Morgan Swaim | Staff Writer
As the season starts to wind down, every game is bigger than the last one. This proves to be no exception this coming Thursday, Feb. 22, as it is a crucial game where the Wolves basketball team will be hosting Western Washington, the only team this season that has beaten the Wolves.
The Western Washington Vikings defeated the Wolves 85-58 back on Dec. 2. It was a game early in the season, and since then, the Wolves now have an 18-game win streak.
“We are a more focused and mature team now, and we are ready to take on WWU Thursday,” said senior forward Tanner Omlid. This game is another huge matchup, and the team is focused and prepared.
“Definitely treating this game a little different with them being the one team to beat us so far. With our competitiveness we have on the team, this is a huge game for us, just like any other game we’ve competed in this season, ” senior guard, Janvier Alaby said.
The two teams have ran away with top spots in the GNAC division. With two games left in the regular season, the Wolves can clinch the conference with a win on Thursday, Feb. 22.
Coming into the game, both teams stand out in key statistical categories compared to other conference foes. Both teams lead the league in scoring, point margin and field goal percentage. This game will be a great stepping stone to get over before a hopefully lengthy postseason run. The GNAC Championships is just around the corner, starting March 1. Afterwards, the NCAA Regionals will start to take place on March 8.
This past week saw the Wolves streak improve to 18 and received votes as the number one team in the nation this past week, but not without some worry. On Thursday, Feb. 15, the team withstood a huge second half performance by Northwest Nazarene, winning 70-67. This past Saturday, Feb. 17, Central Washington was dealt a 89-59 loss.
Due to his huge performances the week prior, senior guard Ali Faruq-Bey was named conference player of the week.
Faruq-Bey commented on the anticipated Viking match up, “I don’t think we’re going to treat this game any different than any conference game we’ve played, just … added emphasis because we don’t want a share of the conference title, we want it outright.”
The big matchup on Feb. 22 against Western Washington will be at home at 7 p.m. On Saturday, Feb. 24, the Wolves host Simon Fraser to cap their weekend, with tip off also being at 7 p.m.
Contact the author at mswaim16@wou.edu
Photo by: wouwolves.com
