OPENING TIP
•   Western Oregon men's basketball opens the second half of Great Northwest Athletic Conference play with its sight on returning to defend their GNAC Championship this March in Lacey, Wash. The pursuit continues playing two road games at Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington. The Wolves look to earn a season split against the Crusaders on Thursday, Jan. 26 at 7:30 p.m. Mountain (6:30 p.m. Pacific) and post a season sweep of the Wildcats on Saturday, Jan. 28 at 7:30 p.m. Pacific.
•   WOU is tied with Montana State Billings for fourth place in the GNAC after the first half of league play. The Wolves are in a group of nine teams which come into the week anywhere from 7-3 to 3-7 in the league with Western Washington at the league's apex with one loss (10-1) and Simon Fraser winless at 0-11.
•   Western Oregon's bench plays a more prominent role than any bench in the GNAC. Wolves not in the starting five accounted for 79 of the team's 156 points in the last two games. Players who have started less than half of WOU's games are averaging 37.2 points per game. As a team, Western Oregon is averaging 74.9 points and 34.3 rebounds per game. The Wolves lead the GNAC and rank 16th in Division II with 8.83 steals per game. They are also 22nd in Division II in fewest turnovers with 196.
•   Both games will have coverage on WOUWolves.com/Live with video and stats.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Western Oregon stayed in the playoff race with a split in Alaska. The Wolves took a competitive 84-76 loss to Alaska Anchorage on Thursday before beating Alaska on Saturday, 83-51. Junior guard Demetrius Trammell had quite the week off the bench. He led the Wolves with 17 points against Alaska Anchorage, hitting on 5 of 10 from the field and 3 of 6 from three-point range in 25 minutes. He added 15 points on 4 of 8 from the field and 3 of 7 from long range at Alaska. Junior guard Bryan Berg also came up big off the bench against the Nanooks, leading all scorers with 22 points on 6 of 8 from the field and 5 of 6 from three. Junior forward Tanner Omlid scored 19 points on 9 of 13 from the field to go along with five rebounds in the win over UAF. Omlid continues to lead WOU in scoring at 14.6 points per game. He also leads the GNAC and is sixth in Division II with 2.83 steals per game.


HIGH (AND LOW) MARKS
- WOU allowed just 51 points to Alaska on Jan. 21, matching the lowest output for an opponent in the Jim Shaw era (NDNU; Nov. 27, 2015) while setting a new low for the Wolves for a GNAC opponent (previously 52 at NNU; Jan. 2, 2016).
- 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 NORTHWEST NAZARENE
Northwest Nazarene secured a split of its road games last weekend. The Crusaders took a 102-74 loss at Western Washington before scoring an 80-74 win at Simon Fraser on Saturday. Northwest Nazarene has now won three of its last four games. Senior guard Bouna N'Diaye leads NNU and is 11th in the GNAC in scoring at 16.1 points per game. Senior center Kaileb Rodriguez is fifth in the GNAC with a .547 field goal percentage (94-172) and is 10th with 6.4 rebounds per game. Northwest Nazarene put it all together as a team against Simon Fraser. The Crusaders shot 52.5 percent from the field, which included 55.6 percent in the second half alone (15-27). The Crusaders also out-rebounded the Clan 42-28. The Crusaders enter the week averaging 75.2 points and 36.2 rebounds per game. The team is second in the GNAC in field goal percentage (.476) and third in field goal defense (.425). Northwest Nazarene is ranked 27th among Division II teams in fewest fouls (286).

ABOUT CENTRAL WASHINGTON
Central Washington took a split to end the first half of GNAC play. The Wildcats extended their win streak to five with a 97-85 victory at Simon Fraser on Thursday before falling 100-89 to Western Washington on Saturday. Junior guard Naim Ladd enters the week ninth in the GNAC with a .434 three-point percentage and is 10th in the GNAC in scoring at 16.8 points per game. Senior guard Dom Hunter continues to lead the GNAC and is third in Division II in scoring at 25.7 points per game. Forward Fuquan Niles continues to lead the GNAC and is fifth in Division II with 3.25 blocked shots per game. The Wildcats had a solid shooting weekend, hitting 51.1 percent from the field in the two games (67-131). The Wildcats shot 54.1 percent from the field and 54.2 percent from three-point range against Simon Fraser. Central Washington is second in the GNAC and 13th in Division II in scoring at 89.6 points per game. The Wildcats lead the GNAC in blocked shots (4.38 per game) and three-pointers made (11.13 per game).