SEATTLE – The Falcons will wait until Friday to join the festivities.
 
The pairings and game times for the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Tournaments have been set and both Seattle Pacific basketball teams enjoy the benefit of sitting out the opening round by virtue of their No. 2 seeds. They skip quarterfinal contests and advance directly to the semfinals, set for March 6 at Alterowitz Gymnasium in Billings, Mont.
 
The Falcons men and women each finished with 13-5 league records and both compiled 21 wins during the regular season.
 
"It's always important," coach Julie Heisey said of earning the first-round bye. "Just having a day of rest is a big deal, having a day for the kids to do homework is important. And physically, it makes a big difference to get rested and ready."
 
The SPU women finished in a second-place tie with Western Washington, but grabbed the two seed due to their sweep of the Vikings. Top-ranked Alaska Anchorage captured the women's regular-season crown with a 17-1 record.
 
The Seawolves will play the winner of Wednesday's opening round between No. 4 seed Simon Fraser and No. 5 Saint Martin's in Friday's second semifinal.
 
The first semifinal will match Seattle Pacific against the winner of the first-round game between No. 3 Western Washington and No. 6 Central Washington. That game is slated for Friday at 11 a.m. Pacific Time.
 
The men's tournament gets underway on Thursday with a pairing of third-seeded Central Washington and No. 6 Northwest Nazarene. The winner advances to play SPU at 4:15 p.m. PST in Friday's first men's semifinal. The Falcons defeated both of those teams last week at home.
 
Thursday's second game features No. 4 seed Alaska Anchorage against No. 5 Western Washington. The winner advances to play Western Oregon in Friday's second semifinal. WOU was the regular-season champion with a 15-3 record.
 
Despite the fact the Falcons were victorious in the last two GNAC men's championship games, Coach Ryan Looney believes this year's participants will be aiming to unseat somebody else.
 
"I don't think there's a target on us. To me, the target is on Western Oregon who won the regular-season conference title.
 
"The thing that we like is that we have a bunch of guys with experience in this setting. Combine that with a bye in the first round and we have a great opportunity."
 
The SPU men won their initial conference tournament title in 2013, beating regular-season winner Western Washington 72-70 on a last-second 3-pointer by Jobi Wall.
 
They repeated as GNAC Tournament champions in 2014 with another victory over the Vikings, this time by a 65-62 count.
 
The 2015 championship games will be played Saturday, Mar. 7 beginning with the women's game at 4:15 p.m. The men's game is scheduled to tip-off at 6:30 p.m.
  
The men's and women's GNAC Tournament winners receive the league's automatic berth into their respective NCAA Division II playoffs that begin on Mar. 13.

 
GNAC BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
March 4-7 at Billings, Mont. (Alterowitz Gymnasium)
All times listed are Pacific Standard Time.
 
WOMEN'S SCHEDULE
Wednesday, Mar. 4
4:15 p.m. -- #3 Western Washington vs. #6 Central Washington
6:30 p.m. -- #4 Simon Fraser vs. #5 Saint Martin's
 
Friday, Mar. 6
11:00 a.m. -- 3/6 winner vs. #2 Seattle Pacific
1:15 p.m. -- 4/5 winner vs. #1 Alaska Anchorage
 
Saturday, Mar. 7
4:15 p.m. -- Championship game
 
MEN'S SCHEDULE
Thursday, Mar. 5
4:15 p.m. -- #3 Central Washington vs. #6 Northwest Nazarene
6:30 p.m. -- #4 Alaska Anchorage vs. #5 Western Washington
 
Friday, Mar. 6
4:15 p.m. -- 3/6 winner vs. #2 Seattle Pacific
6:30 p.m. -- 4/5 winner vs. #1 Western Oregon
 
Saturday, Mar. 7
6:30 p.m. -- Championship game