Saturday, February 21st, 10:05 p.m. (et)

FACTS & STATS: Site: Reese Court (6,000) -- Cheney, Washington. Television: None. Home Record: UNC 8-4, EWU 8-3. Away Record: UNC 3-11, EWU 3-12. Neutral Record: UNC 1-1, EWU 0-0. Conference Record: UNC 6-7, EWU 5-9. Series Record: Eastern Washington leads, 3-2.

GAME NOTES: Big Sky Conference action will take center stage this evening at Reese Court when the Eastern Washington Eagles host the Northern Colorado Bears in a key matchup. The Bears come into this game fresh off a tough, 77-74 setback to Portland State. The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for Northern Colorado, dropping the team to just 6-7 in conference play. As for the Eagles, they have lost two consecutive games and eight of their last 10. The most recent loss, a 75-70 defeat at the hands of the Idaho State Bengals, left Eastern Washington with a mere 5-9 mark in Big Sky action. Next up for the Eagles will be an out of conference contest against Seattle. Back in January the Bears were able to upend the Eagles, 75-68. However, despite the loss Eastern Washington still owns a slim 3-2 edge over Northern Colorado in the all-time series.

Northern Colorado connected on 12-of-21 three-point attempts in its recent matchup with Portland State and finished the game with a solid 45.6 percent shooting effort from the floor. However, despite the strong offensive showing the team was downed by the Vikings. The Bears have had their troubles through the season defensively, as the squad is surrendering 72.6 ppg, while allowing teams to connect on 47.5 percent of their attempts from the floor. The inability to stop the Vikings on Thursday overshadowed the team's efforts offensively, especially Will Figures' performance, as the guard posted 24 points. John Pena added 14 points and five assists, while Mike Proctor tallied 13 points, to go along with eight boards. Figures is currently posting 12.2 ppg on the season, but the team's top option has been Jabril Banks, who is averaging 12.5 ppg, to go along with a team-high 5.6 rpg. However, in the loss to the Vikings, Banks only played five minutes and was held scoreless.

The Eagles have not flown straight at the offensive end of the court for most of the season and come into this contest netting just 63.8 ppg, behind a mere 416 percent shooting effort. Benny Valentine is shooting below 40.0 percent on the year, but that has not stopped the guard from leading the team with 15.6 ppg. Brandon Moore has been the main threat in the paint for EWU, as the big man is posting 10.8 ppg, to go along with a team-high 6.8 rpg. The Eagles were able to post 70 points in their last contest, shooting 42.1 percent from the floor, and that included a 9-of-22 showing from long range. However, despite the mediocre performance EWU was still defeated by Idaho State. Andy Genao paced the team with 21 points and eight boards, while Moore added 14 points Valentine tallied 13 points in the loss, while Adris DeLeon chipped in 10 points off the bench.

The Eagles have endured more bad times than good ones this season, but look for the team to give its fans something to cheer about tonight, as Eastern Washington should grab a win over Northern Colorado.

Predicted Outcome

Eastern Washington 74, Northern Colorado 69