Eagles’ ‘tour’ takes them to No. 3 Kansas tonight

Eastern Washington’s well-traveled men’s basketball team celebrated Monday night’s 65-54 road win over Missouri-Kansas City by soaking up a little college basketball lore.

The Eagles (3-6) spent Tuesday morning in the Sprint Center in downtown Kansas City, Mo., touring the College Basketball Experience, a 40,000 square-foot interactive attraction that also houses the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.

“It was a terrific experience for the guys,” coach Kirk Earlywine said. “They saw a lot of the history of college basketball and did some interactive things in there that they really enjoyed.”

But the Eagles will get a bigger basketball history lesson – and have a much more interactive experience – tonight at 5 PST when they venture into fabled Allen Fieldhouse to take on No. 3-ranked Kansas (7-0). KU’s arena, named in honor of the late Dr. F.C. “Phog” Allen, a player and longtime coach for the Jayhawks, seats 16,300 and is considered among the most hostile environments for visiting teams.

While Earlywine hopes his players appreciate the rare opportunity to play a top team in one of the finest settings in all of college basketball, he does not expect them be intimidated.

“We’re going to run into a team that’s ranked in the top five in the country in front of a hostile, sellout crowd,” Earlywine said. “But I told our guys there are no moral victories. If there are referees there, and they’re keeping score, then our intent is to win the game. And we’re going in there with a game plan that I think gives us the best chance to do that.”

KU, which edged Southern California 59-55 in its first road game of the season Sunday, will again be without sophomore guard Sharron Collins, who underwent foot surgery to repair a stress fracture Nov. 12. Junior guard Brandon Rush is still working himself into shape after having off-season knee surgery.

But Earlywine feels the Jayhawks are still deserving of their lofty ranking and capable of causing massive matchup problems for his Eagles. Of major concern is Darrell Arthur, a 6-foot-10, 225-pound sophomore forward, who is averaging 13.9 points and six rebounds a game.

The assignment of guarding Arthur will fall on Eastern’s 6-4 senior Kellen Williams, who leads the Eagles in scoring (10.4 ppg) and rebounding (7.6 rpg).

“Kellen has been battling against bigger guys all year,” Earlywine said, “but now it’s a little bit different animal. The Arthur kid is 6-10 and will probably be a top-10 draft pick, so he’s not only big, he good.”

Earlywine thinks his Eagles, who play nine of their first 11 games away from Reese Court, are dealing with life on the road quite well and gaining some valuable experience that should aid them during the season.

“We’re going to face one of the five best teams and crowds in college basketball at Kansas,” he said. “I don’t think we’re going to see a team in the Big Sky Conference that is better or any crowd that is more hostile, so we should be prepared.

“Each one of these experiences is a building block, again, with our eyes toward Dec. 22 and our Big Sky opener against Portland State.”