Eagles magical season comes to an end

The Eastern Eagles played right with the number two seed Oklahoma State
Cowboys at Kemper Arena, but unfortunately it was for only one half. The
Eagles were tied entering the final 20 minutes of play, when the Cowboys
showed everyone in the nation why they are a team to be reckoned with. As
Corey Brock of the News Tribune writes, it was a game that the Cowboys almost took for granted.

For another look at the game check out the article by Kevin Kaduk in the Seattle Times.

The loss ends the Eagles season, which witnessed a number of firsts. The
Eagles had the longest winning streak in school history at 11, they also won
the regular season Big Sky Championship outright for the first time. They
won the conference tournament for the first time and made their first ever
NCAA tournament appearance. Although they may be disappointed with the way
the second half went yesterday, it was an amazing season for the Eagles and
one that EWU fans will never forget.

Eagles make NCAA debut

The Eagles' first-round matchup against Oklahoma State is drawing comparisons to the very difficult non-conference schedule the Eagles played this season. The Eagles finished 3-9 and as Bob Condotta writes in the Seattle Times, the scheduling may have helped but also hurt the team at times.

Although the Cowboys are extremely athletic, the Eagles will look to use their Princeton-style offensive to their advantage and try to slow down the run-and-gun offense of Oklahoma State.

Eastern to square off against Oklahoma State

The Eagles have waited a long time to see their name on the big board of 65 teams for the NCAA tournament, but Sunday it finally hit home. They are paired up against the No. 2 seeded Oklahoma State Cowboys, a team most analysts are picking to make the Final Four.
Check out Jim Meehan's piece from the S-R.
And here's a story from the Seattle Times.

Students anticipate Selection Sunday

The Eastern Eagles are waiting for their seeding, location and opponent and
still have to wait until 3 p.m. Sunday to find out. Meanwhile, the players
aren't the only ones awaiting the draw. Many students are contemplating
travelling to witness the Eagles' first NCAA tournament game, but this all
depends on where they play.

"If they play in Seattle, I'm going for sure," said senior Troy Handwerk.
"I've been waiting all four years for this and for them to be able to make
the tournament is awesome."

"I don't really have the money to go anywhere but Seattle and that's
assuming I can get one of the only 350 tickets available," said freshman
Michael Mosback. "If they stay close by that would be perfect."

Unfortunately the Eagles will probably play a top-10 team and will likely be
at least 20-point underdogs. But after three close, but not quite seasons,
not many students at Eastern really care.

"We're dancing no matter what, that's all that matters," said junior Brandon
Hair. "We aren't supposed to win and that's when upsets happen."

The Eagles hope to get as high as a 14 seed, but that would be as high of a
seed as they would get with only a 17-12 record coming out of a weaker
conference.

Finally, Eagles are dancing

The Eastern Eagles ended their 20-year drought for a bid to the NCAA tournament with an impressive second-half performance in a win over Northern Arizona.
Here are S-R stories by Kevin Blocker, John Blanchette, and Jim Meehan.

Here's one story from Bud Withers of the Seattle Times. Here's another.

Here's the article from the Arizona Daily Sun by Chris Lang.

Watch this Sunday on ESPN at 4 p.m. to find out what seed the Eagles will get,
where they will play and who their opponent will be. They likely will be a 14 or 15 seed playing against a top 10 team in the nation.