THIS WEEK IN SEAWOLF BASKETBALL...
Thursday, Jan. 15 – 6:30 pm AST – Royal Brougham Pavilion – Seattle, WA
Alaska Anchorage (8-7, 4-1 GNAC) at Seattle Pacific (12-4, 4-2 GNAC)
&
Saturday, Jan. 17 – 5:30 pm AST – Alterowitz Gymnasium – Billings, MT
Alaska Anchorage at Montana State Billings (3-13, 1-5 GNAC [1/15 vs UAF])
ON TV: None
RADIO: Both games on FM-93.7 KAFC
FREE LIVE VIDEO: Both games at http://portal.stretchinternet.com/uaa/
LIVE STATS: Thursday: www.sidearmstats.com/spu/mbball/
Saturday: 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.
UAA PROBABLE STARTERS (2014-15 stats)
G—Brian McGill, 6-2, Jr. (16.4 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 6.1 apg, .539 FG, .413 3FG, .778 FT)
G—Travis Thompson, 6-1, Sr. (15.6 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 3.2 apg, .452 FG, .440 3FG)
G—Kevin Bowman, 6-1, Jr. (6.0 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 2.4 apg, .328 3FG)
F—Travis Parrish, 6-3, So. (3.4 ppg, 3.5 rpg, .556 FG)
C—Kalidou Diouf, 6-9, Fr. (12.2 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.2 apg, 0.9 bpg, .659 FG, .850 FT)
SCOUTING THE NANOOKS: Seattle Pacific had its 6-game winning streak stopped with a 68-66 loss at Western Washington on a buzzer-beater Saturday, following a 115-81 road blowout of Simon Fraser ... the Falcons, who suffered their only home loss 70-67 to Academy of Art in the season opener, feature six players who average at least 8.4 ppg ... SPU is led by 6-8 Sr. C Cory Hutsen (15.9 ppg, 4.4 rpg, .551 FG) and 6-5 Jr. F Mitch Penner (13.8 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 2.0 apg, .412 3FG) ... Montana State Billings has suffered through a pair of 5-game losing streaks and recently snapped a 3-game skid with Saturday’s 111-104 win at Simon Fraser ... the Yellowjackets have featured nine different leading scorers in 16 games and are paced by 6-0 Sr. G Antoine Hosley (13.1 ppg) and 6-5 Jr. G/F Momir Gataric (12.7 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.0 apg, .537 FG).
THE SERIES vs SPU: UAA leads 35-32 overall
In Seattle: SPU leads 23-8
Last Meeting: SPU 88-76 (2/6/14 at UAA)
Streak: SPU 5 / Notes: SPU’s current win streak is its longest in the series and the most for either team since UAA won 11 straight from 1986-90 … it is also UAA’s longest current losing streak against an opponent ... UAA’s last win was a 78-69 home decision, Feb. 2, 2012 … SPU has won 10 straight at Brougham Pavilion, with UAA’s last win coming 75-73 on Mar. 6, 2004 ... 12 of the last 16 games have been decided by 11 points or fewer … SPU leads 18-8 in GNAC regular-season meetings (since 2001-02), with four games going to overtime … SPU is UAA’s 3rd-most common opponent (67 meetings) … series started in UAA’s first year of Div. II competition in 1977-78.
THE SERIES vs MSUB: UAA leads 39-29 overall
In Billings: MSUB leads 22-11
Last Meeting: MSUB 75-62 (2/8/14 at UAA)
Streak: MSUB 2 / Notes: MSUB registered its first season sweep of UAA last year since joining the GNAC in 2007-08, including a 75-67 decision in Billings on Jan. 9, 2014 ... UAA leads 10-4 in GNAC regular-season meetings … MSUB is UAA’s 2nd-most common opponent (68 meetings) … first meeting was in 1977-78.
TEAM COMPARISONS UAA SPU MSUB
UAA Road/Opp. Home 2-2 5-1 1-5
Points per Game 80.0 82.9 70.3
Points Allowed/Game 71.4 63.8 76.4
Rebounding Diff. +6.9 +13.7 -1.2
Assists per Game 19.1 15.3 12.7
Turnovers per Game 13.1 12.1 14.0
Steals per Game 6.5 6.4 4.3
Blocks per Game 2.5 2.2 2.2
FG% .481 .526 .454
3-pt FG% .368 .407 .339
FT% .735 .686 .602
’NOOKS COOKED, OSBORNE EARNS #200: Sr. G Travis Thompson scored 21 points and UAA led wire-to-wire to earn a 76-64 victory at rival Alaska Fairbanks on Saturday night ... the Seawolves also got 10 points apiece from Jr. PG Brian McGill, Jr. G Dom Hunter and Sr. G Derrick Fain as they won their fifth straight overall and eighth in the last nine trips to the Patty Center ... it was also a historic night for UAA head coach Rusty Osborne, who became the first Seawolf hoops coach – men’s or women’s – to earn 200 career victories ... UAA forged a 50-25 lead early in the second half and held on to win despite allowing the Nanooks to creep as close as 59-54 ... Thompson was the difference though, sinking 3 of 4 free throws and dishing an assist on So. F Travis Parrish’s baseline jumper to bring the lead back to 64-56 ... the former Dimond High star delivered the dagger with a layup that made it 68-57 with 1:40 to play ... Thompson shot 7 of 11 from the field and added 5 rebounds and a game-high 4 assists, helping UAA shoot 51 percent (27 of 53) overall ... UAA outrebounded UAF 32-26 and committed only 9 turnovers ... Hunter finished 8 of 8 from the free-throw line in his return to action following a toe injury on Nov. 21, while Parrish had 6 points (3-3 FG), 5 rebounds, 3 assists and no turnovers.
TEAM NOTES: The Seawolves rank in the top 50 nationally in five categories – assists per game (11th, 19.1), assist/turnover ratio (18th, 1.46), rebound margin (26th, +6.9), 3FGs per game (41st, 8.8) and FT% (50th, .735) ... in the GNAC stats, the Seawolves lead in A/T ratio and are 2nd in FT%, assists per game, 3FGs made per game (8.8), rebound margin (+6.9), offensive rebound pct. (.389) and rebounds allowed per game (30.1) ... 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) ... 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 continued his midseason surge last week, delivering his best performance of the season with 21 points (7-11 FG, 2-4 3FG, 5-6 FT) at Alaska Fairbanks ... it was Thompson’s seventh straight game in double figures and his fifth 20-plus performance this year, putting him over 1,400-point mark for his career ... the Seawolves’ career record-holder in three-pointers (260) now ranks in the top 10 in 13 different stats categories at UAA, including 6th in scoring (1,415 pts), FTs made (269), FT% (.849) and 3FG% (.440), 8th in victories (72), and 9th in assists (290) and steals (110) ... in this year’s GNAC stats, he ranks 5th in scoring (15.6 ppg), 1st in 3FGs per game (3.1), 3rd in minutes per game (32.1), 6th in steals per game (1.7), 8th in 3FG% (.440) and 10th in assists per game (3.2), despite being the focus of opposing defenses ... the former Dimond High School star 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 in November ... 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 captured his second career GNAC Player of the Week award for his performance in UAA’s victories over Simon Fraser and Western Washington ... McGill’s 28 points against SFU were the second-most of his career against a D-II opponent, and he scored UAA’s last four points against the Vikings, making the game-winning shot over two defenders with 6.5 seconds left ... he currently holds down GNAC top-15 ranks in eight different categories, including 2nd in assists (6.1 apg), 3rd in scoring (16.4 ppg), 5th in minutes per game (30.9), and 8th in FT% (.778) … after just 45 games, McGill already ranks 10th on UAA’s career list with 268 assists, while his 6.0 assists per game rank only behind former All-American Luke Cooper (7.3 apg, 2004-08) on UAA’s career list ... 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 was 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 ranks 11th nationally (No. 1 among freshmen) in FG% ... 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 9 of 11 against Simon Fraser ... he also pulled down a UAA season-high 15 rebounds against SFU, securing his second career double-double and the most boards for a Seawolf since former All-American Taylor Rohde had 15 at Central Washington on Dec. 30, 2010 ... Diouf holds GNAC ranks of 15th in scoring (12.2 ppg), 8th in rebounding (5.8 rpg), 2nd in FG% and 7th in blocks (0.9 bpg) ... Fr. F Sjur Berg has recently shown the rebounding prowess that earned him a reputation as one of Europe’s top juniors, averaging 7.3 rebounds per game over the last seven contests ... the Norwegian had career-highs of 5 offensive, 8 defensive and 13 total boards against Western Washington, including the carom that led to the game-winning basket ... Berg’s .556 FG% is second on the team behind Diouf, and his 5.8 rpg leads UAA and ranks 6th in the GNAC (tops among freshmen) ... Jr. F Christian Leckband has provided a big lift off the bench recently, tying his career-high and scoring double figures for the third time this year with 16 points (6-9 FG, 2-3 3FG) against WWU ... the Nome native is also enjoying the most productive rebounding stretch of his career, averaging 5.8 rpg over the last four games ... Leckband is 15th in the GNAC from long range with at .405 3FG% and ranks 19th on UAA’s career 3FG% list at .390 ... Jr. G Kevin Bowman has started the last five contests and broken into the GNAC rankings at 16th in A-T ratio (1.7).
THE OSBORNE FILE: Eleventh-year head coach Rusty Osborne (200-113) 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 Alaska Fairbanks on Jan. 10, he became the first UAA basketball coach to reach 200 career victories … 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
GNAC Player of the Week, 12/29-1/4
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
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