As expected, the home teams got the job done tonight.
The Big Sky's presence in the 2017 CBI came to a quick end as EWU lost to Wyoming in Laramie by 10. The secret to Wyoming's success was simple here as they shot 58% from the field and 61% from the arc. Bogdan Bliznyuk had 29 points while Jake Wiley & Felix Von Hofe combined for 43 points in their final games. Wiley also ended up 1 block shy of the Big Sky single-season record.
Idaho's women won the first half of the school's doubleheader by 7 over visiting Utah State in the first round of the WBI. The Vandals shot over 30% from the arc (37.5%), which—as we saw in the regular season—was a near guarantee of victory. Idaho also committed a comically low 7 fouls. The Vandals will play the winner of tomorrow's EWU/Texas State game in the quarterfinals.
The Vandal men dispatched Stephen F. Austin with surprising ease, 73-50. The Lumberjacks trimmed a 14-point deficit down to 4 early in the second half, but a 13-2 run midway through the period put the game away. The Vandals forced 18 turnovers and won big despite Victor Sanders going just 2/10 from the field. UI's next opponent won't be known until the first round is over (the CIT doesn't use a set bracket).
Mvemjsunpx wrote:As expected, the home teams got the job done tonight.
The Big Sky's presence in the 2017 CBI came to a quick end as EWU lost to Wyoming in Laramie by 10. The secret to Wyoming's success was simple here as they shot 58% from the field and 61% from the arc. Bogdan Bliznyuk had 29 points while Jake Wiley & Felix Von Hofe combined for 43 points in their final games. Wiley also ended up 1 block shy of the Big Sky single-season record.
Idaho's women won the first half of the school's doubleheader by 7 over visiting Utah State in the first round of the WBI. The Vandals shot over 30% from the arc (37.5%), which—as we saw in the regular season—was a near guarantee of victory. Idaho also committed a comically low 7 fouls. The Vandals will play the winner of tomorrow's EWU/Texas State game in the quarterfinals.
The Vandal men dispatched Stephen F. Austin with surprising ease, 73-50. The Lumberjacks trimmed a 14-point deficit down to 4 early in the second half, but a 13-2 run midway through the period put the game away. The Vandals forced 18 turnovers and won big despite Victor Sanders going just 2/10 from the field. UI's next opponent won't be known until the first round is over (the CIT doesn't use a set bracket).
Idaho's next opponent is most likely gonna be the winner of Weber State and Fullerton.
North Dakota made things interesting by cutting Arizona's deficit to 7 in the second half, but a 12-0 run by the Wildcats finished off UND's first-ever NCAA appearance. UA shot 58% and made 16 more free throws than the Fighting Hawks. For NoDak, Drick Bernstine had a double-double before halftime and finished with 20 points and 15 boards. Quinton Hooker & Geno Crandall combined to go 9/17 from the arc and they scored 37 points in their final career games.
The UND women never really showed up across the state line as they fell to South Dakota by 23 in the first round of the WNIT. The Coyotes outshot UND 56%-32% (57%-28% inside the arc) and won points-in-the-paint 48-16. Makailah Dyer & Leah Szabla were both in double figures in their final games as No-Nicks/Fighting Hawks.
Weber's men went on a 6-0 run in the final 3 minutes to seize control and defeat Cal St. Fullerton 80-76 in the CIT first round. Kyndahl Hill had a double-double and he & Jeremy Senglin combined to go 18/18 from the free-throw line.
Eastern Washington came back from a 10-point halftime deficit to win their WBI game at Texas State in overtime. The Bobcats shot 29% in the second half after shooting 58% in the first. Ashli Payne was the only Eagle in double figures, but she had 27 points and 14 rebounds. EWU will host a rare fourth meeting with Idaho Monday.
As expected, the Montana State women went down pretty hard against Washington in Seattle in the NCAAs, losing 91-63. The Bobcats actually led after one quarter and Peyton Ferris finished with a career-high 33 points in her final game, but they ultimately couldn't stop Husky stars Kelsey Plum & Chantel Osahor (45 points & 24 rebounds combined).
How do you shoot 56% from the arc on 26 attempts and lose? Weber solved that puzzle by losing turnovers 21-7 and falling to TAMU-Corpus Christi on the road 82-73. Jeremy Senglin & Kyndahl Hill had 27 points and 13 rebounds, respectively, in their final career games. Rashawn Thomas & Ehab Amin combined to put up 44 points, 15 rebounds, 7 assists, and 8 steals for the Islanders.
In the final intraconference battle of the season, Idaho beat Eastern Washington in Cheney in the WBI quarterfinals 74-67. This was UI's first win in Cheney in more than 13 years. The Vandals shot 42% from the arc and Mikayla Ferenz went off, scoring 33 points. Ashli Payne had a double-double in her final game as an Eagle. Idaho will travel to Houston to play Rice in the semis Thursday.
The Big Sky men's season comes to an end as Idaho loses to Texas State in San Marcos 64-55. Free-throw shooting ultimately did the Vandals in, as they went 7/14 while TSU went 14/18. Victor Sanders & Arkadiy Mkrtychyan combined for 31 points.
Now the entire Big Sky basketball season is over as Idaho's women lost to Rice in the WBI semis 86-80. The Vandals shot 38% from the arc, making this the first time since a close December loss to Sweet-16 bound Oregon that they lost while shooting 30+% outside. Rice shot even better from three at 43%, but the big factor was rebounding: the Owls won the glass 40-22. Karlee Wilson had 7 assists in her final game. Mikayla Ferenz & Taylor Pierce combined for 49 points, but only 1 board.
Saw the first half of the UND-UofA game. UND really stuck with them for a while but just couldn't defend UofA's 7 ft player. Good energy and effort early on by UND.