said. “I’ve always known how to play the post, played it in high school being one of the tallest players there.”
Verlin labeled this San Jose State team “scary” prior to the teams’ last match-up, and the “scrappy” Spartans have shown promise from 3-point range at times, which may be their biggest threat.
“I think we’ll prepare for them a lot like we did the first time,” said UI junior Mike McChristian. “They’re a shooter’s chance team, meaning that if you’re giving them the chance to hit the open shot and giving them open looks they can be right there with you.”
A loss at Utah State Feb. 24 snapped Idaho’s five-game win streak but McChristian said it didn’t affect the team’s momentum or chemistry heading into the Vandals’ final road trip.
“I would say that it was more of a reality check for us but I don’t think it necessarily means we have to regress from that,” McChristian said. “I think it means we can get better because by losing that game it put it into perspective that we still have a bunch of things we can work on.”
Tipoff at the San Jose State Event Center is at 7 p.m. Saturday. The game could influence where the Vandals are seeded in next week’s WAC Tournament, which also depends on how Idaho fared in Thursday night’s game at Hawaii. If the Vandals won at Hawaii they guaranteed a No. 3 seed in the tournament but losses in Honolulu and San Jose could drop them to a No. 4 or 5 seed.