The college basketball offseason is here, and we decided to have some fun over the next few months, ranking ALL 364 teams in D1. Number 262 is Eastern Washington basketball.
Before you say we’re crazy – or that all of this is up for debate, let’s go over the very intricate process of how we came to this conclusion. We took a very statistical approach – with the help of Chat GPT – taking into consideration everything from March Madness wins and finishes, to AP Poll appearances, to conference players of the year. And then, a good friend of ours, Scott Blanchard, took our approach to the MAX.
Click here to visit the FIRST article, which explains how the formula works!
Here’s the breakdown of Eastern Washington basketball!
NCAA Tournament Success
- Championships: 0
- Finals appearances: 0
- Final Fours: 0
- Elite Eights: 0
- Sweet 16s: 0
- NCAA wins: 0
- Bids: 3
Consistency Over Time
- Wins per season: 13.3
- Bids per season: 0.07
- AP Polls: 0
Player Quality & Talent
- All-Americans: 0
- NBA players drafted & played: 1
- Conference Players of the Year: 7
Conference & Other Success
- Conference regular season titles: 6
- Conference tournament titles: 3
- NIT titles: 0
- Other tournament titles: 0
Overall scoop on Eastern Washington basketball
After playing as an Independent for their first four seasons in Division I, EWU moved to the Big Sky and has put forth some good history in the conference.
Most of their success has been recent, with their first of six Big Sky regular season titles coming in 1999-00. They’d do it again in 2004, doubling down to win the conference tournament and advance to March Madness for the first time in program history. Head coach Ray Giacoletti would bolt for Utah, and the program suffered a bit.
But after about a decade of struggles, they doubled down again in the Big Sky in 2015 under head coach Jim Hayford. The Eagles averaged 80.6 PPG, the third most in the country.
Since then, Shantay Legens and David Riley also fared well, with regular season titles in 2020, 2023, and 2024, and a conference tourney title in 2021. Dan Monson took over in 2024, but hasn’t done either yet.
But it hasn’t just been the coaching to get it done. Seven former Eagles won the Big Sky Player of the Year award. Alvin Snow did it in 2004, Jacob Wiley in 2017, Bogdan Bliznyuk in 2018, Mason Peatling in 2020, Tanner Groves in 2021, and Steele Venters in 2023. Those are some notable college basketball names, but the most impressive was Rodney Stuckey in 2006. Stuckey would have a great NBA career, playing from 2007-17 with the Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers.
While EWU has never won a game in March or put together a string of tourney appearances, they have lately always been toward the top of the Big Sky and are certainly a major player in the conference. We’ll see if Monson can get out of the rut quickly!