THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE MEN'S BASKETBALL ...
 
Tue., Jan. 23, 7 pm AST — Alaska Airlines Center — Anchorage, Alaska
Alaska Fairbanks (6-10, 5-3 GNAC) at Alaska Anchorage (11-8, 4-4 GNAC)
&
Thu., Jan. 25, 5:30 pm AST — Alterowitz Gymnasium — Billings, Mont.
Alaska Anchorage at Montana State Billings (8-8, 3-5 GNAC)
 
LIVE STATS: Tuesday at goseawolves.com/sidearmstats/mbball ... Thursday at gnac.tv
 
VIDEO: Both games at gnac.tv
 
SOCIAL MEDIA: Check the @UAAMBB Twitter feed for in-game updates.
 
TICKETS: AlaskaAirlinesCenter.com
 
UAA PROBABLE STARTERS (2019-20 stats)
G—DeAndre Osuigwe, 6-0, Jr. (6.8 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 4.7 apg, 1.3 spg, .675 FT)
G—Tobin Karlberg, 6-0, So. (10.4 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 1.6 apg, .500 FG, .461 3FG, .905 FT)
C—David Riley, Oggie Pantovic or Eric Jenkins
F—Tyler Brimhall, 6-5, Sr. (9.0 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 1.2 apg, .345 FG, .280 3FG, .806 FT)
F—Niko Bevens, 6-6, Sr. (13.3 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 1.2 apg, .449 FG, .460 3FG, .895 FT)
 
FREQUENT FLIERS: After playing games in Washington and Idaho last week, the Seawolves return home to Anchorage for a single game against Alaska Fairbanks on Tuesday, then head to Montana State Billings for Thursday's contest to complete a string of four games in four states in eight days ... the conclusion of this week will mark the halfway point in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference campaign.
 
SCOUTING REPORTS: Alaska Fairbanks has bounced back from a 1-7 start to win five of its last eight games, including GNAC road victories over Saint Martin's and Central Washington ... the Nanooks feature the GNAC's leading scorer in guard Shadeed Shabazz (23.2 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.1 apg, 3.2 spg, .434 FG, .876 FT), alongside Spencer Sweet (13.5 ppg, 3.9 rpg, .429 3FG) ... with six GNAC road games and only two home contests under its belt, Montana State Billings sits solidly on the GNAC Tournament playoff bubble at the 40 percent point in the league campaign ... the Yellowjackets are led by Brendan Howard (21.6 ppg, 8.2 rpg, .547 FG, .510 3FG, .797 FT) and reigning GNAC player of the week Tyler Green (16.5 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 3.4 apg, .375 3FG, .896 FT).
 
THE SERIES...
vs. UAF: UAA leads 82-23 overall, 47-5 in Anchorage
Last: UAA 100-86 (2/26/19 at UAA)
Streak: UAA 1
Notes: UAA has won 25 of the last 27 meetings, with UAF's two victories coming by a combined three points, both in Fairbanks ... UAA has won 16 straight at home, with UAF's last victory coming Feb. 22, 2003 (73-70) ... 10 of the last 16 games have been decided by six points or less, or in overtime … UAA leads 29-7 in GNAC meetings (since 2001-02) and 52-11 since 1990 … teams have met at least twice each year since both became NCAA Div. II programs in 1977-78.
 
vs. MSUB: UAA leads 45-33 overall; MSUB leads 25-13 in Billings
Last: MSUB 67-56 (2/28/19 at UAA)
Streak: MSUB 2
Notes: Teams have split last 12 meetings ... MSUB swept UAA last year for just the second time since joining the GNAC in 2007-08 ... UAA leads 16-8 in GNAC regular-season meetings … MSUB is UAA's 2nd-most common opponent … 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 ... in 19 games from 1994-2001, teams combined to score 90-plus a total of 31 times ... in 26 games since teams resumed series in 2008, neither has scored more than 90 points.
 
ROAD ROUGH: The Seawolves suffered a pair of road losses in their last outings, falling 84-50 at Central Washington on Thursday and 80-69 at Northwest Nazarene on Saturday ... in the first game, Sr. F Niko Bevens scored 15 points and Jr. C Oggie Pantovic had 10 points and 6 rebounds, but the Seawolves shot a season-low 31.6 percent and scored their fewest points since a 44-43 win at UAF on Feb. 20, 2018 ... two days later, Bevens scored all 14 of his points in the second half to boost a late comeback effort in Nampa ... Sr. G Jack Macdonald had 12 points (5-10 FG) and Pantovic produced 11 points (4-7 FG) and 6 rebounds as UAA lost despite making 13 of 14 free throws.
 
TEAM NOTES: UAA leads the GNAC in assists per game (18.1) and assists/turnover (1.5), while ranking second in 3FGs per game (11.6) and third in turnover margin (1.4), scoring defense (72.3) and 3FG% (.387) ... in the NCAA Div. II national stats, the Seawolves are 20th in A/T ratio, 12th in 3FGs per game, 20th in assists per game, 38th in 3FG% and 40th in fewest turnovers per game (12.1) ... the 11.6 3FGs per game are easily on pace for the second-highest average in program history, trailing only the 2013-14 squad's 13.0 3FGs/gm ... the 18 three-pointers in UAA's wins over Coast Guard and at Saint Martin's tied for the 7th-most in program history against NCAA opponents.
 
BALANCING ACT: The Seawolves have not relied on star power this season, getting at least 6.8 points per game from seven players and at least 2.5 rebounds per game from six players, with only one player averaging more than 23.5 minutes ... Sr. F Niko Bevens leads the GNAC and ranks 11th nationally with 3.7 3FGs  per game, along with league ranks of 16th in scoring (13.2 ppg) and 7th in 3FG% (.460, 15th nationally) ... the Beaverton, Ore., native has scored double figures in 13 of the last 15 games, including 19 points in the OT win over Western Oregon and 23 in the victory at Saint Martin's ... 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 3rd-leading scorer with 10.4 ppg ... the former local Grace Christian HS star has tallied double figures in 11 games thus far, holding GNAC ranks of 4th in 3FG% (.473), 10th in 3FGs per game (1.9), 8th in A/T ratio (1.9) and 13th in FG% (.522) ... with his big game in the win over Western Oregon, Jr. C Oggie Pantovic became the first Seawolf to tally at least 20 points and 13 rebounds since Corey Hammell posted 24 and 15 against Chaminade on Nov. 13, 2015 ... Pantovic is the only Seawolf in the GNAC top 10 in scoring or rebounding, currently 10th with 6.6 rpg ... the transfer from Utah State-Eastern ranks 4th in the league and 29th nationally with a .585 FG%, and is 6th in the GNAC with 0.8 blocks per game ... Sr. G Jack Macdonald has shown a penchant for big games in his final season as UAA's most experience player delivered a season-high 18 points in the win over San Francisco State, dished a career-high 8 assists (with no turnovers) in the victory over Sonoma State, and knocked down the winning 3FG at the buzzer to beat Western Oregon ... the CoSIDA Academic All-District performer is putting up 8.1 ppg, boosted by .483 3FG shooting ... in the GNAC stats, Macdonald ranks No. 1 in FT% (.960), 4th in 3FG%, 5th in A/T ratio (2.4) and 18th in assists (2.4 apg) ... UAA has gotten major contributions from all five of its transfers, including the backcourt trio of Sr. G Tyrus Hosley, Jr. G DeAndre Osuigwe and Jr. G Amari Hale ... Hosley, from Northwest Christian, is the team's 4th-leading scorer at 9.9 ppg and holds GNAC top-20 ranks in assists (12th, 2.8 apg), A/T ratio (7th, 2.2), 3FGs per game (14th, 1.8) and 3FG% (16th, .405), while his 3.3 rpg are 4th on the team ...  from State College of Florida, Osuigwe ranks 2nd in the GNAC and ranks 68th nationally with 4.7 assists per game ... Osuigwe has also proven one of the best-rebounding guards in the league, grabbing 12 boards against Western Oregon and ranking second on the team and 20th in the league with 5.1 rpg ... Osuigwe's 5 steals at Saint Martin's were the most for a Seawolf since Suki Wiggs had 6 at NW Nazarene on Feb. 25, 2016 ... Hale, from Eastern Arizona, has delivered 46 assists and committed just 15 turnovers in 351 minutes for the 3rd-best A/T ratio in the league, while his 2.4 apg rank 17th.
 
TRUST IN RUSTY: Now in his 16th year at the helm, head coach Rusty Osborne (290-174) 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).
 
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
D2 Power Invitational All-Tournament Team