The Vandals (13-18, 8-10) finished their regular season with more overall wins and Big Sky wins than they had in their last six seasons. The team finished sixth in the Big Sky standings, clinching a first-round bye in the conference tournament for the first time since 2018. Despite finishing with a losing record, Head Coach Alex Pribble’s squad made vast improvements in his second year at the helm of a program that appears to be amidst a revival.
As the team ended the season having to play three games in just five days, the first-round bye provides the Vandals an extra couple of days of rest. Pribble is satisfied with the progressing competitiveness that his team displayed this year compared to the rebuilding year Idaho had in 2023-24, and says the team’s biggest struggle was overcoming injuries and its primary strength was the offense’s ability to score.
This Idaho team has one of the least experienced rosters in Division I, but still managed to break the school record for most three-pointers made in a season. The Vandals finished with 293 three-pointers, which is nearly 10 triples per game.
“It is a step forward for us. When conference play came around, I think we showed that we can compete with anybody,” Pribble said. “It’s a group of guys that can really shoot the ball and really get hot.”
Pribble noted that players like Tyler Mrus, Kolton Mitchell, Kristian Gonzalez and Jack Payne raised the bar beyond the arc for the team’s scoring ability. The four of them combined for 216 three-pointers, collectively shooting 36.4% on three-point attempts.
Though the Vandals finished the season with their highest per-game scoring average since 2017-18, the defense struggled to stay consistent at times. Pribble accredits this to the revolving injury problems that impacted the team’s front court throughout the season.
“The consistency with injuries has been a big problem for us. And that led to a little bit of a lack of physicality,” Pribble said. “We struggled on the glass some during conference, and so those are growth areas for this program for sure.”
Looking forward to the future of the program, Pribble is focused on retaining the core group that showed promise this season. He says this program can take a significant step forward if they retain the young core players of this roster. He is happy with the improvements that the team made this season but clarifies that sixth place is not the end goal; the goal is to become a championship program.
He says this roster has great social cohesion and that they have great chemistry and respect for each other. Given the departures of senior forwards Julius Mims and Kyson Rose, the Vandals will need to add some length to the roster.
“To take that next step, we need to return a lot of those guys and bring in a few more impact players, particularly in the front court,” Pribble said. “We need to make sure that we bring in some physicality that is experienced, that is older, and that can help us take that next step. More than anything, we are focused on building a group of hardworking, high character, young men who do it the right way.”
This season would not have been such a success were it not for the impact that numerous first-year transfers had on both sides of the ball.
Redshirt freshman Kolton Mitchell is among the top 10 in all of Division I for free-throw percentage and he led the team in points and assists, averaging 11.3 points and 3.4 assists. He also led the Vandals with 45 steals and was consistently one of the team’s most productive weapons on offense and defense.
Sophomore Jack Payne was also an impact player for the Vandals, averaging 10.2 points, five rebounds and two assists per game.
Pribble loved the seasons that these two transfers displayed, and he anticipates them both staying in the program for a long time.
“What comes to mind with those two guys in particular is they are just winners. They love the fact that it says Idaho across their chest,” Pribble said. “What they are focused on is turning this program into a championship program. I think they are going to have a major impact on this program.”
All season long, Pribble has emphasized the importance of fan attendance at home games. He wants to give Vandal fans a reason to be excited about the basketball program and give them a reason to want to show up. He referenced the elite energy that Vandal fans bring to the P1FCU Kibbie Dome for football games and said that if Idaho progresses beyond being a middle-of-the-pack team, the Vandal community will continue to increasingly support the program.
In the post-season, Idaho plays the third-seeded Portland State Vikings (19-12, 11-7) on Monday, March 10 at 7 p.m. The Vikings swept the Vandals in the regular season and have won three consecutive games.
According to Pribble, the key to upsetting Portland state will be to protect the paint, keep the Vikings out of rhythm and match their physicality.
Mims’ paint presence will be a major factor in this game. He finished the regular season with 8.6 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game.
“The Big Sky Conference Tournament is fun. There is nothing better than March Madness,” Pribble said. “At this point in the season, I want our guys to be confident. I want them to know that anybody that they play in a conference tournament, they are capable of beating.”