Idaho women’s basketball team take time out of own NCAA Tournament schedule to watch men against Houston

OKLAHOMA CITY — Even though the Idaho women’s basketball team is in the middle of preparing for their NCAA Tournament first-round showdown against Oklahoma, coach Arthur Moreira wasn’t going to have his team miss a chance to support the Vandal men’s team.

The Idaho women, who are seeded No. 13 in the women’s bracket, take on fourth-seeded Oklahoma at 7 p.m. Friday night in Norman, Oklahoma, entered Paycom Center on Thursday night ahead of the 15th-seeded Idaho men’s showdown against second-seeded Houston. The women were greeted with a chorus of cheers from the section packed with Vandal fans.

“I have a lot of friends in coaching and none of them have been able to experience something like this,” Moreira said. “Not only for the men and women to make it on the same year, but in a place where we can watch each other is special.”

It has been a season of similar trajectories for the two teams, starting with wins over Washington State to open the season in Pullman, to winning the Big Sky tournament on the same day, and finally being placed just a half hour away in the Big Dance.

“Coach (Alex) Pribble has been joking that we have been pushing them all season after we beat Washington State in game one, and then we put some pressure on them to win in Boise after we did,” Moreira said. “Now i just hope they can win tonight so that puts some pressure on us tomorrow.”