BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University men's basketball team will have a tough stretch of four road games over a 10-day stretch to complete the regular season, beginning with road games this weekend at Montana State Billings on Thursday and Seattle Pacific University on Saturday.

 

WWU will also travel to play at Western Oregon University on Monday (Feb. 21) in a makeup game and completes the regular season crossing the border to play at Simon Fraser University on Saturday, February 26. All told, the Vikings final four games will be played in three states and one province.

 

The Vikings carry a 12-11 overall record into the games at MSUB and SPU with a 5-8 mark in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play. WWU will look to shake off a three-game losing streak from games last week inside Carver Gym.

 

WWU is now playing for positioning in the GNAC Tournament, currently ranked No. 7 in the conference via the new Points Rating System (3.00). The Vikings also checked in with a West Regional ranking of No. 16 via the first edition of the NCAA II regional rankings. Due to the plethora of postponements and cancelations, the GNAC had expanded the conference championships to all 10 teams and will be played March 2-5 in Seattle and Lacey.

 

After opening the season 11-6 overall and 4-3 in GNAC play, the Vikings have dropped five of their last six games. WWU was last in action Monday hosting Montana State Billings in a 27-point 91-64 defeat.

 

Junior guard/forward Jalen Green leads the Vikings averaging 15.7 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, while shooting 54.0-percent from the field (107-for-198). Junior guard Daniel Hornbuckle (14.2), sophomore guard D'Angelo Minnis (12.2) and senior forward Luke Lovelady (11.4) are also averaging double-figures in points per game this season.

 

 

Here is a look at the all-time series between WWU and its three upcoming opponents:

 

• Montana State Billings: Defeated by MSUB 91-64 on Monday in Bellingham…WWU leads the all-time series 24-10, but MSUB has won four of the last five meetings…WWU is 9-6 all-time in games played in Alterowitz Gym.
• Seattle Pacific: Defeated by SPU 78-59 in Bellingham on January 20…SPU leads the all-time series 88-56, with the Falcons winning five of the last six in the head-to-head series…Vikings are 2-4 in last six trips to Brougham Pavilion.
• Western Oregon: Dropped first meeting this season 73-71 in Carver Gym on February 10…Vikings have won 8 of last 14 in the series dating back to 2014-15 and lead the all-time series 48-21…lost last three games in Monmouth.

 

WWU is scheduled to complete the regular season with four consecutive road games, covering three states (Montana, Washington, Oregon) and one province (British Columbia). The Vikings will play three games over a five-day stretch (Thursday at MSUB, Saturday at SPU, Monday at WOU) and then cross the border to play at Simon Fraser on Saturday, February 26 on Burnaby Mountain. 

 

News and notes on the 2021-22 WWU Men's Basketball team:

 

• The Record – 12-11 overall, 5-8 GNAC, 10-5 at home, 2-6 on the road (1-4 in true away games).
• GNAC Standings – 8th in the GNAC table and tied for 7th in the new GNAC Points Rating System.
• At the Half – When leading (10-1), When Trailing (2-8), When Tied (0-2).
• Lately – Lost three straight and 1-5 in last six games.
• Block Party – Leads the GNAC and 27th in NCAA II averaging 4.4 blocked shots per game.
• Close Calls – Nine of 23 games decided by 2-or-fewer points (5-4 record).
• Cleaning the Glass – Ranks 26th in NCAA II with +5.6 rebounding margin.
• Sharp Shooters – 3rd in the GNAC and 26th in NCAA II with 48.7 field goal percentage.
• Filling the Stat Sheet – Junior G/F Jalen Green leads the team averaging 15.7 points per game (8th in the GNAC) and with 6.6 rebounds per game (7th in GNAC)…also 9th in the conference with a .540 FG Pct. (107-for-198)…tops in the conference with 1.4 blocked shots per game.
• Mighty Minnis – Sophomore G D'Angelo Minnis is averaging 12.2 points and 4.4 assists per game…9th in the conference with 2.3 assist-to-turnover ratio and 2nd averaging 36.3 minutes per game…scored 20+ in three of last seven games.
• Consistent Hornbuckle – Junior G Daniel Hornbuckle has scored in double-digits in 19 of 23 games…second on the team averaging 14.2 points per game and one of the top 3-point shooters in the GNAC at 45.3% (68-for-150).
• Efficient Lovelady – Senior F Luke Lovelady is 5th in the GNAC in field goal percentage (.568/96-for-169) and 10th averaging 6.1 rebounds per game (also 8th with 1.0 blocks/game)…averaging 11.4 points per game (27th in GNAC) scoring in double-digits in 14 of 21 games.
• Dependable RJ – Senior RJ Secrest has stated all 23 games and is averaging 26.3 minutes per game…averaging 8.3 points and 4.7 rebounds per game while shooting 50.3% (75-for-149).
• GNAC Prediction – Picked 3rd in GNAC Preseason Coaches Poll…defending GNAC Tournament Champions winning the title in March 2020.
• National Champs – This season is the 10th anniversary of the 2011-12 NCAA II National Championship.

 

WWU celebrated its three seniors - Luke Lovelady, RJ Secrest and Dakota Ayala – prior to the home game on Saturday, February 12 vs. Saint Martin's on Senior Night.

 

The GNAC announced a change to the format and qualifying criteria for its 2022 men's and women's basketball championships. The conference's Management Council and CEO Board unanimously voted to expand this year's tournament to all 10 men's and women's programs. The GNAC Championships will now run from March 2 to 5. To accommodate full fields in both genders, the first two rounds of games will be split between Saint Martin's University in Lacey, Washington, and Seattle Pacific University. In total, six games – two play-in contests and four quarterfinals matchups – will be contested at SPU's Royal Brougham Pavilion. The other 12 games, including the semifinals and championship games in both genders, will be played at Marcus Pavilion on the campus of Saint Martin's, which was awarded tournament-hosting rights two years ago. For each gender, the No. 7 through No. 10 seeds will compete in play-in games on Wednesday, March 2. The winners will advance to an eight-team bracket, which will begin play on Thursday, March 3.

The points rating system is an end-of-season calculation that attaches numeric values to each result based on whether the game was at home or on the road and where each opponent's final conference winning percentage fell (i.e., .750 and above, .500 to .749, .250 to .499 and .249 and below). The better an opponent's final winning percentage, the greater the point values for a win or a loss. It is similar to one of the key metrics used by Division II in ranking teams under consideration for NCAA postseason at-large berths in multiple sports, including men's and women's basketball.

WWU recorded three consecutive two-point victories January 27-31, with an 83-81 win over Northwest Nazarene, 90-88 victory against Central Washington and a 93-91 overtime win vs. Alaska Anchorage – all in home games in Carver Gym. The Vikings have had nine games decided by two-or-fewer points this season (5-4 record). Western opened the season with back-to-back one-point losses to Cal Poly Humboldt and Cal State Dominguez Hills and a were on the short end of a two-point 82-80 overtime loss to Simon Fraser. Western also defeated Lindenwood 60-58 in Las Vegas and Alaska Fairbanks 94-92 on January 8 in GNAC play.

 

Here is a look at the results for the Vikings in the first 23 games of the 2021-22 season:

 

 

While the regular-season conference champion and seeing for the GNAC tournament will be decided on a new points system, here is an updated look at the league standings heading into games this weekend. View the conference schedule, scores, stats and updated standings at GNACSports.com.

 

 

WWU won the 2020 GNAC Championships title finishing the season with a 20-10 overall record. The Vikings completed a 2-0 run through the GNAC Championships to earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Championships. Finished the regular season with a 13-7 league record to earn the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament. Qualified for the NCAA II Championships for the ninth time, but the West Regional Tournament was cancelled due to the national pandemic.

 

WWU has made nine appearances in the NCAA Division II Championships. Owns an all-time NCAA Tournament record of 17-7 (.708) and have won at least one game in six of eight previous championships appearances (2+ games  in 4 of 8). The Vikings are three-time West Region Champions (2001, 2012, 2013), advancing the NCAA II Final Four in all three of the Elite 8 appearances in program history. The Vikings won the 2012 NCAA II National Championship.

 

Head coach Tony Dominguez is in his 10th season at the helm of the program, and 27th overall at WWU. Dominguez has led the Vikings to a 180-87 record (.674) and was the 2016-17 GNAC Coach of the Year. He is assisted by David Dunham (6th season), Bob Hofstetter (9th season), Atiavo Jude (9th season) and lead support staff members AJ Albritton (Director of Basketball Operations and Garrett Thibodeaux (Assistant Coach & Video Coordinator).

 

More information on the 2021-22 season, including statistics, schedule, roster and program history can be found online at WWUVikings.com/MBB and via social media on Twitter (@WWUHoops) and Facebook (@WWUmensbball).

 

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 three of the last four years (and seven of nine) and won the 2020 GNAC Championships Tournament. WWU is the 12th winningest Division II program with its 1,526 all-time victories.