The Eastern Washington University men's basketball team faces an early challenge in Big Sky Conference play, hosting the preseason favorites in Southern Utah at Reese Court on Thursday, Dec. 2. A day later, the Eagles will head immediately out on the road to play at Omaha on Saturday, Dec. 4 at 10 a.m. Pacific time in Omaha, Neb., at Baxter Arena.
 
Tip-off for Thursday's game is set for 6 p.m. Pacific time. Both games can be heard on 700-AM ESPN/103.5 FM in Cheney with Larry Weir on the call. Greg Talbott and Marc Axton will have the ESPN+ broadcast against Southern Utah, and Saturday's game will be broadcast on Omavs.com.
 
Tickets for Thursday's home game are on sale now at GoEags.com/tickets. Additionally, proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test within the last 72 hours are required for entry at all home games this year for guests ages 11 or older. Masks must be worn at all times for fans ages five or older unless actively eating or drinking.
 
LAST TIME OUT: The Eagles are fresh off of a thrilling upset victory at Washington State on Saturday (Nov. 27) night, where Eastern Washington snapped WSU's 18-game non-conference winning streak with a 76-71 win. The victory marked the first over the Cougars since 1997, and just the third-ever in Pullman to snap a six-game overall losing streak.
 
A pair of true freshmen in Mason Landdeck (24) and Ethan Price (12) led the way in scoring in a back-and-forth game that saw eight lead changes and two ties. The Eagles trailed 40-28 at the half and then out-scored WSU 48-31 in the second en route to the win. Eastern Washington handed Washington State its first loss, dropping to 5-1. The win also serves as redemption from last year's 71-68 season-opening loss in Pullman.
 
A LOOK AT THE EAGLES: Eastern Washington currently sits at an even 3-3 on the year and are 1-0 at Reese Court. The Eagles, who are the defending Big Sky Conference Tournament Champions, were picked seventh and eighth in the Big Sky Preseason polls. Their first opponent of the week are the Big Sky Regular Season Champions in Southern Utah, and were selected first in both polls.
 
Three players rank inside the top-22 in the Big Sky in scoring, led by Steele Venters who is fourth with 17.2 points per game and Linton Acliese III who ranks fifth with 16.5 points per contest. Ethan Price is 21^st with 11.8 points per game and Rylan Bergersen rounds out the leaders with 10.5 points per game.
 
The Eagles can crash the boards, too, ranking third in the conference with 42.0 rebounds per game while out-rebounding their opponents by an average margin of 4.3 per game. Acliese (7^th, 7.8), Angelo Allegri (10^th, 6.5), Rylan Bergersen (15th, 5.7) and Ethan Price (16^th, 5.5) all rank inside the top-20 in rebounds per game in the Big Sky.
 
Eastern Washington averages 8.8 three-pointers per game and limits its opponents to just 28.9 percent from behind the arc. EWU also pours on 80.0 points per game which is third in the Big Sky as well.
 
Bergersen dishes 4.5 assists to rank second in the conference and is also sixth with 1.7 steals per game.
 
A LOOK AT THE THUNDERBIRDS: Southern Utah is also 3-3 overall and are on a two-game winning streak after finishing 2-1 over the weekend at the Rocket Mortgage Fort Myers Tip-Off. The Thunderbirds beat Yale 88-85 in overtime and Bowling Green 87-73. John Knight III was named the MVP and won Big Sky Player of the Week honors after scoring the game-winning free throws in overtime and averaging 19 points per game in both wins.
 
Knight currently leads the Big Sky with 19.3 points per game, and is shooting 59.5 percent from the field, and Maizen Fausett averages 10.2 rebounds per contest. As a team, Southern Utah averages 80 points per game to rank second in the Big Sky while leading the conference in rebounding with 46.2 per game.
 
The Thunderbirds will travel to Idaho on Saturday to complete the opening weekend of Big Sky play.
 
SERIES HISTORY: Eastern Washington leads the all-time series with Southern Utah, 16-7, including a 9-2 overall record at Reese Court. The two squads played on back-to-back days last season, splitting the decision. The Eagles won 75-63 before falling 99-94 the next day.
 
A LOOK AT THE MAVERICKS: Omaha, who is a member of The Summit League, is 1-6 overall so far this season. The Mavericks won their home opener against Hastings, but have since lost six-straight, including a 68-47 loss to Big Sky opponent Montana.
 
Omaha averages 56.0 points per game, averaging 7.0 three-pointers per contest and shooting 35.1 percent from the field. It pulls down 31.6 boards, dishes 9.6 steals and averages 5.7 steals and 1.3 blocks per game. Kyle Luedtke is the team leader in both points (9.9) and rebounds (5.0) per game.
 
SERIES HISTORY: The Mavericks and the Eagles have faced off just once, on Dec. 17, 2019 in Cheney where Eastern won 97-56. Ellis Magnuson scored 10 points and dished seven assists in the victory.
 
Against The Summit League, Eastern Washington is 11-15 all-time.
 
UP NEXT: Eastern Washington has a pair of road games next week. First up, another opportunity against a Pac-12 opponent in Colorado on Wednesday, Dec. 8 at 5 p.m. Pacific time. On Saturday, Dec. 11, the Eagles play at North Dakota for an 11 a.m. tip.
 
The Eagles are back at home on Wednesday, Dec. 15 to face Multnomah and will resume Big Sky play on the road on Dec. 30 at Portland State and on Jan. 1 at Northern Arizona.