Idaho continues it’s frantic search for a second Big Sky win when they travel Monday to take on the Eastern Washington Eagles.
The last two months have been brutal for the Vandals, suffering 10 consecutive losses with their nine being by multi-digit losses.
The Vandals haven’t found a win since January 3rd—at home against the Eagles.
Since then, Eastern Washington has stayed relevant in the Big Sky, currently ranked fifth in the conference, with the Vandals plummeting since the beginning of January.
Idaho’s two main struggles all season have been turning the ball over and rebounding. The Vandals won the rebounding battle against Northern Colorado last week but could not control the ball.
If the Vandals can keep their composure on offense and hold the Eagles offense to single possessions, the Vandals might have a chance to pull of the win on the road.
As always, the Vandals can only go so far as their backcourt can take them. Junior guard Trevon Allen and freshman guard Cameron Tyson can get hot at any given second and need to have solid games for Idaho to get hot early.
Another key name to watch out will be freshman forward Jared Rodriguez. Idaho’s offense has produced the best this season when they try to get working on the inside early to allow shooters around the 3-point line to get open. Getting the big guys up front going early will help further the success needed to take down the Eagles.
The Vandals will need to lookout for Eastern Washington’s Jesse Hunt crashing the boards. Hunt is second in the Big Sky in rebounding averaging nearly nine rebounds a game. With Idaho’s rebounding issues, Hunt could be a nightmare for the Vandals.
Expect the Vandal zone defense to be prominent once again to help the rebounding woes. Forcing the Eagles to shoot from behind the arc could be helpful with Eastern Washington ranking near the bottom of the Big Sky in three-point percentage.
Overall, Idaho has to control the momentum and play their style of basketball. Too many times the Vandals have found themselves in an early defecit and have to frantically fight their way back. The first ten minutes of Monday’s game will be crucial to see which way this game will play out.
If Idaho can win tonight, it would be a much needed confidence booster to try to gain some composure throughout the remainder of the season.
Chris Deremer can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @Cderemer_VN