Eastern Washington at Santa Clara

E. Washington was a miserable 8-20 two years ago. Enter Rodney Stuckey and his 24.2 ppg as a freshman scoring more points than any Big Sky player in over 30 years, and earning honorable mention All-American honors in the process. The Eagles lose just one senior from this team and the returning pieces, have picked up their respective games, and this team may be heard from come tournament time. Stuckey has upped his average to 26.7 ppg this year against the likes of Gonzaga, UNLV, and Washington. This team is road-tested, staying within 3 of UNLV, 7 of Washington, and 15 at Gonzaga, which is closer than any team that has played at Gonzaga this year including Washington. They are averaging over 90 ppg, and shoot at over 50%. Each of the top eight scorers on this team shoot over 46% so the offense comes from everywhere, not just Stuckey. Santa Clara is a team loaded with size, but does not have the guards to stabilize, or utilize the teams strength. Higgins, Dennison and Bryant are all 6-10 or taller, and combine for 61 minutes on the floor. A team with this size should be ringing up the assists, but they have more turnovers than assists, and when playing good teams like Missouri State they lost by 27, and also lost to Cal by 25. We think the Eagles have a good shot at coming away from this one with a win, so we will gladly take the points.