The Vandal men are sitting out March Madness this time.
The University of Idaho decided not to pursue a berth in either of the two postseason basketball tournaments with which it’s been associated in the recent past, coach Don Verlin said Sunday.
The Vandals have played in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament four times in the last decade and also participated in the College Basketball Invitational two seasons ago.
With a roster featuring six seniors this year, the Vandals apparently decided they would have less to gain this year from the CIT or CBI in terms of talent development.
“I think those tournaments are great when you have a young team,” Verlin said via text. “After talking to my seniors we felt it was best not to play this year.”
Idaho’s hopes for an NCAA Tournament berth were abruptly dashed when it surprisingly lost to Southern Utah on Thursday in the first round of the Big Sky Conference tournament at Reno, Nev. The Vandals had been seeded second and received a first-round bye, while the Thunderbirds were seeded 10th.
Idaho finishes the season 22-9.
Eastern Washington, which wound up second in the Big Sky tourney, accepted an invitation from the CBI on Sunday while Northern Colorado and Portland State took berths in the CTA.
Another Big Sky team that received a first-round bye in the tournament, No. 4 seed Weber State, is also sitting out the postseason.
The Idaho women received an automatic berth to the Women’s National Invitation Tournament by virtue of placing second in the regular-season Big Sky standings. They will learn the details of their first-round pairing today.
