The Eastern Washington Eagles will travel to the Save Mart Center to take on the Fresno State Bulldogs this Thursday night in the 1st round of The Basketball Classic.
The Eastern Washington Eagles finished their regular season with an overall record of 18-15 while finishing Big Sky play with an overall record of 11-9. Eastern Washington earned the 6-seed in the Big Sky Championship and defeated the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks by a 78-75 margin in the 1st round before falling to the 3-seed Northern Colorado by a 68-67 margin in the Quarterfinals. Eastern Washington finished their non-conference schedule with a 6-5 record with a win at Washington State and picked some nice victories in Big Sky play with wins over Montana State & Northern Colorado.
On the season, Eastern Washington is averaging 76.9 ppg on 45.3% shooting from the field. The Eagles are averaging 8.8 three-pointers per game on 35.0% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Eastern Washington has been led by Steele Venters (16.6 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 2.2 apg), Linton Acliese (16.2 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 1.3 apg), Rylan Bergersen (13.3 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 4.3 apg, 1.2 spg), Angelo Allegri (12.2 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1.1 spg), & Ethan Price (10.0 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 2.0 apg).
Defensively, Eastern Washington is allowing their opponents to average 74.3 ppg on 42.7% shooting from the field. The Eagles have a rebound margin of 2.7 and a turnover margin of -1.6.
The Fresno State Bulldogs finished their regular season with an overall record of 19-13 and finished Mountain West play with an overall record of 8-9. Fresno State earned the 6-seed in the Mountain West Championship and defeated the San Jose State Spartans by a 69-67 margin in the 1st round before being defeated by the 3-seed San Diego State Aztecs, 53-46, in the Quarterfinals. Fresno State finished their non-conference schedule with a 10-3 record and picked up solid wins this season over Santa Clara, UC Irvine, Weber State, & Utah State.
On the season, Fresno State is averaging 64.7 ppg on 43.9% shooting from the field. The Bulldogs are averaging 6.6 three-pointers per game on 32.6% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Fresno State has been led by Orlando Robinson (19.7 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 2.8 apg, 1.3 bpg), Isaiah Hill (10.2 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 3.1 apg, 1.0 spg), Anthony Holland (9.3 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1.0 spg), & Jordan Campbell (7.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg).
Defensively, Fresno State is holding their opponents to an average of 58.5 ppg on 41.0% shooting from the field. The Bulldogs have a rebound margin of 3.9 and a turnover margin of 1.1.
The Eagles are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 Thursday games & 22-4 ATS in their last 26 road games vs. a team with a winning home record. The Bulldogs are 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games overall & 0-5 ATS in their last 5 home games.
Eastern Washington has been led by their offense which ranks 43rd in scoring offense, 105th in FG%, & 55th in three-pointers made per game, however, the Eagles have struggled defensively and come into this matchup ranked just 297th in scoring defense. Fresno State has been led by their defense which ranks 3rd in scoring defense & 53rd in defensive FG%, however, the Bulldogs really struggled on the offensive end as they currently rank just 316th in scoring offense.
Fresno State is a tough team to play on their home court as the Bulldogs have a 11-4 home record, however, this is a team that really struggled down the stretch and barley was able to get by a San Jose State team that went just 1-17 in the Mountain West Championship. Eastern Washington is a solid offensive team that should have some success in this one and although I don’t think they will be able to pick up a win, this is just too many points to pass up on. Take Eastern Washington and the points. Good Luck!