Fans of basketball and numerology alike have reason to be excited about this year's Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout. Here are just a few of the reasons:
1 - The predicted finish in their respective conferences for both Michigan State (Big Ten) and Wyoming (Mountain West), according to several publications and preseason coaches' polls.
2 - The number of Alaska High School Player of the Year awards (1997 & 1998) garnered Laura Ingham of the Nevada women's team. A former star at Anchorage's East High, the Wolf Pack's starting point guard makes her hometown return in the tournament's first game Tuesday night against Alaska Anchorage.
5 - Teams in this year's event that qualified for NCAA Tournament play a year ago - Michigan State, Montana, Oklahoma State and Wyoming on the men's side, plus the Indiana women.
6 - Combined number of national titles for teams in the men's field - Michigan State (1979 & 2000), Oklahoma State (1945 & 1946), Villanova (1985) and Wyoming (1943).
18 - Consecutive years now that cable television giant ESPN will send Shootout games to a nationwide audience. The Michigan State-Montana game will be shown on ESPN, while the Oklahoma State-UAA, semifinal No. 2 and the championship will be on ESPN2.
25 - This Thanksgiving marks the silver anniversary of the nation's premier college basketball tournament. With the discontinuation of the Rainbow Classic, the Shootout is now the oldest continually running event of its kind in the nation.
300 - Saturday's championship will be the 300th game played in the history of the men's tournament. Now, here's a team-by-team look at who may challenge for a spot in that title tilt, plus a preview of the women's field:
Men's Field
COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON - Tom Herrion inherits the Cougars' program from the legendary coach John Kresse and looks to keep the school's impressive basketball tradition intact with a group of fresh faces.
Playing in the underrated Southern Conference, C of C has quietly established one of the nation's top programs, winning 82 percent of its games over the last nine years. Included in that run was an appearance in the 1997 Shootout title game.
But if the Cougars are to make their seventh postseason appearance in 10 years, they will rely heavily upon newcomers, including junior college transfer Zeke Johnson, a 6-7 forward. Shooting guard Troy Wheless is Charleston's top returning scorer at 9.3 points per game.
LOYOLA MARYMOUNT - Going into his third year, coach Steve Aggers is starting a youth movement as he attempts to rebuild the Lions back into a contender in the West Coast Conference.
Seven freshmen are among the eight newcomers on this year's squad, the largest freshman class in nearly three decades at the Los Angeles school. The Lions will not rely exclusively on unknown players, however, as they return double-digit scorers in forwards Andy Osborn (10.1 ppg, 5.2 rpg) and Keith Kincade (10.0 ppg, 3.9 rpg).
MICHIGAN STATE - Two seasons removed from a national title, the Spartans are a popular pick to return to the Final Four for the fourth time in five years.
Lindy's, Athlon and Street & Smith's basketball annuals, as well as the Big Ten Conference's coaches, all pick MSU to return to the top of the league in 2003 after a one-year drop-off. Of course, that dip was relative for the Spartans, who won 19 games and advanced to the first round of the NCAA Tournament in 2002.
MSU is ranked No. 7 by Lindy's and No. 10 in preseason ESPN coaches' poll thanks to the return of starters Aloysius Anagonye, Adam Ballinger, Alan Anderson and Kelvin Torbert. Sophomore Chris Hill, who came out of relative obscurity to average 11.5 points last year, will move to the point and may be a candidate for All-America honors.
The Spartans won the 1989 Shootout in their only other trip to Anchorage.
MONTANA - The Grizzlies made an impressive late-season surge, winning the Big Sky Conference tournament to advance to the NCAAs in March.
But change was in the air in Missoula after the 16-15 campaign, and veteran coach Pat Kennedy took over the program in April. Montana will be the fourth different team Kennedy has brought to the Shootout, following DePaul (2000), Florida State (1989) and Iona (1981).
Although only six players return from last year's team, Kennedy knows he can count on All-Big Sky senior David Bell to provide a steady presence in the backcourt. Bell, who averaged 13.7 points in 2001-02, will team with fellow returning starter Brent Cummings, a 6-7 senior who averaged 10.1 ppg and 4.0 rpg.
OKLAHOMA STATE - After 32 seasons pacing college sidelines, it's pretty obvious Eddie Sutton has a good understanding of the game of basketball. With 702 career victories, Sutton enters 2002-03 in 14th place on the NCAA's all-time wins list and fourth among active coaches. In 12 years in Stillwater, his Cowboy teams have failed only twice to advance to the NCAA Tournament.
Last year OSU won 23 games and placed third in the Big 12 Conference, trailing only Final Four teams Kansas and Oklahoma. This year's squad is again predicted to finish in the top half of the league.
Junior forward Ivan McFarlin, the Dallas Morning News' Big 12 Newcomer of the Year last season, is back for the Cowboys after averaging 10.8 points, 7.7 rebounds and shooting 61 percent.
VILLANOVA - The Wildcats went deep into the National Invitation Tournament last year and return the bulk of that team, including dependable seniors Gary Buchanan and Ricky Wright.
Street & Smith's College Basketball Yearbook ranks Villanova 25th in its preseason predictions and calls Buchanan the best shooter in the Big East Conference. Last year Buchanan averaged 17.8 points on 42.3 percent three-point shooting, and has hit 278 of 300 (.927) career free throws.
Wright anchors VU's frontcourt with 13.7 ppg and 8.0 rpg averages, and more help is on the way with one of the nation's top recruiting classes premiering in Philadelphia this fall.
WYOMING - The two-time defending Mountain West Conference champions are poised for another title run with preseason MWC Player of the Year Marcus Bailey and all-league forward Uche Nsonwu-Amadi returning.
The Cowboys made noise in March by upsetting 2001 Shootout runner-up Gonzaga in the first round and then taking another top 10 team, Arizona, to the wire before falling in the second round of the NCAAs.
Bailey, a 6-5 senior, averaged 14.6 points last season and is rated among the country's top 10 shooters by Athlon, while Nsonwu-Amadi is the MWC's top returning rebounder at 8.2 per game.
ALASKA ANCHORAGE - Coming off the program's first losing season in 18 years, coach Charlie Bruns has restocked his roster with several high-caliber transfers to team with a group of experienced returnees.
All-Great Northwest Athletic Conference forward Peter Bullock is back for his junior season after averaging 18.0 points and 8.7 rebounds in 2001-02. Shooting guard Mark Drake also came on strong for the Seawolves last year, averaging nearly 15 points in conference games and earning GNAC Freshman of the Year honors.
JC transfers Scott Stevens, Blaine Durrant and Bob Austin should give the Seawolves a shot at pulling another Shootout upset in 2002.
Women's Field
EASTERN KENTUCKY - The defending Ohio Valley Conference co-champions make their first Shootout appearance under longtime head coach Larry Joe Inman.
EKU is perennially one of the highest-scoring teams in the nation, and with all-conference guard Katie Kelly leading the way, the Lady Colonels have been picked second in the OVC in the league's preseason poll.
Starters Teresa McNair and Miranda Eckerle also return for EKU, which advanced to the second round of the Women's NIT in 2002.
INDIANA - The Hoosiers were one of the feel-good stories in women's basketball last year, pulling three upsets in the Big Ten Tournament to advance to the NCAAs.
But if Indiana hopes to follow in the footsteps of fellow Big Ten schools Iowa and Ohio State as Shootout champions, it will have to do so with only one returning starter, guard Jenny DeMuth. Also expected to carry a large load offensively are senior forward Lisa Eckart and senior guard Kristen Bodine. Eckart sat out last year after transferring from the University of Evansville, but is already a 1,000-point scorer for her career and was a two-time all-conference honoree.
NEVADA - While Anchorage fans will be excited to welcome back hometown hero Laura Ingham, they should also be prepared to be impressed by Wolf Pack All-America candidate Kate Smith.
Smith, a 6-2 senior, averaged 15.0 points and 6.9 rebounds a year ago. This season Smith has the chance to become the second player in school history to reach the 2,000-point plateau, and should Ingham come anywhere near her school-record 173 assists of 2001-02, Smith should easily surpass that mark.
ALASKA ANCHORAGE - The Seawolves come in shooting for their first Shootout victory since the women's tournament came to Sullivan in 1999.
Fourth-year coach Brandi Dunigan has added a solid group of junior college transfers, including guard Kamie Jo Massey, who will team with returnees Tanya Nizich and Jen Stoddard to make UAA a much-improved squad. Stoddard was the Shootout's leading rebounder last year with 19 in two games and earned a spot on the all-tournament team.
