While the ultimate goal remains a National Championship, Wednesday’s 83-66 win against Tougaloo (Miss.) in the NAIA quarterfinals was a huge checkmark for the College of Idaho men’s basketball team.
It was in that same quarterfinal round a year ago in Kansas City, Missouri, that the Yotes saw their national title hopes vanish. The College of Idaho led Loyola (La.) with less than two minutes left before the eventual national champions came away with a 60-53 win.
This year, the run continues into the Fab Four — and the Yotes hope even longer — as the College of Idaho continued its recent string of dominating wins to get past the point where it was stopped short last year.
“Obviously last year losing in that round was tough, and we wanted to get past it this year,” said Drew Wyman, who had eight points and 10 rebounds for the Yotes. “Our goal is ultimately the National Championship, so we’re trying to play fearless every game, and it’s awesome having our fans here to support us.”
The Yotes (34-1) will take on Ottawa (Ariz.) at 4 p.m. MDT on Friday in the Fab Four in Kansas City. The Yotes’ current 34-game win streak began with an 83-72 win against the Spirit on Nov. 5. Since then, there’s been no stopping the College of Idaho, which will be making their first trip to the national semifinals since back-to-back trips in 2018-19.
Win on Friday, and the Yotes will be playing for their first national title since 1996 the following evening.
“It’s getting pretty real,” said Jake O’Neil, who had 20 point and eight rebounds. “We’re all just trying to stay in the moment right now and enjoy each other’s presence. This is a really close team, and I think we’re just enjoying the moment.”
The Yotes continued their dominant run in Kansas City with a 17-point win against the Bulldogs, their 16th straight win by double digits. This time, the College of Idaho did it against a Tougaloo team that came in with a comparable record and winning streak as the Yotes.
The Bulldogs (32-2) entered the game on a 20-game win streak, with their only prior loss on the season being a 70-67 setback against Mississippi College on Jan. 9. But the College of Idaho proved it was going to take more than a team that was simply on a hot streak to beat them.
“Tougaloo is an extremely good team, and very well coached,” said College of Idaho coach Colby Blaine. “I think our advantage at the end of the day is maybe our conference was a little bit tougher. But they were as good of a team as we’ve played all year long, they were so together.”
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For 10 minutes, the Bulldogs’ best effort was enough to go toe-to-toe with the No. 1-ranked team in the country. But eventually the College of Idaho play was able to wear Tougaloo down, just like it has each and every time over the past 34 games.
“We try and keep the same mentality going into every game and that’s try to be the toughest team,” said O’Neil, who had 16 points by halftime. “I think you saw us in the first half be the toughest team. If we can keep that mentality the whole way through, I think we’ll be good.”
The Bulldogs led 19-18 with 10:45 left in the first half, but over the next 15 minutes, the Yotes’ trademark defense did what it’s been doing all season and denied Tougaloo opportunities. Two free throws by Charles Elzie gave the Yotes the lead for good and sparked what eventually would be a 34-4 run, giving the College of Idaho control of the game.
During that 15-minute stretch, the Bulldogs shot 2 for 23 from the field, including 0 for 11 from 3-point range, and committed seven turnovers. A layup by Wyman gave the Yotes a 52-23 lead with 16 minutes to go, their largest lead of the game.
“Being tough, that’s what it all comes down to,” said Wyman, who matched a career-high with four steals. “Contesting every shot, getting every rebound, you don’t want to give them an opportunity at second chance points, that’s a big part of it, too. I’d say the biggest thing is just being tough.”
Even the final 17-point margin of victory wasn’t exactly indicative of just how dominant the Yotes were in this one. Two days after a 48-point win in their Round of 16 win against LSU Shreveport, the College of Idaho led by 25 with two minutes remaining before the Bulldogs slightly closed the final gap with reserves for both teams in.
Elzie finished with 11 points for the Yotes, while Straton Rogers scored nine.
The Yotes will get a day off Thursday to make final preparations for the run at a national title.
“I think right now, the biggest thing is we don’t need to do anything new,” said Blaine. “We just need to keep being the team we are. The message over this next day and a half is ‘Let’s just keep being tough, let’s keep moving forward.’ Sometimes you get to this part of the tournament and you start to feel your body and you start to feel fatigue. This team, we built ourselves not to give in to that fatigue. So, over the next day and a half, we want to make sure we’re recovering properly and we’re staying mentally focused.”
