The Vandals ' conference record earned them the host position for the conference tournament ( top four teams of the eight ) , which Seeded seventh in the West region of the 48-team NCAA tournament , they traveled to El Paso , In the first round , Idaho lost by one point in overtime to they ended at , with most of the key players Idaho was ranked for the first time in school history in February , for three weeks in the UPI coaches poll . Curiously , they entered its top twenty after a road rose then exited after completing the regular season with a nine-point road win . The Vandals received votes , but did not appear , in the AP writers poll ( top twenty ) until January 1982 ; they were ranked sixth in both polls at end of that regular and eighth in both final polls
conference tournament
1981 Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
1980–81 Idaho Vandals men's basketball team