David Riley, EWU men stick to ‘long term vision,’ await possible bid to NIT

For the second consecutive year, the Eastern Washington men’s basketball season ended in a quarterfinal exit from the Big Sky Conference Tournament, hardly the conclusion the top-seeded Eagles desired.

But unlike last year, there is no consolation prize of a spot in the National Invitation Tournament.

This year, the Eagles’ season is most likely done after the loss Sunday in Boise.

“The guys are holding up. They are a resilient bunch,” Riley said Friday. “They’re just trying to regroup, get reset and take a break.”

Previously, the NIT guaranteed an invite for any regular-season conference champion that did not secure its conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Big Sky Tournament champion – which, for the second straight year, is Montana State – gets the conference’s spot in the NCAAs.

But in October, the NIT announced a change to its selection process: Instead of guaranteeing space for regular-season conference champs, it now reserves two spots apiece for teams from the Atlantic Coast, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and Southeastern conferences. Those spots will be determined by NET rankings.

That leaves the Eagles to potentially seek out other postseason tournaments such as the College Basketball Invitational. But Riley said the Eagles (21-11 overall) aren’t looking.

That change is certainly a blow to conferences like the Big Sky, which has long been a one-bid conference for the NCAAs.

When Southern Utah left and the Big Sky became a 10-team conference two years ago, it adopted its current postseason tournament format, which gives the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds a bye into the quarterfinals. The tournament has been held at a neutral site – rather than being hosted by the No. 1 seed – since 2016.

Other conferences, such as the West Coast Conference, use a bracket that gives the top two seeds byes one round further into the semifinals. The logic is that conferences that are not necessarily going to receive multiple bids want to protect their top regular-season teams.

This year in the Big Sky, No. 2 seed Northern Colorado (19-13) also lost in the quarterfinals; Montana State (17-17) won as the No. 5 seed.

“That’s for everyone else to figure out,” Riley said of the tournament format. “We just have to try to win games.”

Five days after the loss to Sacramento State, Riley was focused on the same process he talks about throughout the year: getting better.

“At the end of the day, you’ve got to try to get better and learn. That’s what this is all about,” Riley said. “It’s a game that we love. Whether you win or lose, we’re still going to go and fight and try to get better.”

The transfer portal opens Monday, and it is possible some Eastern Washington players could entertain the idea of entering. Riley did not comment on whether any players had discussed that with him.

Last year, Steele Venters transferred to Gonzaga after four seasons in the Eagles’ program. Other less-prominent players also chose to use the portal to go elsewhere.

Eastern’s four leading scorers – Cedric Coward (15.4 points per game), Casey Jones (12.6), Ethan Price (12.2) and Dane Erikstrup (10.8) – just finished their junior year. If all four return, the Eagles would retain perhaps the best core of players in the Big Sky, along with conference freshman of the year LeJuan Watts and contributing freshmen Mason Williams and Sebastian Hartmann.

“With all our guys, we have a long-term plan and long-term vision,” Riley said. “We’re trying to develop them as players and men. I think it’s important a few times a year to talk to your guys about their long-term vision and goals to make sure you’re on the same page.”