NCAA TOURNAMENT: Vandal wait well worth it

By MARK NELKE 

Sports editor 

The Idaho Vandals waited 36 years for their name to be called for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. 

After all that time, what’s another 34 minutes? 

On the CBS selection show Sunday, Idaho was the last team announced for the 68-team field — as a No. 15 seed, facing the No. 2 seed Houston Cougars in the first round of the South Region on Thursday (7:10 p.m., truTV) at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City. 

“It felt forever,” said Idaho point guard Kolton Mitchell, a redshirt sophomore from Lake City High, of the wait on Sunday. “It was probably only 40 minutes but it felt like three hours.”

At an event which attracted some 500 fans to the ICCU Arena in Moscow, the Vandal team members sat on the floor in folding chairs as everyone watched the network telecast on the big screen, lowered to just above the center of the court. 

As the bracket was unveiled, and the next team to be revealed was in the 14-16 seed range, the players started recording on their phones, then reacted when a team other than the Vandals popped up on the screen. 

“I really wanted to play either Iowa State or Gonzaga,” said Mitchell, who was named to the Big Sky Conference all-tournament team despite suffering two broken ribs and a bruised lung and missing the Vandals’ final three regular-season games. 

Iowa State, a 2 seed, is where Mitchell’s Lake City teammate, Blake Buchanan, starts as a junior transfer from Virginia. Iowa State will play No. 15 Tennessee State. 

Gonzaga is, well, Gonzaga. The Zags, a 3 seed, will open vs. No. 14 Kennesaw State on Thursday in Portland in the West Region. 

“Being able to play Blake would have been a dream for sure, especially in the tournament. That would have been full-circle,” Mitchell said, shortly after the Vandals were announced in the field. “We (Blake and Kolton) already face-timed (about 5 minutes ago).” 

Idaho (21-14) is making its fifth NCAA tournament appearance and first since 1990, when the 13th-seeded Vandals lost to No. 4 Louisville in the first round in Salt Lake City. 

“Just an incredible sense of gratitude right now,” third-year Idaho coach Alex Pribble said. “When I walked into this building three years ago, did the press conference right up there, talked about our vision for what Idaho men’s basketball can be, and that vision was bringing in high-character young men who will represent this university well, be mentors to the young kids in the community, and compete for championships on the court. And three years later, to see you all here in the building, to see this vision come to fruition, I’m so extremely grateful.” 

Houston (28-6), coached by former Washington State head man Kelvin Sampson, lost to Florida in the national championship game last year. Houston reached the championship game of this year’s Big 12 tournament before losing to Arizona. 

Idaho was the 60th overall seed out of 68. Houston was fifth. 

The Vandals and Cougars have met just once in each program’s history, back in the 1963-64 All-College Tournament, also in Oklahoma City, a game won by Houston. 

Idaho women: The Vandal women had to wait 36 minutes — two minutes longer than the men — to hear their name announced during the ESPN telecast. 

The Vandals (29-5) will be the 13 seed in Regional 4 (Sacramento), opening Friday (7 p.m., ESPN) vs. No. 4 Oklahoma (24-7) on the Sooners’ home court, the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla.  

As the No. 13 seed, the Vandals make history for the best seed in the NCAA tournament in the modern era. In Idaho's three previous trips in the modern era (2013, 2014, 2016), the Vandals had previously been the No. 14 and No. 16 seeds.   

The Vandals bring an 18-game win streak into the tournament. 

Gonzaga: It will be the first-ever meeting between the Zags (30-3) and Kennesaw State (21-13), which won the Conference USA Tournament title. 

They’ll meet Thursday at 7 p.m. on TBS. 

Gonzaga is making its 27th consecutive NCAA Tournament Appearance and 28th overall. The 27 straight berths to the field ranks as the third-longest current streak in the nation (Kansas 36 and Michigan State 28). 

The Zags are 47-27 all-time in the 26 previous NCAA Tournament appearances with 14 trips to the Sweet 16, six trips to the Elite Eight, two Final Fours and two appearances in the national championship game. 

The 27 straight berths to the field are the third-longest current streak in the nation (Kansas and Michigan State), and matches the fourth-longest in NCAA Division 1 history (North Carolina, 1975-2001). 

GU is 44-25 in the NCAA Tournament under coach Mark Few, with a berth in all 27 seasons of his head coaching career. 

Few's 44 NCAA Tournament wins is fourth among active coaches; John Calipari (58), Tom Izzo (57), Bill Self (56). 

The Bulldogs play in Portland in the NCAA Tournament for the third time in program history, where it is 4-0 all-time in the event. 

Gonzaga women: Gonzaga (24-9) earned a 12 seed in the Sacramento Region, and will play fifth-seeded Ole Miss (23-11) in the first round of the tournament Friday (12:30 p.m., ESPN2) at No. 4 seed Minnesota in Minneapolis.  

Gonzaga is making its 10th NCAA Tournament appearance under head coach Lisa Fortier. The last time the Zags were in the NCAA Tournament was the 2023-24 season when the Bulldogs advanced to the Sweet 16 as a No. 4 seed. This is the fourth time the Zags have been a 12 seed in the NCAA Tournament.  

The teams have met three times, with Ole Miss leading 2-1, most recently a 71-48 win for the Rebels in the NCAA first round in 2023.