16-7/12-3 Big Sky Tournament Champion
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2020-21 SEASON NOTES 16-7/12-3 Big Sky Tournament Champion • The Eagles claimed their third NCAA Tournament berth, joining the 2004 and 2015 teams in the Big Dance. • Eastern rolled through the Big Sky Conference Tournament with a trio of victories, leading for a total of 108:19 out of 120 minutes (trailed for 8:25 and tied for 3:16). EWU led by as many as 12, 38 and 20 in the three wins. • EWU won its 12 league games by an average winning margin of 14.2 points per game, and its lone league losses were by a total of 12 points (5 twice, 2). The Eagles lost to Oregon by 17, but EWU lost its six other games by a margin of 3.8 points (5 three times, 3 twice, 2). • Eight consecutive seasons EWU has recorded 10 league wins or more, and the seventh- straight with a winning record in Big Sky play. The Eagles are 90-37 in those seven years for 71 percent. • Junior TANNER GROVES was the league MVP and a first team All-Big Sky choice, then was named the Big Sky Tournament MVP. His brother, sophomore JACOB GROVES, also earned All- Tournament honors. • Junior KIM AIKEN JR. was a first team All-Big Sky selection and the league’s Defensive Player of the Year • Sophomore TYLER ROBERTSON was the Big Sky’s Top Reserve. • Head coach SHANTAY LEGANS currently has the fourth-best league winning percentage in the 58-year history of the Big Sky Conference – second among those who coached at least four seasons. He’s 53-20 in four seasons for a percentage of .726. Overall, Legans is now 75-48 overall (.610) in four seasons. Tanner Groves is Big Sky MVP to Continue Trend Kim Aiken Jr. joins Groves on the All-Big Sky first team and is also the league’s Defensive Player of the Year, while Tyler Robertson is selected as the league’s Top Reserve He learned his trade under last year’s MVP, and now he’s taken over as the top big man in the Big Sky 2020-21 All-Big Sky Team Conference. And he’s now the MVP too. Individual Awards Junior Tanner Groves has had a stellar 2020-21 men’s basketball season, and was rewarded as the Most Valuable Player – Tanner Groves, Big Sky Conference MVP on March 8 after watching teammate and fellow post player Mason Peatling earn Eastern Washington the honor a year ago. Defensive Player of the Year – Kim Aiken Jr., Eastern Washington Groves was a first team All-Big Sky selection, joining junior Kim Aiken Jr. on that squad as EWU Top Reserve – Tyler Robertson, was the lone league school to have two players on the first team. Aiken was also selected as the Big Eastern Washington Newcomer of the Year – Isiah Brown, Sky Conference Defensive Player of the Year, and sophomore Tyler Robertson was picked as the Top Weber State Reserve. Freshman of the Year – Dillon Jones, Weber State Big Sky Conference coaches selected the honors, and continued a recent trend within the Eagle Basketball program. Groves becomes the fourth MVP in the last five years, joining Peatling, Bogdan First Team Bliznyuk (2018) and Jacob Wiley (2017) in earning the honor, and EWU now has a total of six in school Tanner Groves, Eastern Washington history. Kim Aiken Jr., Eastern Washington Isiah Brown, Weber State “We saw him go against (2019-20 Big Sky MVP) Mason Peatling in practices and we saw the flashes of Tevian Jones, Southern Utah what he is capable of,” said Eastern head coach Shantay Legans earlier this season. “He’s playing really, Cameron Shelton, Northern Arizona really good basketball and is very confident. You love to see that, especially out of a player with so much Second Team character, how hard he plays, how much he loves his teammates and how much he gives his team every Ethan Esposito, Sacramento State game.” Maizen Fausett, Southern Utah John Knight III, Southern Utah Aiken is just the second Eagle to earn the Big Sky’s top honor on defense, joining Eastern Athletics Hall Seikou Sisoho Jawara, Weber State of Fame member Alvin Snow who was honored in 2004. Robertson’s accolade is the first time an Eagle Xavier Bishop, Montana State has earned the top reserve honor. Third Team “Kim is amazing on the boards,” said Legans after a sweep of Montana State in February. “That’s the Amin Adamu, Montana State Kim Aiken we have come to know and we’ve seen in the past. When he plays like that he’s one of the top Bodie Hume, Northern Colorado three players in the league. He goes to the boards, defends, rebounds, blocks shots, he’s hitting threes Tarik Cool, Idaho State Jubrile Belo, Montana State and he’s leading our team. He’s really hard to guard and hard to play against.” Matt Johnson II, Northern Colorado Robertson provided a huge boost this season for the Eagles, mostly off the bench. Honorable Mention “He’s a swiss army knife – he can do anything on the court, play point guard or play center,” said James Scott, Portland State Legans after Robertson scored a career-high 21 in a 90-76 home win over Montana on Feb. 18. “It’s a lot Kyle Owens, Montana Brayden Parker, Idaho State like how Kim plays on defense where he guard anybody, one through five. Tyler can play any offensive Bryce Fowler, Sacramento State position one through five. When you have players like that who can do different things, it puts you in Dre Marin, Southern Utah a great position. You want to play everybody, but some games some players do better than others Robert Ford III, Idaho State and you have to give them those opportunities. Tonight we saw that outcome with Tyler Robertson.” EAGLE MEN’S BASKETBALL Tuesday, March 16, 2021 Contact: Dave Cook (509-359-6334, 280-2502 cell, [email protected]) Internet: HTTP://WWW.GOEAGS.COM or HTTP://WWW.EWU.EDU Twitter: @ewumbb, @ewuathletics, #GoEags, #LetItFly, #BigSkyMBB, @CoachLegans Facebook: EWU Athletics • Instagram: ewuathletics Eagles Make Third NCAA Tournament Appearance In a monumental, one-for-the-ages NCAA Tournament, 2020-21 EWU Eagles get the opportunity that slipped away a year SCHEDULE & RESULTS ago because of the pandemic (16-7 Overall, 12-3 Big Sky Conf.) SCHEDULE AS OF JANUARY 28, 2020 The NCAA is going through an Note: Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and travel unprecedented set of circumstances to restrictions, all dates and times are subject to provide an opportunity. And that is not lost change, postponement or cancellation. Times may on the Eastern Washington University men’s be altered for television as well. basketball program. The Eagles are a No. 14 seed and will play third-seeded Kansas on Saturday, Date Opponent Result March 20, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Indianapolis, Ind. Eastern N 28 at Washington State^ L, 68-71 plays Saturday, March 20 at 1:15 p.m. Eastern Time/10:15 a.m. Pacific Time at N 30 Montana Tech Canceled Indiana Farmers Coliseum and the game will be televised by TBS. D 5 at Arizona^ L, 67-70 D 7 at Oregon^ (postponed from 11/25) L, 52-69 They arrived in Indianapolis on March 14 fresh off of winning the title at D 9 at UNLV Canceled the Big Sky Conference Championship, then watched the selection show as a D 11 The College of Idaho W, 80-56 team. Eastern then spent a day undergoing two rounds of Covid-19 testing and D 15 at Saint Mary’s L, 75-80 quarantining in their hotel. Finally, EWU was able to begin a week of practices D 18 at Northern Arizona* Canceled at the Indiana Convention Center on Monday, March 15, in preparation of their D 19 at Northern Arizona* W, 80-64 match-up with one of college basketball’s most successful programs. D 31 Portland State*~ Canceled J 2 Portland State* Canceled “I can tell you we’ll give it our all – we are going let it fly like we always have,” J 7 at Weber State* Canceled said Eastern head coach Shantay Legans, who played in the tournament twice J 9 at Weber State* Canceled and was an assistant in 2015 when EWU last appeared. “It’s going to be a good J 14 Southern Utah*~ W, 75-63 time for us. We are excited about the opportunity and we are not here just to play J 16 Southern Utah* L, 94-99 a game. We are going to try our best to win it. We’ll do everything in our power to J 21 at Northern Colorado* L, 76-78 get our team ready. We are a very confident group.’ J 23 at Northern Colorado* W, 82-76 J 31 Sacramento State* W, 68-60 Although all games will be played in the Indianapolis area, the Eagles are F 1 Sacramento State* W, 94-79 listed in the West region. The winner of the Kansas-EWU game will play the F 4 at Idaho* W, 89-74 winner of No. 6 USC versus the play-in game winner between Wichita State and F 6 Idaho*~ W, 90-84 Drake, which will receive the No. 11 seed. Eastern enters the tournament with F 11 at Montana State*~ W, 93-77 a 16-7 record, Kansas is 20-8, USC is 22-7, Wichita State is 16-5 and Drake is F 13 at Montana State* W, 85-69 25-4.