BILLINGS, Mont. – Great Northwest Athletic Conference play will start on Thursday for the Yellowjackets as the 5-0 Montana State University Billings men's basketball team will travel to Alaska to face the Seawolves and the Nanooks. Play will start on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Alaska time when MSUB visits the University of Alaska Anchorage (5-4, 1-0 GNAC). The 'Jackets will follow up on Saturday with another 7:30 p.m. Alaska time tip off against the University of Alaska (2-5, 0-1 GNAC).
 
"The way we look at it we're 0-0 in conference play and that is what matters right now," head coach Jamie Stevens said of the start of league play. "Every conference game is important regardless of where we are playing. We're happy with our start but everything we have done has built up to this and we understand the importance of getting out to a good start in the GNAC."
 
LAST TIME OUT: A three-point barrage guided the Yellowjackets to their fifth win of the season in a 95-82 defeat of the Chadron State College Eagles last Tuesday in Alterowitz Gym. MSUB cashed in on 18 of their 35 attempts from deep led by Sven Jeuschede's 5-for-9 performance. Tyler Green led all scorers with 21 points in the game and shot 4 of 7 from deep. Zack Rollins scored 11 points and added nine rebounds in the game while Kendall Denham led the 'Jackets with five assists and contributed 16 points. 
 
NUMBERS AND NOTES
 
CONFERENCE SNAPSHOT: The Yellowjackets are one of two undefeated teams in the GNAC along with the 6-0 Western Oregon Wolves. Saint Martin's sits at 5-1 including a 93-88 win over No. 7 Cal Baptist in their last outing. MSUB, along with Central Washington and Western Washington, both 3-2, have played the fewest games in the conference while Alaska Anchorage has played the most at 5-4.
 
FEELING 17 AGAIN: Junior guard Sven Jeuschede tied his career high with 17 points in last week's win over Chadron State. He previously scored 17 in two GNAC contests last season. In the win over the Eagles, Jeuschede hit a career-best five three point shots and added a layup to secure his total. In his first 17 point performance, the Roesrath, Germany native was perfect from the floor in a 107-66 win over Simon Fraser. Against the Clan, Jeuschede was 5-for-5 while making all three of his attempts from deep and finished the game 4-for-4 from the charity stripe.
 
I'LL PASS: The Yellowjackets average 19.8 assists per game this season which ties Western Oregon for the GNAC lead. Freshman point guard Kobe Terashima is the most prolific passer in the MSUB line up with 5.2 dimes per game ranking second in the conference but he is not the only 'Jacket making all the right choices. Terashima is joined by Green, Rollins and Denham in the top-20 on the GNAC assists rankings. MSUB's four representatives are the most of any team in the conference.
 
WHAT'S THE DEFENSE: Through the first five games of the season the Yellowjackets hold the conference's second-best scoring defense as they have allowed 64.2 points per game. They also lead the conference in both field goal percentage defense and three point percentage defense while holding opponents to just 37.6 percent from the floor. Opponents have shot 21.8 percent from deep this season giving MSUB the second best three point defense in the nation. Through five games opponents have made a combined 17 threes in five games while the 'Jackets have sunk 61 shots from deep.  The 'Jackets have yet to allow an opponent to shoot better than 50 percent from the field, MSUB has achieved the feat in three of their first five games.
 
BOARD TO DEPTH: Kamal Tall and Zack Rollins are currently tied as the leading rebounders for the Yellowjackets with 27 defensive rebounds and nine offensive rebounds each. Their average of 7.2 boards per game rank 7th in the GNAC but the 'Jackets have a host of players posting significant numbers off of the glass. As a team, MSUB ranks first in offensive rebounds and second in defensive rebounds giving them the second best rebounding margin plus-9.8 in the GNAC. Daniel Shedden and Zharon Richmond are 18th and 28th in the conference respectively as they provide crucial possessions off of the bench. Jeuschede is fourth on the team with 4.2 rebounds per game and Terashima rounds out the top-five with 4.0 a game.
 
THE LAST TIME: The Yellowjackets last won their GNAC opener in 2015-16 with a 76-59 win over Concordia in Portland. Last season MSUB recorded their first weekend sweep of the Alaska schools after picking up a pair of wins in Billings, the 'Jackets have never swept a weekend series in Alaska. Their last win in Anchorage came in 2014 when MSUB took a 75-62 victory and a season sweep from the Seawolves. MSUB last won in Fairbanks back in 2012 when they defeated the Nanooks 75-64.  
 
University of Alaska Anchorage Seawolves
Thursday, November 30 | 7:30 PM (Alaska) | Anchorage, AK
2017-18 Record: 5-4, 1-0 GNAC
Head Coach: Rusty Osborne (13th Season)
2016-17 Record: 21-8, 15-5 GNAC (2nd Place)
 
The Seawolves have the lone win in conference play after a 65-39 win over the Nanooks on Tuesday night. Senior forward Jacob Lampkin had a dominant performance with 22 points and 10 rebounds while hitting 9 of 10 shots from the field. Twelve Seawolves scored in the game and combined to shoot 51.1 percent in the game and shooting 8-for-22 from three.
 
Anchorage got off to a slow start after finishing last season 21-8 with a perfect 16-0 mark at home. They are 4-4 at home this season with their lone road game being a 70-69 win over Antelope Valley College in Lancaster, Calif. They hosted the final Great Alaska Shootout last week going 1-2 with a win over Santa Clara and losses to CSU Bakersfield and College of Charleston.
 
The Seawolves rank last in the GNAC with an average of 61.9 points per game, 10 points fewer than 10th place Alaska (72.3). However, Anchorage is at the top of the conference holding opponents to 62.2 points per game, two points better than MSUB's 64.2 opponent average. The 'Jackets will look to take advantage of a UAA offense that has hit just 26.1 percent of their shots from three while shooting 40.9 percent of the field.
 
Head coach Rusty Osborne is in his 13th season with the Seawolves and holds a 255-142 in Anchorage. He has coached four All-American while at UAA and was named the GNAC Coach of the Year after the 2007-08 season.   
 
University of Alaska Nanooks
Saturday, December 2 | 7:30 PM (Alaska) | Fairbanks, AK
2017-18 Record: 2-5, 0-1 GNAC
Head Coach: Mick Durham (7th Season)
2016-17 Record: 13-6, 8-12 GNAC (9th Place)
 
The Nanooks are coming off of their worst shooting performance of the season after hitting just 30 percent of their shots against Anchorage. They also turned the ball over 21 times against the Sewolves' defense while only collecting 12 assists in the game. Alex Baham led the Nanooks offense with 10 points after hitting 3 of 4 three pointers and converting on 1 of 2 free throw attempts.  
 
Alaska has been on the road for much of the early season after visiting Las Vegas, Anchorage and Bellingham, Wash. They're 0-2 at home, 0-1 in true road contests and 2-2 in neutral games. Their first win came in a high-scoring affair against Hawaii Pacific with the Nanooks pulling off a 97-90 win while making 17 three pointers. They also have a 108-60 win over Capilano University in which Alaska made 18 threes.
 
The Nanooks are third in the GNAC with 18.6 assists per game and rank fifth in assist to turnover ratio. UA makes 10.4 threes per game making them third in the conference behind Western Oregon (13.8) and MSUB (12.2). They're vulnerable on the glass with a negative-one rebounding margin as opponents have had the upper hand in four of their first seven games.
 
Mick Durham is in his seventh season with the Nanooks after previously serving as head coach for New Mexico State. Durham was the head coach at his alma mater, Montana State University for 16 seasons before moving on in 2006. He won 246 games with the Bobcats and currently is the winningest coach in Big Sky history. He led the Nanooks to the second best season in program history in 2014-15 as Alaska went 22-8, 15-5 GNAC and finished second in the conference standings.
 
FOLLOW LIVE: Live video and statistics will be available for all MSUB home matches and all GNAC road contests throughout the 2017 season, through MSUB's Stretch Internet portal.