OPENING TIP
• Western Oregon men's basketball faces a key stretch in pursuit of a sixth consecutive trip to the GNAC Championships and a chance to defend their tournament title. The Wolves are in third place in the conference standings heading into two home games this week on Thursday, Feb. 16 against Alaska and Saturday, Feb. 18 against Alaska Anchorage. Both games are scheduled to tip off at 7:30 p.m. as the second game of doubleheaders with the Western Oregon women's team.
• Western Oregon enters the week averaging 74.8 points and 33.9 rebounds per game. The Wolves share the GNAC lead in blocked shots (4.00 per game) and is second in the GNAC and 11th in Division II in turnover margin (4.3). Western Oregon also leads the GNAC and is 12th in Division II with 9.08 steals per game.
• This week's games will be televised in Salem on KWVT television.
• Both games will have coverage on WOUWolves.com/Live with video and stats.
 
LAST WEEK: BUMPY ROAD TRIP
The Wolves took two losses on its final long road trip of the regular season. Western Oregon dropped a 73-63 game at Western Washington on Thursday and lost 68-63 at Simon Fraser on Saturday.
 
HIGH (AND LOW) MARKS
• Western Oregon saw junior Tanner Omlid set the school and conference record with 11 steals during the first triple-double for the Wolves since Robert Day did so against Montana State Billings in 2003.
• 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).
 
WOLVES: BY THE NUMBERS
• Head coach: Jim Shaw (Western Oregon, '85), Second season
• Team's leading scorer: #11 Tanner Omlid, 15.0 ppg; #22 Ali Faruq-Bey, 14.8 ppg
• Team's leading rebounder: #11 Omlid, 7.3 rpg; #44 JJ Chirnside, 4.8 rpg
• Team's assists leader: #11 Omlid, 3.5 apg; #2 Evan Garrison 2.3 apg
• Team's steals leader: #11 Omlid, 3.4 spg; #22 Faruq-Bey, 1.6 spg
• Team's blocks leader: #44 Chirnside 1.8 bpg,  #11 Omlid, 1.7 bpg
 
ABOUT ALASKA
The Nanooks of Alaska have climbed back into the race for the GNAC Championships winning for of their last five including a big home win against Western Washington on Feb. 4. Alaska enters the week with a 12-13 overall record and 7-9 mark in the GNAC. They split home games last week losing to Alaska Anchorage 68-61 before rebounding with an 83-74 win over Montana State Billings last Thursday. The first meeting against the Wolves did not end well for the Nanooks as WOU won in a rout, 83-51. The Nanooks have four players scoring in double figures led by 14.2 points from Brandon Davis. Nahjee Matlock had a 36-point game against WWU to see his average bump up to 13.1 ppg. Bangaly Kaba (12.5) and Zach Pederson (11.4) round out the 10-plus club. The Nanooks are scoring 75.5 points per game for the season shooting 43.9 percent from the floor and 32.0 percent from 3-point land.
 
• Head coach: Mick Durham (Montana State, '79), Sixth season at UAF
• Team's leading scorer: #31 Brandon Davis, 14.2 ppg
• Team's leading rebounder: #13 Bangaly Kaba. 6.0 rpg
• Team's assists leader: #3 Nahjee Matlock, 4.8 apg
• Team's steals leader: #31 Davis, 2.1 spg
• Team's blocks leader: #13 Kaba and #20 LaDonavan Wilder, 0.6 bpg
 
ABOUT ALASKA ANCHORAGE
The Seawolves will take an eight-game winning streak into plat this week and face Concordia on Thursday night before heading to Monmouth on Saturday. Alaska Anchorage sits ninth in the official NCAA West Region rankings this week with a 19-5 overall record and 13-3 mark in the conference. Their winning streak began with an 81-73 win over Western Oregon on Jan. 19 and they have won three games in the stretch where the final margin has been five points or less. Sekou (Suki) Wiggs leads the Seawolves in scoring at 24.3 points per game and leads the GNAC with 196 free-throw attempts. Spencer Svejcar (14.8) and Diante Mitchell (11.8) also average in double figures. Corey Hammell leads the GNAC in rebounding pulling down 10.3 boards a game. The Seawolves average 78.9 points per game shooting 45 percent overall and 36.9 percent from distance.
 
• Head coach: Rusty Osborne (Texas, '88), Thirteenth season
• Team's leading scorer: #2 Sekou Wiggs, 24.3 ppg
• Team's leading rebounder: #25 Corey Hammell, 10.3 rpg
• Team's assists leader: #11 Diante Mitchell, 3.2 apg
• Team's steals leader: #11 Mitchell, 1.3 spg
• Team's blocks leader: #30 Connor Devine, 2.4 bpg