It hasn't always been smooth for Idaho this season. But here the Vandals are, on the last day of the regular season, knowing they will at worst be the third seed in next week's WAC tournament.

The Vandals are in San Jose to take on the Spartans tonight. We take a look at the matchup and analyze Idaho's chances of improving on last year's postseason effort below.

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With a win over the WAC's worst team tonight, the Vandals can wrap up the regular season at 18-12. That's the same record they had last year going into the postseason. But there are reasons to believe this team will perform better than the one that flamed out quickly in March last year.

COMPARING THIS YEAR TO LAST

For starters, Idaho will finish 9-5 in the WAC if it beats San Jose State (tipoff is at 7 p.m). Last year the Vandals won nine games in conference as well -- but they played a 16-game league schedule, not a 14-game one like this year. (The Vandals had the No. 4 seed in last year's WAC tournament and were bounced by San Jose State in the first round.)

Also of note: This team shoots better from the field and 3-point line than last year's. And it's more balanced.

In 2010-11, the Vandals were led in scoring by 3-point shooting specialist Jeff Ledbetter, who averaged 15.1 points per game in conference play. He accounted for 22 percent of the Vandals' scoring, and a whopping 78 percent of Ledbetter's field goal attempts came from 3. That meant the Vandals were often overly dependent on his long-range production.

This year, Idaho has three starters who average at least 12 points per game. They rank first in the WAC and 23rd in the NCAA in field-goal percentage (47.8 percent). They make 39.2 percent of their 3s, the best mark in the WAC -- and good for 20th in the country entering today.

All these stats make the case that the Vandals are a very solid offensive team. And remember, the Vandals lost four games in December by a total of nine points. If they had pulled out two of those wins, they could be looking at a 20-win regular season.

LOOKING AHEAD TO WAC TOURNEY

It also bodes well for Idaho that it has avoided the fourth or fifth seed in the WAC tournament. After the top few teams, there’s not much separation between the next four teams in the conference. But by securing at least the third seed, the Vandals will avoid meeting top-seeded Nevada until the championship game – if they can make it there. That’s a big question mark. Idaho is 1-6 in the WAC tourney since joining the league in 2005, and its only win came in a play-in game in 2007 – one of four victories for UI that year.

The Vandals will play either Hawaii or Louisiana Tech if they stay in the third spot. But if they beat SJSU tonight and New Mexico State loses to Fresno State, they will have the No. 2 seed and a date on Thursday with FSU. Is it unlikely that NMSU would stumble against the Bulldogs? Probably. But consider Fresno State only lost by four at NMSU earlier in the year and it has beaten a few quality teams at home – Boise State, Idaho and Utah State. Fresno also fell in triple OT to Nevada at home.

But I have to wonder if Don Verlin is fine with the No. 3 seed. If Hawaii loses to Utah State and Nevada beats Louisiana Tech, the Warriors would be the sixth seed and Idaho’s first-round matchup. UH has lost four straight games by an average of 23.5 points, including a 19-point loss to the Vandals on Thursday.

Follow me on Twitter (@SR_JoshWright) for Idaho basketball and football updates.

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