Men's Basketball | 1/21/2020 4:27:00 PM
FAIRBANKS, Alaska – The Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team opens up this week with a rivalry game against Alaska Anchorage. On Tuesday, the 'Nooks head to the Alaska Airlines Center before heading to Billings, Mont. on Saturday to take on MSUB.
| Opponents |
Alaska Anchorage (11-8, 4-4 GNAC) | Montana State Billings (8-8, 3-5 GNAC) |
| Locations |
Anchorage, Alaska – Alaska Airlines Center | Billings, Mont. – Alterowitz Gymnasium |
| Dates & Times |
Tuesday, Jan. 21
At Anchorage at 7:00 p.m. AKT
Saturday, Jan. 25
At MSUB at 3:15 p.m. AKT |
| Follow Along |
Live Stats | Live Video |
| Social Media |
Twitter |
Last Time Out
The Nanooks are coming off of a split weekend on the road. They travelled to Nampa, Idaho and fell to the Northwest Nazarene Nighthawks before going to Ellensburg, Wash. and grabbing a much-needed victory over the Wildcats. With the loss and the win, the Nanooks now find themselves 6-10, 5-3 GNAC and in sole-possession of third place in the GNAC standings.
All around Threats
The Nanooks have found their stride and have drawn consistent performances out of certain people in the lineup. In the scoring category,
Shadeed Shabazz and
Spencer Sweet continue to lead the way for Alaska. In the last two games, Shabazz has averaged an even 30 points while also producing 13 rebounds and seven steals in their win over CWU. As for Sweet, he put up 17 in the Nanooks win and 16 in the NNU loss.
On the defensive side, Shabazz has proven to have some of the best hands in the GNAC. The junior guard has collected 51 steals over 16 games, leading the GNAC by 26 steals. He is the only player in the league averaging over two steals a game, putting up a 3.3 steals per game stat line. Freshman big-man,
Mawich Kachjaani has become the post presence that the Nanooks needed. He is now averaging 6.7 rebounds per game, a team high, while also putting up 6.1 points per game.
Scouting the Opponents
Alaska Anchorage
The Alaska Anchorage Seawolves find themselves 11-8 overall with a 4-4 GNAC record, trailing Alaska by just one game. On the offensive side of the ball, UAA is led by Niko Bevens who is averaging 13.3 points per game while shooting 44.9% from the field and 46% from three. Trailing by just one point, Oggie Pantovic is the second leading scorer for the Seawolves with 12.1 points per game. Pantovic has only started two games for UAA but is the leading shot-blocker, rejecting a total of 15 shots through their 19 games.
DeAndre Osuigwe is the top defender for Anchorage as he has picked up 25 steals on the season. He also is second on the team in rebounds, collecting an average of 5.1 boards a game. The Seawolves are coming off of back-to-back losses at the hands of Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene after jumping out to a 4-2 GNAC start.
Montana State Billings
MSUB finds themselves 8-8 overall with a 3-5 GNAC record. The Yellowjackets will be in the midst of a four-game home stand after taking a trip to Washington-state to face-off with Saint Martin's and Seattle Pacific. Billings grabbed a win in Lacey, Wash. against the Saints 96-67 before falling at the hands of the top-GNAC team, SPU 72-83.
Sophomore Brendan Howard leads the Jackets on the offensive side, as the reigning Freshman of the Year is putting up 21.6 points per game while shooting 54.7% from the field and 51% from three point range. Howard is the second leading scorer in the GNAC, trailing only Shabazz of Alaska. Tyler Green for MSUB is a big threat in the lineup as well, averaging 16.5 points per game. Green is coming off of a historic weekend in which he made 12 three-pointers against SMU, tying the GNAC record for 3's in a single-game.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team, follow @NanooksMBB on Twitter, or follow along with the Alaska Nanooks athletic department on the Alaska Nanooks Facebook.
