ELLENSBURG, Wash. -- The Central Washington University men's basketball team is in Anchorage, Alaska this week to compete in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Tournament. The winner of the tournament will be crowned GNAC Champions and earn an automatic berth into the 2018 NCAA DII West Regional Tournament.
The sixth-seeded Wildcats will face a very familiar foe in Saint Martin's to kick of the tournament at noon tomorrow (Mar.1). Saint Martin's earned the third seed in the tournament after finishing the regular season 22-6 with a 15-5 mark in conference.
Central Washington and Saint Martin's are fresh off their regular season finale matchup, where the Saints defeated CWU 75-68 four days ago.
#6 CWU (15-12, 10-10 GNAC) VS. #3 SMU (22-6, 15-5 GNAC)
THURSDAY | MAR. 1 | 12 P.M. |
LIVE STATS AND VIDEO
CWU TOURNAMENT HISTORY
The Wildcats won the GNAC's first ever conference tournament during the 2010-11 season when eight teams competed in the tournament field. In 2010-11, and only that season, the higher seeded team hosted each individual game over the course of five days. The Wildcats went 3-0 to become the conferences first regular season and tournament champion.
Central Washington is 5-4 all-time in the tournament and is guaranteed to face at least two new faces in the tournament if they are to advance. The Wildcats have not faced Saint Martin's in the GNAC Tournament, and if they win CWU will advance to play Western Washington in the second round which would also be a first for Central.
Since 2010-11, CWU is 1-0 against MSUB, 2-1 vs UAA, 1-1 vs NNU, and 1-2 vs SPU
KEYS TO VICTORY FOR CWU
1. SHARE THE ROCK
When the Wildcats record 14 or more assists in a game they carry a 12-3 record. In the three losses in games where CWU has collected 14 or more assists, its average loss margin is just five points. Math tells us that in games where the Wildcats do not hit their season average of 14.6 assists they carry a 3-9 record.
Individually, the Wildcats are incredibly effective when freshman point guard
Khalil Shabazz joins in the assist party. When Shabazz records four or more assists, the Wildcats are 8-1.
2. SHOOT THE AVERAGE
The Wildcats are shooting 45.1-percent from the field on the season but has only hit that mark or higher in 13 games this season. In those games, CWU is 12-1, 3-11 when they shot below its season average. Central is also 9-2 when meeting or exceeding its three-point average of 37.0.
3. CLEAN THE GLASS
Saint Martin's shoots 48.5 percent from the field, so limiting second chance opportunities will be crucial for the Wildcats. The Wildcats are 4-9 when allowing 11 or more offensive rebounds in a game and are 9-4 in the games where they have out rebounded their opponent.
4. GET TO THE LINE
When the Wildcats shoot 20 or more free throws they carry a 7-3 record, and a 9-1 record when they knock down 15 or more attempts a game. Central shoots 70.9-percent from the charity stripe on the season, and when they hit that average, they are 9-5.
