Eagles men must win to assure Big Sky in

Despite winning, the Eagles need to win again Saturday afternoon to assure themselves of a berth in the Big Sky Conference tournament.

Should EWU lose to Weber State, it would finish 10-10 in conference play and would need some help to reach the postseason, namely a Montana State win at Sacramento State.

Four teams – Weber, North Dakota, Montana and Northern Arizona – already have 11 wins, while Northern Colorado (10-9) would get there by defeating last-place Southern Utah.

That would leave four teams in contention for the two remaining spots: Eastern and Portland State (both 10-9) and Sacramento State and Montana State (both 9-10). But the latter two teams play each other Saturday in Sacramento, meaning only the winner would join EWU at 10-10.

In a three-way tie with PSU and Sacramento State, the Eagles would lose out because they are 1-3 against the other two teams. They also lose two-way ties with either school – to PSU because they were swept by the Vikings, and to Sac State because the Hornets own a win over Weber State.

However, the Eagles own a sweep of Montana State, so any tie involving the Bobcats would advance EWU to the playoffs.

The Eagles also could get some help from Southern Utah, which knocked off North Dakota on Thursday; if the T-Birds beat UNC, Eastern’s multi-way tie-breaker chances would be enhanced in.

Jim Allen