The Idaho Vandals will travel to Reese Court to take on the Eastern Washington Eagles this Saturday night in College Basketball action.
The Idaho Vandals dropped to 3-9 on the season after being defeated by the Montana State Bobcats, 92-72, this past Thursday. Idaho struggled defensively against Montana State and could not fight back after the Bobcats took a 66-48 lead with 11:42 left in regulation. Idaho shot 45.1% from the field & 35.0% from beyond the arc while allowing Montana State to shoot 55.7% from the field & 46.7% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Vandals was Mikey Dixon who had 24 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, & 2 steals.
On the season, Idaho is averaging 72.9 ppg on 42.3% shooting from the field. The Vandals are averaging 8.8 three-pointers per game on 37.5% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Idaho has been led by Mikey Dixon (16.9 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 2.3 apg), Trevante Anderson (12.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 4.5 apg), Rashad Smith (8.7 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 1.4 apg), & Philip Pepple Jr. (5.2 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.7 bpg).
Defensively, Idaho is allowing their opponents to an average of 80.8 ppg on 47.1% shooting from the field. The Vandals have a rebound margin of -3.9 and a turnover margin of -4.1.
The Eastern Washington Eagles had their 2-game winning streak snapped and dropped to 8-7 on the season after being defeated by the Montana Grizzlies, 90-78, this past Thursday. Eastern Washington struggled offensively from beyond the arc and could not fight back after Montana took a 53-38 lead with 15:53 left in regulation. Eastern Washington shot 42.1% from the field & 16.7% from beyond the arc while allowing Montana to shoot 49.1% from the field & 32.0% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Eagles was Linton Acliese who had 20 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, & 1 block.
On the season, Eastern Washington is averaging 75.9 ppg on 43.4% shooting from the field. The Eagles are averaging 8.3 three-pointers per game on 31.8% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Eastern Washington has been led by Steele Venters (17.1 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 1.8 apg, 1.1 spg), Linton Acliese (16.2 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 1.3 apg), Rylan Bergersen (13.4 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 4.1 apg, 1.5 spg), & Angelo Allegri (10.0 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 1.5 apg).
Defensively, Eastern Washington is allowing their opponents to average 73.3 ppg on 41.4% shooting from the field. The Eagles have a rebound margin of 4.3 and a turnover margin of -1.7.
The Vandals are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games and 4-2 ATS in their last 6 games vs. Eastern Washington. The Eagles are 12-4 ATS in their last 16 games and 11-0 ATS in their last 11 Saturday games.
Idaho has been led by their offense which ranks 164th in scoring offense & 37th in 3P-FG%, however, the Vandals have struggled defensively as they come into this game ranked 340th in scoring offense & 332nd in defensive FG%. Eastern Washington is led by their offense which ranks 92nd in scoring offense, however, the Eagles have had trouble keeping opponents off the scoreboard as they currently rank just 282nd in scoring defense.
Idaho is not a very good team, however, they have been able to score the basketball and do have an impressive victory over South Dakota State. Eastern Washington is also a team that generally can put up a bunch of points, especially at home, and as I just don’t see either defense having much success in this one, I think the play here is to take the over. Good Luck!