‘We have confidence’: College of Idaho has won 32 straight games, advances in NAIA Tourney
Nobody in College of Idaho’s locker room panicked after a season-opening loss to Arizona Christian.
Expectations were high at the NAIA program in Caldwell after the Yotes earned a trip to the national quarterfinals a year ago. Opening the season with a loss was not part of the plan, but College of Idaho men’s basketball coach Colby Blaine said his players weren’t discouraged after that first game.
They were optimistic.
“We knew it was a long season and we wanted to play ACU on the road to open the year for this moment right here,” Blaine told reporters on Wednesday. “That game got us ready for tonight.”
College of Idaho guard Jake O’Neil said the season opener gave the Yotes the confidence that they could hang with anyone.
“You look at that ACU game and we played pretty dang bad, but we were the tougher team and had a chance to win it at the end,” O’Neil said. “We have confidence that we’re going to be in any game if we play as hard as we can.”
The Yotes’ confidence was not misplaced.
Top-seeded College of Idaho cruised to a 76-61 win over No. 8 Xavier of Louisiana on Wednesday, extending its winning streak to 32 games and advancing to the Round of 16 for the second year in a row. Games are scheduled to begin in Kansas City, Missouri, on Monday and the NAIA national championship game is March 18.
“This is a young team on paper but it’s the most mature team I’ve been around,” Blaine said. “To go on a winning streak like we’re on, you have to show up every day, and that’s a great sign of maturity.”
After facing what may have been their stiffest test of the season Tuesday in the opening round of the NAIA Tournament, the Yotes controlled the action Wednesday.
No. 16 Westcliff cut College of Idaho’s lead to four points with a little more than 3 minutes to play before the Yotes ended Tuesday’s opening-round game with 13 unanswered points.
After going into the locker room at halftime down 39-25 on Wednesday, Xavier struggled to even hang with the Yotes in the second half.
College of Idaho led 48-28 early in the second half after a 3-pointer by Tyler Robinett. Xavier pulled within seven points with 2:58 to play, but the Yotes ended the game on an 11-3 run, punching their ticket to the next round.
O’Neil said the team’s dominant performance goes back to that whole confidence thing.
“I felt like we were confident from the start,” he said. “When we get out to those fast starts, we can really control the pace of the game.”
O’Neil, a former standout at Fruitland High, led the Yotes with 21 points and 11 rebounds. He also went 3-for-4 from 3-point range.
“That’s a bad dude,” Blaine said. “He plays with pure strength and toughness, and he gives us a secondary scorer. If a layup rims out, he’s the guy who’s there to put it back in.”
Drew Wyman added 13 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, Johnny Radford chipped in with 12 points and Robinett finished with 11. Cory Wells led Xavier with 14 points.
This story was originally published March 8, 2023 at 11:17 PM with the headline "‘We have confidence’: College of Idaho has won 32 straight games, advances in NAIA Tourney."
