They’ll go into the holiday break with eight games under their belt, and come out of it with another six. Idaho men’s basketball will conclude non-conference play against bitter rival Boise State and open up conference play five days later at Seattle U.
Here’s a look at the Vandals’ holiday break opponents.
@UTEP- Dec. 8
A program that was once known as Texas Western, when it won its only national championship, doesn’t have quite the prestige it once did. UTEP’s 2-4 record still may not be a fair reflection of its talent. The Miners’ four-game losing streak began against then No. 12 Arizona, then continued in games against Oklahoma, Clemson and Vanderbilt. They did manage to beat defending WAC champion New Mexico State, something Idaho coach Don Verlin must be weary of. UTEP’s scoring is balanced with two players averaging 11 points-per-game, two averaging seven points-per-game and two more averaging five-per-game.
vs. Walla Walla University- Dec. 15
One of Idaho’s two home games in the month of December, expect this one to be a cakewalk. The NAIA Wolves have just one win in 15 tries, against mostly NAIA opposition. Don Verlin should be able to experiment quite a bit here but these are also the kinds of games that heavy underdogs view as a chance to better their programs. Still, if this isn’t a 20 or 30-point win, it could be a disappointment for the Vandals.
@ Boise State- Dec. 20
Duh, duh duh… This match-up is much, much scarier than it has been in years past. The rivals met last season in a similar game when the Vandals couldn’t outlast Boise State, losing by three points. Many are claiming that the Broncos should and will be a Top 25 team at some point this season and when BSU’s Anthony Drmic scored a career-high 26 points against the Vandals last year, most of us didn’t expect the Australia native would grow so much after just one season. Drmic, as a sophomore, is averaging 14.3 points-per-game and he’s much of the reason Boise State is off to a 6-2 start. The Broncos fell to then No. 15 Michigan State by four points but beat then No. 11 Creighton three games ago. Next game they slaughtered Seattle U. by 23 points.
@ Seattle U.- Dec. 29
The Redhawks may have already played the toughest part of their schedule and the new WAC member managed to escape it with a 2-3 record after games against Virginia, Stanford and Boise State. Seattle U. still has Washington on its schedule but that looks to be its last real test before they host Idaho in both teams’ WAC-opener. The Redhawks have failed to score a ton of points, but they rank No. 19 in the nation in rebounding. Clarence Trent and Deshaun Sunderhaus each average more than 11 points-per-game and both have been able to pick up close to seven rebounds-per-game.
@ San Jose State- Jan. 3
Idaho swept the Spartans last season but a young San Jose State team is back and much-improved. James Kinney is the nation’s fourth-leading scorer with more than 23 points-per-game and Kinney’s most impressive outing was a 30-point performance in a loss to Kansas. The Spartans stand at 5-3 and have an honest chance of going unbeaten in their next five games leading up to the Idaho match-up. Chris Cunningham, a Santa Clara transfer, has been crucial to SJSU, who lost starting guard, Keith Shamburger, to Hawaii during the offseason. Cunningham averages 11.3 points-per-game and 9.6 rebounds-per-game.
@ Utah State- Jan. 5
Every time these two meet, it’s hard to set aside the coaching match-up between Verlin and Stew Morrill, the Idaho coach’s longtime mentor at Utah State. Verlin moved to Moscow from Logan and has had some success against his former Aggies. The teams split the regular season stories in 2011-2012 but Morrills’ squad thumped the Vandals in a second round CIT Tournament game at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. Currently, Utah State is in standby mode and recently cancelled a game with rival BYU due to the condition of Danny Berger, who was rushed to the hospital after collapsing in practice earlier this week. Morrill’s Texans, juniors Preston Medlin (13 ppg) and Jarred Shaw (14 ppg), have led the Aggies to 4-1.
Theo Lawson can be reached at [email protected]