Although it’s still Christmas break at Idaho State University, that won’t keep the basketball teams from starting Big Sky conference play this week. While the men are on the road this week, the Idaho State women’s basketball team will host pre-season conference favorite Northern Arizona this Thursday night at 7 p.m. in Reed Gym. After a break with only one game in the past 3 weeks, the Bengals should have their players healthy for conference play, so come out and root on the team.

Then the ISU women take the court again this Saturday against Northern Colorado at 2 p.m. in Reed Gym. Tickets run $8 to $15 and can be purchased ahead at isu.edu/tickets or by calling 208-282-FANS. ISU students get in free with a current white/orange Bengal ID. Tickets can also be purchased at the Reed Gym ticket office beginning one hour before the games.

The Idaho State men’s basketball team returns home against Weber State on Saturday, January 11, at 6 p.m. in Reed Gym. The team will also be home to take on Montana State on January 16 at 7 p.m., followed by a match against Montana on January 18 at 6 p.m. Tickets run $12 to $17 and can be purchased ahead at isu.edu/tickets or by calling 208-282-FANS. ISU students get in free with a current white/orange Bengal ID. Tickets can also be purchased at the Reed Gym ticket office beginning one hour before the games.

The Bengal Theater opens back up on January 12, with acclaimed comedy “Saturday Night” showing at 4 and 7 p.m. In honor of the 50th anniversary of the late night show, this new movie peeks in at the origins. Tensions run high as producer Lorne Michaels and a ferocious troupe of young comedians and writers prepare for the first broadcast of “Saturday Night Live” on Oct. 11, 1975. Entertainment Weekly calls it, “a wildly entertaining love letter to a night of television that marked a cultural watershed.” Admission is $3 for the public, $2 for ISU staff and free for ISU students with a valid Bengal ID. For trailer and more information, go to isucinema.com/saturday.

And “The Wild Robot” will be shown January 16-18 at the Bengal Theater, with shows at 7 p.m. each night and including a 4 p.m. matinee on Saturday. Shipwrecked on a deserted island, a robot named Roz must learn to adapt to its new surroundings. Building relationships with the native animals, Roz soon develops a parental bond with an orphaned gosling and will do anything to help it survive and grow. Admission is $3 for the public, $2 for ISU staff and free for ISU students with a valid Bengal ID.