BILLINGS, Mont. – The Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team looks to continue their hot start to the 2015-16 season, as they'll put their 4-0 record on the line this weekend, twice, at the Montana State Billings Holiday Tournament. Alaska will take out Dixie State on Friday and Dominican (Calif.) on Saturday. Both games will be played at 1 p.m.
The Nanooks are off to their best start in nine years, as they are 4-0 for the first time since the 2006-07 season. Alaska goes into the weekend looking for their third-straight tournament championship, as they won the GCI GNAC/PacWest Crossover in Fairbanks two weeks ago before capturing the AT&T Seawolf Jamboree last weekend in Anchorage. All three of the four wins have come against NCAA West Regional foes.
Last Time Out
The Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team had five players score in double figures last Saturday, as they cruised to a 90-75 win over Life Pacific College to end the weekend a perfect 2-0 at the AT&T Seawolf Jamboree.
Senior Travante Williams once again led the Nanooks in scoring, as the Anchorage native scored a game-high 18 points and shot a blistering 70 percent (7-of-10) from the field in the victory. Williams was one of five Nanook players in the double-digit scoring column on Saturday, as Joe Slocum collected 13 points, Bangaly Kaba and Zach Pederson each had 12, and Alex Duncan scored a season-best 11 points to round out the double-digit scoring.
Regionally Ranked
Earlier this week, the D2SIDA Men's Basketball West Region Poll placed the Nanooks at No. 9. The poll is an unofficial ranking for the NCAA West Region teams. Alaska is currently 3-0 against the West Region, as they've picked up wins over Hawai'i Pacific, Chaminade and Cal State Dominguez Hills.
The Nanooks were one of four GNAC teams in the poll, as Western Oregon is tied for second, Seattle Pacific is No. 6 and Western Washington is tied for No. 10.
High-Octane Offense
Alaska enters this weekend as the second-highest scoring team in the GNAC, as they are averaging 94.8 points per contest. The Nanooks have seven players averaging 7.8 ppg-or-higher, led by senior Travante Williams, who is sixth in the GNAC in scoring with his 20.3 points per game average.
The high-scoring offensive have helped the Nanooks lead the conference in assists, as they are averaging an outstanding 19.5 assists per game. Senior Joe Slocum leads the team in assists per game, with his 4.3 average.
No Trouble Going Back-To-Back
The Montana State Billings Holiday Tournament will mark the fourth-straight weekend that the Nanooks will back back-to-back games. Alaska has shown no ill signs of playing two games to two days, as they have won four-straight games when playing back-to-back days.
The stretch opened with a pair of exhibition contest with NCAA Division I Nevada and BYU. That was followed up with the GCI GNAC/PacWest Crossover and the AT&T Seawolf Jamboree, where they also played back-to-back nights.
Instant Impact
Alaska has gotten off to its best start in nearly a decade thanks to a pair of newcomers in Travante Williams and Bangaly Kaba. The transfers enter their first season under head coach Mick Durham, and their impact is already felt on the court, they are first and second on the team in scoring through four games.
Williams leads the team in scoring (20.6) and steals (9), while Kaba is second in scoring (15.8) and first in rebounds (8.0). The duo have also helped Alaska to a team field goal percentage of 51.8, as Kaba is hitting 60 percent of his shots, while Williams is drilling 58.3 percent of his attempts.
Scouting the Opposition – Dixie State
The Red Storm enter this weekend at 1-3, as the preseason No. 3-ranked team in the PacWest Conference looks to get back to the .500 mark this weekend in Billings. Friday's contest will mark the third time Dixie State has played a GNAC team this season, as they are currently 1-1 against the conference with a season-opening win over newcomer Concordia and a 14-point loss versus Seattle Pacific.
DSU is averaging 76 points per game on a 43.8 field goal percentage. The Red Storm have four players averaging double figures, led by Trevor Hill's 15.5 points per game average. On defense, Dixie State is holding teams to 71.8 points per contest. Teams are shooting 45.5 percent against the Rebel defense.
Scouting the Opposition – Dominican University (Calif.)
The Penguins are an even .500 at 2-2 entering this Thanksgiving Day weekend. DU has defeated Cal State Monterey Bay and Stanislaus State, while falling to Sonoma State and No. 17 Chico State.
Dominican is averaging 72.8 points per contest, while giving up 75.8 points per game. They are shooting 43.2 percent from the field as a team, while the opposition is hitting on 47.7 percent of their attempts. Josh Ramirez is the team's leading scorer, as he is averaging 16.3 points per contest.
Coaches Corner
"I think we've had a good week of practice leading to this weekend. This is our fourth weekend with a couple of games, so we are in a bit of routine with that. These will be a couple of critical games for us, playing two West Region teams. Dixie is normally among the best teams in the PacWest, they've gotten off to a slow start. I think we will run into a determined team, because they are a lot better than what their record indicates. Dominican is a middle-of-the-pack PacWest team, they are a well-coached team. They are a team that is fundamental and won't beat themselves. They play well together and are a team that also concerns you with how fundamental they are." – Head coach Mick Durham on this weekend's competition.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team, follow @NanooksMBB on Twitter.
