Men’s Basketball Schedule Solidified for 2022-23 - Eastern Washington University Athletics (2024)

Eastern plays 13 games at home, with tournaments in Hawai’i and Florida plus a game at the Spokane Arena to highlight the schedule

Link to Online Schedule

With trips to Hawai'i, Florida, and a game at the Spokane Arena, the 2022-23 season is already set up to be one to remember for Eastern Washington University head men's basketball coach David Riley and his squad. Riley, who enters his second year at the helm and the 12th in the program, announced his full schedule today (Sept. 6).

The schedule is highlighted by an early season trip to Honolulu for the Rainbow Classic where the Eagles will play in three games. In between that tournament, and one at Florida International over Thanksgiving, is a game against Washington State at the Spokane Arena.

In all, the Eagles play in four non-conference games in the friendly confines of Reese Court, plus nine Big Sky Conference games. Eastern plays each Big Sky school twice, once at home and once on the road.

The 2022-23 edition of Eagle men's basketball features six returners, including the 2022-23 Big Sky Freshman of the Year Ethan Price and second team All-Big Sky selection, Steele Venters. Riley and his staff hit the recruiting trail hard in the offseason and welcome nine newcomers. In his first season as head coach, Riley guided the Eagles to an 18-16 overall record and an 11-9 mark in conference action. Eastern advanced to the second round of the Big Sky Tournament and went on to play in The Basketball Classic, the program's second-straight year playing in the postseason.

Schedule Details

The season officially kicks off on Monday, Nov. 7 when the Eagles head to play West Coast Conference foe, Santa Clara. This will be the eighth all-time meeting between the two squads and the first since 2012. EWU is 2-5 against the Broncos and 22-36 against WCC opponents.

From there, Eastern heads straight to Hawai'i. The tournament opens on Nov. 11 in a neutral site matchup against Yale. EWU and Yale have never met before, and Eastern is 1-1 against Ivy League schools. The Eagles have a day off before taking on the hosts, Hawai'i, on Nov. 13 and wrap up play against Mississippi Valley State in the first-ever meeting between the two on Nov. 14. Eastern and Hawai'i have met twice before, with the Eagles losing in 2008 but picking up a victory in 2011.

EWU returns to host Washington State at the Spokane Arena on Nov. 21. It will look to win its second-straight over the Cougars after an upset victory in Pullman last season, 76-71. The Eagles are 2-15 all-time against WSU. Eastern has played at the Spokane Arena four times in the program's history. All came against Gonzaga from 2002-05 and were losses.
The Eagles will spend Thanksgiving in Florida when they participate in a multi-team event (MTE) hosted by Florida International. On Nov. 25, they play the hosts and have a day off before playing Stony Brook in a neutral matchup.

Eastern Washington finally returns home for a decent stretch, as the home opener takes place on Nov. 30 against Northwest University. On Dec. 3, the Eagles welcome North Dakota State to town.

Four days later, the Eagles head out on their busiest stretch of the year. A Dec. 7 game against Cal kicks off the road trip. From there, EWU heads to South Dakota State to play the Jackrabbits on Dec. 10 before traveling to Texas for a Dec. 13 matchup against Texas Tech. It's the second-straight year that the Eagles head to Lubbock, and they will look to avenge a 78-46 loss from last season.

The final two non-conference games take place at home. Eastern hosts UC Davis on Dec. 17 for a rematch of last year's game. The final tune-up before conference play takes place on Dec. 20 against Northwest Indian College.

After a nine-day hiatus for the holidays, conference play begins on the road with a tough challenge. After being swept by Montana last year, EWU looks to get back on the right track with a game against the Grizzlies on Dec. 29 in Missoula. A New Year's Eve contest with the defending Big Sky Champions in Montana State takes place on Dec. 31. Eastern split with the Bobcats last season, with a notable overtime win at home that snapped MSU's 11-game winning streak.

The Eagles are then back in Cheney for four-straight home games, beginning with Portland State (Jan. 5) and Sacramento State (Jan. 14). The following week, Eastern hosts local foe Idaho on Jan. 14 before playing host to Montana on Jan. 16. The Eagles swept Portland State last year, but split with the Hornets and the Vandals.

The rest of January includes two road games at Northern Colorado and Northern Arizona on Jan. 19 and Jan. 21, respectively. Eastern wraps up the month when Idaho State (Jan. 26) and Weber State (Jan. 28) come to town. Eastern has won 11-straight over the Lumberjacks, including a victory in the first round of the 2021-22 Big Sky Championships. Eastern split with UNC during the regular season last year, but suffered a heartbreaking loss to the Bears in the second round of the tournament.

February begins with three-games on the road to start the second half of Big Sky play, as Eastern travels to Sacramento State (Feb. 2) and Portland State (Feb. 4). Eastern then has a week between games before resuming action at Idaho on Feb. 11.

The Eagles will play three of their last five regular season games at home, first hosting Northern Arizona (Feb. 16) and Northern Colorado (Feb. 18). Eastern heads out on its last regular season road trip of the year when it plays at Weber State on Feb. 23 and Idaho State on Feb. 25. The Bengals and EWU clashed just once a season ago with EWU claiming the victory. The Eagles and Wildcats split, with Eastern upsetting the then-first-place Weber State at home.

Senior Day and the final regular season game of 2022-23 is on Feb. 27 against Montana State.

The Big Sky Conference Championships take place on March 4-8 in Boise, Idaho, at the Idaho Central Arena in its new format.

The first four days of competition each will feature four total games, with two women's and two men's contests happening within the same 24-hour window. In total, the league will play 18 games over the course of five days, with the finale featuring achampionship day comprised of both titlecontests. The women's and men's bracketswill play thesameseed matchups on the same days throughout their tournaments. For a look at the bracket, click HERE. All games will be on ESPN+ with the championship to air on ESPN2.