FAIRBANKS, Alaska — After successfully protecting their home court last week, the Alaska men's basketball team leaves the state of Alaska this week for just the second time in 2013-14. The Nanooks head out on the road for the first time since Dec. 7 to face Great Northwest Athletic Conference opponents Seattle Pacific on Thursday, and Montana State Billings on Saturday.
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Alaska (7-4, 2-1 GNAC) extended its best home start in 11 years to 6-0 last week with wins over Simon Fraser and then-No. 15 Western Washington. It was the second year in a row the Nanooks had topped a nationally-ranked Vikings team at the Patty Center. The Nanooks have now won three in a row dating back to Dec. 19. It is their second winning streak this season of at least three games.
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Senior forward
Andrew Kelly (Gilbert, Ariz./Justice) earned GNAC Red Lion Co-Player of the Week honors for his efforts during the Nanooks' 2-0 performance last week. He had his second double-double of the season (14 points, 11 rebounds) against Western Washington and is now averaging 12.1 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. It was Alaska's second POTW honor this season and first since Nov. 18-24 when senior guard
Ronnie Baker (Vallejo, Calif./Communication) earned the nod.
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Now the Nanooks travel to Seattle Pacific, where they haven't won in nearly seven years, and to Montana State Billings, a place they haven't won in since the 2010-11 season. Alaska is 1-11 against the Falcons since 2007-08, its lone win in the series during that stretch coming at home in overtime, 113-105 on March 4, 2010. The Nanooks are 4-8 against the Yellowjackets during the same time, including a 1-5 mark in Billings, Mont.
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But Alaska will carry with it on the road this week the GNAC's best scoring defense, which is limiting opponents to 66.8 points per game. Seattle Pacific (2nd, 68.0 ppg) and Montana State Billings (3rd, 70.8 ppg) are also among the conference's top three scoring defenses, so the road trip should shape up to be quite a defensive battle for the Nanooks.
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Alaska (2nd, 75.2 percent), MSUB (3rd, 74.4 percent) and SPU (4th, 72.7 percent) have all taken care of their business at the free-throw line, too, making the importance of controlling the ball and the body even bigger.
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The Nanooks have four players averaging double-figure scoring, with Baker (16.7 ppg), senior center
Sergej Pucar (Belgrade, Serbia/Business Administration) (12.4 ppg), Kelly (12.1 ppg) and junior guard
Joe Slocum (San Francisco/Communication) (11.0 ppg) all bearing the offensive weight. Slocum leads the team with 4.6 assists and 1.8 steals per game, and Pucar tops the Nanooks with seven blocks.
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Game #12: Alaska at R/V Seattle Pacific – Thursday, Jan. 9 at 6 p.m. (AKST)
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The Falcons (11-4, 2-2 GNAC), the preseason GNAC favorite, have fallen out of the National Association of Basketball Coaches' top-25 for the first time this season and are on the outside looking in this week, sitting with the most votes of teams in the "Others receiving votes" list with 38. Seattle Pacific lost both ends of a two-game GNAC road trip weekend last week, falling Thursday at Western Oregon 74-70, then losing Saturday at Saint Martin's 73-69.
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Seattle Pacific is the GNAC's top shooting team, leading the conference in field goal percentage (50.7 percent) and 3-point field goal percentage (41.9 percent). SPU is the worst rebounding team in the conference at 31.5 rpg, but they have only allowed opponents a GNAC-best 28.5 rpg, giving them the third-best rebounding margin in the conference at +3.0. David Downs is the conference's third-leading scorer with 20.8 ppg.
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Game #13: Alaska at Montana State Billings – Saturday, Jan. 11 at 5 p.m. (AKST)
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The Yellowjackets (6-6, 2-2 GNAC) have split their last six games, winning and losing in an alternating pattern each time. They split a GNAC road trip last week with a 66-50 win over Saint Martin's and a double-overtime 98-90 loss at Western Oregon.
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Montana State Billings is ranked among the GNAC's top four in six defensive statistical categories, including scoring margin (3rd, 70.8 ppg allowed), field goal percentage (4th, 43.9 percent), 3-point field goal percentage(2nd, 30.5 percent), rebounding defense (3rd, 33.3 rpg allowed), defensive rebounding percentage (2nd, 70.0 percent) and assist/turnover ratio (4th, 1.5). Jonathan Mesghna leads MSUB and ranks among the GNAC's top 15 in scoring (13th, 14.3 ppg) and rebounding (9th, 6.5 rpg). Austin Hudson has been the GNAC's second-best shooter at 68.1 percent, while Kalob Hatcher is the conference's second-best assists man, dishing 6.4 helpers a game.
