‘I can’t believe what happened.’ Idaho men’s hoops ends NCAA Tournament drought
Someone handed senior guard Isaiah Brickner a cellphone and got him to take a selfie with every member of the University of Idaho men’s basketball team seated together on the bench in championship hats and T-shirts.
The moment had to be documented.
After nearly four decades, the Vandals are headed back to the NCAA Tournament, beating Montana 77-66 in the Big Sky Tournament championship game Wednesday night at Idaho Central Arena in Boise.
Idaho last made the Big Dance in 1990 and now has five conference championships in program history.
“These guys kind of joke, because I say it a lot, but I really love this team, and I’ve felt this way from the start,” Idaho coach Alex Pribble said. “I’ve been around and a part of a lot of basketball teams, and sometimes you just have this sense, like the internal leadership, the day-to-day process, the joy the guys play the game with, the competitiveness.
“It feels like a championship group. It feels like a winning group.
“I’ve felt that way all year, and so during some of the ups and downs, we just had to trust the process and stay with what we were doing, and it clicked for us at the right time.”
The Vandals (21-14), the No. 7 seed in the Big Sky after an underwhelming regular season, had to win four games in five days at the conference tourney, defeating No. 8 Sacramento State in the first round, No. 2 Montana State in the second round, No. 3 Eastern Washington in the semifinals and finally the defending tournament champion and fourth-seeded Griz in the title match.
Pribble, in his third season at the helm, has led Idaho to just its third 20-win season since 1993 thanks to the tourney run. The Vandals rocketed to the tournament championship after a 9-9 record in league play.
“It honestly didn’t really feel real, and I feel like it still hasn’t really caught up to me right now,” Idaho redshirt sophomore guard Kolton Mitchell said. “I feel like I should be way more hyped, but I don’t know what’s going on. I can’t believe what happened, and just a sense of pride for our team and for this program and for the community in Moscow.”
Mitchell, one of five Gem State players on the roster, joined Brickner and freshman forward Jackson Rasmussen, a Meridian native, on the all-tournament team.
Brickner led the Vandals against the Grizz with his first career double-double, notching 23 points and 10 rebounds. His dunk on a full-court inbound pass from redshirt junior Jack Payne, an Owyhee High grad, with 1:41 remaining in the game gave Idaho a 68-57 lead.
Brickner’s maturation resembles Idaho’s progress as well. He missed the summer training season with a wrist injury and didn’t consistently crack the Vandals’ starting lineup until mid-February.
“He really got confident, and was really a backbone of our team when we were struggling,” Mitchell said. “It was a big key for us to be confident and aggressive, because that’s what he brings to our team. And today he just showed that. Man, he played so well.”
[Related: ‘It’s not just for us.’ Idaho women’s basketball locks down NCAA Tournament spot]
Idaho will learn its NCAA tourney seed, opponent and destination during the NCAA Selection Show, which begins at 4 p.m. Mountain time Sunday on CBS. The next opponent is likely to be a very large name in college basketball, unless the Vandals wind up in one of the First Four games.
“I chose this place for a reason, and this is what I came here to do, and just to get it done is amazing,” said Idaho senior forward Brody Rowbury, a Meridian High graduate. “I look up and I see all my close friends and family in the stands. It’s an awesome feeling.”
This story was originally published March 12, 2026 at 2:05 AM.
