NAIA Game of the Week Notes

1/25/2013 3:03:59 PM

NAIA Game of the Week
Division II Men's Basketball
No. 1 Eastern Oregon (22-1, 10-1 CCC) at No. 15 Northwest (Wash.) (19-4, 9-2 CCC)
Friday, Jan. 25 | 7:30 p.m. PST | NU Pavilion | Kirkland, Wash.
Live Stats | Live Video and Audio (Northwest)

• No. 1 Eastern Oregon travels to No. 15 Northwest (Wash.) for a key Cascade Collegiate Conference matchup Friday in the NAIA Men's Basketball Game of the Week. The Mountaineers currently lead the league with a 10-1 record, while Northwest rests one game back at 9-2.
• Friday marks the 37^th all-time meeting between the two sides with Eastern Oregon owning a 22-14 advantage in the series, including a victory in this season's meeting on Dec. 22, 77-63. The two teams have not split a season series since the 2009-10 campaign. In their inaugural meeting during the 1991-92 season, the Eagles claimed victory, 80-66.
• In their first meeting of the year, the two sides remained even until a 14-0 Eastern Oregon second half run made it a 72-51 advantage with 6:30 left. Northwest would pull as close as 11 late in the period, but failed to overcome the deficit. The Mountaineers, led by 19 points from Anthony Brown and Zach Anderson, shot 47.5 percent from the floor (29-of-61), while Northwest converted 43.4 percent (23-of-53) of its attempts. Brown added 14 rebounds for his then-first double-double of the season.
• Eastern Oregon, who received its first-ever No. 1 ranking on Jan. 8, enters the contest with a 22-1 overall record and is one-of-two one loss teams remaining in Division II (William Penn (Iowa), 22-1). The Mountaineers' win total is already three victories more than last season when they finished 19-11. Eastern Oregon's only loss of the season came at then-No. 12 Southern Oregon, 72-68, on Dec. 14.
• The Mountaineers have emerged as one of the NAIA's top rebounding teams, ranking amongst the top five in rebound margin (+11.6), total rebounds (1,033), rebounds per game (44.9), defensive rebounds per game (30.4) and offensive rebounds per game (14.5). Brown's 162 boards pace three individuals with 100-plus rebounds.
• Offensively, Eastern Oregon averages 80.0 points per game, which ranks 18^th in the NAIA, including back-to-back 100-point nights against NCCAA Multnomah (Ore.) (126-58 and 109-79) to open the season.
• Trent Roos leads a trio of double figure scorers at 14.0 points per game, but has been held below 10 points in two of his last three games. Additionally, Roos boasts a 40.8 percent 3-point field goal percentage (53-of-130) and a team leading 82.4 percent (56-of-68) free throw percentage.
• Defensively, Eastern Oregon is surrendering 65.7 points per game, while holding opponents under 40 percent (39.5 percent) from the field.
• Northwest has won five-straight en route to a 19-4 overall record after dropping back-to-back games at Eastern Oregon on Dec. 22 and against then-No. 14 Warner Pacific (Ore.), 77-65, on Jan. 4.
• The Eagles showcase arguably two of the NAIA's most consistent forwards in Michael Greene and Michael Russo. Greene averages nearly a double-double at 18.9 points and 9.0 rebounds per game. He has posted double figures in every game this season, including a career-high 32 points against Evergreen (Wash.) on Dec. 1. His 11 double-doubles ranks fifth nationally. Russo, who is second on the team in scoring at 17.4 points per game, paces the team and ranks eighth nationally with 69 total 3-pointers made. His 43.9 percent (69-of-157) 3-point field goal percentage is tied for the team lead with Nick Crossan.
• As a team, Northwest is shooting 46.0 percent from the field and 70.1 percent from the charity stripe. The Eagles' 217 3-pointers rank second in the NAIA.
• Northwest ranks 14^th in scoring defense (63.4) and is limiting opponents to a 41.7 percent success rate from the floor.