On the eve of the Final Four, UAA has announced the final field for its 2015 Great Alaska Shootout.
On the men's side, the NCAA Division II Seawolves will host Division I foes Drexel, Loyola (Ill.), Middle Tennessee, UNC Asheville, San Diego, San Jose State and Toledo.
None of the seven Division I men's teams invited to the 38th annual Shootout made this year's national tournament, though two -- Loyola and Toledo -- were invited to the College Basketball Invitational, which Loyola won.
The four-team women's Shootout will feature host UAA as well as Division I teams George Mason, Pepperdine and Conference USA champion Western Kentucky. The Hilltoppers reached the NCAA tournament, losing in the opening round by two points to Texas.
Despite the lack of 2014-15 postseason success, UAA athletic director Keith Hackett said he's pleased with the caliber of teams in the field.
"We think the 2015 GCI Great Alaska Shootout field has the potential to be a who's-who among the rising mid-major programs in college basketball," Hackett said in a statement released Friday morning. "While there are no teams from the 'Power Five' conferences, we still have representation from several elite leagues, with the Colonial Athletic Association (Drexel), Missouri Valley (Loyola), and Conference USA (Middle Tennessee), among others."
The tournament will again be held at the Seawolves' new arena, the $109 million Alaska Airlines Center, which hosted the event for the first time in November.
"The GCI Great Alaska Shootout's move to the Alaska Airlines Center in 2014 gave this historic college basketball tournament new life and energy," Hackett said of the event, which will be held November 24-28.
Colorado State won the 2014 men's Shootout, which also included Mercer, Missouri State, Pacific, Rice, UC Santa Barbara, Washington State and the host Seawolves. None of the seven Division I men's teams in the field reached this year's NCAA Division I tournament, and the UAA men failed to reach the Division II tourney.
In the 2014 women's Shootout, Long Beach State defeated UAA 69-60 for the championship of a tournament that also included Yale and Boise State -- which later went on to become the only Shootout team to advance to a Division I national tournament. The Bulldogs, who earned a No. 15 seed by winning the Mountain West tournament, lost in the first round of the big dance to the Lady Vols of Tennessee.
The UAA women had arguably the most successful season of any team to participate in the 2014 Shootout. The Seawolves won the Great Northwest Athletic Conference regular season and tournament titles and spent several weeks ranked as the No. 1 team in NCAA Division II hoops. The Seawolves earned the right to host the West Regional, where their dreams fell short with a dramatic 64-63 loss to Point Loma in the first round at the Alaska Airlines Center.
2015 Great Alaska Shootout
WOMEN'S TEAMS:
UAA
Nickname: Seawolves
Location: Anchorage, Alaska
Website: GoSeawolves.com
Conference: Great Northwest Athletic Conference
2014-15 Overall/Conf. Record (Place): 29-2/17-1 (1st)
2015 Postseason: NCAA First Round
Head Coach: Ryan McCarthy, 3 seasons
Previous Shootout Appearances (Titles): All (1990, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009)
GEORGE MASON
Nickname: Patriots
Location: Fairfax, Virginia
Website: gomason.com
Conference: Atlantic 10
2014-15 Overall/Conf. Record (Place): 13-17/5-11 (t-10th)
2015 Postseason: None
Head Coach: Nyla Milleson, 2 seasons
Previous Shootout Appearances: None
PEPPERDINE
Nickname: Waves
Location: Malibu, California
Website: pepperdinesports.com
Conference: West Coast Conference
2014-15 Overall/Conf. Record (Place): 8-22/3-15 (9th)
2015 Postseason: None
Head Coach: Ryan Weisenberg, 2 seasons
Previous Shootout Appearances: 1984 (8th), 1997 (7th)
WESTERN KENTUCKY
Nickname: Lady Toppers
Location: Bowling Green, Kentucky
Website: wkusports.com
Conference: Conference USA
2014-15 Overall/Conf. Record (Place): 30-5/16-2 (1st)
2015 Postseason: NCAA First Round
Head Coach: Michelle Clark-Heard, 3 seasons
Previous Shootout Appearances (place): 1986 (3rd), 1988 (3rd)
MEN'S TEAMS:
UAA
Nickname: Seawolves
Location: Anchorage
Website: GoSeawolves.com
Conference: Great Northwest Athletic Conference
2014-15 Overall/Conf. Record (Place): 16-13/12-6 (t-3rd)
2015 Postseason: None
Head Coach: Rusty Osborne, 11 seasons
Previous Shootout Appearances: All (36-75)
DREXEL
Nickname: Dragons
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Website: drexeldragons.com
Conference: Colonial Athletic Association
2014-15 Overall/Conf. Record (Place): 11-19/9-9 (t-6th)
2015 Postseason: None
Head Coach: James 'Bruiser' Flint, 14 seasons
Previous Shootout Appearances: None
LOYOLA
Nickname: Ramblers
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Website: loyolaramblers.com
Conference: Missouri Valley Conference
2014-15 Overall/Conf. Record (Place): 24-13/8-10 (6th)
2015 Postseason: CBI Champion
Head Coach: Porter Moser, 4 seasons
Previous Shootout Appearances: None
MIDDLE TENNESSEE
Nickname: Blue Raiders
Location: Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Website: goblueraiders.com
Conference: Conference USA
2014-15 Overall/Conf. Record (Place): 19-17/9-9 (6th)
2015 Postseason: CIT First Round
Head Coach: Kermit Davis, 13 seasons
Previous Shootout Appearances: None
UNC ASHEVILLE
Nickname: Bulldogs
Location: Asheville, North Carolina
Website: uncabulldogs.com
Conference: Big South Conference
2014-15 Overall/Conf. Record (Place): 15-16/10-8 (t-6th)
2015 Postseason: None
Head Coach: Nick McDevitt, 2 seasons
Previous Shootout Appearances: None
SAN DIEGO
Nickname: Toreros
Location: San Diego, California
Website: usdtoreros.com
Conference: West Coast
2014-15 Overall/Conf. Record (Place): 15-16/8-10 (5th)
2015 Postseason: None
Head Coach: Lamont Smith, 1st season in 2015-16
Previous Shootout Appearances: 2009 (2nd)
SAN JOSE STATE
Nickname: Spartans
Location: San Jose, California
Website: sjsuspartans.com
Conference: Mountain West Conference
2014-15 Overall/Conf. Record (Place): 2-28/0-18 (11th)
2015 Postseason: None
Head Coach: Dave Wojcik, 2 seasons
Previous Shootout Appearances: None
TOLEDO
Nickname: Rockets
Location: Toledo, Ohio
Website: utrockets.com
Conference: Mid-American Conference
2014-15 Overall/Conf. Record (Place): 20-13/11-7 (2nd, West. Div.)
2015 Postseason: None
Head Coach: Tod Kowalczyk, 5 seasons
Previous Shootout Appearances: None
* Information provided by the UAA Sports Information Department