The Idaho State Bengals men's basketball team represents

Idaho State University , mottoeng = "The truth will set you free" , established = , former_names = Academy of Idaho(1901–1915)Idaho Technical Institute(1915–1927)University of Idaho—Southern Branch(1927–1947)Idaho State ...

Pocatello, Idaho Pocatello () is the county seat of and largest city in Bannock County, with a small portion on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in neighboring Power County, in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Idaho. It is the principal city of the ...

, United States. The school's team currently competes in the

Big Sky Conference The Big Sky Conference (BSC) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I with football competing in the Football Championship Subdivision. Member institutions are located in the western United States in the eigh ...

. They are currently led by head coach

Ryan Looney Ryan Looney (born November 8, 1975) is an American college basketball coach and the current Head Men's Basketball Coach at Idaho State University. Coaching career Ryan Looney was formerly coach at Seattle Pacific University. 2013-14 SPU finishe ...

and play their home games at

Reed Gym Reed or Reeds may refer to: Science, technology, biology, and medicine * Reed bird (disambiguation) * Reed pen, writing implement in use since ancient times * Reed (plant), one of several tall, grass-like wetland plants of the order Poales * R ...

. Prior to the 2019–20 season, the Bengals played most of their home games at

Holt Arena Holt Arena is an indoor multi-purpose athletic stadium in the western United States, located on the campus of Idaho State University (ISU) in Pocatello, Idaho. It is the home field of the Idaho State Bengals of the Big Sky Conference and sits a ...

, with some select home games at Reed.

Idaho State Bengals coaches list

Postseason

NCAA tournament results

The Bengals have appeared in eleven NCAA Tournaments and have a cumulative record The team came to national prominence as a member of

Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC), commonly known as the Rocky Mountain Conference (RMC) from approximately 1910 through the late 1960s, is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (N ...

(RMAC) under head coach Steve Belko, who arrived in 1950 and stayed for six seasons, followed by John Grayson for the next three. Belko left for

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, Grayson for

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. In the sixth season under head coach

Jim Killingsworth James Austin Killingsworth (June 19, 1923 – June 10, 2007) was an American college basketball coach. He was best known for his tenures at Idaho State University and Texas Christian University (TCU). Born in Checotah, Oklahoma, Killingsworth pla ...

, Idaho State advanced to the Elite Eight in 1977. It was a 32-team field, and remains the furthest any Big Sky team has advanced in the NCAA tourney. The Bengals won an opening round game at home at the

Minidome Holt Arena is an indoor multi-purpose athletic stadium in the western United States, located on the campus of Idaho State University (ISU) in Pocatello, Idaho. It is the home field of the Idaho State Bengals football, Idaho State Bengals of the Bi ...

and then upset second-ranked

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

by a point in the Sweet Sixteen in

Provo, Utah Provo ( ) is the fourth-largest city in Utah, United States. It is south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front. Provo is the largest city and county seat of Utah County and is home to Brigham Young University (BYU). Provo lies between the ...

. entered the game with records After the high-scoring loss to fourth-ranked

UNLV The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes th ...

in the regional final, Killingsworth left for

Oklahoma State Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

. *Through

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, Idaho State has not participated in the

National Invitation Tournament The National Invitational Tournament (NIT) is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Played at regional sites and traditionally at Madison Square Garden (Final Four) in New York City ...

(NIT).

NAIA Tournament results

The Bengals have one NAIA Tournament appearance, with a record of 1–1.

Idaho State Bengals in the NBA/ABA

Ron Boone Ronald Bruce Boone (born September 6, 1946) is an American former professional basketball player. He had a 13-year career in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA). Boone set a record for most consecuti ...

(SG), 1969–1981, 4 x All-Star, 1041 consecutive games *

Jeff Cook Jeffrey Alan Cook (August 27, 1949 – November 7, 2022) was an American country music artist. He was best known for being a founding member of the band Alabama, in which he contributed to lead vocals, guitar, fiddle, piano and other musical in ...

(PF), 1980–1988 * Greg Griffin (SF), 1978–1978 * Steve Hayes (C), 1981–1986 * Charles Parks (F), 1969–1969 * Dale Wilkinson (PF), 1985–1985

References

External links

* {{Idaho-basketball-team-stub