THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE MEN'S BASKETBALL ...
 
Thur., Dec. 5, 7:30 pm — Alaska Airlines Center — Anchorage, Alaska
Concordia-Portland (1-7, 0-0 GNAC) at Alaska Anchorage (6-2, 0-0 GNAC)
&
Sat., Dec. 7, 5:15 pm — Alaska Airlines Center — Anchorage, Alaska
Western Oregon (5-0, 0-0 GNAC [12/5 @UAF]) at Alaska Anchorage
 
LIVE STATS: goseawolves.com/sidearmstats/mbball
 
VIDEO: gnac.tv
 
SOCIAL MEDIA: Check the @UAAMBB Twitter feed for in-game updates.
 
TICKETS: AlaskaAirlinesCenter.com
 
FOOD BANK NIGHT: Fans who bring at least one non-perishable food item for the Food Bank of Alaska will receive a $5 ticket (half off) to Thursday's doubleheader.
 
UAA PROBABLE STARTERS (2019-20 stats)
G—DeAndre Osuigwe, 6-0, Jr. (7.6 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 4.8 apg, .417 FG, .400 3FG, .789 FT)
G—Tobin Karlberg, 6-0, So. (11.0 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 2.5 apg, .500 FG, .424 3FG, .800 FT, 10/3 AT ratio)
C—David Riley, 6-8, Jr. (3.8 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.0 bpg, .600 FG, .600 FT)
F—Tyler Brimhall, 6-5, Sr. (8.8 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 1.0 apg, .347 FG, .220 3FG, .786 FT)
F—Niko Bevens, 6-6, Sr. (13.5 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 1.8 apg, .493 FG, .517 3FG, 14/5 AT ratio)
 
GNAC BEGINS: UAA plays host to Concordia-Portland and Western Oregon this week as the 20-game Great Northwest Athletic Conference seasons gets under way.
 
SCOUTING REPORTS: Now in its fifth year as a GNAC member, Concordia-Portland opened with a 5-game losing streak and has suffered four of its seven losses by six points or less ... the Cavaliers' lone victory came by a 71-70 score at home against Notre Dame de Namur ... CU is led statistically by Hunter Sweet (15.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 1.5 apg, .544 FG, .448 3FG, .778 FT) and Dakota Ayala (10.4 ppg, 4.0 rpg, .600 FG, .769 FT) ... despite being picked 8th in the GNAC preseason coaches' poll, Western Oregon heads into Thursday's game at UAF with the GNAC's lone unbeaten mark at 5-0 ... the Wolves have one common opponent thus far with UAA, defeating San Francisco State 88-76 last week ... WOU is led by Dalven Brushier (18.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 3.2 apg, .554 FG, .458 3FG, .783 FT) and Darius Lubom (15.6 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 6.0 apg, 2.4 spg, .644 FG, .895 FT).
 
THE SERIES
vs. CU: UAA leads 7-3 overall, 4-2 in Anchorage
Last: UAA 99-94, OT (1-31-19 at CU)
Streak: UAA 4
Notes: The last six games have been decided by single digits, including a pair in overtime ... UAA won 75-66 last year in Anchorage ... UAA leads series 7-1 since CU joined the GNAC in 2015-16 ... CU won the first two meetings, Nov. 7-8, 2014, in the first men's basketball games ever played at the Alaska Airlines Center.
 
vs. WOU: UAA leads 22-17, 13-5 in Anchorage
Last: WOU 81-61 (2-2-19 at WOU)
Streak: WOU 1
Notes: UAA snapped 4-game losing skid to WOU with last year's 61-57 victory in Anchorage ... the Seawolves lead 3-2 at the Alaska Airlines Center ... UAA leads 22-16 in GNAC meetings (since 2001-02) ... first and only non-GNAC meeting was a 91-81 WOU victory in Monmouth, Jan. 28, 1999, when both programs were in the Pacific West Conference.
 
THANKSGIVING SPLIT: The Seawolves played a pair of tight non-conference contests last week at the Alaska Airlines Center, falling 83-80 to Michigan Tech and defeating Northern Michigan 84-76 in the Seawolves Thanksgiving Classic ... on Friday, Jr. C Oggie Pantovic tallied personal bests of 16 points (8-11 FG) and 9 rebounds, but the Huskies made the big plays down the stretch for a comeback victory ... Sr. F Niko Bevens tallied 12 points (4-5 3FG) and guards Tyrus Hosley and Amari Hale added 11 points apiece in the first meeting between the two programs ... on Saturday, Sr. F Tyler Brimhall came through with season highs of 17 points and 8 rebounds to help UAA fend off a late rally by the Wildcats ... Bevens added 16 points (4-7 3FG) and 3 assists, and Jr. G DeAndre Osuigwe tallied 10 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals and just one turnover as UAA shot 12 of 25 from long range.
 
TEAM NOTES: UAA is 12-6 in GNAC openers ... the Seawolves had won nine straight GNAC openers before falling 89-74 at MSU Billings last year ... this will mark the first time UAA has played Concordia-Portland in a GNAC opener ... the Seawolves stands No. 9 in this week's D2SIDA West Region poll ... UAA leads the GNAC in scoring defense (67.8 ppg) and assists per game (20.6), while ranking 2nd in scoring margin (+10.6), 3FG% defense (.325), 3FGs per game (11.5), turnover margin (+3.75) and assist/turnover ratio (1.9) ... in the NCAA Div. II national stats, the Seawolves are 9th in assists, 10th in A/T ratio, 18th in 3FGs per game and 24th in turnovers per game ... the 18 three-pointers in UAA's win over Coast Guard marked the 7th-most in program history against an NCAA opponent.
 
BALANCING ACT: The Seawolves have not relied on star power to achieve their success so far, getting at least 7.5 points per game from seven players and at least 3.4 rebounds per game from five players, with no one averaging more than 26.1 minutes ... Sr. F Niko Bevens leads the GNAC and ranks 20th nationally with 3.8 3FGs  per game, plus other GNAC ranks of 14th in scoring (13.5 ppg), 9th in A/T ratio (2.8) and 8th in 3FG% (.517, 21st nationally) ... Bevens broke UAA's single-game record for 3FG% (min. 6 attempts) against Coast Guard, sinking 8 of 9 treys in front of a nationally televised audience on ESPNU ... after averaging 3.4 ppg in a reserve role as a true freshman, So. G Tobin Karlberg has emerged as UAA's 2nd-leading scorer with 11.0 ppg ... the former local Grace Christian HS star has tallied double figures in five games thus far, posting GNAC ranks of 14th in assists (2.5 apg), 6th in A/T ratio (3.3), 17th in steals (1.0 spg), 14th in 3FGs per game (1.8) and 18th in 3FG% (.424) ... Jr. C Oggie Pantovic is the only Seawolf in the GNAC top 10 in scoring or rebounding, currently 10th with 6.5 rpg ... the transfer from Utah State-Eastern leads the Seawolves and ranks 11th in the league with a .556 FG% and 7th with 0.9 blocks per game ... Jr. C David Riley is 5th in the GNAC with 1.0 blocks per game ... Sr. G Jack Macdonald delivered a season-high 18 points in the win over San Francisco State and dished a career-high 8 assists (with no turnovers) in the victory over Sonoma State ... the CoSIDA Academic All-District performer is putting up 9.0 ppg so far, boosted by 13-of-28 (.464) 3FG shooting ... in the GNAC stats, Macdonald leads with 17-of-17 FT shooting, and is 8th in A/T ratio (2.9), 14th in assists (2.5 apg), 11th in 3FG% and 18th in 3FGs per game (1.6) ... UAA has gotten a major contribution from all five of its transfers thus far, including the backcourt trio of Sr. G Tyrus Hosley, Jr. G DeAndre Osuigwe and Jr. G Amari Hale ... Hosley, from Northwest Christian, has posted 8.4 ppg and holds GNAC top-15 ranks in assists (8th, 3.5 apg) and A/T ratio (14th, 2.5), while his 9 rebounds against S.F. State are tied for the most by a Seawolf thus far ... Osuigwe, from State College of Florida, is 3rd in the GNAC with 4.8 apg, and Hale, from Eastern Arizona, has delivered 17 assists and committed just 4 turnovers in 163 minutes for the 4th-best A/T ratio in the league.
 
TRUST IN RUSTY: Now in his 16th year at the helm, head coach Rusty Osborne (285-168) has led the Seawolves to 14 straight seasons of .500-plus records, along with five NCAA Tournaments and a trip to the 2008 NCAA D-II Semifinals … the longest tenured coach in program history and 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 by Ryan Orton (6th season) and former Seawolf guard Kyle Fossman (1st season).
 
PICKED FOR 4TH: The Seawolves were predicted to finish 4th in the annual GNAC Preseason Coaches' Poll, released Oct. 22:
 
2019-20 GNAC PRESEASON MEN'S BASKETBALL COACHES POLL
Rk  Team (1st Place Votes)        Last Yr '18 GNAC (Pl.)          Pts.
 1. Western Washington (6)      15-15, 9-11 (t-6th)                112
 2. Seattle Pacific (5)       22-7, 16-4 (2nd)        107
 3. Simon Fraser               15-14, 9-11 (t-6th)      91
 4. Alaska Anchorage                   14-14, 9-11 (t-6th)               90
 5. Montana State Billings           15-14, 10-10 (5th)                79
 6. Central Washington               11-17, 5-15 (10th)                63
 7. Northwest Nazarene              20-8, 14-6 (3rd)                     59
 8. Western Oregon                      22-11, 13-7 (4th)                  56
 9. Concordia-Portland   11-17, 6-14 (9th)        25
10. Alaska Fairbanks       5-22, 2-18 (11th)        23
11. Saint Martin's            26-6, 17-3 (1st)         21
 
2019-20 SEAWOLF INDIVIDUAL HONORS
NIKO BEVENS
Preseason All-GNAC Team
Seawolf Thanksgiving Classic All-Tournament Team
TYLER BRIMHALL
Preseason All-GNAC Team (unanimous)
Seawolf Thanksgiving Classic All-Tournament Team
TOBIN KARLBERG
Alaska/Hawaii Challenge All-Tournament Team
OGGIE PANTOVIC
Alaska/Hawaii Challenge All-Tournament Team
Seawolf Thanksgiving Classic All-Tournament Team