Seawolves basketball squads net historic wins

How long can the madness last? Today will give us a clue.

After defeating their opponents Wednesday in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Div. II Elite Eight tournaments, both UAA women's and men's basketball teams advanced yet again, this time to the storied Final Four status, whose games will be played this afternoon.

Today's semifinals pitch the 4th-ranked men against 10th-ranked Augusta State in Springfield, Mass., starting at 2 p.m. Alaska time, and the No. 9 women against unranked Northern Kentucky in Kearney, Neb., at 4 p.m.

Both games will be televised, and Seawolf fans across the country as well as in Iraq (that would be 1997 UAA alum Capt. Don Leaver of the USAF stationed near Tikrit) will be watching and urging the teams to further glory.

Leaver, the Air Force's WIT Detachment commander, told of his excitement in an e-mail message to University Advancement, and we quote: "SEAWOLVES WIN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I watch it here in Iraq with another person ...'high fives' all around here in Iraq !!!!! WOOOOO HOOOOO !!!!!! ... U-A-A ... U-A-A ... U-A-A ... can you hear me chanting this in Iraq at Midnight!!!!!!!!"

Cable Channel 19 (KCFT) will carry today's games. So will statewide GCI cable Channel 1. Anchorage residents without cable can tune in to Channel 35, according to the Anchorage Daily News.

Opportunities for public viewing are two: in the lounge area of the Student Union and at the Peanut Farm on Old Seward Highway at International Airport Road.

The games will also be broadcast live on radio. The women's game can be heard at 94.7 FM, the men's on KUDO 1080-AM.

March Madness is the real deal in Alaska this month because every step taken by the Seawolves since their twin March 17 victories in the Regionals is history making. Never before has a branch of the University of Alaska sent both its men's and women's hoops teams to the NCAA Final Four. The UAA men's squad of 1988 got this far, but never the women.

That all changed with yesterday's victories: The Seawolf women edged No. 18 Franklin Pierce 71-65 in overtime, while the men defeated No. 9 California-Pa., 55-52.

If either team wins today, it advances to its respective final match, the NCAA Division II championship game, to be played Saturday. The men would play at 10:30 a.m. Alaska time in a game that will be televised on CBS, the women at 2 p.m. in a game aired on ESPN-2.

For other information and updates, check the Seawolves' Web site and the NCAA's site. Meanwhile, read more in Sports, below.