Another big day of college hoops on the Saint Martin’s campus with the GNAC men’s tournament getting underway.

Tonight’s games feature the defending GNAC tournament champions, Montana State Billings, one of the biggest turnarounds in Division II basketball this season in Alaska Fairbanks, a balanced squad in Alaska Anchorage and the most dynamic scorer and interesting story in Central Washington’s Mark McLaughlin. It should be another exciting night of hoops at Marcus Pavilion

#3 Alaska Anchorage vs. #6 Central Washington – 5:15 PM
#4 Alaska Fairbanks vs. #5 Montana State Billings – 7:30 PM

If you can’t make it to the Pavilion, all games can be seen on GNACSports.com.

The Great Northwest Athletic Conference men’s basketball tournament returns to Saint Martin’s for the second straight year beginning on Thursday, March 7th, continuing with the semifinals on Friday, March 8th and wrapping up with the championship game on Saturday, March 9th.

Western Washington and Seattle Pacific enter the tournament ranked #2 and #3 in the nation and are the clear favorites. The two Alaska schools are the third and fourth seeds and the defending GNAC tournament champions enter the postseason as the same seed they were last year. GNAC leading scorer and newcomer of the year Mark McLaughlin and Central Washington round it out as the sixth seed.

All eight games will be webcast on GNACSports.com with me, Brandon Sparks, providing color commentary alongside Montana State Billings’ Jeff Rosenberry. The championship game will air on Root Sports.

For ticket info and more, click here.

Team capsules

1. Western Washington (26-1 Overall, 17-1 GNAC)
Top players: John Allen – Sr. – G (17.5 ppg, 3.9 apg), Paul Jones – Sr. – F (14.7 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 58% FG PCT)
Key wins: 66-56 @ Seattle Pacific – Jan. 3, 104-56 @ Saint Martin’s – Jan. 19
Key (only) loss: 73-77 @ Alaska Fairbanks – Feb. 21
Oly alumni: Anye Turner – So. – Black Hills HS

Defending national champions? Yes. Defending GNAC champions? Nope. Western Washington fell to Montana State Billings in the second round of the 2012 tournament but have lost just one non-exhibition game since then, a 77-73 loss to Alaska in Fairbanks. The Vikings finished the regular season at 26-1, 17-1 in the GNAC and ranked #2 in the nation. Senior guard John Allen was named player of the year earlier this week and all five starters were named all-conference. Black Hills alum and former SPSCC forward Anye Turner comes off the bench for the Vikings scoring 3.9 points per game this season.

2. Seattle Pacific (23-3 overall, 16-2 GNAC)
Top players: Jobi Wall – Sr. – F (14.2 ppg, 5.4 rpg), David Downs – Jr. – G (14.0 ppg, 5.1 apg)
Key wins: 113-75 vs. Central Washington – Feb. 14
Key losses: 56-66 vs. Western Washington – Jan. 3, 76-83 (OT) @ Western Washington – Feb. 2
Oly Alumni: Alex Weber-Brader – R-Fr. – Olympia HS

The Falcons enter the conference tournament ranked #3 in the nation with just three losses this season including a pair of defeats at the hands of #2 Western Washington. The Falcons are incredibly balanced featuring four starters – Jobi Wall, David Downs, Andy Poling and Patrick Simon – scoring in double digits and the fifth starter, Riley Stockton, was named defensive player of the year. Olympia alum Alex Weber-Brader played in 22 games in his redshirt freshman season scoring 2.4 points per game in just seven minutes per game.

3. Alaska Anchorage (18-8 overall, 11-7 GNAC)
Top players: Kyle Fossman – Jr. – G (14.9 ppg, 3.6 rpg), Teancum Stafford – So. – G (14.4 ppg, 4.4 rpg)
Key wins: 66-65 vs. DI UC Riverside – Nov. 23, 83-77 vs. DI Loyola Marymount – Nov. 24
Key losses: 60-61 @ Northwest Nazarene – Jan. 3, 72-81 @ Central Washington – Jan. 5, 52-60 @ Saint Martin’s – Feb. 7

I’m not sure what to think of the Seawolves. On one hand, they beat two Division I teams at the Great Alaska Shootout but they also lost to Saint Martin’s in Lacey, Northwest Nazarene in Nampa and Central Washington in Ellensburg, the last two losses coming when they were ranked 25th in the nation. Perhaps they don’t like the warm weather? Five of their losses came on the road while their only home losses came to a DI school, Western Washington and Seattle Pacific. They don’t do anything particularly outstanding other than holding their opponents to 68.7 points per game, tied for second in the conference. They are a guard led team behind Kyle Fossman and Teancum Stafford with a solid 6-10 big man in Australian Liam Gibcus doing the work down low.

4. Alaska Fairbanks (15-11 overall, 10-8 GNAC)
Top players: Dominique Brinson – Sr. – G (12.5 ppg, 40% 3 point PCT), Pat Voeut – Jr. – G (11.8 ppg, 5.3 apg), Sergej Pucar – Jr. – C (11.2 ppg, 6.9 rpg)
Key win: 77-73 vs. Western Washington – Feb. 21
Key losses: 54-71 vs. Central Washington – Feb. 2, 70-80 @ Montana State Billings – Feb. 28

Led by GNAC co-coach of the year Mike Durham, the Nanooks had one of the biggest turnarounds in all of Division II this season and pulled off the biggest upset of the year when they ended Western Washington’s 30 game winning streak. UAF went just 5-23 and finished dead last in the GNAC last season but ended this regular season at 15-11, their first winning season in six years. Senior guard Dominique Brinson and 6’11, 265 pound Serbian man mountain Sergej Pucar were named second team all-GNAC and Pat Voeut led the conference in assists with 5.3 per game.

5. Montana State Billings (16-13 overall, 9-9 GNAC)
Top players: Jarrell Crayton – Sr. – F (16.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg), Omar McDade – Sr. – G (12.7 ppg)
Key wins: 83-78 vs. Central Washington – Feb. 16, 80-70 vs. Alaska Fairbanks – Feb. 28
Key losses: 73-80 @ Alaska Fairbanks – Dec. 1, 78-84 @ Saint Martin’s – Feb. 23

The defending GNAC tournament champion Yellowjackets have one stud, Jarrell Crayton, and a balanced group of players to complement him including guards Omar McDade and David Arnold. But MSUB has had to juggle their lineup often this season starting 10 different players at some point. Crayton was the only ‘Jacket to start every game.  They struggled on their last road trip of the season barely beating Western Oregon in overtime in Monmouth and falling to Saint Martin’s in Lacey but handled Alaska Fairbanks and nearly beat Alaska Anchorage in their home finales.

6. Central Washington (14-12 overall, 8-10 GNAC)
Top player: Mark McLaughlin – Jr. – G (22.4 ppg, 5.7 rpg)
Key win: 81-72 vs. Alaska Anchorage – Jan. 5
Key losses: 113-118 (3OT) @ Western Oregon – Dec. 1, 69-100 @ Northwest Nazarene – Feb. 23, 71-82 vs. Saint Martin’s – Mar. 2

The Tacoma Titans Wildcats have the league’s most dynamic and interesting player in Mark McLaughlin but beyond that, Central is offensively challenged with just Jordan Coby scoring in double digits this season. Eight of their 11 players are transfers from Tacoma Community College and just one of their players, Joey Roppo, comes to Ellensburg straight out of high school. They were second in the GNAC in rebounds pulling down 38.5 per game but their opponents also pulled down 37.9 per game giving them a 0.6 rebounding margin that was only good enough for sixth in conference. The Wildcats were atrocious down the stretch losing five of their last six games including a 100-69 spanking by Northwest Nazarene and an 82-71 loss to Saint Martin’s in the regular season finale.

Tournament schedule

Thursday, March 7th
#3 Alaska Anchorage vs. #6 Central Washington – 5:15 PM
#4 Alaska Fairbanks vs. #5 Montana State Billings – 7:30 PM

Friday, March 8th
#2 Seattle Pacific vs. UAA/CWU winner – 5:15 PM
#1 Western Washington vs. UAF/MSUB winner – 7:30 PM

Saturday, March 9th
GNAC Championship Game – 7:30 PM

Predictions

Considering how much they struggled down the stretch, I have a hard time picking Central Washington to beat Alaska Anchorage in the first round, though it all depends on Mark McLaughlin and whether or not he can get any support offensively. Meanwhile, MSU Billings is tournament tested having won this thing last year but I think it might be Alaska Fairbanks year setting up a rematch with Western Washington in the semis.

Like the women’s tournament, I don’t expect either of the top two seeds to lose in the second round. Western Washington and Seattle Pacific are just so much more complete than either of the two teams that I think will advance from the first round and both the Falcons and Vikings will easily advance to the final.

The final will be an instant classic  and will come down to one final shot.

Vikings win 74-73.

The Great Northwest Athletic Conference women’s basketball tournament returns to Saint Martin’s for the second straight year beginning on Wednesday, March 6th, the semifinals on Friday, March 8th and wrapping up with the championship game on Saturday, March 9th.

Western Washington and Simon Fraser enter the tournament ranked seventh and tenth in the nation and the remaining four teams are all evenly matched at 10-7 or 10-8 in conference play.

All eight games will be webcast on GNACSports.com with me, Brandon Sparks, providing color commentary alongside Montana State Billings’ Jeff Rosenberry. The championship game will air on Root Sports.

For ticket info and more, click here.

Team capsules

1. Western Washington (23-3 Overall, 17-1 GNAC)
Top players: Britt Harris – Sr. – C (14.4 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 59% FG PCT), Corrin Waltrip – Sr. – G (11.7 ppg, 43% 3 point PCT), Trishi Williams – Sr. – G (10.5 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 4.4 apg)
Key win: 59-57 vs. Simon Fraser – Jan. 12
Key loss: 59-74 @ Simon Fraser – Feb. 9

Western Washington has the top scoring team in the league and the second stingiest defense, shoots a high percentage from the field and from behind the arc. Their three top players are seniors, they are balanced across the board and are riding a six game winning streak into the tournament. Their one conference loss came to Simon Fraser on February 9th, a 15 point loss. But the Vikings followed that up with four double digit wins in their next six games.

2. Simon Fraser (22-4 overall, 15-3 GNAC)
Top players: Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe – Sr. – C (16.9 ppg, 12.7 rpg, 66% FG PCT), Erin Chambers – So. – G/F (13.6 ppg, 4.7 rpg), Kristina Collins – Sr. – G (10.2 ppg, 5.2 apg)
Key win: 74-59 vs. Western Washington – Feb. 9
Key losses: 57-59 @ Western Washington – Jan. 12, 59-60 @ Northwest Nazarene – Jan. 24, 60-70 @ Seattle Pacific – Feb. 14

Simon Fraser is the best defensive team in the GNAC allowing just 55 points per game and features one of the best players in Division II, senior Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe. Raincock-Ekunwe finished third in the league in scoring after two previous years on top and finished on top of the league in rebounding for the third straight season. Her 12.7 boards per game is third in the nation giving her her third straight year averaging a double-double. Her scoring dropped a bit because of the emergence of sophomore Erin Chambers and her 13.6 points per game. The Clan are riding a five game winning streak into the tourney.

3. Montana State Billings (17-9 overall, 11-7 GNAC)
Top players: Bobbi Knudsen – Jr. – G (17.6 ppg, 6.1 apg), Janiel Olson – So. – F (9.4 ppg, 9.0 rpg)
Key wins: 57-54 @ DI Montana State – Dec. 29, 66-56 vs. Seattle Pacific – Jan. 26
Key losses: 65-73 @ Western Oregon – Jan. 5, 71-76 @ Seattle Pacific – Feb. 23

Montana State Billings is led by junior guard Bobbi Knudsen, the GNAC’s leader in assists with 6.1 per game and second leading scorer at 17.6 points per game amounting for nearly 30 of the team’s 70 points per game. She also only turns the ball over 2.4 times per game for a 2.5 assist to turnover ratio, tops in the conference. The streaky Yellowjackets lost four straight games before picking up a pair of wins in the closing weekend including a 13 point win at Northwest Nazarene.

4. Alaska Anchorage (17-9 overall, 11-7 GNAC)
Top players: Sasha King – Sr. – G (15.5 ppg, 5.9 apg), Alysa Horn – Sr. – F (15.2 ppg, 9.0 rpg)
Key wins: 73-47 vs. DI North Dakota State – Nov. 20, 94-82 @ Northwest Nazarene – Feb. 16
Key losses: 49-76 vs. Northwest Nazarene – Jan. 17, 64-74 vs. Central Washington – Jan. 19

The defending GNAC tournament champion Seawolves have one of the most balanced attacks with three players averaging double digit scoring, one of just three teams in the conference to do so. Seniors Sasha King and Alysa Horn were almost identical in scoring at 15.5 and 15.2 points per game. King was second in assists per game while Horn was second only to rebounding machine Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe in boards per game. Junior Kylie Burns chipped in 11 points and 7.3 boards a game. The Seawolves are riding a seven game winning streak into the tournament including a 94-82 win over Northwest Nazarene in Nampa and a pair of home wins over Montana State Billings and Seattle Pacific.

5. Northwest Nazarene (19-7 overall, 11-7 GNAC)
Top players: Megan Hingston – Jr. – G (18.9 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 50.3% FG PCT), Chelsie Luke – Jr. – G (14.7 ppg, 5.5 rpg)
Key win: 60-59 vs. Simon Fraser – Feb. 9, 76-49 @ Alaska Anchorage – Jan. 17
Key losses: 69-76 @ Seattle Pacific – Nov. 29, 82-94 vs. Alaska Anchorage – Feb. 16

Northwest Nazarene features the best underclassman in the GNAC in Megan Hingston. The junior guard led the conference in scoring and finished fourth in rebounding, the only guard amongst the leaders. But after a strong start, the Crusaders hit a rough patch and finished the season winning just two of their last six games including a 94-82 loss to their first round opponent Alaska Anchorage in Nampa. The Seawolves were just paying them back after the Crusaders spanked them on their home court earlier in the season. Northwest Nazarene has one advantage: they are familiar with Marcus Pavilion. They easily knocked off two opponents in the Saint Martin’s classic in December in addition to their conference win against the Saints.

6. Seattle Pacific (16-10 overall, 10-8 GNAC)
Top players: Katie Benson – Jr. – F (16.9 ppg, 7.8 rpg), Suzanna Ohlsen – So. – G (13.1 ppg, 3.6 apg), Aubree Callen – Jr. – G (12.9 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 3.7 apg)
Key win: 70-60 vs. Simon Fraser – Feb. 14, 76-71 vs. Montana State Billings – Feb. 23
Key losses: 66-70 @ Saint Martin’s – Jan. 5, 76-80 OT vs. Western Washington – Feb. 16, 67-82 @ Northwest Nazarene – Mar. 2

Despite coming in as the 6th seed, it’s hard to imagine anybody wants to play Seattle Pacific right now. The Falcons have won four of their last six games including wins over #2 seed Simon Fraser and #3 seed Montana State Billings, their opponent in the first round. They also took #1 seed Western Washington to overtime during that stretch. But the Falcons are second to last in scoring defense giving up 68.7 points per game. They were also just 3-6 on the road against GNAC foes including a 15 point loss to Northwest Nazarene on the final day of the regular season in Nampa. Junior forward Katie Benson finished fourth in the GNAC in scoring at 16.9 points per game.

Tournament schedule

Wednesday, March 6th
#3 Montana State Billings vs. #6 Seattle Pacific – 5:15 PM
#4 Alaska Anchorage vs. #5 Northwest Nazarene – 7:30 PM

Friday, March 8th
#2 Simon Fraser vs. MSUB/SPU winner – 12:00 PM
#1 Western Washington vs. UAA/NNU winner – 2:15 PM

Saturday, March 9th
GNAC Championship Game – 5:15 PM

Predictions

Seeds three through six are impossibly evenly matched teams, three finished at 11-7 in conference and another at 10-8. The two opening round games should be intense, well played, close affairs. I expect the two star guards to shine with Bobbi Knudsen and Montana State Billings knocking off Seattle Pacific and Megan Hingston and Northwest Nazarene topping Alaska Anchorage. Honestly though, it’s a coin toss between all four of those teams.

But I can’t see either of the top two seeds losing in the second round, they are simply too good defensively. Western Washington will top the Crusaders and Simon Fraser will send the Yellowjackets packing.

In the championship game, as good as Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe is, the balance of Western Washington will be too much for the Clan. Vikings win the championship in a great game that probably comes down to a late three pointer.

Vikings win 66-62.