Men's Basketball | 1/31/2017 4:11:00 PM
FAIRBANKS, Alaska – The Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team returns to the Alaska Airlines Court for two big Great Northwest Athletic Conference matchups this week, hosting the Simon Fraser Clan on Thursday, Feb. 2 before facing off against the No. 13/9th-ranked (NABC/D2SIDA) Western Washington Vikings on Saturday, Feb. 4. Thursday's game against the Clan is scheduled for 5:15pm AKST, while Saturday's contest versus the Vikings is slated for 3:15pm AKST.
It's a busy weekend for Nanook athletics at home, as Thursday's game against Simon Fraser is the first of a double-header with Alaska women's basketball, who takes the floor directly afterward against Western Oregon at 7:30pm AKST. Saturday is a triple-header with Alaska women's basketball (1pm AKST) and men's ice hockey (7:07pm AKST).
Alaska Projected Starters
#3
Nahjee Matlock – 11.4 PPG, 5.0 ASTPG, .818 FG%, .386 FG%, 30.6 MinPG
#13
Bangaly Kaba – 12.6 PPG, .454 FG%, .701 FT%, 6.0 RBPG, 2.3 ASTPG
#20
LaDonavan Wilder – 7.9 PPG, .608 FT%, .444 FG%, 4.3 RBPG
#21
Zach Pederson – 11.7 PPG, .502 FG%, .769 FT%, 4.7 RBPG
#31
Brandon Davis – 13.6 PPG, .430 FG%, .367 3FG%, .828 FT%, 2.9 RBPG, 3.0 ASTPG, 34.8 MinPG
Last Time Out
Last week, the Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team split two GNAC games on the road, falling 72-69 in overtime to Seattle Pacific on Thursday, Jan. 26 before edging out Saint Martin's 74-72 in Lacey, Washington. Senior guard
Nahjee Matlock led the Nooks with 17 points against the SPU Falcons on Thursday, while senior forward
Zach Pederson paced the Alaska offense against SMU on Saturday, collecting a career personal-best 24 points.
GNAC Standings
Alaska (8-11 overall) is currently tied for ninth place in the conference standings with the Concordia Cavaliers, both with 4-8 records in GNAC play. The Nooks' upcoming two opponents are at the top and the bottom of the league standings, with Western Washington sitting alone in first place while the Simon Fraser Clan currently rank 10th.
Matlock Named Ravn Alaska Nanook of the Week
On Monday, senior guard
Nahjee Matlock was named the Ravn Alaska Nanook of the Week after his performances at SPU and SMU last week. Matlock combined for 29 points on the weekend, shooting 9-of-24 from the floor, 10-of-11 from the free throw line, while also chipping in 12 assists, nine rebounds and three steals.
Entering this week of competition, the Las Vegas, Nevada native leads the conference in assist/turnover ratio with a .247 average and ranks second in the GNAC with a 5.05 assist per game average.
Team Misc.
- Senior forward Zach Pederson has been creeping on the scoresheet more and more lately, as the Snohomish, Washington native shot 11-of-13 from the field against SMU last Saturday to post 24 points, while also adding five rebounds.
- Alaska enters the week ranked second in the GNAC with a +4.05 turnover margin
- Alaska averages 74.9 points and 34.6 rebounds per game
- The Nooks rank third in the GNAC in assist/turnover ratio (1.32) and fourth in field goal defense (.435) and steals (7.14)
Scouting the Opponent – Simon Fraser (2-18 overall, 0-12 GNAC)
Simon Fraser dropped both GNAC contests last week, extending its losing streak to 16 games. The Clan fell 100-56 to Western Washington on Tuesday before falling 93-86 to the MSUB Yellowjackets on Saturday. Junior guard Kedar Wright continues to lead the Clan's offense, posting 15 points, six rebounds, two steals and two assists against WWU before collecting 16 points against MSUB, averaging 14.9 points per game.
Scouting the Opponent – Western Washington (17-3 overall, 11-1 GNAC)
Western Washington improves to an eight-game winning streak, posting wins against Simon Fraser (100-56) and Montana State Billings (81-68) last week. The Vikings lead the league and rank eighth in NCAA DII in scoring, averaging 90.7 points per game. Furthermore, WWU leads the GNAC in free throw percentage (.791), field goal percentage (.500), three-point percentage (.419) and assists (16 per game).
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team, follow @NanooksMBB on Twitter or like the Alaska Nanooks page on Facebook.
