BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University men's basketball team was awarded the No. 2 seed for the 2020 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships that opens play next week in Seattle.
WWU finished the regular season tied for 2nd in the GNAC standings with Western Oregon at 13-7 in league play, but won the tiebreaker to receive the first-round bye with its win over league-champion Seattle Pacific the solidifying factor. The Vikings will play in the noon game in Friday's semifinal round vs. the winner of the No. 3 Western Oregon vs. No. 6 Alaska Fairbanks quarterfinal game that will be played on Thursday at noon. WWU was 1-1 vs. both Western Oregon and Alaska Fairbanks during the regular season.
Seattle Pacific University is the No. 1 seed and will serve as the host of the 2020 GNAC Men's and Women's Basketball Championships, with four games played on Thursday, four on Friday and the championships games on Saturday inside Royal Brougham Pavilion. Tickets for the tournament and more information on the GNAC Championships can be found online at the championships website. All games during the three-day championships will stream live online at GNAC.tv.
WWU has now advanced to play in nine of the 10 tournaments since it debuted in 2010-11, recording an overall 7-7 record. The Vikings were the 2016-17 GNAC Tournament Champions.
The Vikings are 18-10 overall heading into the postseason, led by 14.4 points per game by senior forward Trevor Jasinsky and 13.0 points and 5.9 rebounds per game by sophomore guard/forwardJalen Green. Redshirt freshman point guard D'Angelo Minnis is averaging 12.2 points per game and senior center Logan Schilder is one of the top shot blockers in the nation averaging 2.08 blocks per game.
2020 GNAC CHAMPIONSHIPS BRACKET
Thursday, March 5 (Quarterfinals)
No. 3 Western Oregon vs. No. 6 Alaska Fairbanks, 12:00 pm
No. 4 Northwest Nazarene vs. No. 5 Alaska Anchorage, 2:15 pm
Friday, March 6 (Semifinals)
Western Oregon/Alaska Fairbanks winner vs. No. 2 Western Washington, 12:00 pm
Northwest Nazarene/Alaska Anchorage winner vs. No. 1 Seattle Pacific, 2:15 pm
Saturday, March 7
Championship Game, 5 pm
FINAL 2019-20 GNAC STANDINGS
Here is a look at the final 2019-20 Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings and the six teams that will play for the conference tournament title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Championships Field of 64. WWU tied for 2nd in the standings with Western Oregon at 13-7 in league play, but the tiebreaker went in favor of the Vikings decided by the best record against teams with a .750 or better record in conference play. WWU defeated Seattle Pacific 73-68 on Feb. 22.
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MEN'S BASKETBALL
|
CONF
|
PCT
|
OVERALL
|
PCT
|
HOME
|
AWAY
|
NEUTRAL
|
STREAK
|
|
1.
|
Seattle Pacific*+
|
18-2
|
.900
|
22-6
|
.786
|
11-3
|
11-2
|
0-1
|
Won 2
|
|
2.
|
Western Washington*
|
13-7
|
.650
|
18-10
|
.643
|
13-3
|
5-6
|
0-1
|
Lost 1
|
|
|
Western Oregon*
|
13-7
|
.650
|
19-7
|
.731
|
10-2
|
6-5
|
3-0
|
Won 2
|
|
4.
|
Northwest Nazarene*
|
12-8
|
.600
|
15-10
|
.600
|
10-3
|
5-7
|
0-0
|
Lost 2
|
|
5.
|
Alaska Anchorage*
|
11-9
|
.550
|
18-13
|
.581
|
12-4
|
4-7
|
2-2
|
Lost 2
|
|
6.
|
Alaska Fairbanks*
|
10-10
|
.500
|
11-17
|
.393
|
5-5
|
5-5
|
1-7
|
Lost 2
|
|
|
Central Washington
|
10-10
|
.500
|
17-11
|
.607
|
11-5
|
4-6
|
2-0
|
Lost 1
|
|
8.
|
Simon Fraser
|
9-11
|
.450
|
15-14
|
.517
|
8-4
|
3-7
|
5-2
|
Won 1
|
|
9.
|
Montana State Billings
|
6-14
|
.300
|
11-17
|
.393
|
7-6
|
2-10
|
2-1
|
Lost 1
|
|
10.
|
Saint Martin's
|
4-16
|
.200
|
6-23
|
.207
|
3-11
|
3-8
|
0-4
|
Won 1
|
|
|
Concordia
|
4-16
|
.200
|
5-23
|
.179
|
4-8
|
1-10
|
0-5
|
Won 2
|
|
* clinched berth in GNAC Championships + regular-season champion
|
Fans can follow the men's basketball team online at WWUVikings.com/MBB, and via social media on Twitter (@WWUHoops) and Facebook (@WWUmensbball). You can also get game updates by following the @WWUAthletics Twitter.
One of the premier basketball programs in NCAA Division II, WWU has recorded a 20-win season in eight of the last 11 seasons. WWU is a six-time Great Northwest Athletic Conference champion and has appeared in the NCAA II Elite 8 three times. The Vikings won the 2011-12 NCAA Division II National Championship and advanced the following season to the NCAA II Final Four. Western has 20-win seasons in two of the last three years, including a 25-6 record in 2016-17 where it won the GNAC regular season and conference championships title. WWU is the 12th winningest Division II program with its 1,512 victories.
