Big Sky basketball: After rugged nonconference, rested EWU ready to take on Idaho in Saturday's opener

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Jan. 1—At the tail end of an 11-day layoff during which every player got to go home for a Christmas break, the Eastern Washington men's basketball team was back at Reese Court this week trying to fix what ailed it during a 2-11 start to the season.

"Four days off, for us at this level and time of year is pretty good," EWU associate head coach Ryan Lundgren said on Monday. "Hopefully we can come out with some renewed energy for conference play."

The Eagles have played the second hardest schedule so far among the Big Sky's 10 teams, according to the latest KenPom rankings, trailing only Sacramento State (4-8 overall). Idaho, Eastern's opponent on Saturday in Moscow, has played the league's seventh most difficult schedule by that measure. The Vandals' record is 8-5.

Eastern has allowed a league-high 86.5 points per game, nearly 15 points more than Idaho has allowed. The Eagles' last two games were losses at Utah and BYU in which they gave up an average of 105 points.

Opening up the Big Sky schedule against the Vandals is a good test for the Eagles, Lundgren said.

"It's one of those games where we have to be able to defend them to have a chance to beat them on their own floor, and we have not been great defensively," Lundgren said. "Saturday night doesn't define our season, but if we can get one on the road it sets the tone for the rest of (January)."

The Eagles have struggled to find a replacement for injured guard Andrew Cook on the offensive end. Without their leading scorer from a year ago, the Eagles have relied on grad transfer Isaiah Moses (17 points per game), especially in the moments when they really need to have a basket.

But Option No. 2 has been inconsistent.

"Cook is just a different type of scorer," Lundgren said. "He's so relentless in attacking the rim."

One player who has stepped up, though, is redshirt senior guard Jojo Anderson. Last year at Idaho, Anderson averaged 14.9 minutes and 2.6 points per game. But with the Eagles he has been the consummate sixth man, playing 20.7 minutes per game and averaging 7.1 points.

"His competitive nature is his best attribute," Lundgren said. "He's really starting to find his confidence offensively and he is one of our best defenders on the ball."

Saturday's game at ICCU Arena is Don Monson Legacy Night, honoring the late college basketball coach whose son, Dan, is in his second year coaching the Eagles.

Lundgren didn't know Don Monson until last year, when he attended Eastern's home games. But the elder Monson's legacy was already well-known to Lundgren, who spent time on the Boise State staff with Leon Rice.

"I worked four years with Leon Rice, and he would talk about Don a lot," Lundgren said. "Don's influence has really permeated this Inland Northwest coaching tree so much."

Bears off to hot start

Northern Colorado finished nonleague play at 10-3, the first Big Sky team to reach double-digit victories. But the Bears schedule was hardly an inverse of the difficult one Eastern Washington has played.

The Bears' resume includes victories over West Coast Conference teams Pepperdine and Portland, an 11-point loss at No. 19 Texas Tech (10-3) and a victory over Colorado (10-3) on Saturday in Boulder.

KenPom ranks the Bears 149th overall, higher than any other Big Sky team. Idaho by that measure ranks 189th, Eastern 260th.

Familiar names lead Big Sky scoring

Quinn Denker, who played last season at Idaho, leads Northern Colorado and the league in scoring at 18.7 points per game. His 33-point night spearheaded the Bears' upset victory over the Buffaloes over the weekend.

Five of the league's other top scorers are playing for the same team they did last year, including league preseason MVP selection Money Williams. The Montana junior guard is averaging 18.2 points per game, five more than he did last year. Montana, the preseason league favorite, is 6-7.

Sandwiched around the EWU guard Moses is a pair of Portland State returners, seniors Terri Miller Jr. (17.8 points per game) and Jaylin Henderson (17.0), who have led the Vikings to a 6-5 start.

Rounding out the league's top six in scoring is Northern Colorado senior Brock Wisne (16.5 points per game), who has spent his entire 111-game college career with the Bears.

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