GNAC play resuming...

[northernGNAChoopfan]

Looks like the Oregon schools will play each other on New Year's Eve and then MSUB while things for Central Washington and NNU will not get any easier the 2nd week of play as they travel to WWU and Simon Fraser. The Alaska schools will will be at SPU and SMU, and all four of those teams are 2-0 in league play, so the number of teams undefeated in league play is going to reduce this week by at least half. Although life on the road in the GNAC is not easy, it's sometimes a little easier than one thinks to be on the road now. I'm just thinking of UAF here because campus is basically empty and abandoned, so turnout would be super low and when on the road, they will leave behind distractions from home and hopefully be really present as a team. I'm curious to see how the Alaska teams do and to see a taste of SMU and SPU.

It will also be interesting to see if CWU or NNU can kick it into gear and get a win on the road, which probably won't be easy... Looks like WOU will get the easiest start with Concordia and MSUB who have both been struggling.

Hope you all have a happy New Year!

[CWU Wildcat Nation]

I am here at Carver tonight for CWU-WWU rivalry. But no rivalry feel tonight with no student section!

[CWU Wildcat Nation]

CWU starts hot and gets a good lead. But Western came back to tie it at 10-10. Western shooting cold to start

[CWU Wildcat Nation]

Central went ice cold. Ended half shooting 22.6%. Some shots were just awful. Western is certainly not at their best either.

[northernGNAChoopfan]

So hard to have the rivalry games scheduled when school is not in session and people still recovering from the holidays! But....

*Only two schools remain undefeated in league play and will play one another on Saturday. I'm pretty sure SPU will be the lone undefeated team at the end of this weekend, but I'll be tickled if UAF can keep it close and give SPU fits. I don't really trust them yet, but watching them play SMU tonight, I can say that they are starting to look more like a team and Shabazz is very reminiscent of Travante Williams in 2016; not everyone will love his style of play, but when he turns on the heat late in games, you can't deny him much.

*Saw that Bezzant is back in action for NNU and they get the win on the road, so that is great. They didn't say why he was ineligible the first semester, but I'm glad to see him back.

*UAA's Pantovic looked good tonight at moments, but Rusty's starting line-up... reeks of some misdemeanor by the typical starters...

[CWU Wildcat Nation]

Couldn't recover from that 2nd half. And Western, mainly TJ, heated up from long range. Western plays better as a team. More consistent lineup and rotation. Central has the talent but they just don't gel yet. Too many new faces and different lineups Rinta is messing around with out there.

[tsull]

Pleased with WOU's win vs. Billings, sluggish start shooting 1 of 14 from 3-point land in the first half, but playing well in the 2nd half. Solid victory. Nice to have long time recruit Emanuel Gant (WOU signed him twice) finally hit the floor and in his first game he nearly had a double-double with 10 points and 8 boards. A very nice addition to the team, I've been anticipating him for some time. Lubom is playing great right now as is Brushier.

* I saw talented sophomore forward Etan Collins behind the bench in street clothes. At this stage of the game and with the emergence of Gant, perhaps a redshirt year is in order, though I know the redshirt is going the way of the dinosaur in collegiate athletics.

* In the GNAC double-header, very pleased to see our often-struggling women's team knock off WWU in double OT!

[Goods]

I was frustrated with the CWU/WWU game. We made it look good by losing only by 11, but Western had a comfortable 10-20 point cushion all 2nd half.

[northernGNAChoopfan]

Not a lot of close contests yesterday with UAA leading the pack by absolutely throttling Saint Martin's. Then WWU did almost as much throttling over NNU. Then Simon Fraser with a big win over CWU and SPU with an equally big win over UAF. Concordia was the only team to lose without letting it get out of hand. All I can say is that although UAF and SPU were the remaining unbeaten teams in the league, UAF was outclassed by a lot. SPU played very solid defense, and Shabazz never could get going and tried to make things a little more complicated than they needed to be for most of the game. So... We'll see what the week has in store for those that are way up and those who are way down.