Eastern Washington men expect to receive postseason nod

RENO, Nevada – Eastern Washington didn’t earn the big prize at this year’s Big Sky Conference tournament, but the Eagles are getting some nice parting gifts.

At the top of the list: a little respect, the kind that usually isn’t afforded to a No. 6 seed with a 16-14 record.

“I think people respect what we can do offensively, and it scares them,” EWU coach Jim Hayford said Friday afternoon, a day after the Eagles lost to Idaho 77-73 in a quarterfinal game at the Reno Events Center.

It was the Eagles’ fourth loss in five games, all decided by four points or fewer.

“I just wish we would have shot a little better,” said Hayford, whose squad was 21 for 59 from the field and just 9 for 59 against Idaho’s 2-3 zone.

The Eagles also didn’t rise to Idaho’s physical level. One enduring image is EWU’s Austin McBroom driving the lane and drowning in an ocean of limbs. Usually he emerged at the baseline, still looking to make a play as the shot clock wound down.

“It was a tough night for Austin,” Hayford said of his point guard, who finished 0 for 10 from the field.

Senior forward Venky Jois also found tough going inside the Vandals.

Besides a second straight winning season, the Eagles aren’t finished.

Hayford hinted as much after the Idaho game, saying that he expected a postseason invitation. He offered more details on Friday.

“I will be very disappointed if the Eagles are not playing on Reese Court on Wednesday at 6 (p.m.),” Hayford said.

Presumably that would mean a berth in the 32-team College Basketball Invitational, which announces its bracket on Sunday night after the the NCAA field is chosen. The CBI is operated by the Gazelle Group, which also sponsors a series of in-season tournaments that Eastern has participated in during Hayford’s tenure.

Besides the exposure, the game would mean at least one more home game for McBroom and Jois, the leading career scorer in school history.

“The most important part of it is that the all-time leading scorer in Eastern Washington history is going to get to play again. It’s awesome,” Hayford said.

This would be only the fourth postseason appearance for Eastern and its first at home. The Eagles played in the NCAAs in 2004 and 2015 and the NIT in 2003.

Hayford is being mentioned in the Bay Area media as a potential candidate for the vacancy at San Francisco, which fired Rex Walters on Wednesday.

Hayford dismissed that as “sportwriter’s intuition,” while noting that “We’ve played pretty well there the last two years.”

EWU has taken two straight at USF, including an 81-77 win this season.