STORYLINES
•   Western Oregon gets a chance to play in front of the returning student body on campus this week when they host Simon Fraser on Thursday (Jan. 12) and ranked Western Washington on Saturday (Jan. 14). Both games tip off at 7 p.m. Pacific with Saturday's game against the Vikings being the annual Red Out game.
•   The Wolves are seeking to extend winning streaks over both the Clan and Vikings this week. Two wins over SFU last year – 90-67 in Burnaby and 76-67 in Monmouth - extended the current WOU string of wins to 15 overall. Simon Fraser has not won a game in the series since the 1998-99 season. A rare season sweep of WWU materialized after a convincing 20-point road win (78-58) and coming back from 10 points down at the half to beat the Vikings in Monmouth by five (90-85).
•   Western Oregon is averaging 73.7 points and 34.9 rebounds per game. The Wolves lead the GNAC and are 20th in Division II with 9.2 steals per game. They are also 11th in Division with a turnover margin of 4.7.
•   Both games will have coverage on WOUWolves.com/Live with video and stats.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Western Oregon won both games on the road last week to improve to 7-7 overall. The Wolves scored a 76-74 win over Seattle Pacific on Thursday and collected an 80-67 win over Saint Martin's on Saturday.
 
Junior forward Tanner Omlid was named GNAC Player of the Week after he scored 52 points in two games. He scored a season-high 34 points on 13 of 22 from the field and 5 of 6 from three-point range against Seattle Pacific to go along with seven rebounds and three blocks. Against Saint Martin's, Omlid finished with 18 points, two rebounds, three assists and three blocks. The junior enters the week leading Division II in steals with 3.23 per game and is 29th in blocked shots with 2.15 per game.
 
Junior guard Ali Faruq-Bey had double-digit scoring performances in both games. He finished with 15 points and four rebounds against Seattle Pacific and added 17 points and seven rebounds against Saint Martin's.
 
The Wolves excelled from the free throw line all week, connecting on 10 of 13 from the line against Seattle Pacific and 13 of 18 against Saint Martin's.
 
OUTSTANDING OMLID – GNAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Tanner Omlid averaged 26 points, 2.5 steals and three blocked shots in the two games and shot 45.2 percent from the field and 63.6 percent from three-point range to earn GNAC Player of the Week honors. In Thursday's 76-74 win at Seattle Pacific, Omlid scored 34 points on 13 of 22 from the field and 5 of 6 from three-point range to go along with three blocks. He then scored 18 points along with two rebounds, three assists and three blocks in Saturday's 80-67 win at Saint Martin's.

Omlid leads the Wolves in both scoring and rebounding, averaging 15.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. He leads the GNAC and NCAA Division II in steals, averaging 3.14 per game. He is also third in the GNAC and 29th in Division II with an average of 2.15 blocked shots per game.

HIGH MARKS
- Through games played Jan. 10, Western Oregon ranked first in the GNAC in steals (8.8) and third in turnover margin ( 4.14) and blocked shots (3.9).
- With a 98-77 win over Central Washington on Dec. 29, the Wolves set a single-game scoring mark under head coach Jim Shaw. Previously, the 96-point overtime effort against Seattle Pacific (Jan. 7, 2016) was the team's highest scoring effort.
- The Wolves shot 54.7 percent against Central Washington (35-64), the highest mark by any WOU team since Jan. 30 also against the Wildcats (57.9 percent, 33-57).
 
REIGNING CHAMPS, PRESEASON DOUBTS
Last season's GNAC regular season and tournament champions, Western Oregon entered 2016-17 picked to finish sixth in the league. The Wolves lost four-fifths of their starting lineup and return just one player (Omlid) who averaged more than 10 minutes a game.
 
ABOUT SIMON FRASER
Simon Fraser saw its losing streak run to 10 games. The Clan fell 77-47 to Alaska Anchorage on Thursday and lost a close 88-83 decision to Alaska on Saturday. The Clan excelled at the free throw line against UAA, connecting on 11 of 14. Simon Fraser could not be stopped in the first half of Saturday's game against Alaska, shooting 21 of 35 from the field in the opening 20 minutes. The Clan also scored 22 points off of 14 Alaska turnovers. Freshman guard Michael Provenzano led the Clan against Alaska with 19 points, connecting on 8 of 12 from the field to go along with three assists and three steals. Provenzano enters the week tied for fifth in the GNAC in assists with 3.64 per game. Junior guard JJ Pankratz also had 19 points against Alaska as he made 8 of 16 shots from the field to go with seven rebounds. Freshman guard Othniel Spence led SFU against Alaska Anchorage with 16 points in 24 minutes off the bench. Sophomore Tyrell Lewin finished 10 points against Alaska Anchorage. He is the Clan's leading scorer, averaging 14.1 points per game. Simon Fraser enters the week averaging 69.2 points and 31.2 rebounds per game.
 
ABOUT WESTERN WASHINGTON
Western Washington secured sole possession of first place in the GNAC standings with two wins. The Vikings were 78-69 winners over Alaska on Thursday and wrestled first place away from Alaska Anchorage with a 91-84 win over Alaska Anchorage on Saturday. Senior forward Jeffrey Parker led the Vikings in the win over Alaska, scoring 18 points on 8 of 15 from the field. He finished with 21 points in the win over Alaska Anchorage, going 6 of 8 from the field, 3 of 4 from three-point range and 6 of 6 from the free throw line to score his 1,600th career point. Parker enters the week sixth in GNAC in scoring with 17.2 points per game and 10th in field goal percentage (.503, 88-175). Senior guard Taylor Stafford led all scorers against Alaska Anchorage with 32 points, connecting on 9 of 14 from the field, 6 of 10 from three-point range and 8 of 8 from the free throw line. It was his fourth 30-plus point performance of the season. Stafford enters the week third in the GNAC and 16th in Division II in scoring with 22.5 points per game. He also second in the GNAC and eighth in Division II in free throw percentage (.927, 38-41) With the two wins, Western Washington retained spots in both top-25 polls. The Vikings are ranked No. 20 in the latest NABC Coaches Poll and No. 21 in D2SIDA Media Poll. Western Washington leading the GNAC and ranked 11th in Division II in scoring at 90.9 points per game. The Vikings are 20th in Division II in field goal percentage (.504) and 18th in three-point percentage (.414), leading the GNAC in both categories.