Week ahead
Eastern Washington Eagles
Friday: Cal Poly, 7:05 p.m.
Tuesday: at Brigham Young, 6 p.m.
Outlook: After tough losses to ranked teams Washington and Gonzaga, the young Eagles have to show they can bounce back. They have done that twice – after getting swept in the Great Alaska Shootout, they won three straight, and after a poor effort against Washington they battled Gonzaga to the final minutes. Eastern beat Cal Poly 74-61 last year and has wins over Riverside and Northridge of the Big West this year. The Mustangs are 2-6 after an 80-59 loss at Sacramento State on Tuesday. They gun away from the outside, averaging 8.5 3-pointers a game, led by sophomore Dawin Whiten, who is good for almost four. BYU is 6-2 going into a game at Utah State tonight. That includes a 76-68 win over Washington State in the Arena and a 74-68 loss at USC, which whipped the Eagles in Alaska.
Gonzaga Bulldogs
Tonight: at Saint Louis, 5:30 p.m. in the Savvis Center (KHQ-TV)
Tuesday: at Memphis, 4 p.m. (ESPN2)
Outlook: The Bulldogs (8-2) will try to rebound from Monday’s uninspired effort in a 75-65 win over Eastern Washington against a young Saint Louis team (5-4) that surrounds 6-foot-10, 270-pound junior center Ian Vouyoukas with four guards – the best of which is freshman Tommie Liddell, a 6-5, 200-pounder who is averaging 13.1 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. Vouyoukas leads the Billikens in scoring (14.1 ppg) and rebounding (8.9 rpg) and should present a challenging matchup for GU’s 6-9, 269-pound center J.P. Batista. In Memphis, the Zags will look at one of the strongest and quickest team in the country. The Tigers (8-1) are ranked No. 4 in the country and suffered their only loss of the season on the road against No. 1 Duke.
Washington
State
Cougars
Tonight: 7:30 p.m. vs. Utah in Seattle (FSN)
Outlook: Utah is still a bit of a mystery, with a nice record (6-3) but an ugly 30-point loss to Arizona along the way. The Utes will be the fourth Mountain West team to face the Cougars this season, with WSU going 2-1 so far. The Cougars will likely need point guard Derrick Low to regain his scoring touch, as the sophomore managed just three points against Portland in his last game. WSU opponents are shooting 35.4 percent from the field this year.