UI men to play Irvine

The Idaho Vandals will face UC Irvine at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the opening round of the Big West Conference men’s basketball tournament at the Anaheim Convention Center.

The eight-seeded Vandals lost twice to the No. 5 Anteaters during the regular season, falling 71-70 in Irvine and 67-62 in overtime in Moscow on Feb. 24. UC Irvine secured the fifth seed with a 79-49 rout over Cal Poly on Saturday.

If Idaho (8-21, 6-12 Big West) upsets the Anteaters, it would face No. 3 Cal State Fullerton in Thursday’s quarterfinals.

The Vandals women (17-10, 12-6), who earned the No. 3 seed with Friday’s win over Utah State, have a bye in Wednesday’s opening round. They will face the lowest remaining seed to survive Wednesday’s openers – No. 5 UC Riverside vs. No. 8 Cal State Fullerton, and No. 6 Utah State vs. No. 7 UC Irvine.