The Idaho men’s basketball team currently sits at 7-11 with a couple of weeks to go before the halfway point of conference play. Idaho will continue its rebuilding process at home this week against Northern Arizona on Thursday and Northern Colorado on Saturday.
Expectations for the Vandals were low in the preseason as they were ranked 10th in both the coaches and media polls. Now, five games into conference play, that’s exactly where they sit. However, Head Coach Alex Pribble is happy with how his players have grown.
“The results are somewhat disappointing, but (I’m) really happy with the preparation, the work that our guys put in, the lessons we’re learning,” Pribble said during a press conference. “At this point in the rebuild process, I was really impressed with the way we came out to play in both games.”
Idaho is on a five-game losing streak, with four of those games being in conference play. Most recently, they fell to Weber State, which is the 14th team in the country in returning minutes played. Idaho is 363rd.
At this point, everyone is looking to get better, and Pribble sees every game as a way to improve.
“The challenge for us is to stay away from the comparison,” Pribble said when asked about Idaho’s placing. “Not only is comparison the thief of joy, but comparison is the thief of growth. We’re not able to focus on ourselves and continue to get better if we’re worried about what’s going on in the other parts of the league.”
Out of 10 teams in the Big Sky, NAU has the worst offense in terms of points per game (65.8) while UNC has the best (81.5). The Vandals only average 69.6 points per game.
On the other hand, NAU and UNC have the two worst defenses in the conference. The Lumberjacks give up 76.1 ppg while the Bears give up 78.4. Meanwhile, Idaho has one of the top defenses, only allowing 70.7 ppg, making them the third best defense in the Big Sky.
While what happens on the court truly determines which team wins the games, the Idaho crowd could also be a huge factor in this game. Northern Arizona has brought in an average of 519 fans per game while UNC brings in 1,217. Idaho, despite their record and recent history, brings in 1,507 faithful Vandals per game.
“Coming back home and being in front of our fans, our guys are all extremely excited about it,” Pribble said. “One of the big goals for us this year is to defend home court. I think we’ve had some big wins here so far this year, but coming off the loss to Eastern Washington, I know it’s important for our guys to come back home and defend home court.
The Vandals will kick off this brief home stint against NAU on Thursday, Jan. 25 at 6 p.m. for Star Wars night. Following that game, they’ll welcome UNC at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 27 for Tribal Nations Night.
James Taurman-Aldrich can be reached at [email protected] or on X @jamesaldrich25