Posted at 11:00 AM EST. Odds subject to change.

Pinnacle +8 -109 BET365 +8 -105 Sportsinteraction +8½ -115 888Sport +8 -110

The Nest, Sacramento, CA

Sacramento State +8½ over Eastern Washington

Streaming: ESPN+

9:07 PM EST. The Hornets of Sacramento State are just 8-22 overall, and they've already locked up last place in the Big Sky Conference with their 4-13 record in the conference. That said, the Hornets will still get to play in the Big Sky Tournament, which starts for them in Boise, Idaho, on Saturday versus Idaho.

The Big Sky is a wide-open conference, which Northern Arizona helped prove last season when it went to the championship game as the #9 seed, falling to #2 Montana State by just seven. Not only will the Hornets want to go into the Big Sky Tournament on a positive note, but this final game of the regular season takes place at "The Nest," in SacTown, so a solid effort, win or lose, should not be in doubt.

The Eagles of Eastern Washington University (EWU) have locked up the Big Sky Conference's regular-season title, and they are the #1 seed in the conference tournament, which comes with a bye to Sunday's quarterfinal. The Eagles will play the winner of the #9 and #10 game, which, as we mentioned above, is already set between Idaho (9) and Sac State (10). As far as regular-season accomplishments go, there is little for Eastern Washington to do, as they have also hit the 20-win plateau, so what is going to motivate them on the road tonight in a meaningless game against the dregs of the Big Sky?

It's worth mentioning again that there is a chance that these two teams will play again on Sunday in the quarterfinals of the Big Sky Tournament. While the Eagles had a nice season, they did not have the kind of year that will see them have any consideration for an at-large bid, so their path to March Madness is to cut down the nets and leave Boise with a Big Sky championship.

That fact is not likely to be lost on head coach David Riley after what happened to the Eagles last season. In the 2023 Big Sky Tournament, EWU was again the #1 seed; however, their march to the NCAA Tournament was cut short in their first game against #9-seeded Northern Arizona. With a much more important game potentially on deck versus Sac State, we doubt that Riley is going to give the Hornets any extra motivation or a peek into his game planning for that potential win-or-go-home rematch on Sunday. The Eagles have little reason here to show up in anything other than body alone, and that makes the inflated points on offer here a tremendous value in a game the Hornets are likely going to throw the kitchen sink at the EWU.

Sherwood

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------