1995–96 Idaho Vandals men's basketball team

1995–96 Idaho Vandals men's basketball
ConferenceBig Sky Conference
Record12–16 (5–9 Big Sky)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Ray Jones
  • Jay McMillin
  • Bus Connor [1]
Home arenaKibbie Dome
Seasons
1995–96 Big Sky men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Montana State 11 3   .786 21 9   .700
Weber State 10 4   .714 20 10   .667
Montana 10 4   .714 20 8   .714
Boise State 10 4   .714 15 13   .536
Idaho State 7 7   .500 11 15   .423
Idaho 5 9   .357 12 16   .429
Northern Arizona 3 11   .214 6 20   .231
Eastern Washington 0 14   .000 3 23   .115
1996 Big Sky tournament winner

The 1995–96 Idaho Vandals men's basketball team represented the University of Idaho during the 1995–96 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Members of the Big Sky Conference, the Vandals were led by third-year head coach Joe Cravens and played their home games on campus at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow, Idaho.

The Vandals were 11–15 overall in the regular season and 5–9 in conference play, sixth in the league standings.[2]

At the conference tournament in Bozeman, Montana, the Vandals defeated third-seed Montana in the opening round,[3][4] but lost by 25 points in the semifinals to top-seed and host Montana State,[5][6] the eventual champion, and ended at 12–16 (.429).

Idaho incurred consecutive losing seasons for the first time in a decade, when they had three straight cellar finishes under Bill Trumbo. A few days later, Cravens was fired by athletic director Pete Liske,[7] and was succeeded by former head coach Kermit Davis.[8][9]

After this season, Idaho (and Boise State) departed for the Big West Conference; Vandal basketball later returned to the Big Sky, beginning with the 2014–15 season.

Postseason results

[edit]
Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Big Sky tournament
Thu, March 7
5:07 pm
(6) vs. (3) Montana
Quarterfinal
W 72–67  12–15
Brick Breeden Fieldhouse (5,827)
Bozeman, Montana
Thu, March 8
8:20 pm
(6) at (1) Montana State
Semifinal
L 66–91  12–16
Brick Breeden Fieldhouse (7,357)
Bozeman, Montana
*Non-conference game. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Pacific time.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Sullivan, Tim (March 12, 1996). "Cravens feels betrayed after sudden firing by UI". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. (Idaho-Washington). p. 1B.
  2. ^ Sullivan, Tim (March 6, 1996). "Vandals hit Big Sky tournament without Rose". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. (Idaho-Washington). p. 1B.
  3. ^ Lee, Greg (March 8, 1996). "Resilient Idaho does job on Montana". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. C1.
  4. ^ "Idaho rallies past Montana". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. (Idaho-Washington). staff and wire reports. March 8, 1996. p. 1B.
  5. ^ "High-flying Bobcats dunk UI". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. (Idaho-Washington). staff and wire reports. March 9, 1996. p. 1D.
  6. ^ Lee, Greg (March 9, 1996). "Vandals can't hang". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. C1.
  7. ^ Sullivan, Tim (March 11, 1996). "Idaho fires Cravens after turbulent year". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. (Idaho-Washington). p. 1C.
  8. ^ Grummert, Dale (March 17, 1996). "UI welcomes back Davis". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1B.
  9. ^ Sullivan, Tim (March 18, 1996). "Davis begins reconstruction". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. (Idaho-Washington). p. 1C.
[edit]