THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE MEN'S BASKETBALL...
Tue., Jan. 10 — 7 pm AST — Alaska Airlines Center — Anchorage, Alaska
Alaska Fairbanks (7-8, 2-4 GNAC) at Alaska Anchorage (10-4, 4-2 GNAC)
&
Thur., Jan. 12 — 5:30 pm AST — Alterowitz Gymnasium — Billings, Mont.
Alaska Anchorage at Montana State Billings (9-5, 4-2 GNAC)
TV: Tuesday's UAA-UAF game will air live statewide on GCI cable channels 907 (hd) & 1 (sd)
LIVE VIDEOSTREAM & STATS: Both games free at portal.stretchinternet.com/uaa or gnac.tv
TICKETS: $10 general admission, $8 discounted, UAA students free with valid WolfCard ... visit GoSeawolves.com or call 907-786-1562 for all ticket info.
PROMOTIONS/SPECIAL EVENTS: The Seawolves are participating in the Coaches vs Cancer 3-Point Challenge this month ... join UAA and the American Cancer Society in the fight against cancer by pledging an amount for the total of three-point baskets the Seawolves will make during their three January home games ... the direct link to make a pledge (at any time) is https://pledgeit.org/cvc-anchorage?DB_OEM_ID=13400
UAA PROBABLE STARTERS (2016-17 stats)
G—Diante Mitchell, 6-1, Sr. (10.9 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 3.5 apg, .429 3FG, .816 FT)
G—Sekou 'Suki' Wiggs, 6-4, Sr. (23.2 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 2.8 apg, .464 FG, .393 3FG, .709 FT)
G—Spencer Svejcar, 6-4, Sr. (13.6 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 3.1 apg, .464 3FG, .927 FT)
F—Corey Hammell, 6-6, Sr. (8.2 ppg, 10.9 rpg, 1.6 apg, .772 FT)
C—Connor Devine, 6-10, Sr. (9.9 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.4 spg, 1.7 bpg, .538 FG)
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS: Alaska Fairbanks snapped a 4-game league losing skid with Saturday's 88-83 road win over Simon Fraser ... the Nanooks feature four players who average double-figure scoring, led by 6-1 Sr. G Brandon Davis (13.9 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 3.0 apg, 1.7 spg, .373 3FG, .814 FT) and 6-6 Sr. F Bangaly Kaba (13.2 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 2.0 apg, .729 FT) ... Montana State Billings has won five of its last six, including a 100-93 road upset of Western Washington on Dec. 31 ... the Yellowjackets are led by 6-7 So. F Preston Beverly (17.6 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 2.4 apg, .397 3FG) and 6-2 Sr. G Marc Matthews (16.2 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.0 apg, 1.2 spg, .418 3FG, .895 FT).
TEAM COMPARISONS UAA UAF MSUB
UAA Home/UAF Road 8-0 3-3 --
UAA Road/MSUB Home 2-4 -- 3-3
Points per Game 81.4 75.9 83.7
Points Allowed/Game 62.2 73.1 77.6
Rebounding Diff. +14.4 -3.5 +3.1
Assists per Game 16.8 15.3 13.6
Turnovers per Game 12.4 10.7 16.1
Steals per Game 7.8 7.3 6.0
Blocks per Game 3.4 2.9 3.1
FG% .456 .441 .456
3-pt FG% .380 .303 .376
FT% .716 .735 .767
ALL-TIME vs UAF: UAA leads 77-22 overall, 44-5 in Anchorage
Last Meeting: UAA 76-71 (2/11/16 at UAA)
Streak: UAA 4
Notes: Tuesday's contest will mark the 100th meeting as Div. II opponents ... UAA has won 20 of the last 21 meetings, including in the first two games at the Alaska Airlines Center ... UAF's 70-68 home win to close the 2013-14 regular season snapped UAA's series-record 16-game win streak and marked the Nanooks' lone triumph since 2007 ... eight of the last 10 games have been decided by six points or less, or in overtime … UAA leads 24-6 in GNAC meetings (since 2001-02) and 47-10 since 1990 … teams have met at least twice each year since both became NCAA Div. II programs in 1977-78.
ALL-TIME vs MSUB: UAA leads 42-30
In Billings: MSUB leads 23-12
Last Meeting: MSUB 90-71 (2/9/16 at MSUB)
Streak: MSUB 1
Notes: UAA has won six of the last nine meetings ... UAA leads 13-5 in GNAC regular-season meetings since MSUB joined the league in 2007-08 … MSUB is UAA's 2nd-most common opponent (72 meetings) … teams met at least twice per season each year between 1981-82 and 2000-01 as members of the Great Northwest and Pacific West conferences ... first meeting was in 1977-78.
SEAWOLVES EARN BORDER SPLIT: UAA ran its season-high win streak to five games with a 77-47 road victory over Simon Fraser on Jan. 5 before falling in hard-fought battle at 24th-ranked Western Washington, 91-84, on Jan. 7 ... in the first game, Sr. G Spencer Svejcar scored a career-high 31 points (9-14 FG, 6-9 3FG, 7-8 FT) and Sr. G Suki Wiggs added 18 points (8-15 FG) and a season-high 9 rebounds to stay unbeaten in 16 all-time meetings against the Clan ... Sr. F Corey Hammell grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds and Sr. C Connor Devine had 10 points and 6 rebounds as UAA held its opponent under 50 points for the third game in a row ... on Saturday, Wiggs had 24 points, Sr. G Diante Mitchell had 20 points (8-11 FG, 3-3 3FG) and Svejcar tossed in 18 points (5-8 FG, 4-5 3FG, 4-4 FT), but the Seawolves could not complete a comeback against the 24th-ranked Vikings in Bellingham ... Hammell pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds and So. G Damien Fulp had a key 6 points (3-3 FG) off the bench as UAA lost despite edging WWU in FG% (.540 to .532) and rebounds (26-25), and shooting 61 percent (11 of 18) on 3FGs.
TEAM NOTES: UAA's defensive efforts of five straight games with under 55 points allowed (Dec. 17-Jan. 5) and three straight games with under 50 points allowed (Dec. 29-Jan. 5) were both program firsts ... the Seawolves rank among the top 45 of the NCAA Div. II national stats leaders in eight categories, including 2nd in rebound margin (+14.4), 5th in scoring defense (62.2), 6th in offensive rebounds per game (15.7), 8th in scoring margin (+19.1), 17th in FG% defense (.394) ... in the GNAC stats, UAA paces the 11-team league in scoring defense, scoring margin, FG% defense, assists per game (17.8), and six of the seven rebounding categories, and ranks 2nd in steals per game (7.8) ... UAA is aiming for a 12th straight winning season and the 34th in 40 years … the Seawolves have qualified for the GNAC Tournament each year since the event was instituted in 2011 ... the Seawolves are also trying for the program's seventh straight winning record in GNAC play and the same streak of top-4 finishes.
SUKI'S GRAND ACHIEVEMENT: The 2016-17 GNAC Preseason Player of the Year, Sr. G Suki Wiggs has put his scoring skills on display with at least 20 points in nine of the first 14 games, including his school-record 46-point showing at Central Washington on Dec. 1 ... a 2015-16 D2CCA Third Team All-American, GNAC Newcomer of the Year and unanimous First Team All-GNAC pick, Wiggs already ranks 17th on UAA's career scoring list with 1,095 points, crushing the program record by reaching 1,000 in just 42 games ... the former transfer from Div. I Idaho ranks 11th nationally in scoring with 23.2 ppg, while in the GNAC he is 2nd in scoring, 17th in assists (2.7 apg), 19th in FT% (.709), 6th in 3FGs per game (2.5) and 2nd in FTs made per game (5.6) ... with seven 30-point efforts, Wiggs is just the fifth Seawolf with that many in a career, while his 15 25-plus performances are 4th-most ... last year he easily broke UAA's season records for FTs made (235), made per game (7.6), and attempted (316), while his scoring average was No. 3 all-time; in raw numbers, Wiggs was 2nd in points (770), coming just 43 shy of Jackson's record 813 in 1986-87 ... after only 46 games in a Seawolf uniform, Wiggs has risen on UAA's career lists to 2nd in scoring average (23.8 ppg), 5th in FTs made (321, needs 10 to reach No. 4), 1st in FTs made per game (7.0), 16th in assists per game (3.1), 13th in steals per game (1.4) and 17th in double-doubles (8).
SPOT-ON SPENCER: An honorable mention All-GNAC performer last season and a preseason all-league pick this year, Sr. G Spencer Svejcar has emerged as UAA's 2nd-leading scorer this year with 13.6 ppg, tallying double figures in 11 of 14 contests ... the Colorado native has been the GNAC's most accurate free throw shooter and 8th-best in the nation at .927, along with other league ranks of 11th in assists (3.1 apg), 8th in A/T ratio (2.1), 5th in 3FG% (.464) and 7th in 3FGs per game (2.3) ... Svejcar dished a career-high 7 assists in the victory over Seattle Pacific and has eight games this year with at least three dimes ...the former Laramie (Wyo.) CC transfer has tallied double figures in 31 of 44 games as a Seawolf, drawing 43 starting assignments.
HAMMELL TIME: Now with 46 career games played, Sr. F Corey Hammell has met the official minimum to break Todd Fisher's program record of 9.7 rebounds per game, currently at 10.4 rpg ... a 2015-16 2nd Team All-GNAC selection after leading the league by nearly three boards per game, and he leads the league by almost two per game this year with 10.9 rpg ... the Preseason All-GNAC pick ranks No. 2 in NCAA Div. II with 5.2 offensive rebounds per game and stands 15th in overall rebounding ... in 46 games as a Seawolf, Hammell has 27 double-digit rebounding efforts, and his nine games with 15-plus are tied for 2nd-most in program history ... the Santa Rosa (Calif.) JC transfer is also one of the most productive players in program history at the free throw line, ranking 10th in FTs made (248), 16th in FT% (.816) and 3rd in FTs made per game (5.4) ... on the other career lists, he is 10th in total rebounds (477, needs 16 to reach top 9th), tied for 5th in double-doubles (18), and 12th in FTs attempted (304).
DEPENDABLE DIANTE: Sr. G Diante Mitchell has been one of the most effective floor generals in the GNAC this season, ranking 7th in the league with 3.5 assists per game and 31st in scoring at 10.9 ppg ... the former Western Nebraska transfer is also shooting .816 (8th in GNAC) from the charity stripe, including clinching charities against Cal State LA and Central Washington ... the Seawolves' 3rd-leading scorer has recorded eight games with 12 or more points, including a career-high 25 in the victory over SPU and 20 in the loss at No. 24 WWU ... Mitchell was the Seawolves' representative on the GCI Great Alaska Shootout after helping UAA to a discretionary exhibition victory over Div. I Drake.
DEVINE PRESENCE: Sr. C Connor Devine has given UAA its first true post presence in recent seasons since transferring from Div. I mid-major power South Dakota State in the off-season ... the former 4A state player of the year at Wasilla High has emerged as UAA's 4th-leading scorer (9.9 ppg) and 2nd-leading rebounder (5.0 rpg), while leading the way with 1.4 steals and 1.7 blocks per outing ... he currently sports GNAC ranks of 6th in FG% (.538), 4th in steals, 5th in blocks, and 9th in offensive rebounds per game (2.1) ... in November, Devine made an impact with 14.5 ppg and 7.0 rpg in the Seawolf Jamboree to earn all-tourney honors and help UAA to critical West Region victories over Cal State LA and BYU-Hawaii, and he swatted a career-high 5 blocks in UAA's win over Saint Martin's.
THE OSBORNE FILE: Now in his 13th year as head coach, Rusty Osborne (239-134) has led the Seawolves to 11 straight winning seasons, along with five NCAA Tournaments and a trip to the 2008 NCAA D-II Semifinals … the longest tenured coach in program history and currently with the second-longest tenured in the GNAC, he became the first UAA basketball coach to reach 200 career victories when the Seawolves beat Alaska Fairbanks on Jan. 10, 2015 … 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 in 2016-17 by Cameron Turner (6th season), Scott Friel (1st season) and former Seawolf guard Jesse Brown (1st season).
2016-17 Seawolf Individual Honors
Connor Devine
Seawolf Jamboree Player of the Game vs BYU-Hawaii, Nov. 18
Seawolf Jamboree All-Tournament Team
Corey Hammell
Preseason All-GNAC Team
Seawolf Jamboree All-Tournament Team
Jackson McTier
NABC All-State Good Hands Team nominee
Diante Mitchell
GCI Great Alaska Shootout All-Tournament Team
Spencer Svejcar
Preseason All-GNAC Team
Suki Wiggs
Preseason All-GNAC Team (unanimous)
GNAC Preseason Player of the Year
The Sporting News Preseason First Team All-American
Division II Bulletin Preseason Honorable Mention All-American
GNAC/Pac West Challenge All-Tournament Team
Seawolf Jamboree Most Outstanding Player
