INDIANAPOLIS — Eastern Washington had the country believing they could pull off one of the biggest upsets of the NCAA Tournament by beating Kansas, but the Jayhawks had a strong second half to beat the Eags in the first round on Saturday 93-84.
The 14 seed Eags led by as many as 10 points in the second half. Kansas shifted this game with both their offense and defense.
EWU was led by Spokane native and Shadle Park graduate Tanner Groves who scored a career high 35 points in this game. That is also the second most by a Big Sky Conference player in NCAA Tournament history.
His brother Jacob had a career high 23 points and added nine rebounds.
David McCormack had 22 points and nine rebounds in his return from COVID-19 quarantine and helped No. 3 seed Kansas rally from a 10-point second-half hole. Ochai Agbaji scored 21 points, Marcus Garrett fought foul trouble to add 20 and Dajuan Harris Jr. had 13.
Eastern Washington University fans can welcome home their team Saturday night following the heartbreaking loss to Kansas Saturday morning.
According to EWU Spokesperson Dave Meany, fans can start lining up in their cars at 8:30 p.m. Saturday along Washington and lot P-12 above Roos Field. The team is expected to arrive on campus at 9:15 p.m.
The school is asking fans to be parked by 9 p.m. and to remain in their cars to honk and cheer. No tailgating will be allowed allowed. Fans are asked to respect social distance and wear masks if near others.
The map below shows where fans can go. The yellow areas denote where fans can park. The red arrow denotes team bus route.
