Before the Jayhawks can start worrying about how they match up with USC, Wichita State or Drake — or even dream about looking ahead in the West region to Iowa or Gonzaga — the Kansas basketball team first will have to get past a hot Eastern Washington team in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Eagles, who are the Big Sky Conference champions, enter the Big Dance on a four-game winning streak, and they’ve won 13 of their last 14 games.
Eastern Washington (16-7) is ranked No. 110 in the nation by KenPom.com and is led by Tanner Groves, the Big Sky’s MVP this season.
Groves, a 6-foot-9, 235-pound junior forward, leads a balanced offense (78 points per game). He contributes 16.4 points, 8.1 rebounds, 55.7% shooting and the ability to stretch the floor (17-for-52 on 3-pointers).
Now in his fourth season leading the Eagles, head coach Shantay Legans has a .610 career winning percentage entering the NCAA Tournament. This is the program’s first berth since 2015.
Strength: The Eagles are one of the best free-throw-shooting teams in the country, ranking sixth nationally at 79.9%.
Weakness: Eastern Washington doesn’t create a ton of havoc defensively, with a steal percentage of 6.8%, which ranks 317th in the country.
Best win: Most of the teams in the Big Sky lagged far behind the Eagles this season, according to the KenPom rankings. The highest-ranked team the Eagles defeated was Southern Utah (currently No. 141).
Toughest stretch: The Eagles opened the season with three straight road losses against Pac-12 teams — Washington State, Arizona and Oregon. Their 1-4 start to the season also included a road loss at Saint Mary’s.
