1979 – 80 Idaho Vandals men 's basketball team represented the University of Idaho during the 1979 – 80 NCAA Division I men 's basketball season . The Vandals were led by second-year head coach Don Monson and played their home games on campus at the Kibbie Dome in After five consecutive seasons in last place in the Big Sky Conference , the Vandals were expected by most to stay but climbed up to second in the final standings and qualified for the four-team conference tournament for the first In non-conference games , the Vandals fell to Oregon State , Washington , and neighbor Washington State , but had wins over Penn State , Oregon , and Nebraska . The Cornhuskers traveled to the Kibbie Dome in early led by former Vandal head coach Joe Cipriano , stricken with cancer . The attendance was 5,500 , the second-largest attendance for basketball on campus at Idaho lost their first three conference games in early January , then won nine of eleven to end the regular season at and overall . An NIT invitation was likely if they won their first game of the Big Sky tourney at Ogden , Utah ( and an NCAA tourney berth with two wins )
conference tournament
1980 Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
1979–80 Idaho Vandals men's basketball team