The Vandals have had a rocky start to the Big Sky season, but not in a way fans expected.
Idaho (5-10; 1-3) is going into Thursday’s rivalry game against Eastern Washington (9-6; 2-2) with confidence, with all three conference losses coming within three points or fewer.
“Each and every night, it’s going to be competitive. And for us, it’s been games down to the wire,” Idaho Head Coach Zac Claus said. “To stay in it, to competing for 40 minutes is an absolute must, because these games come down to one or two possessions.”
Cowan Spectrum will be busy, with the men ending the double- header at home and Idaho Women’s Basketball tipping off at 5:30 p.m.
Here is what you need to know going into Thursday night.
Who are the Eagles in 2020?
This rivalry has been a constant for Idaho, leading the all-time series 57-32, but this is a different Eagles team compared to previous seasons.
Eastern Washington goes into Thursday with the third-best scoring offense in the nation, scoring over 84 points per game. They sit just behind Gonzaga and Central Michigan and one spot ahead of NCAA powerhouse, Duke University.
What has propelled the Eagles to success is the offense, but their defense is lacking. The Eagles have allowed the most points per game in the Big Sky.
The key message this season and the key to a win? Defense.
“We need to lock up and we need to do our best on the defensive end,” redshirt junior guard Marquell Fraser said. “I think that we’ve been doing
a great job at the start of conference play and we just have to continue moving forward.”
New team, new hope:
It has been hit on 100 times about how this is a new team with new chemistry, new strengths and weaknesses for Idaho.
The time for introductions appears to be over. The team looks to put the finishing touches and get over the hump of close losses to make a Big Sky run.
Fraser made note that all the newcomers to this year’s team are continuing to rise to the occasion, including sophomore post Jack “Big Boy” Wilson and junior post Babacar “Bob” Thiombane.
With the improved play in 2020 of junior post Scott Blakney, constant scoring from senior guard Trevon Allen, who is one point away from 1,000 career points, along with a deep bench, Fraser said there’s just one more piece to making a Big Sky tournament run.
“Chemistry, we’re still not there because we had a lot of injuries throughout the season,” Fraser said, “We’re still trying to mesh together but once that comes, I think that we’ll be able to really take off from there.”
Idaho hosts Eastern Washington at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in Cowan Spectrum.
Zack Kellogg can be reached at arg-sports.uidaho.edu or on Twitter @kellogg_zack.