I watched much of the second half of both games, and if you were going to write a script as to what types of teams that gives both Northern Colorado and Eastern Washington fits, you'd probably not have included Sacramento State and Idaho State on the list.
That being said, both Sacramento State and Idaho State play defense. They haven't been able to score well enough all year, but they both can play a bit of defense and are physical. Eastern and NC are a bit allergic to defense themselves, and come tournament time when games get tight late, you have to be able to get a stop and frankly neither EWU or UNC could get that key stop.