Eastern Washington Basketball: 2019-20 takeaways in Weber State win

Eastern Washington Basketball: 2019-20 takeaways in win over Weber State Wildcats

SPOKANE, WASHINGTON - DECEMBER 21: Admon Gilder Jr. #1 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs drives against Jacob Davidson #10 of the Eastern Washington Eagles in the first half at McCarthey Athletic Center on December 21, 2019 in Spokane, Washington. (Photo by William Mancebo/Getty Images) /

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OMAHA, NE – MARCH 20: Cheerleaders from the Portland State Vikings (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

1. The Big Sky race is wide open

In my Big Sky preview, I noted that it was a four-team race with the Eastern Eagles at the top. Closely following were #125 Northern Colorado (7-5, 0-1), #156 Southern Utah (7-4, 0-0), and #195 Montana (5-7, 1-0).

Eastern’s two-point win over Weber State, who I had pegged as a seventh-place team, showed that there will be no easy road trips in the Big Sky this year. The UNC Bears found that out after they laid their claim to favorite behind an 87-68 win in South Dakota (#173) on Dec. 20. #206 Portland State (7-6, 1-0) had different ideas when they hosted the Bears.

The PSU Vikings applied their full-court pressure to jump out to a 37-15 lead over the Bears. Northern Colorado eventually settled in, only to fall short in 69-65 road loss. I had ranked the Vikings in sixth place.

However, the return of 6’8 senior Sal Nuhu (8.2 ppg, 5.0 rpg) from a six-game injury and the eligibility of 6’4 senior Lamar Hamrick (5.9 ppg, 2.8 rpg) has bolstered their depth and has Portland State claiming they should be in the conversation with the top four. Hamrick is a transfer from Detroit and had a huge block in the closing minute against the Bears.

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