Friday, November 20, 2015
A HEAD START FOR SEAWOLVES, VIKINGS: Thanks to their participation in the CCA Division II Tip-Off Classic at the end of October, both Alaska Anchorage and Western Washington entered the 2015-16 season with a head start to the season.
The Seawolves entered the last weekend’s GNAC/PacWest Crossover in Fairbanks having played five games. They went 1-2 in the CCA Classic, beating Upper Iowa in their opener on Oct. 30 before ending the tourney with losses to Cal Baptist and UC Colorado Springs. Since then, UAA has won four straight games, including two over Lincoln Christian and wins last weekend over Chaminde and Hawaii Pacific. The Seawolves enter the second full weekend of the season with a 5-2 record.
Western Washington went 2-1 at the CCA Classic. They opened the year with a 95-84 win over UC Colorado Springs on Oct. 30 and 90-75 over Upper Iowa on Oct. 31 before closing with a close 74-71 loss to Minnesota St. Moorhead. The Vikings split a pair of home games last week, beating NAIA Multnomah 115-71 on Saturday before tasking a 93-80 loss to BYU-Hawaii on Wednesday.
With the games advantage on much of Division II, UAA and WWU find themselves at the top of the list in a number of statistical categories. The Seawolves lead Division II in three-point attempts (155), free throw attempts (175), free throws made (142), three-pointers made (52), rebounds (281) and steals (45). Western Washington enters the week fourth in three-pointers made (35), fifth in assists (63) and sixth in three-point attempts (89) and rebounds (171).
SEAWOLVES LISTED INDIVIDUALLY: The seven games have helped a number of Alaska Anchorage players rush to the top of the Division II statistical lists. Junior transfer Sekou Wiggs leads the nation in three-point attempts (38), free throw attempts (54), free throws made (44), and total field goal attempts (116). Fellow junior transfer Spencer Svejcar is tied with Wiggs in three-point attempt and transfer Corey Hammell is tops in double-doubles (4).
IN THE NATIONAL POLLS: Western Washington and Western Oregon continue to lead the GNAC in both of the national polls. The Vikings opened the season at No. 15 in the first NABC Coaches Poll, which was released on Oct. 27. Western Oregon was ranked No. 21 while Seattle Pacific was among teams receiving votes.The Wolves moved up to No. 20 in the latest edition of the D2SIDA Division II poll, released on Tuesday, with Western Washington among teams receiving votes. Western Oregon is No. 3 in the D2SIDA West Region Rankings with Western Washington ranked fifth and Seattle Pacific sixth.
GNAC PRESEASON POLL - WESTERN WASHINGTON PICKED TO WIN: For the second year in a row, Western Washington is picked as the team to beat by conference coaches in the annual Great Northwest Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Preseason Poll.
The Vikings received five of 11 first place votes and a total of 114 points, finishing just ahead of defending regular season champion Western Oregon. The Wolves netted four first place votes and a total of 106 points.
Seattle Pacific, who finished second in the conference last year and won the GNAC Tournament championship, is picked third with a total of 100 points. The Falcons received the remaining two first place votes.
After a successful start in their non-conference schedule, Western Washington stumbled to lose seven of their first 10 GNAC games. The Vikings rebounded to win eight straight to end the regular season, tying for fifth to claim a spot in the GNAC Tournament. The Vikings went on to beat Alaska Anchorage and Western Oregon to claim a spot in the tournament final, where they lost to Seattle Pacific. Western Washington finished the season with a 20-11 overall record.
PRESEASON ALL-GNAC TEAM, AVGI PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Western Oregon forward Andy Avgi, the defending GNAC Player of the Year, added another award to his preseason arsenal as he was selected by the league’s head coaches as the GNAC Preseason Player of the Year. The senior was a unanimous selection for the honor, receiving 10 first place votes in the balloting (coaches could not vote for their own players).
Avgi was one of eight unanimous selections to the squad and is the only player on the list to be selected for a third year in a row. Joining him as a repeat selection on the 15-man squad were Western Washington forward Jeffrey Parker, WWU guard Ricardo Maxwell, Alaska Anchorage guard Brian McGill and Alaska guard Joe Slocum.
Other unanimous selections to the team include Parker, Maxwell, McGill, Western Oregon guard Julian Nichols, Seattle Pacific forward Mitch Penner, Montana State Billings guard/forward Momir Gataric and Central Washington center Joseph Stroud.
MISSING AVGI?: Western Oregon enters the second week of the season at 2-0 despite not having the services of their top player. Andy Avgi has not been with the team after he decided to spend the fall as a member of the Western Oregon football team. He made a difference for the Wolves, earning First Team All-GNAC honors as a tight end as he helped lead the Wolves to a second place GNAC gridiron finish. Avgi was named the 2014-15 GNAC Player of the Year and the 2015-16 GNAC Preseason Player of the Year and has been named a Preseason All-American by both The Sporting News and Division II Bulletin.
TALKING TURKEY: Thanksgiving will be far from a break for GNAC basketball teams with all 11 teams competing during the week. The week’s events is highlighted by the GCI Great Alaska Shootout in Anchorage. The host Seawolves will play on Thanksgiving evening against Middle Tennessee. Seattle Pacific will play at the Chico State Invitational on Friday and Saturday, Concordia will be at the Cal Baptist Thanksgiving Classic and Western Oregon plays at the Notre Dame de Namur Thanksgiving Classic. Montana State Billings will host Dixie State, Alaska and Dominican in their Thanksgiving Tournament on Friday and Saturday.
Western Washington will play a pair of games in Hawaii while Northwest Nazarene will host Eastern Oregon on Friday. Central Washington, Saint Martin’s and Simon Fraser will all host single games.
THIS WEEK'S GNAC MEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Travante Williams
Alaska
F • 6-4 • 200 • Sr., Anchorage, Alaska
Williams was named the most valuable player of the GCI GNAC/PacWest Crossover after he averaged 23.5 points per game in the Nanooks’ wins over Hawaii Pacific and Chaminade. He shot 56 percent from the field and 56.3 percent from three-point range, topped by 25 points against Chaminade.
Also Nominated: Brendan Carroll (Seattle Pacific), Tyler Gutierrez (Concordia), Fred Jorg (Saint Martin’s), Devin Matthews (Central Washington), Marc Matthews (Montana State Billings), Jeffrey Parker (Western Washington), Suki Wiggs (Alaska Anchorage), Mike Wright (Northwest Nazarene).