Wednesday, February 28, 2024
by Evan O'Kelly, Assistant Commissioner For Communications

PORTLAND, Ore. – The final push for the 2024 GNAC Men’s Basketball Championships kicks off on a rare Leap Day as two dates remain on the regular-season calendar.

Montana State Billings (19-7, 13-3 GNAC), Saint Martin’s (21-5, 11-5) and Northwest Nazarene (15-9, 11-5) all enter their final set of contests having safely wrapped up tournament berths. Alaska Anchorage (19-8, 9-7) and Central Washington (16-9, 9-8) are tied for fourth, Seattle Pacific (15-14, 8-8) is clinging to the sixth and final playoff position and Western Washington (16-12, 8-9) faces a must-win game at Simon Fraser (6-22, 4-13) in order to maintain hopes of surpassing the Falcons in the standings.

LEAP DAY FARE: Thursday will mark just the third time since the conference was founded in 2001-02 that games fall on a Leap Day, with four matchups slated for the seldom-occurring Thursday, Feb. 29. The last conference game day to occur on Leap Day happened just four years ago on Feb. 29, 2020, and the only other occurrence was on Feb. 29, 2012.

ALL EYES ON ALASKA: Four of the season’s most consequential games will occur in The Last Frontier, as Montana State Billings vies to secure its first-ever outright GNAC title and its travel partner Seattle Pacific will likely need at least one win in its two games. Alaska Anchorage, which hosts the Falcons on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. (AK) and the Yellowjackets on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. (AK), can wrap up its 11th tournament berth with one win in its final two games. The Nanooks (8-16, 6-10) remain mathematically alive but would have to win both games to finish 8-10 and hope that a potential three-way tiebreaker with SPU and WWU would fall their way.

What It Means For Each Contender

MSU Billings: The Yellowjackets have already clinched at least a share of the regular-season title, as either Saint Martin’s or Northwest Nazarene (who play one another) could match MSUB at 13-5. MSUB can put that notion to rest by beating either Alaska on Thursday or UAA on Saturday, as 14 conference wins are unreachable for any other team and would wrap up the No. 1 seed for the ‘Jackets.

Alaska Anchorage: The Seawolves are the hottest team in the league having won four straight games, including a big 80-79 upset of then-No. 17 Saint Martin’s on the road last week. The formula is simple for UAA, which is guaranteed a berth by beating either SPU on Thursday or the GNAC-leading Yellowjackets on Saturday in the final game of the GNAC regular season. The Seawolves can still earn a berth with two losses, but would be in the uncomfortable position of their fate lying in the hands of other outcomes across the conference.

Seattle Pacific: If the Falcons are to be guaranteed their GNAC-record 12th conference tournament berth, they could do so by winning both of their games in Alaska. SPU holds a half-game upper-hand in the standings over the seventh-place Vikings, but could get leapfrogged if it loses both games and WWU beats Simon Fraser in its final game of the season.

Alaska: The Nanooks are on the outside looking in with a 6-10 conference record, and would have to beat both MSUB and SPU just to have a chance of having their name in the tiebreaker conversation. While it is likely their playoff bid will come up just short, the Nanooks will look to finish the season strong as they enter this weekend having won three of their last four games to keep their playoff hopes alive.

MEANWHILE OUT EAST: An equally intense battle is in the making in Nampa, Idaho and the site of next week’s conference tournament, Ellensburg, Wash. The Nighthawks host Western Oregon (5-19, 2-14) on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. (MT), before clashing with the Saints on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. (MT). If MSUB wins one of its two games in Alaska, then Saturday’s game between NNU and SMU will be a straight-up battle for the No. 2 seed and an ever-important first-round bye at the conference tournament. If MSUB falters twice, then Saturday’s game could be for a share of the GNAC regular-season trophy and No. 1 seed. Either NNU or SMU would have to win both of its games this week in order for the latter scenario to come into play.

What It Means For Each Contender

Saint Martin’s: A sliver of hope remains for SMU to become just the second team in GNAC history to win at least a share of three consecutive regular-season titles, but everything will have to go right for the two-time defending GNAC champions. First, the Saints will have to beat a Central Washington team on Thursday (7:30 p.m. PT) that is hungry to secure a berth into a tournament that it is hosting for the first time in school history. If SMU emerges from Nicholson Pavilion victorious, it’ll then have to top the Nighthawks on their home court on Saturday. While two wins only gives SMU a share of the title if MSUB falters, it would at the very least secure the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye.

Northwest Nazarene: The reigning conference tournament champions have guaranteed themselves a shot at becoming just the second team in GNAC history to win the tournament two years in a row, and, like SMU, have an outside chance at tying MSUB for a share of the regular-season title. The Nighthawks were the first team in 2023-24 to beat Saint Martin’s, picking up an 80-79 triumph on Nov. 30 in Lacey, Wash.

Central Washington: Entering the week tied with Alaska Anchorage at 9-7, the Wildcats can guarantee a berth in their home-court tournament by beating either SMU on Thursday or Western Oregon on Saturday. If the Wildcats can wrap up their third straight GNAC Championships berth, they will have a shot to bring home their first-ever tournament trophy on their home hardwood.

UP ON BURNABY MOUNTAIN: Western Washington needs a win on Saturday to avoid finishing 8-10, in which case its only hope for a playoff berth would be two losses by Seattle Pacific and favorable tiebreaker outcomes upon the conclusion of the regular season. A victory for the Vikings gives them a 9-9 conference record finish, which could slate them anywhere from a tie for fourth to seventh place depending on the outcomes of the league’s other games this weekend.

Saint Martin’s represented the GNAC at No. 21 in the latest NABC poll and No. 24 in the latest D2CSC poll, while MSUB received votes in the latter for the second week in-a-row.

The initial Bevo Francis Award top-100 list featured the name of Saint Martin’s senior guard Kyle Greeley. The award honors the top player within small college basketball annually, and will be refined later in the season as the field of candidates is narrowed down.

With non-conference play having concluded for the 2023-24 season, the GNAC realized notable success among the three NCAA Division II west region conferences. GNAC schools went 29-23 (.558) against CCAA and PacWest opposition during early season competition. Saint Martin’s led the way going 5-0 against the PacWest and 2-0 against the CCAA, while Central Washington went 4-2 against regional foes.

Read More: GNAC Post Winning Marks Against CCAA, PacWest Hoops Opposition (GNAC Commissioner’s Corner)

Through games Feb. 27.