GNAC this week:

[northernGNAChoopfan]

Looks like Central got into the win column with a narrow win over NNU on the road on Tuesday. Thursday looks like this:

NNU @ Montana
Saint Martin's @ WOU
SPU @ Concordia
WWU @ UAA* Great matchup here too.
Simon Fraser @ UAF

There's only one easy game to call in there. All I can say is that UAF needs to use the conditions in Fairbanks to their advantage (https://forecast.weather.gov/MapClic...1#.XhbChK2ZMn3), because they aren't going to have students at the game and the crowd is likely to be tiny due to the weather (it's been a pretty extended cold snap at this point; nearly 3 weeks of rip-roaring cold and this week it's really sinking). It would be very easy for the Nooks to come out moving like molasses in January because that is what this weather does to you, but they've got to take SFU out of their rhythm and make the horrific weather play to the difficulty of the long travel getting here and take it to them quickly. Would love to get a report on the WWU/UAA game from an Anchorage fan too; that one should be good.

Saturday yields these matchups:

SMU @ Concordia
WWU @ UAF
SPU @ WOU* This should be an interesting matchup!
SFU @ UAA
CWU @ Montana

Does anyone know how to turn off the tagging stuff on this new site? Every time I type in Central with a C-W-U, it wants to tag it and I can't type anything anymore, it just keeps tagging, hence the "Central". Same thing happened tonight when I try to type M-S-U-B, then it wants to tag the MSUBeavers over and over and over. Not liking this new site that much, if I'm honest.

[Anchorage]

[northernGNAChoopfan]

Thanks for the report on WWU. They have been an exceptionally big team for a few years now; when Drechsel ran their point, he was the shortest player in their starting 5 at 6'6". UAF is tiny as all heck and Mawich (our 6'11" guy) is a true freshman and it shows; he has a lot of trouble matching up with more physically mature bigs and has got a ways to go with his footwork in the post. It'll be a "tall order" for us on Saturday.

I was pleased with UAF's tenacity and energy to start last night; they definitely were ready to go and not "molasses in January" foggy in all this cold. They were set to win by 20 and then they got a little too cavalier and sloppy and in a span of about 45 seconds, all the sudden it was a 4 point game with 2 mins to go. And so, I continue to enjoy watching them and am able to see what they are trying to do and liking the recruits this year however, I don't trust them too much yet. They definitely took SFU completely out of their game for the majority of the night. I would say that if UAA comes out sharp, SFU would have a hard time getting a win in AK this week (that said, they could shoot the lights out and prove me wrong; remember they beat WWU at home to open league play!).

Overall, at half way through the first half of league play, I'm surprised with CWU and MSUB struggling so much. On the other end of the league standings; I'm mostly surprised about UAF! I think SFU has dug themselves out of the basement over the last few years but they are no longer the underdog every night and their ceiling seems limited with what they have. Excited to see what WOU can do with SPU tomorrow.