Career: In his 48-game career (14 as a starter), he’s averaging 5.9 points and 2.9 rebounds, and has 17 steals and 29 assists. He has a total of 10 career games scoring in double figures (two with at least 20). He’s led Eastern in single games in scoring (4 times), rebounding (2), steals (6), blocked shots (1) and assists (1).
NCAA Tournament Experience: Groves finished with a career-high 23 points and equaled his high with nine rebounds in Eastern’s 93-84 loss to 12th-ranked and third-seeded Kansas on March 20, 2021, in the NCAA Tournament. He finished the game 8-of-11 from the field overall and 4-of-5 from 3-point range, and also had nine rebounds, a blocked shot, a steal and an assist. His previous career high for scoring was 21 versus Montana in the Big Sky Conference Tournament semifinals. Jacob and his older brother, Tanner, combined for all of Eastern’s points in a game-opening 9-0 run to start the game, and ended up with 16 apiece at halftime and combined for 58 in the game. The Groves Bros combined for 19-of-29 shooting from the field, 9-of-16 from the 3-point stripe and 11-of-12 from the free throw line. Tanner made 11-of-18 shots from the floor, including 5-of-11 3-point attempts, to finish with a career-high 35 points. He also sank 8-of-9 free throws and had five rebounds and three blocked shots.
Big Sky Tournament Experience: Groves joined his big brother, Tanner Groves, on the All-Tournament team at the 2021 Big Sky Conference Championships in Boise, Idaho. And it only seemed appropriate for the brothers to headline the tournament since the team hotel and tournament headquarters in Boise was the Grove Hotel. Jacob averaged 13.0 points and 3.3 rebounds, and sank 77.3 percent of his attempts (17-of-22). Tanner, the MVP of the tournament, nearly averaged a double-double with averages of 15.7 points and 9.7 rebounds, and had four blocked shots and five assists while shooting at a 48 percent clip. They combined for 18 points and 14 rebounds in Eastern’s 66-60 quarterfinal win over Northern Arizona, then combined for 39, eight and five assists in a 78-50 romp over Montana. In a 65-55 championship game victory over Montana State, they combined for 29 points and 17 rebounds as Jacob led EWU in scoring with 15 and Tanner had a double-double of 14 points and 14 boards.
2020-21: Selected to the Winter Big Sky Conference All-Academic team for the second-straight time. The aptly named “Groves Bros” – Jacob and his older brother Tanner Groves – gave Eastern a boost in leading the team to a 16-8 record overall and NCAA Tournament appearance. Jacob averaged 9.3 points and 4.2 boards as a sophomore and made 55.2 percent of his shots. Jacob added seven points and seven rebounds in the road victory at Northern Arizona, and had 10 points in a loss at Northern Colorado on Jan. 21. He started every game for EWU from Jan. 23 to March 3, and had 11 points and a career-high three assists versus Sacramento State (2/1/21). He scored 12 versus Idaho (2/4/21), then had a career-high 17 points and seven boards two days later versus the Vandals (2/6/21).
2019-20: Named to the Big Sky Conference All-Academic team for the first time. Played in 24 games, averaging 6.5 minutes, 2.5 points and 1.5 rebounds per game while making 51.0 percent of his shots from the field (19-of-38). In EWU’s 146-89 win over Multnomah (12/13/19), he had a season-high eight points, then matched it versus Montana (1/9/20). He had five points and a four rebounds in his Eagle debut at High Point (11/23/19), then had five more points in EWU’s next game against Belmont (12/4/19). He scored four points with a season-high five rebounds against Montana State (2/8/20). He hit a pair big field goals in the last 3:49 to preserve EWU’s lead in a 78-69 victory over Weber State on March 7 to wrap-up the outright Big Sky title.
HS: Graduated from Shadle Park HS in 2019. Groves earned second team All-Greater Spokane League honors as a senior at Shadle Park, averaging 17.6 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. His single-game highs were 33 points and 15 rebounds. He helped the Highlanders to a 15-11 record overall in the first season under coach Arnold Brown. Because of weather, Shadle Park had to win two games on one day – one in Hermiston, Ore., and the other in Kennewick, Wash. – to advance to the regional round of the State 3A Tournament. As a junior, Groves averaged over 16 points and seven rebounds per game, making 60 percent from the field overall and 47 percent from the 3-point stripe. He scored a season-high 26 points and hit six 3-pointers in a 53-51 win over Kellogg (Idaho) High School. He was a 3.8 student in high school.
Personal: Born 4/5/01. Undecided on his major at EWU and has a 3.74 grade point average through winter quarter 2021. His community service activities have included volunteering at the Washington Family Ranch and participating in highway clean-ups. His parents are Randy and Tara Groves, and he also has another brother named Dylynn. Tanner, a 6-foot-9 forward for EWU, has played the past two seasons for the Eagles. Randy played basketball at Shadle Park HS and Community Colleges of Spokane, and Tara (formerly Tara Flugel) still owns the Whitworth scoring record of 2,040 points and is in the school’s Hall of Fame. She’s formerly from Colville, Wash.
| SEASON |
GP-GS |
MIN/AVG |
FG-FGA |
FG% |
3FG-FGA |
3FG% |
FT-FTA |
FT% |
OFF |
DEF |
TOT |
AVG |
PF-FO |
AST |
TO |
BLK |
STL |
PTS |
AVG |
| 2019-20 |
24-0 |
154/6.4 |
25-49 |
.510 |
2-14 |
.143 |
9-16 |
.563 |
11 |
26 |
37 |
1.5 |
23-0 |
7 |
15 |
0 |
6 |
61 |
2.5 |
| 2020-21 |
24-14 |
522/21.8 |
90-163 |
.552 |
16-44 |
.364 |
28-37 |
.757 |
23 |
77 |
100 |
4.2 |
60-2 |
22 |
29 |
3 |
11 |
224 |
9.3 |
| TOTAL |
48-14 |
676/14.1 |
115-212 |
.542 |
18-58 |
.310 |
37-53 |
.698 |
34 |
103 |
137 |
2.9 |
83-2 |
29 |
44 |
3 |
17 |
285 |
5.9 |
Single Game Highs
Points
- 23 vs Kansas 03/20/21
Rebounds - 9 vs Idaho St. 03/03/21, vs Kansas 03/20/21
Assists - 3 vs Sacramento St. 02/01/21, at Montana St. 02/13/21, vs Idaho St. 03/03/21
Steals - 3 vs Idaho St. 03/05/20, at Washington St. 11/28/20
Blocks - 1 vs Sacramento St. 02/01/21, at Oregon 12/07/20, vs Kansas 03/20/21
FG Made - 10 vs Montana 03/12/21
FG Attempts - 16 at Washington St. 11/28/20
3FG Made - 4 vs Kansas 03/20/21
3FG Attempts - 5 at Washington St. 11/28/20, vs Kansas 03/20/21
FT Made - 4 vs Montana 01/09/20, at Idaho 02/04/21, vs Montana 02/18/21
FT Attempts - 6 vs Montana 01/09/20
