CHENEY, Wash. — The Eastern Washington University men's basketball team will head to Boise, Idaho this weekend to compete in the 2024 Big Sky Men's Basketball Championship Tournament at Idaho Central Arena, hoping to secure the program's fourth tournament championship and bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The Eags enter the tournament as the top seed after winning the regular season title for the second year in a row and sixth time in school history. They're the first Big Sky team to repeat since Montana (2017-19) and 10th in conference history. They're the first Big Sky Team to win the regular season title by 3+ games since 2008-09 (Weber State).
2024 Big Sky Tournament Quarterfinals
#1 EWU vs. #9 Idaho OR #10 Sacramento State
Sunday, March 10
5:30 p.m. MT / 4:30 p.m. PT
TV/Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 700 ESPN / 105.3 FM / Varsity Network
Tickets and information: BigSkyInBoise.com
The EWU Alumni Association has organized a variety of fan watch parties and get-togethers for the tournament! Check those out here.
All of that means little now, however, as last year proved there are no easy outs in the Big Sky Tournament. Eastern hopes to avenge last year's buzzer-beating loss to 9-seed Northern Arizona in the quarterfinal round. They went on to end the season on a high note,
winning a first round National Invitation Tournament (NIT) game at Washington State, but a change in the NIT selection standards to remove automatic bids for conference winners means EWU will not likely be invited again.
Eastern swept six schools in the season series this year including each of their potential quarterfinal opponents. They swept #2 Northern Colorado, #3 Montana, #6 Portland State, #8 Idaho State, #9 Idaho, #10 Sacramento State. Two of the teams that handed them losses this season — #4 Weber State and #5 Montana State — are on EWU's side of the bracket, meaning they'd be guaranteed to face one of them in the semifinals, should they advance on Sunday.
Click here for full game notes.
The Eagles came away with Big Sky Championship wins and NCAA Tournament berths in 2004, 2015 and 2021, defeating Montana State in the championship of the 2021 conference bracket in Boise. They have lost in the quarterfinals each of the last two seasons.
Join the Eagle Athletic Fund for as low as $50 per year! Support Eagle student-athletes on and off the field while enjoying exclusive EAF perks such as season ticket and tailgating priority, invitations to special events, exclusive access and more. Visit goeags.com/eaf for more information.
ABOUT EASTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
Eastern Washington University Athletics sponsors 14 intercollegiate sports, six for men and eight for women, both as learning opportunities for its most athletically talented students and as an enhancement to student and community life. Eastern is affiliated with Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and is a member of the Big Sky Conference, an association of 10 regional schools with comparable enrollments and academic goals.
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