Anchorage Daily News

When Rusty Osborne was promoted to head coach of the UAA men's basketball team four years ago, one of the first things he talked about was getting the Seawolves back to the top echelon of Division II programs.

They were there in the 1980s and 1990s before dipping at the turn of the century.

On Tuesday they made it back -- on paper at least.

UAA moved up five spots to No. 9 in this week's NABC/NCAA Division II Coaches Poll, marking the first time since 1998 that the Anchorage school broke into the top 10.

And although much of the attention is a result of UAA's 12-game winning streak, Osborne and his staff -- associate head coach Shane Rinner and assistant coach Bryan Weakley -- have been building toward this season during their four years together.

"I think we've got kids who have matured in the program and understand what we want," Osborne said Tuesday.

"When you have kids who are coachable, you become a much better coach. I would say this is the first group in four years that I think have all been coachable. We don't have somebody who's going against the grain."

That team-first mentality the players have adopted has lifted the Seawolves to rarified heights. Not only are they ranked in the top 10 for the first time in a decade, they are 5-0 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference for the first time since joining the league in the 2001-02 season.

And the 12-game winning streak is the second longest in UAA's 31-year history, trailing only the 14-game run by the 1984-85 squad.

The Seawolves (14-3, 5-0 GNAC) can inch closer to that school-record mark Thursday when they visit GNAC opponent Seattle University.

Much of UAA's success this season has been defined by excelling on the road and winning close games, two areas where Osborne's teams have struggled in the past.

These Seawolves are 5-0 away from home and 6-2 in games decided by six points or less. By comparison, last season's playoff team was 5-4 on the road and had a 2-4 record in games decided by six or fewer.

"When everybody is on the same page, it's going to help you in any situation, whether it's winning on the road, winning close games or winning period," Osborne said.

In the end, however, Osborne's focus is ultimately on winning at least one game in the NCAA Division II Tournament, something the Seawolves haven't done since 1993.

Osborne has been with the UAA program 17 seasons now -- 13 as an assistant coach -- and he feels the pain that goes with such a lengthy postseason drought.

UAA is 0-2 in the NCAA playoffs since Osborne took over the program, losing to West Region No. 1 Humboldt State 68-61 in 2007 and West Region No. 3 Chaminade 84-67 in 2006.

This year the Seawolves were preseason favorites to win the conference. Now they've won a dozen straight games and earned the program's highest ranking in a decade.

"It's satisfying up to this point, but if we were to fall off the edge of the cliff over the next 13 games then it's not going to be very satisfying at all," Osborne said.

"We're trying to live in the moment. I would be a little worried if we were playing our best basketball right now. You want to be playing your best basketball in March, and we're playing well enough to sometimes win comfortably but to at least get wins. Hopefully that will continue this week."

Both UAA teams No. 9

The UAA women also are ranked ninth nationally, giving the Seawolves two top-10 squads.

UAA is among three Division II schools to have both basketball teams in the top 10, joining Drury University of Missouri and the University of South Dakota.

The Drury men are fourth and women seventh, and South Dakota's men and women are both ranked sixth.

The UAA women (16-2, 5-1 GNAC) don't play until Saturday when the Seawolves travel to Fairbanks to play archrival UAF at 3 p.m.

Find assistant sports editor Van Williams online at adn.com/contact/vwilliams or call 257-4335.

UAA men on the air

THURSDAY: 6 p.m. vs. Seattle University. Radio: Live AM-1080.

SATURDAY: 5 p.m. vs. Montana State-Billings. Radio: Live AM-1080.

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