At a glance: Week ahead
EWU Eagles
Thursday: at Northern Arizona, 5:05 p.m.
Saturday: at Sacramento State, 7:05 p.m.
Outlook: NAU freshman point guard Josh Wilson has a conference-high 5.71 assists a game. Kyle Golob, third in BSC history with 250 3-pointers, leads NAU at 12.7 ppg, with Ruben Boykins at 12.4 and 7.0 rpg. Sacramento State goes 11 deep. DaShawn Freeman leads the conference in steals (2.57) and 3-point shooting (.500) and the Hornets are best at 3-point defense (.283) and steals (9.64).
Gonzaga Bulldogs
Saturday: at Saint Mary’s, 8 p.m. (ESPNU)
Monday: at Santa Clara, 9 p.m. (ESPN)
Outlook: The eighth-ranked Bulldogs (10-3), who have won or shared the last five West Coast Conference regular-season titles, open defense of the crown on the road against the Gaels (7-5), who have won six of their last seven games. The Gaels upset then-No. 20 Nevada 89-80 last Saturday and picked up their first road win of the season by beating TCU 65-57 on Tuesday.
On Monday, the Zags travel to Santa Clara to take on the Broncos (7-5) in the WCC’s debut on ESPN’s Big Monday. SCU is coming off a 77-68 win over Bucknell in the title game of last week’s Cable Car Classic.
Idaho Vandals
Tonight: vs. New Mexico State, 7 p.m., Cowan Spectrum
Saturday: vs. Louisiana Tech, 2 p.m., Cowan Spectrum
Outlook: The Vandals (3-7) make their WAC debut against New Mexico State (4-7), another conference newcomer. The Aggies have defeated three teams with six combined wins – Division II Western New Mexico, Chicago State and Texas-San Antonio – along with a win over New Mexico. Louisiana Tech’s Paul Millsap is the top scorer and rebounder in the WAC. He led the NCAA in rebounding the last two seasons.
WSU Cougars
Saturday: 7 p.m. at Washington
Without point guard Derrick Low, an upset in Edmundson Pavilion looks a lot less likely. The Huskies haven’t played a road game, and they’ve been fantastic at home even though they lost their last conference game there in a double-overtime thriller against Arizona. WSU will have to replace Low, keep the pace in its favor and find a way to defend Washington’s low post game to have a chance.