PUEBLO, Colo. - The Nanooks men's basketball team is headed to Pueblo, Colo. for a two-game weekend at Colorado State University Pueblo. They'll play two games against CSU-Pueblo on Nov. 17-18.

Friday, Nov. 17
at CSU-Pueblo | 3:00 p.m.
Massari Arena

Saturday, Nov. 18
at CSU-Pueblo | 2:00 p.m.
Massari Arena

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Last Time Out
The Nanooks opened up their regular-season at home last weekend when they hosted Hawaii Pacific and Chaminade. They opened their season with a 69-64 victory over HPU before falling to CUH on day two, 80-72. 

#NookNotes

• Through two games, Abdullahi Mohamed leads the 'Nooks offensively averaging 16.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. 
• TJ Doman is also averaging 6.0 rebounds per games while averaging 5.0 points per game. 
• Sophomore and Fairbanks native, Tyriq Luke, is averaging 11.5 points per game and had a big game against Chaminade. He is shooting 58.8% from the floor.
• As a team, the Nanooks are averaging 70.5 points per game through two games; their scoring margin is -1.5 as their opponents are averaging 72.0 points per game. As a team, they're shooting 44.6% and 33.3% from three.
• They're outrebounding their opponents 38.5 to 31.5 for a +7.0 rebounding margin. 
• The Nanooks and Thunderwolves have not played since Nov. 9, 2012 when they faced-off in Anchorage. The 'Nooks grabbed an OT victory, 80-76.

All-Tournament
Nick Hopkins was named to the All-Tournament Team at the GNAC/PacWest Challenge sponsored by Mt. McKinley Bank. Through the two games in Fairbanks, Hopkins averaged 7.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. He added four assists and a steal. 

GNAC Preseason
The Nanooks men's basketball team was selected to finish ninth in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Preseason Men's Basketball Coaches Poll. They received 31 points after finishing 11-15, 6-12 a year ago and finishing eighth in the GNAC standings. 

Unanimous Choice
Abdullahi Mohamed was a unanimous selection for the rest of the GNAC coaches who voted for the Preseason All-GNAC Team. He was named to the team a year after receiving a 2022-23 GNAC Second Team All-Conference nod. He was also named to the Preseason All-GNAC season a year ago. The senior forward averaged 13.1 points per game and 5.0 rebounds per game. Alongside that, he shot 49.5% from the floor, 41.2% from three and nearly 70% from the free-throw line. His 39 assists was third on the team and he was second in blocks with 18. Mohamed added 14 steals on the 2022-23 season. 

Scouting the Opponent
Pueblo enters this weekends matchup with an 0-2, 0-0 RMAC record. They fell at the South Central Regional Challenge in both games played. In their season-opener, the Thunderwolves fell to Midwestern State 80-74 2OT before dropping game two to Cameron University, 70-63. 

Daeyon James is leading them with 17.5 points per game through two games. He's shooting 35.3% from the floor, 40.9% from three and 1.000% from the free-throw line. He's also grabbing 7.0 rebounds per game with a steal and block. Makiah Morris follows with 15.0 points per game and 9.0 rebounds per game. Armon Muldrew also is averaging 15.0 points with 5.0 rebounds per game. 

GNAC Standings
No GNAC games have been played but every team in the GNAC has begun their season. Here's a look at where the GNAC schools landed through the opening weeks.

1. Alaska Anchorage (4-0, 0-0 GNAC)
2. Saint Martin's (3-0, 0-0 GNAC)
3. Northwest Nazarene (1-0, 0-0 GNAC)
4. Western Washington (4-2, 0-0 GNAC)
5. Alaska (1-1, 0-0 GNAC)
6. Central Washington (1-1, 0-0 GNAC)
7. Montana State Billings (1-1, 0-0 GNAC)
8. Seattle Pacific (2-3, 0-0 GNAC)
9. Western Oregon (1-2, 0-0 GNAC)
10. Simon Fraser (1-4, 0-0 GNAC)

D2CSC Men's West Region Poll
Two GNAC schools appeared in the D2CSC Men's West Region poll during week one. Saint Martin's received three first-place votes and took the first-place spot with 55 votes. Northwest Nazarene followed in ninth with 15 votes. Western Washington (9), Central Washington (7), Alaska Anchorage (3) and Seattle Pacific (1) all received votes in the West poll. 

Looking Ahead
The Nanooks will be on the road for the rest of 2023. Following Pueblo this weekend, the Nanooks will head to Seaside, Calif. for a matchup with CSUMB and CSUEB on Nov. 24-25. They'll then open up GNAC play on Nov. 30 and Dec. 2 with Seattle Pacific and Montana State Billings before 15 days off. They'll then head to Hawaii for the Hawaii Hilo hosted tournament. There they'll face Hilo and San Francisco State on Dec. 17-18 before opening up 2024 with nothing but GNAC games remaining. 

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