Burnaby, BC - The Simon Fraser University basketball teams are in action in a total of four games this weekend as the women head north to Alaska and the men travel to Montana and Washington.  Previews of each game are featured below and fans can tune into the games by following the links on the Clan's home page: athletics.sfu.ca 

Men vs Montana State – Billings
 
The Clan men will be hoping to start the New Year with a win, and will bring out their best in their 6:00pm match January 3.

SFU currently sits with a 0-1 Great Northwest Athletic Conference record and are coming off three consecutive losses, which will give them the determination required to best the Yellowjackets. 

MSU sits one place behind the Clan in the conference rankings and has lost their two GNAC match-ups so far this season, making both teams hungry for the win.

The Clan will need to play tough defence and avoid mistakes in this match if they wish to come out on top, as their turnover margin has been the lowest in conference play so far.

The Yellowjackets have the lowest scoring defence in the GNAC so far this season, so if the Clan is able to capitalize on their scoring opportunities created by guards Matt Raivio and Matt Staudacher, they will have a chance of shutting MSU out at home.
 
Women vs Alaska Fairbanks
 
The Clan ladies will suit up for the first time in 2013 as they face the Alaska Fairbanks Nanooks January 3 at 8:00pm.  

The Clan head into the match with a 2-0 GNAC record this season while the Nanooks sit 0-1, six spots behind the conference leading SFU team.

SFU will look to be fresh after their lengthy travel to the northern state, this being the start of their first road trip of the conference season. 

Senior forward Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe is coming off a record breaking performance in the Clan's last game, earning the GNAC record for most rebounds in a single game (24), and has the possibility to tie the GNAC career double-double record of 48 in this match.

The Clan is the conference's top shooting team (.465 FG) and should prove a tough battle for the Alaska women whose scoring defence ranks tenth in the GNAC.

The visiting team also has a height advantage over the Nanooks, and will use this, and their conference leading defence to shut out the home side as they aim to earn their tenth victory of the season.
 
Men vs Seattle Pacific
 
The SFU men will face seventh ranked Seattle Pacific January 5 at 7:00pm in what may be their toughest match of the season so far.

The GNAC leading Falcons have a 2-0 conference record this season, and have conceded only one of their ten regular season games so far.

The Clan will need to work SPU up and down the floor to tire their conference leading defence in order to free up some scoring opportunities.

SPU faces fifth ranked Western Washington two days before their meeting with the Clan, so if dealt a loss, their search for redemption could prove tough for SFU to tackle.

Either way the Clan will need to rely on tight defence, quick thinking and good movement to best this national powerhouse and earn a GNAC conference victory.
 
Women vs Alaska Anchorage
 
Following Thursday's match the SFU women will travel to Anchorage to meet the Seawolves in the teams' first of two matches this season, January 5 at 8:00pm.
 
Alaska Anchorage is last season's GNAC champion team, and boasts the highest scoring offence in the conference so far this year, with an average of 77 points per game.

This match should prove a tougher battle for the Clan, following their game in Fairbanks, and will hope to face a tired AAU who will be coming off a game against 20^th ranked Western Washington.

The Clan's top scorers Raincock-Ekunwe (16.3) and Erin Chambers (15.7) sit just behing AAU's top two, Sasha King and Alysa Horn who both hold scoring averages of 16.4 points per game, so the home side should test the conference leading Clan defence in this match-up.