THIS WEEK IN SEAWOLF BASKETBALL...
Thursday, Jan. 1 – 7:30 pm – Alaska Airlines Center – Anchorage, AK
Simon Fraser (6-3, 1-0 GNAC) at Alaska Anchorage (5-7, 1-1 GNAC)
&
Saturday, Jan. 3 – 7:30 pm – Alaska Airlines Center – Anchorage, AK
Western Washington (7-4, 0-1 GNAC [1/1 @UAF]) at Alaska Anchorage
ON TV: Live statewide on GCI (check local listings for channel number), except for the Anchorage and Mat-Su viewing areas. In Anchorage and Mat-Su, this week’s tape-delayed broadcasts will air on GCI Ch. 1 at 11 a.m. Friday (vs SFU) and 11 a.m. Sunday (vs WWU).
RADIO: Both games on FM-93.7 KAFC
ONLINE: Live video and stats (free): http://portal.stretchinternet.com/uaa/
SOCIAL MEDIA: Get periodic updates for Seawolf games by following the @UAAMBB Twitter feed or like UAA’s main Facebook (Alaska Anchorage Seawolves) or Instagram (AlaskaAnchorage) pages.
TICKETS: $10 regular / $8 for UAA staff/faculty/alumni or military, youth (3-18) and seniors (60+) ... single-game tickets can be purchased online at GoSeawolves.com or AlaskaAirlinesCenter.com.
UAA PROBABLE STARTERS (2014-15 stats)
G—Brian McGill, 6-2, Jr. (15.7 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 6.8 apg, .544 FG, .429 3FG, .739 FT)
G—Travis Thompson, 6-1, Sr. (15.5 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 3.2 apg, .475 FG, .463 3FG)
G—Kevin Bowman, 6-1, Jr. (6.1 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 2.4 apg, .327 3FG)
F—Travis Parrish, 6-3, So. (3.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg, .536 FG)
C—Kalidou Diouf, 6-9, Fr. (12.8 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 1.2 apg, 0.9 bpg, .680 FG, .824 FT)
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS: Simon Fraser leads NCAA Div. II in scoring (130.0 ppg) and steals (19.0 spg), but ranks last in scoring defense (105.6 ppg) ... the Clan are 2-3 against fellow NCAA Div. II opponents, including a 122-118 win over Western Washington in their GNAC opener on Dec. 6 ... the Burnaby, B.C., club is led by 6-0 Sr. G Sango Niang (21.8 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 7.9 apg, 3.4 spg, .833 FT) and 6-5 Jr. G/F Rodrick Evans-Taylor (17.1 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 2.7 spg, .508 FG) ... Western Washington has gone 3-4 against D-II foes after splitting games against nationally ranked Tarleton State (L, 72-65) and Cal State San Bernardino (72-66) to close the non-conference slate ... the Vikings feature five double-digit scorers, led by Jaamon Echols (19.1 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 2.8 apg, .390 3FG) and Jeffrey Parker (16.6 ppg, 5.9 rpg, .461 3FG).
THE SERIES vs SFU: UAA leads 11-0 (6-0 in Anchorage)
Last Meeting: UAA 65-64 (1/30/14 at UAA)
Notes: UAA has won all eight meetings since SFU joined the GNAC in 2010-11, posting five double-digit victories ... the Seawolves used a last-second basket from Travis Thompson to pull out a victory in Burnaby ... UAA won 107-77 at home on Jan. 4, 2014 for the 30-point margin in series history … teams met twice in UAA’s first year of Div. II membership in 1977-78, with UAA winning twice at home … teams also met when SFU was a provisional NCAA member in 1999-00 and both teams were in the Pac West Conference.
THE SERIES vs WWU: WWU leads 16-11 (tied 7-7 in Anchorage)
Last Meeting: WWU 99-76 (2/1/14 at WWU) / Streak: WWU 8
Notes: WWU has won five games by single digits during its current 8-game streak ... the Vikings won 104-89 last Jan. 2 in Anchorage … UAA’s last win came at home, 68-53, Feb. 11, 2010 … the Seawolves had won 7 of 9 prior to WWU’s current streak … WWU leads 17-9 in GNAC meetings (since 2001-02) … first and only non-GNAC meeting came when both teams were Pac West foes, with UAA winning 89-77 at home, Jan. 20, 2000.
TEAM COMPARISONS UAA SFU WWU
UAA Home/Opp. Road 4-4 0-3 0-2
Points per Game 79.5 130.0 88.5
Points Allowed/Game 71.8 105.6 74.1
Rebounding Diff. +6.1 -4.7 +8.9
Assists per Game 19.8 23.9 16.7
Turnovers per Game 13.1 16.4 12.2
Steals per Game 6.9 19.0 7.0
Blocks per Game 2.7 3.8 6.0
FG% .471 .510 .477
3-pt FG% .373 .363 .336
FT% .726 .709 .642
LAST TIME OUT: UAA got back in the win column by closing its non-conference schedule with 91-52 and 80-58 victories over Portland Bible on Dec. 16 & 17 at the Alaska Airlines Center ... in the first game, Sr. G Travis Thompson had 23 points (7-12 3FG) and 4 assists as UAA tied for the 4th-most three-pointers in program history, shooting 19 of 34 against the Wildcats ... Jr. PG Brian McGill had 13 points (3-5 3FG) and 9 assists, Sr. G Derrick Fain had 12 points (4-6 3FG) and 3 assists, and Fr. C Kalidou Diouf tallied 10 points (5-7 FG) and 6 rebounds ... in the rematch, UAA pulled away from a 33-32 halftime lead with a big second half led by Diouf (22 pts, 11-15 FG, 7 rebs) and a career-high 12 points (5-6 FG, 2-2 3FG) from Sr. G Boomer Blossom ... Thompson added 16 points and 6 assists as he passed Jason Kaiser (1,363 pts, 1993-95) for No. 6 on UAA’s career scoring list.
TEAM NOTES: The Seawolves rank in the top 20 nationally (new rankings come out Dec. 22 at ncaa.com) and 2nd in the GNAC with 19.8 assists per game ... UAA also holds a top-50 national rank in assist/turnover ratio (1.5) ... in the GNAC stats, the Seawolves lead in A/T ratio and are 2nd in FT%, assists per game, 3FGs made per game (9.5), 3FG% (.373) and rebounds allowed per game (29.9) ... UAA held its opponents to a tournament-low .196 3FG% in the GCI Great Alaska Shootout, while tying for the second-most steals (15) ... the Seawolves held Northwest Indian to 12 rebounds on Nov. 22, breaking the previous record of 15 allowed (vs. NW Nazarene, 1/22/04) ... with the NW Indian results, UAA has reached the 100-point mark at least once in each of the last five seasons ... the 19 three-pointers in the Dec. 16 win over Portland Bible tied for the 4th-most in program history ... UAA’s 0-4 start was just the second such in program history (0-6 in 2001-02) ... UAA is aiming for the program’s 10th straight winning season and the program’s 32nd in 38 years … the Seawolves have also earned a plus-.500 league record for 26 of 32 years of conference membership.
THE THOMPSON TICKER: Sr. G Travis Thompson has averaged 18.8 points on .521 FG shooting (25 of 48) since missing the first game in his 4-year career on Dec. 6 at Western Oregon (ankle) ... Thompson became the No. 6 scorer in Seawolf history last week (1,352 pts), passing Seawolf Hall of Famer Jason Kaiser (1,363 pts, 1993-95), and pulled within three three-pointers of career record-holder Kyle Fossman (257 treys, 2010-14) ... the former Dimond High star is also among UAA’s career leaders in assists (9th, 281), FTs made (7th, 254), FT% (6th, .849), 3FG% (6th, .444) and steals (11th, 107), with his next swipe moving him into the top 10 ... in the current GNAC stats, he ranks 7th in scoring (15.5 ppg), 1st in 3FGs per game (3.5), 3rd in minutes per game (33.3), 6th in steals per game (1.8), 3rd in 3FG% (.463) and 10th in assists per agme (3.3) ... Thompson earned GCI Great Alaska Shootout All-Tournament Team honors for the second straight season after leading the 8-team, all-Div. I GCI Great Alaska Shootout in scoring with 19.7 ppg ... Thompson’s 28 points in the finale vs. Rice was the second-most in this year’s tourney and pushed him into No. 4 on the Shootout’s all-time scoring list with 157 points, trailing only Peter Bullock (213), Ed Kirk (169) and Jason Kaiser (160) ... his 13 three-pointers were also tied for 6th-most in tourney history and set a new mark for a Seawolf ... Thompson was a unanimous selection for the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Preseason Player of the Year in voting by the league’s head coaches last month ... a First Team All-GNAC pick last year and a Second Teamer in 2011-12, he was also picked a Div. II Bulletin ‘Super 16’ Preseason All-American this fall.
McGILL THE THRILL: Jr. PG Brian McGill currently holds down GNAC top-15 ranks in five different categories, including 2nd in assists (6.8 apg), 4th in minutes per game (31.6), 6th in scoring (15.7 ppg) and 8th in 3FG% (.429) … after just 42 games, McGill already ranks 11th on UAA’s career list with 259 assists and needs just one more to break into the top 10 ... the Clackamas, Ore., native tied for third in the GCI Great Alaska Shootout with 5.3 assists per game, along with a tie for fifth in rebounds at 6.3 rpg ... this season McGill is a Preseason All-GNAC selection and has already been named to the All-Tournament Team at the Ron Logsdon Classic in California ... he garnered All-GNAC Second Team honors in 2013-14.
MORE PLAYER NOTES: Redshirt Fr. C Kalidou Diouf ranked 14th nationally (2nd among freshmen) in FG% prior to the Portland Bible series and improved to .680 with 16-of-22 shooting against the Wildcats ... the 6-9, 270-pound German shot 7 of 7 at Western Oregon, 13 of 14 against Northwest Indian, 6 of 9 against defending West Region champion Chico State and 5 of 7 vs. Humboldt State ... Diouf holds GNAC ranks of 15th in scoring (12.8 ppg), 13th in rebounding (5.5 rpg), 2nd in FG% and 6th in blocks (0.9 bpg) ... Fr. F Sjur Berg is one of several freshmen playing a key role in the Seawolf frontcourt, shooting 61 percent (20 of 33) from the field ... he is the team’s 2nd-leading rebounder at 5.4 rpg, pulling down at least 6 boards on six occasions thus far, including a career-high 11 against Portland Bible on Dec. 16 ... the Norwegian brings extensive international experience with his national age-group squads and played his senior year at Southern California powerhouse Santa Margarita HS ... Jr. F Christian Leckband provided a big lift off the bench in the Seawolf Jamboree with consecutive season-highs of 12 and 14 points against Humboldt State and BYU-Hawaii ... Leckband is 17th in the GNAC with his .393 3FG% this year ... Jr. G Kevin Bowman broke into the GNAC top-20 rankings in assists (20th, 2.4 apg) and 3FGs per game (19th, 1.5) ... the Arizona native has at least 9 points and 5 assists in each of the last three games, including 10 points (3-7 3FG) against No. 16 BYU-Hawaii.
THE OSBORNE FILE: Eleventh-year head coach Rusty Osborne (197-113) has led the Seawolves to nine straight winning seasons, five NCAA Tournaments and a trip to the 2008 NCAA D-II Semifinals in his tenure at the helm … with UAA’s victory over Saint Martin’s on Jan. 25, 2014, he also became the winningest coach in program history, surpassing former mentor Charlie Bruns … Osborne captured his first career GNAC and NABC West District coach-of-the-year awards in 2008 after becoming the second coach to lead UAA to three consecutive NCAA berths (2006-08), and in 2011-12 his Seawolves posted a 24-10 record to equal the 2nd-most victories in program history; Osborne’s 2007-08 club holds that record with a 29-6 mark … before taking over the head job in 2004-05, the Texas native previously served 13 seasons (1991-04) as a UAA assistant, including 11 years as the top assistant … the Seawolves have won over 60 percent of their games with Osborne on the staff, claiming four conference titles and eight trips to the NCAA Division II Tournament. Osborne is assisted by Cameron Turner (4th season) and graduate assistant Tim Mollerstrom (3rd season).
SEAWOLVES TABBED 2ND: The Seawolves were picked to finish second in the 2014 Great Northwest Athletic Conference preseason coaches’ poll, released Oct. 14. Here is a look at the poll:
2014-15 Great Northwest Athletic Conference
Preseason Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Poll
Rk Team (1st-place votes) 2013-14 Records Pts
1. Western Washington (7) 20-8 (13-5, 2nd) 78
2. Alaska Anchorage (1) 17-13 (10-8, 4th-T) 69
3. Seattle Pacific (2) 26-6 (15-3, 1st) 68
4. Western Oregon 18-12 (10-8, 4th-T) 60
5. Montana State Billings 12-15 (8-10, 6th-T) 41
6. Central Washington 12-14 (8-10, 6th-T) 39
7. Alaska Fairbanks 18-10 (12-6, 3rd) 38
8. Northwest Nazarene 7-19 (5-13, 9th) 21
9. Simon Fraser 10-16 (3-15, 10th) 18
Saint Martin’s 9-17 (6-12, 8th) 18
(Note: Each coach ranked other nine teams. First-place votes in parentheses. Points awarded on 9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.).
2014-15 SEAWOLF INDIVIDUAL HONORS
Kalidou Diouf
Seawolf Jamboree All-Tournament Team, 12/13
Brian McGill
Preseason All-GNAC Team
Ron Logsdon Classic All-Tournament Team, 11/15
Travis Thompson
Div. II Bulletin ‘Super 16’ All-American
Preseason GNAC Player of the Year
Preseason All-GNAC Team
GCI Great Alaska Shootout Player of the Game (vs Rice), 11/29
GCI Great Alaska Shootout All-Tournament Team, 11/29
Seawolf Jamboree All-Tournament Team, 12/13
Nate Sagan
Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations
University of Alaska Anchorage
3211 Providence Dr.
Anchorage, AK 99508
(907) 786-1295 / nate@uaa.alaska.edu
GoSeawolves.com
