Tuesday, November 21, 2023
PORTLAND, Ore. – Preseason Great Northwest Athletic Conference men’s basketball favorite Saint Martin’s rocketed up the latest national polls, jumping to No. 6 in the NABC top-25 and No. 4 in the latest D2CSC rankings ahead of a busy Thanksgiving week.
The Saints (5-0) knocked off No. 11 Point Loma 66-58 at the beginning of last week, turning heads at the outset of the 2023-24 campaign. SMU takes its perfect record and five-game winning streak into a Tuesday night game at Dominican before a Friday evening affair at Academy of Art.
All 10 GNAC teams are scheduled for action throughout the week, with both Friday and Saturday featuring a full plate of games over the holiday weekend.
GNAC Men's Basketball Schedule - Nov. 21-25 |
Team | Opponents | Location(s) |
RV Alaska Anchorage | Adams State | Anchorage, AK |
Alaska | Cal St. Monterey Bay, Cal St. East Bay | Seaside, CA, Hayward, CA |
Central Washington | RV Point Loma, Azusa Pacific | Nampa, ID |
Montana State Billings | Black Hills State, South Dakota Mines | Billings, MT |
Northwest Nazarene | Azusa Pacific, RV Point Loma | Nampa, ID |
#6 Saint Martin's | Dominican, Academy of Art | San Rafael, CA, Belmont, CA |
Seattle Pacific | Sonoma State, #15 Metro State, Regis | Seattle, WA, Denver, CO |
Simon Fraser | Regis, #15 Metro State | Denver, CO |
Western Oregon | Linfield | Monmouth, OR |
Western Washington | Douglas | Bellingham, WA |
GNAC Men's Basketball In The National & Regional Rankings |
The NABC Division II rankings are released every Monday throughout the 2023-24 season. The D2CSC regional rankings are released on Mondays, with the national rankings following on Tuesdays.
Off to a 5-0 start, Saint Martin’s rocketed up both the NABC rankings to No. 6, and the D2CSC rankings to No. 4. The Saints’ upset of No. 11 Point Loma proved that the GNAC preseason favorites are the real deal early in the season. Alaska Anchorage received votes in the NABC poll for the first time this year, after starting the season 6-0.
NABC National Rankings | ||||
Poll | Team 1 | Team 2 | Team 3 | Team 4 |
Preseason | RV SMU | -- | -- | -- |
Nov. 20 | 6. SMU | RV UAA | -- | -- |
D2CSC National Rankings | ||||
Poll | Team 1 | Team 2 | Team 3 | Team 4 |
Week 1 - Nov. 13 | 9. SMU | -- | -- | -- |
Nov. 21 | 4. SMU | -- | -- | -- |
D2CSC Regional Rankings | ||||
Poll | Team 1 | Team 2 | Team 3 | Team 4 |
Week 1 - Nov. 13 | 1. SMU | 9. NNU | -- | -- |
Week 2 - Nov. 20 | 1. SMU | T5. CWU | 8. UAA | RV WWU |
GNAC Men's Basketball In The NCAA Statistical Rankings |
2023-24 GNAC Men's Basketball Championships
2023-24 GNAC Men's Basketball Players of the Week |
Date | Offensive Player of the Week |
Nov. 6 | Tyson Gilbert, Alaska Anchorage |
Nov. 13 | Kai Johnson, Western Washington |
Nov. 20 | Qiant Myers, Western Oregon |
Player of the Week – Qiant Myers, Western Oregon
First-career player of the week.
Myers’ triple-double was just one aspect of an all-around stellar week, as he led all GNAC players with 8.7 assists per game while ranking second in scoring with 19.7 points per game and eighth in rebounding with 7.0 boards per game. Myers made 10 of 15 shots in WOU’s 75-69 win over Sonoma State on Saturday, reaching the highest point total by a GNAC player this season with 30. That came after a 15-point, 8-assist, 6-rebound effort across 37 minutes against Stanislaus State. “He has an elite feel for the game,” said Pifer. “He sees the game at a high level, and sees things a play before they happen. It’s easy for him to make quick decisions – it’s like nothing I have coached before.”
Also Nominated: Sawyer Storms, UAA; Paul Johnson, UAF; Samaad Hector, CWU; Daniel Moody, MSUB; Gabriel Murphy, NNU; Kyle Greeley, SMU; Jadin Penigar, SPU; Georges Lefebvre, SFU; Kai Johnson, WWU.
2023-24 GNAC Men's Basketball Championships |
The 2023-24 GNAC Men’s Basketball Championships will be held March at Nicholson Pavilion on the campus of Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Wash. The top-six teams in the final GNAC regular-season standings will advance to the single-elimination tournament. The winner of the event will earn the conference’s automatic berth into the NCAA West Region Championships.
2023-24 All-Tournament Selections |
2023-24 GNAC PRESEASON MEN'S BASKETBALL COACHES POLL | ||||
Rank | Team (1st Place Votes) | 2022-23 | GNAC Record (Finish) | Points |
1. | Saint Martin's (9) | 24-7 | 15-3 (1st) | 98 |
2. | Northwest Nazarene (1) | 15-15 | 9-9 (T3rd) | 85 |
3. | Central Washington | 15-15 | 9-9 (T3rd) | 72 |
4. | Western Washington | 15-13 | 8-10 (7th) | 66 |
T5. | Montana State Billings | 20-10 | 14-4 (2nd) | 52 |
T5. | Seattle Pacific | 17-11 | 12-6 (3rd) | 52 |
7. | Alaska Anchorage | 13-14 | 7-11 (9th) | 40 |
8. | Western Oregon | 12-14 | 9-9 (T3rd) | 36 |
9. | Alaska | 11-15 | 6-12 (8th) | 31 |
10. | Simon Fraser | 6-22 | 1-17 (10th) | 18 |
Points awarded on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. |
2023-24 GNAC MEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM Preseason Player of the Year: Shaw Anderson, Seattle Pacific |
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Name | School | Pos. | Ht. | Yr. | Hometown |
*$+& Shaw Anderson | Seattle Pacific | F | 6-7 | Sr. | Kelso, Wash. |
*$& Jaden Nielsen-Skinner | Saint Martin's | G | 5-10 | Jr. | Salem, Ore. |
*#& Gabriel Murphy | Northwest Nazarene | F | 6-9 | Sr. | Tracy, Calif. |
*@ Camron McNeil | Central Washington | G | 6-5 | Sr. | Raleigh, N.C. |
*$ Kyle Greeley | Saint Martin's | G | 6-5 | Sr. | Salem, Ore. |
*# Abdullahi Mohamed | Alaska | F | 6-10 | Sr. | Seattle, Wash. |
*!@ BJ Kolly | Western Washington | F | 6-10 | So. | Everett, Wash. |
^&@ Tru Allen | Northwest Nazarene | G | 6-0 | Jr. | Lapwai, Idaho |
*@ Cameron Benzel | Western Oregon | F | 6-7 | Jr. | Yoncalla, Ore. |
# Kai Johnson | Western Washington | G | 6-4 | Jr. | Olympia, Wash. |
% Zharon Richmond | Montana State Billings | F | 6-7 | Sr. | Billings, Mont. |
@ David Penney | Simon Fraser | G | 6-1 | Sr. | Guelph, Ont. |
@ Samaad Hector | Central Washington | F | 6-6 | Sr. | Vancouver, Wash. |
# Tyke Thompson | Saint Martin's | G | 6-8 | Sr. | Salem, Ore. |
Dathan Satchell | Alaska Anchorage | G | 6-4 | Sr. | Tracy, Calif. |
*Unanimous Selection | !-2022-23 GNAC Freshman of the Year | $-2022-23 First-Team All-GNAC | #-2022-23 Second-Team All-GNAC | @-2022-23 Honorable Mention All-GNAC | ^-2021-22 GNAC Freshman of the Year | &-2021-22 Honorable Mention All-GNAC | +-2019-20 Second-Team All-GNAC | %-2019-20 Honorable Mention All-GNAC
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