Going into this week's game at Idaho, Eastern fans can't help but notice that the Vandals have lost not once, but twice, to a Northern Kentucky team that was run out of Reese Court back in November by a score of 81-60.

On the other hand, Idaho owns a win over Washington State, which recently beat a Cal team that beat the Eagles by 11 last month.

Coach Jim Hayford warmed to the subject immediately. "I just did some comparative scoring, and I figured that if Kentucky would come to Reese Court, it would be a good game," Hayford joked Monday as the Eagles prepared for Saturday's Big Sky Conference matchup at Idaho.

 

 

And that's the operative word: matchup. "It's all about matchups," said Hayford, who nevertheless has some big numbers on his side going into a three-game road trip that continues next week at Portland State and Sacramento State.

The Eagles lead the Sky in scoring (79.8 points a game), scoring margin (plus-9.3ppg), field goal percentage (48,7 percent), 3-pointers made (9.5) assist-to-turnover margin (1.2pg) and blocked shots (5.9 per game).

But hold that calculator. The Vandals are the best 3-point shooting team in the league at 41.5 percent, lead the Sky in offensive rebounding are right behind the Eagles in scoring and scoring margin.

And at the end of the day, the only thing that matters is that one team will be 3-0 in the conference.

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