United in Oklahoma: Idaho women set to cheer on the men as they plan for Sooners, Raegan Beers on Friday

The University of Idaho men’s and women’s basketball teams are surfing a euphoric wave, having made the NCAA Tournaments in the same season – for the first time.

This could well happen again, according to Vandal women’s coach Arthur Moreira, since both programs appear to be on upward trajectories. But they will probably never again play first-round games 20 miles and a day apart.

Because of that, Moreira announced the Vandals women will be in Oklahoma City on Thursday to watch the 15th-seeded men take on second-seeded Houston.

“We genuinely root for each other,” he said. “This will probably never happen again in my coaching career.”

When they get down to business in their own first-round game Friday at the Lloyd Noble Center on the University of Oklahoma campus in Norman, the Idaho women will play their mirror image in the fourth-seeded Sooners, a team that plays fast with a dominant inside game.

Beyond the macro challenge of the 13th-seed upstarts from the Big Sky Conference facing a team from the elite Southeastern Conference on its home court, a specific matchup may capture the David-versus-Goliath narrative of this game. Vandals post players Debora dos Santos and Lorena Barbosa will be charged with handling 6-foot-4 All-America center Raegan Beers, a finalist for the John Wooden Award, honoring the best player in women’s basketball, and the Lisa Leslie Award, given to the most dominant center.

“Oh my god, she’s a beast,” Moreira said of Beers. “The more film I watch of her the more impressed I am.”

Beers, a senior, is averaging 15.7 points and 10.4 rebounds per game.

Barbosa and dos Santos, collectively, are averaging 19.5 ppg and 12.8 rpg: 11.3 ppg and 8.4 rpg for dos Santos, and 8.2 ppg and 4.4 rpg for Barbosa.

This game, though, may disclose the difference in value between Big Sky and SEC numbers.

“She already has a height advantage. I can’t give her much space,” the 6-foot dos Santos said of defending Beers.

“For us, this is about shrinking the paint,” Moreira continued. “If (Beers) gets to her spot, everybody else is going to have to make a play on the ball. But she is an amazing passer, too.”

The Vandals have split the job of playing in the post because dos Santos and Barbosa, senior transfers from the University of San Francisco whom Moreira first recruited when he was an assistant coach there, were coming off knee injuries when they transferred to Idaho for their final seasons. Splitting time in games gave them the opportunity to gradually get to full strength, and it worked so well for the 29-5 Vandals they continued the rotation for the whole season.

Beers started her career at Oregon State and played there from 2022-24 before transferring to Oklahoma, where she has flourished.

Being able to throw two diverse post players at her may work to Idaho’s benefit, said Moreira. Against the 6-5 Barbosa, “she is going to have to finish against someone who is an inch taller than she is,” Moreira said of Beers. But Barbosa “is lighter,” he acknowledges. “Deb can get closer to her. She is stronger than Lorena.” Moreira also said dos Santos is probably the quickest jumper he has ever coached.

“We have the advantage of being able to throw a fresh person on her,” dos Santos said.

Will that be effective? “I hope so,” said dos Santos. “I guess we’ll see Friday.”

The closest to a comparable player to Beers, dos Santos said, that she and Barbosa have faced this year is Aniah Hall, Northern Colorado’s 6-3 senior center. The Vandals swept the Bears, winning 62-55 on the road and 55-42 at home. Barbosa and dos Santos held Hall to four points and three rebounds in Colorado and eight points and four rebounds in Moscow. Barbosa went off for 15 points and four rebounds in the first game, and dos Santos finished with seven points and seven rebounds. In the rematch in Moscow, Barbosa had five points and a rebound and dos Santos eight points and 11 rebounds.

Beers, however, is in a different class. But dos Santos appreciates the challenge.

“I want to play professionally. If I do, I will be looking at a bunch of different players,” she said.

“I hope this will improve my game,” she added of facing Beers. “It is going to be hard, but this is a chance to get better. My main thing is I hope to get rebounds.”