FAIRBANKS, Alaska - The Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team will be at home this week facing the Central Washington Wildcats on Thursday, Feb 13 and facing the Northwest Nazarene Nighthawks on Saturday, Feb. 15. Tip-off for the Thursday gam is set for 7 P.M. AKST and 2 P.M. for the Saturday game.
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Where to Watch & Listen
If fans aren't able to make this week's games in Fairbanks, all home and conference contests for the remainder of the season will be broadcast live through the Alaska Nanooks Stretch Internet Portal in the link posted above. Please be advised that when on the road, the broadcast is produced by the home school and not the Alaska Nanooks Department of Athletics.
Last Time Out
The Nanooks are coming home after a successful road sweep, defeating Western Washington University, 96-85, and defeating Simon Fraser University, 87-85. With these two wins, the Nanooks find themselves tied for second place in the GNAC with Northwest Nazarene and Western Washington. Due to head-to-head tiebreakers, WWU and NNU hold the two spots ahead of Alaska despite the tie in conference record.
Road to 500
Last week's win against Western Washington marked win number 400 for head coach
Greg Sparling on his career. With this milestone achieved, he begins his journey to the next one, 500 wins.
Shabazz-Sanity
Shadeed Shabazz has been more than a handful for GNAC defenses. The 6'1" guard is averaging 37 points over his last five games and received his third GNAC Men's Basketball Player of the Week honor. He also tied the Carver Gymnasium scoring-record with a 43-point performance against WWU.
All-Time Series
The Nanooks won the last game against Central Washington, 78-60, in Ellensburg. Over the past 10 matchups the Wildcats hold the series lead, 6-4.
NNU won the last game against Alaska, 75-83, in Nampa. The 'Nooks lead the series, 6-4, over the past 10 meetings.
Scouting the Opponent – CWU
The Wildcats are currently 14-8 overall and 7-7 in conference. They are currently on a four-game win streak with their most recent wins against Northwest Nazarene and Montana State Billings. CWU averages 75 points per game with their leading scorer, Jeryn Lucas, averaging 13.3 points per game.
CWU was named the GNAC Team of the Week following their two home-wins kept them in the hunt for the postseason.
Scouting the Opponent – NNU
The Nighthawks are currently 12-7 overall and 9-5 in conference. They are coming off a loss to Central Washington and a win against Montana State Billings. NNU averages 74.9 points per game and their leading scorer, Ezekiel Alley, averages 15.8 points per game.
NNU, with the loss to CWU, fell into a tie with Alaska and WWU in the GNAC standings. The game on Saturday will be a crucial game for both sides of the ball as we come down to the final three weeks of the regular season.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks men's basketball team, follow @NanooksMBB on Twitter, or like the Alaska Nanooks athletic page on Facebook.
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