Men's Hoops To Take Part In 39th Annual Great Alaska Shootout
6/24/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Complete Great Alaska Shootout Bracket
BUFFALO, NY - The University of Alaska Anchorage has announced its field for the 2016 GCI Great Alaska Shootout, unveiling Friday the 10 visiting men's and women's teams for the 39th annual college basketball showcase including the two-time defending Mid-American Conference Champion University at Buffalo squad.
The oldest continuously running in-season college basketball tournament in the nation, the Shootout will again feature an eight-team men's field and four-team women's field for this year's tournaments, set for Nov. 22-26 at the Alaska Airlines Center.
"We are excited to be part of the 2016 Great Alaska Shootout and have a chance to compete against quality programs from across the country," said head coach Nate Oats. "The tournament has a tremendous history and we look forward to having a great experience on and off the court."
On the men's side, the Bulls will open the tournament playing the host Seawolves at 7pm local time on Wednesday, Nov. 23, while Oakland will face Nevada in Wednesday's opening-round affairs. Thanksgiving evening will feature UC Davis against defending Big Sky Conference champion Weber State and Drake against defending Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament champ Iona.
CBS Sports Network will bring the Shootout to a national audience for the fifth straight year, with seven men's games on the slate, starting with host Alaska Anchorage vs. Buffalo on Nov. 23.
Overall, this year's fields feature a combined five NCAA Tournament qualifiers (UAA and Missouri State women; Buffalo, Iona and Weber State men) and two other postseason qualifiers (Oakland and CBI champion Nevada). Eight of the 12 squads won at least 20 games in 2015-16.
In addition to the seven men's games on CBS Sports Network, tournament sponsor and Alaska cable leader GCI will air the other nine contests live statewide. The UAA/Buffalo game will be available on both channels.
As part of the tournament, Buffalo will host Nazareth College on Nov. 17 in Alumni Arena.
Tip times for all games will be released later this summer.
2016 GCI Great Alaska Shootout
Alaska Airlines Center – Anchorage, Alaska
(All times AST – 4 hours behind EST)
WOMEN'S TOURNAMENT
Tuesday, Nov. 22 – First Round
Missouri State vs Southern California (GCI)
Portland vs Alaska Anchorage (GCI)
Wednesday, Nov. 23
3rd Place: MSU/USC loser vs UP/UAA loser (GCI)
Championship: MSU/USC winner vs UP/UAA winner (GCI)
MEN'S TOURNAMENT
Wednesday, Nov. 23 – First Round
Buffalo vs Alaska Anchorage (CBSSN/GCI)
Oakland vs Nevada (CBSSN)
Thursday, Nov. 24 – First Round
UC Davis vs Weber State (CBSSN)
Drake vs Iona (CBSSN)
Friday, Nov. 25 – Consolation Semis & Semifinals
Buffalo/UAA loser vs Oakland/Nevada loser (GCI)
UCD/Weber loser vs Drake/Iona loser (GCI)
Buffalo/UAA winner vs Oakland/Nevada winner (CBSSN)
UCD/Weber winner vs Drake/Iona winner (CBSSN)
Saturday, Nov. 26
7th/8th Place: Game 5 loser vs Game 6 loser (GCI)
4th/6th Place: Game 5 winner vs Game 6 winner (GCI)
3rd/5th Place: Game 7 loser vs Game 8 loser (GCI)
Championship: Game 7 winner vs Game 8 winner (CBSSN)
Here is a quick look at each team in the 2016 GCI Great Alaska Shootout fields:
Alaska Anchorage
Nickname: Seawolves
Location: Anchorage, Alaska
Website: GoSeawolves.com
Conference: Great Northwest Athletic Conference
2015-16 Overall/Conf. Record (Place): 21-11/14-6 (t-3rd)
2016 Postseason: None
Head Coach: Rusty Osborne, 12 seasons (229-130)
Previous Shootout Appearances: All (37-77)
Top Returners: Sekou Wiggs, Sr., G, 6-4/190 (24.1 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 3.3 apg, 1.6 spg, D2CCA 3rd Team All-American, 1st Team All-GNAC, GNAC Newcomer of Year); Corey Hammell, Sr., F, 6-6/225 (12.2 ppg, 10.2 rpg, .831 FT, 2nd Team All-GNAC); Spencer Svejcar, Sr., G, 6-4/190 (11.8 ppg, 2.1 apg, .360 3FG, HM All-GNAC)
Notes: Wiggs led GNAC in scoring last season and broke Shootout tourney record with 99 total points and three straight 30-point games in 2015
Buffalo
Nickname: Bulls
Location: Buffalo, New York
Website: ubbulls.com
Conference: Mid-American (East Div.)
2015-16 Overall/Conf. Record (Place): 20-15/10-8 (t-3rd)
2016 Postseason: NCAA 1st Round
Head Coach: Nate Oats, 1 season (20-15)
Previous Shootout Appearances: None
Top Returners: Lamonte Bearden, Jr., G, 6-3/200 (13.7 ppg, 4.2 apg, 1.6 spg, 3rd Team All-MAC), Blake Hamilton Sr., G/F, 6-6/205 (13.1 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 1.3 spg, .379 3FG, 3rd Team All-MAC), Willie Conner, Sr., G/F, 6-5/200 (11.8 ppg, All-MAC Defensive Team)
Notes: The Bulls became first team in 14 years to repeat as MAC Tournament champions and nearly pulled an upset of Miami (Fla.) in an NCAA Tournament 79-72 1st-round loss.
Drake
Nickname: Bulldogs
Location: Des Moines, Iowa
Website: godrakebulldogs.com
Conference: Missouri Valley
2015-16 Overall/Conf. Record (Place): 7-24/2-16 (10th)
2016 Postseason: None
Head Coach: Ray Giacoletti, 3 seasons (31-62)
Previous Shootout Appearances: 2010 (5th)
Top Returners: Reed Timmer, Jr., G, 6-1/185 (16.8 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.5 apg, .404 3FG, .813 FT, HM-All MVC), Graham Woodward, Jr., G, 6-0/182 (10.8 ppg, 2.7 apg, .420 3FG), Ore Arogundade, Jr., G, 6-3/185 (5.8 ppg, 4.5 rpg, .365 3FG)
Notes: Drake coach Ray Giacoletti is making his second Shootout trip after bringing a Utah club featuring Andrew Bogut in 2004.
Iona
Nickname: Gaels
Location: New Rochelle, New York
Website: icgaels.com
Conference: Metro Atlantic Athletic Conf.
2015-16 Overall/Conf. Record (Place): 22-11/16-4 (2nd)
2016 Postseason: NCAA 1st Round
Head Coach: Tim Cluess, 6 seasons (140-65)
Previous Shootout Appearances: 1979 (2nd), 1981 (3rd), 1988 (8th)
Top Returners: Jordan Washington, Sr., F, 6-8/255 (14.2 ppg, 6.4 rpg, .514 FG, 3rd Team All-Met); Deyshonee Much, Jr., G, 6-5/170 (13.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg, .447 3FG, .806 FT); Jahaad Proctor, So., G, 6-3/175 (5.1 ppg, 2.0 rpg)
Notes: The Gaels are coming off the program's 10th all-time NCAA Tournament appearance and own the most MAAC Tournament titles in league history with nine.
Nevada
Nickname: Wolf Pack
Location: Reno, Nevada
Website: nevadawolfpack.com
Conference: Mountain West
2015-16 Overall/Conf. Record (Place): 24-14/10-8 (t-4th)
2016 Postseason: CBI Champions
Head Coach: Eric Musselman, 1 season (24-14)
Previous Shootout Appearances: 1990 (8th)
Top Returners: D.J. Fenner, Sr., G, 6-6/205 (13.7 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 2.0 apg, .855 FT); Cameron Oliver, So., F, 6-8/225 (13.4 ppg, 9.1 rpg, 2.6 bpg, .508 FG, 3rd Team All-MWC); Lindsey Drew, So., G, 6-4/180 (5.4 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 2.8 apg).
Notes: Nevada is coming off the second-best turnaround in the country under former NBA head coach Eric Musselman, who improved the Wolf Pack's win total from nine in 2014-15 to 24 in 2015-16.
Oakland
Nickname: Golden Grizzlies
Location: Rochester, Michigan
Website: goldengrizzlies.com
Conference: Horizon League
2015-16 Overall/Conf. Record (Place): 23-12/13-5 (t-2nd)
2016 Postseason: Vegas 16 Runner-Up
Head Coach: Greg Kampe, 32 seasons (558-415)
Previous Shootout Appearances: None
Top Returners: Jalen Hayes, Jr., F, 6-7/211 (13.1 ppg, 8.6 rpg, .525 FG, 2nd Team All-Horizon); Martez Walker, Jr., G, 6-6/185 (10.5 ppg, 3.6 rpg, .413 3FG, .817 FT); Sherron Dorsey-Walker, Sr., G, 6-4/200 (6.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg, .371 3FG)
Notes: The Golden Grizzlies earned road wins over Washington and 2014 Shootout champ runner-up Toledo last season, along with an overtime loss to then-No. 1 Michigan State … Oakland led the nation in scoring last year with 86.4 points per game.
UC Davis
Nickname: Aggies
Location: Davis, California
Website: ucdavisaggies.com
Conference: Big West
2015-16 Overall/Conf. Record (Place): 11-19/6-10 (5th)
2016 Postseason: None
Head Coach: Jim Les, 5 seasons (64-91)
Previous Shootout Appearances: None
Top Returners: Brynton Lemar, Sr., G, 6-4/195 (10.2 ppg, 3.6 rpg, .408 3FG); Darius Graham, Sr., G, 5-10/180 (10.0 ppg, 2.7 apg, .375 3FG, HM All-Big West); Siler Schneider, So., G, 6-3/183 (9.7 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 2.3 apg, .381 3FG)
Notes: The Aggies enjoyed the best season in the program's D-I era in 2014-15, winning the Big West regular-season title and earning its first postseason bid (NIT).
Weber State
Nickname: Wildcats
Location: Ogden, Utah
Website: weberstatesports.com
Conference: Big Sky
2015-16 Overall/Conf. Record (Place): 26-9/15-3 (1st)
2016 Postseason: NCAA 1st Round
Head Coach: Randy Rahe, 10 seasons (208-113)
Previous Shootout Appearances: 1993 (2nd), 2010 (3rd)
Top Returners: Jeremy Senglin, Sr., G, 6-2/195 (17.9 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.8 apg, .433 3FG, 1st Team All-Big Sky); Kyndahl Hill, Sr., F, 6-7/225 (8.2 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 1.0 bpg, .616 FG); Zach Braxton, So., F/C, 6-9/250 (6.9 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 0.6 bpg, .614 FG)
Notes: Randy Rahe is bringing the Wildcats back for the second time in his tenure after his Damian Lillard-led squad finished 3rd in 2010 … Weber has won five Big Sky titles, made eight postseason appearances – including three NCAAs – during Rahe's tenure.
