GNAC games/results 2/9/17

[northernGNAChoopfan]

Looks like some more good matchups today.

CWU @ SMU - Looks like a game that could be hard fought for. CWU in 6th, SMU in 7th...

NNU @ SPU - Another potentially good fight.

MSUB @ UAF - It's a new day and hopefully the Nooks put Tuesday behind them.

CUP @ SFU - I've been harping that I think SFU is gonna get one, but now I'm wondering if they will. There is so much parity from 1-10 in the GNAC... I think SFU is better, but so are the 7-10 teams. We'll see...

WOU @ WWU - Let's go Wolves.

As for the attendance on Tuesday @ UAF, I'd take that loud nearly 600 strong crowd over the sleepy 8 or 9 hundred of a few years ago.

As for the game-yeah, the Seawolves got us big time on the boards, but that's about it... Davis was phenomenal in holding Suki very close to single digits. First game in 5 that Suki has been under 30. That's the best defense I've seen anyone put on Suki. Ironically though, when Suki pulls back or is held quiet, sometimes the Seawolves get better, because they get more efficient in general with Mitchell and Svejcar shooting it. I know that his drives and foul-drawing drama are useful tools, but in closing out a tight game, I think they are more dangerous the other way just going with simple plays and clean shooting.

With less than 10 seconds left and Mick @ center court in front of the stat table ready to shake hands, Rusty calls a timeout and Durham comes unglued. It was a 3 possession game at that point, so I'm not exactly sure what Rusty thought he needed to cook up for the last 10... I'm super relieved to see that I'm not the only one who lets all this get under my skin. It means the fire is being fed to get better. Rusty heard all about it through his timeout, handshaking and outa the gym and good for Durham for giving coach Osborne a piece of his mind. Then I went home and cried into my puddle of pathetic self-pity, but now it's a new day and there will be good games! :wink:

[Rob_AK]

Re: GNAC games/results 2/9/17

Davis did have an excellent game. In addition to defense on Wiggs, he had several steals and near steals on sloppy passes, as well as the breakaway layups to begin the game. I thought the defense was stellar for both teams across the board, and not just Davis for the Nanooks.

Like you, I am not sure what Rusty was thinking with that last time out - might have been a brain fart or just to make doubly sure he couldn't somehow screw up what was pretty obviously going to be a win. Or since Rusty has been around for a long time maybe he was remembering back to the days when the Fbx fans used to throw popcorn and other stuff at and generally harass the Anchorage fans that dared to show up there, and he decided to rub it in a little - I doubt it but who knows. It was not a particularly friendly rivalry in days gone by.

No reason for you to pity yourself or team. Finish strong and get into the tourney. The Nanooks are trending up based upon what I saw of them early in the season.

[tsull]

Re: GNAC games/results 2/9/17

WWU beats WOU by 10. WOU trailed by 1 at half and had an eight-point lead early in the 2nd half, but it got away. Poor shooting (41%/23% from 3) killed them, as well as getting killed on the boards.

* SFU nearly gets its first win, losing by 1 to Concordia.
* SPU beats NNU, Crusaders doing their usual late-season slide.

[CWU Wildcat Nation]

Re: GNAC games/results 2/9/17

CWU started off down 21 points to SMU then went on a 21-7 run to trail by just 6 at halftime. CWU is again without Ladd, which is causing the whole SMU defense to stuff Dom Hunter. Good to see Niles, Stepney, and Woodruff stepping it up.

[northernGNAChoopfan]

Re: GNAC games/results 2/9/17

Okay... Passing my pity puddle to CWU fans. Ouch. Amazing series of events in the last 30 seconds in Lacey, but the video stream did not have an announcer attached to it tonight, so I don't know who made the FTs, 3 points, fouls etc. Anyways. SMU gets CWU by one on FTs.

The exhausted Nooks get passed MSUB with the Davis and co. defensive squad. Although they looked exhausted, they definitely played looser tonight. Rob... I'm just so freaking sick of taking losses to the Seawolves. I think that's how the team feels too. It's just a puzzle they can't figure out and honestly, the Seawolves are always good, but a lot of those games have been doable for us. It just drives me bananas. I should probably ban myself from the message board every year for a week after the UAF/UAA games. It takes me a long time to summon something reasonably respectful to say, because I just am way too in to this silly game. Just for the record... I would never and haven't ever thrown popcorn at a Seawolf. I remember once in Anchorage back in the Oleson days I was down there and didn't understand the ticket/seating situation when I went in and ended up being made to sit in a seat deep within a very green section of an overly crowded facility. I drove everyone within 20 feet of me crazy cheering my team on all night and nobody threw popcorn at me too, but I'm sure they got some chuckles. I'm over it. It's over for the year. Maybe next year, huh?

[Rob_AK]

Re: GNAC games/results 2/9/17

So that was you? Ha Ha. Was that one of the games where the entire gym pretended to be reading a newspaper when UAF took to the court?

It was back in the Oleson days or at least around that time when a friend of mine who always traveled to Fbx made the comment after one game that some of the fans had crossed the line in their abuse of them - not sure what year that was. Those games were bitterly fought and had a lot riding on them. Fbx was the better team but I vaguely recall that UAA got a win one year in Anchorage that might have kept them from the tourney.

Back then, UAA used to make an big effort to sell tickets in advance for the UAF game. I think they were hoping in to sell out before the UAF fans that drove down could buy their tickets. I don't think they ever accomplished it though.

UAA loses all five starters this year. So don't despair. One of these always close games may just go UAF's way for a change. Actually, you may get another shot at UAA this year as you are only a half game out of the tourney now and the schedule is somewhat favorable for the rest of the year. If NNU beats SMU and SPU beat CWU, UAF would be in a four way tie for 6th. If those games go the other way, and if UAA beats MSUB, then UAF is just one game out of 4th with 4 to go. So it is still quite doable for UAF.

I watched the last half of the UAF-MSUB game tonight and it did look like UAF was tired. The defense was not nearly as frantic as on Tuesday, but Davis had another good game and you guys did better on the boards. Also watched most of the CWU-SMU game. Had CWU not gone down by about 15 points ten minutes into the game, they would have had a chance. Was surprised they played a 2-3 zone defense. Think Sparling is trying something new to see if they can slow down the other teams scoring. CWU hasn't had much of a problem scoring this year, but it has been on the defensive end that they have struggled. Not sure they will try that against UAA, but I imagine Svejcar wouldn't mind too much if they did.

These next 3-4 weeks are going to be interesting. Not sure anyone has been eliminated from the conference tourney yet except SFU. Nor has anyone clinched a berth although I think WWU and UAA need only one more win to do so.

Actually, the more I think about Rusty's TO in the Tuesday game, it may just have been that he was just reminding the team what to do and how to act at the end of the game - not to celebrate while on the court, stay cool and respectful. I can recall a GNAC team that beat UAA in Anchorage and acted like the won the national championship and were yelling and spouting off to Anchorage fans, etc. The coach did nothing to rein them in. Think there are a lot of Anchorage fans that remember that and I am sure Rusty does - and no it wasn't UAF.

[lv2hoop]

Re: GNAC games/results 2/9/17

It's a strange rivalry between UAA and UAF. The games are usually very competitive, but the Seawolves have won something like 22 out of the last 23 meetings. And I'm not trying to rub any salt in your wounds Northern, because I totally respect and enjoy your posts and perspective on this board.

And now that Rob has mentioned it, wouldn't that be an intriguing match-up to see Rusty and Mick face off at the GNAC tourney this year?

And yes, the Seawolves should take a major step back next season with the impending loss of Devine, Svejcar, Wiggs, Mitchell, Hammell, Parrish, Thompson......quite a loaded senior class.

One other Alaska bball note.....what the hell happened with Hornbuckle? He came off of his redshirt late in the preseason, got some decent minutes, and since that time has flat out disappeared. Is he still on the bench? I couldn't tell because the stream was so grainy the other night. I hope he's okay. Coming out of high school last year he was THE MAN and I think a lot of knowledgeable bball people thought he'd star in Fairbanks, but it sounds like it's been a bumpy year for him......

[The Drake]

Re: GNAC games/results 2/9/17

SFU sitting now at 0 and 15 and looking ahead at their schedule 0 and 20 is the most likely scenario. They could maybe get SPU at home on their last game but depending on results SPU could still be fighting for a spot. They should have beat Alaska at home but they choked on a 20 point lead. I saw last nights game and it is clear they do not know how to win. It appears to me that they are so used to losing that they just accept it. Also they have no idea who they should go to when they need a hoop. Except for Provenzano there is not much leadership and even though Wright is their leading scorer he is very selfish. Not sure Coach Hanson has any security there is a rumor out there that the AD might be bringing in her husband from UBC to take over.

[tsull]

Re: GNAC games/results 2/9/17

SFU sitting now at 0 and 15 and looking ahead at their schedule 0 and 20 is the most likely scenario. They could maybe get SPU at home on their last game but depending on results SPU could still be fighting for a spot. They should have beat Alaska at home but they choked on a 20 point lead. I saw last nights game and it is clear they do not know how to win. It appears to me that they are so used to losing that they just accept it. Also they have no idea who they should go to when they need a hoop. Except for Provenzano there is not much leadership and even though Wright is their leading scorer he is very selfish. Not sure Coach Hanson has any security there is a rumor out there that the AD might be bringing in her husband from UBC to take over.

I'm glad SFU is in the GNAC, especially for football. But why do they play NCAA athletics? What's the upside? They lose like crazy in the big sports and draw horrifically. I don't get it. Why not play Canadian collegiate athletics and call it a day ... and save a lot of money.

[The Drake]

Re: GNAC games/results 2/9/17

I'm glad SFU is in the GNAC, especially for football. But why do they play NCAA athletics? What's the upside? They lose like crazy in the big sports and draw horrifically. I don't get it. Why not play Canadian collegiate athletics and call it a day ... and save a lot of money.

Looks like the Clan proved me wrong right away with a pretty impressive win over WOU. I also believe they set a record for the worst start to the season at 0 and 15 and when you count last year I am not sure how many losses in a row but it would also probably be a record. Why do they play NCAA because all of the minor sports seem to love it and they have success. SFU does well in soccer, softball, track & field, swimming etc. As for them saving money in the Canadian University league from what I understand the travel to play in the Canada West is a huge budget item and I think it may actually be cheaper to play NCAA Div II. They used to play NAIA back in the 80's and 90's and I guess they wanted to go back to it. As far as men's BB and football are concerned they are a total joke. I think football has not won a game in two or more years for crying out loud. They just flat out need to recruit better players but I have heard that there recruiting budget is pathetic and they don't have the money to bring in top talent.