Pocatello Times

MOSCOW, Idaho – The Idaho men's basketball team makes its final regular season road trip of the season, traveling to take on Idaho State and Weber State.

The Vandals go up against in-state rival Idaho State on Thursday at 6 p.m. Pacific Time before wrapping up its two-game road stretch on Saturday (6 p.m. PT) against Weber State.

Last Time Out
The Vandals (10-18, 4-11 BSC) picked up a win in a neutral site matchup in Lewiston, Idaho against Northern Colorado and fell at home versus Northern Arizona last week.

Despite Trailing 66-56 with under eight minutes left to go in the second period, the Vandals stepped up defensively and found a rhythm offensively, knocking down their final seven of 11 shots to help erase a 10-point deficit to defeat the Bears 84-82 and snap an 11-game losing streak. 

Fifth-year guard Divant'e Moffitt had a career night to help lead the Vandals to victory, recording a personal best 35 points, six assists and six rebounds. 

Frontcourt teammates Isaac Jones and Nigel Burris each added double-figure scoring efforts in the win. Jones posted 21 points, eight rebounds and three blocks. Burris was a key catalyst in Idaho's comeback, knocking down two three-pointers and scoring 10 of his 18 points in the closing stretch of the second half.

Idaho shot 48% (29-of-61) from the field, 37% (7-of-19) from behind the arc, and 91% (19-of-21) from the foul line. The Vandals capitalized off the Bears' mistakes, turning their 14 turnovers into 17 points.

About Idaho
Two-time Big Sky Player of the Week Isaac Jones continues to find his name at the top of the list of multiple stat categories in the Big Sky, ranking first in field goal percentage (65.5), field goals made (205), blocks (32) and blocks per game (1.19). He maintains the second-highest points-per-game average in Big Sky play at 20.7 and has been dominant over his last six games, averaging 23.8 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. He leads the team and ranks fourth in the league in rebounding with an average of 7.9.  

Fifth-year guard Divant'e Moffitt has also been one of the league's hottest scorers in conference action, averaging the third-highest mark at 20.1 points per game on 47 percent (109-of-233) shooting from the field. Not only has Moffitt been a top contributor scoring the basketball, but he's also been the Vandals' top passer, ranking second in the Big Sky and 26th nationally in total assists with 144. The fifth-year guard is also rated second in assists per game (5.1) and free throw makes (134), third in field goal makes (184), and fifth in field percentage (48.3) in the Big Sky.   

Through 28 games, Jones and Moffitt enter Thursday's matchup listed as two of the top three scorers in the conference. Jones is .04 points behind Northern Colorado's Dalton Knecht (19.93) for the conference scoring lead, as Jones is averaging 19.89 points per game while Moffitt sits third at 18.6 points a game. The two Spanaway, Washington natives have combined to lead the team in scoring in 24 of 28 games and posted 20 or more points in a combined 25 outings.  
 
Idaho is one of the most efficient teams in the conference, shooting the second-highest field goal percentage in the Big Sky at 47.9 percent from the field. Idaho has shot over 50 percent in 12 games this season while recording a season-high 64 percent (33-52) from the field against Sacramento State (2/4). The Vandals are averaging the third most points per game in the conference at 74.9 while allowing 73 ppg. Guarding without fouling and taking care of the basketball has been an emphasis for the Vandals, as they average the second-lowest amount of fouls per game in the Big Sky at 16.9 and the second-least amount of turnovers at 11.2. 

True freshman Nigel Burris is third on the team in scoring with 8.2 points per game - the highest scoring average by a Big Sky freshman this season. The forward from San Francisco is knocking down shots at a high rate, shooting 52 percent (80-of-155) from the field, 43 percent (32-of-75) from three and 86 percent (38-of-44) from the foul line. His five rebounds per game are the second most on the Vandals and also a Big Sky best for a freshman.

Second-year guard Yusef Salih leads the team in three-point shooting, making 44 shots from behind the arc. He's made two or more threes in 12 games this season. The Gainesville, Virginia native is also getting it done on the defensive end, leading Idaho with 27 offensive fouls drawn. He has recorded at least one in 20 of Idaho's 28 games. 

Scouting the Bengals
Idaho State is 9-19 with a 6-9 conference record. The Bengals have struggled of late, falling in their last four games. Last time out, ISU fell on the road to Portland State (70-79) and Sacramento State (65-70). 

The Bengals are scoring 69 points per game while allowing 70.9. Idaho State is one of the top teams in the conference at limiting three-point makes and recording steals, holding opponents to the third-lowest mark from three at 32.2 percent and tallying the third-most steals at six per game.

Four Bengals score in double figures, including a team-high 12.7 points per game by Brock Mackenzie. Miguel Tomley and Brayden Parker each average 11.8 points while Jared Rodriguez adds 10.5 per contest.

Series History  
The Vandals own a 65-52 overall record over Idaho State. The Vandals look to snap a 5-game losing streak against the Bengals and avenge a 95-91 overtime loss to Idaho State last time out in Moscow (1/28). 

Scouting the Wildcats
Weber State is ranked third in the Big Sky standing, holding a 15-13 overall record and a 10-5 mark in conference play. The Wildcats are winners of three of their last four, while most recently picking up a pair of road wins over Sacramento State (52-49) and Portland State (65-57).

Weber ranks as one of the top teams in the conference in team defense and free-throw shooting. They are second in the Big Sky in scoring defense (66.9) and third in free throw percentage (76.1%). 

Forward Dillon Jones is scoring a team-high 16 points per game while leading the country in defensive rebounds per game (10.2) and ranking seventh in the nation in RPG at 10.9. 

Guard Steven Verplancken also scores in double figures for the Wildcats with 12.7 points per game. He is shooting 41 percent from three and is rated ninth in the Big Sky in total three-point makes at 52. 

Series History 
Weber leads the all-time series 62-25. The Vandals look to earn its first win in Ogden since 2018 and rebound from a 73-65 loss in the two team's first meeting on Jan. 26 in Moscow. 

Up Next
The Vandals play their third game in five days, wrapping up conference play in Moscow for the regular season finale against Montana on Monday, Feb. 27.  

Original source can be found here.