The Idaho men's basketball team plays just once this week -- at reeling Montana State in a BracketBuster game. But it's the WAC race for the top four seeds that's most intriguing, and we've got thoughts on that below as well as a summary of Don Verlin's press conference.

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If the WAC tournament started this week, the Vandals (14-11, 7-6) would be the fifth seed, just behind Nevada and Boise State. The No. 5 seed isn't a desirable spot; the top four seeds get first-round byes -- and the top two seeds get byes into the semifinals -- while the first round is comprised of the 5/8 and 6/7 games.

So obviously the Vandals want to move up, but it will be tricky with the three games they have left. UI is part of a cluster of four teams behind Utah State within two games of one another in the loss column. With how close the race is, the Vandals can't help but think back to their string of last-minute losses, including Saturday's at Boise State. Five of their six league losses have come by an average of six points.

"Our goal is to get a bye all the way to semis," Verlin said Tuesday, "and we’re really going to have to play to do that. That means get the one or two seed. Yeah, you get a marquee win on Wednesday (versus Utah State); if we could have parlayed that into another very, very good win on Saturday, it really would have helped our chances of finishing in the top two."

Here's what each of the four teams (plus Hawaii) has left in the WAC, sorted by the standings as of tonight:

2, New Mexico State, 8-4 — at San Jose State, at Hawaii, Utah State, Nevada
3, Nevada, 7-5 — Idaho, Boise State, at Louisiana Tech, at New Mexico State
4, Boise State, 7-6 — at Fresno State, at Nevada, San Jose State
5, Idaho, 7-6 — at Nevada, at Utah State, Fresno State (plus nonconference games at Montana State, vs. Seattle)
6, Hawaii, 5-7 — Louisiana Tech, New Mexico State, at San Jose State, at Fresno State

For the Vandals, this week is "kind of the calm before the storm," Verlin said. "We’ve got not only an important five games in front of us, we’ve got a tough five games in front of us. I think this team is playing their best basketball in February, and that’s what we’re going to have to do if we’re going to make a run throughout this season and the WAC tournament."

Verlin noted that Nevada has lost just once at home in WAC play this season. And the trip to Reno is preceded by a 900-mile round bus trip to Bozeman to play MSU -- and after UNR is a rematch with Utah State. That makes for a brutal road stretch for UI. "Our team’s been pretty good on the road," Verlin said. "Hasn’t bothered them much, so hopefully we’ll continue to play well."

Idaho's seeding could hinge how it fares at Nevada. Utah State has been dominant at home in recent years and Fresno State is certainly beatable at home. Yet if UI could pull off a season sweep of the Wolf Pack, it would be in solid shape, at 9-7, to snatch a first-round bye.

But Verlin has loftier ambitions.

"We still control our destiny of getting the second seed," he said. "We can do that if we just absolutely play our tails off; that’s still very possible."