The Vandals were 3–26 overall in the regular season and 1–15 in conference play, ninth in the standings.[2][3]
Riding a twelve-game losing streak after a loss to San Jose State, Idaho drew the eighth seed Spartans again two days later in the play-in round of the conference tournament in Las Cruces, New Mexico,[3] and won by a point.[4][5] Two days later in the quarterfinal, top-seeded #10 Nevada defeated the Vandals by 32 points.[6][7]