Weekly Men's Basketball Notes (Dec. 17) - United Athletic Football Conference Skip To Main Content

Members

Weekly Men's Basketball Notes (Dec. 17)

Bookmark and Share


Related Material
Weekly Notes.pdf (383 KB)

PLAYER OF THE WEEK Boise State guard Bryan Defares, a junior from Amsterdam, Holland (Tamalpais [Calif.] HS), scored a career-high 21 points at Wyoming last Monday and then poured in 28 points in a 75-70 win at Idaho on Saturday. In the first half of the Idaho game, Defares scored 18 of Boise State's 31 points. For the week, he averaged 24.5 points and 6.0 rebounds. It was Defares first ever WAC player of the week award and second for a Boise State player this season.

Other nominations Other player of the week nominations included:
Damon Jackson, Sr., G, Fresno State - scored 31 points in two games last week. In a win over Pacific, Jackson scored 14 points to go along with five assists and four steals. In a 71-61 loss at Oklahoma State, he scored a game-high 17 points and made five three-pointers. For the week, he averaged 15.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals.
Kevin Johnson, Sr., F, Tulsa - averaged 19.5 points, 9.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocks in a split of two games last week. Against 20th-ranked Kansas, he scored a team-high 23 points in 27 minutes and added six rebounds. He then scored a team-high 16 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in a win over Southwest Missouri State. For the week, he shot 16-of-29 (.552) from the field and 6-of-7 (.857) from the free throw line.

HOME SWEET HOME The WACs 10 teams are a combined 20-6 (.769) at home so far this season. On the road, its a completely different story as the WAC is 7-20 (.350). In neutral site games, the WAC is 2-0 as Tulsa won both games back in November. Last week, the WAC played 11 road games and went 2-9 with Boise State beating Idaho and Tulsa winning at Southwest Missouri State. This week, the WAC hosts 15 non-conference opponents and play on the road in only two contests: SMU at Appalachian State and UTEP at New Mexico State.

TOP MATCHUPS This week, the WAC has five games scheduled against teams that have won six games this year. On Wednesday night, UTEP travels to New Mexico State (6-1) while Boise State hosts Eastern Washington (6-2). On Thursday, Tulsa hosts cross-town rival Oral Roberts (6-1). Saturday night, Baylor (6-1) travels to SMU while Hawaii hosts New Orleans (6-1) in the second day of the Adidas Festival.

TULSA SECOND BEST OVER LAST FOUR SEASONS Since the start of the 1999-2000 season, Tulsa has won 90 games, the second most in the nation behind Dukes 100 victories. Cincinnati is third with 89 while Gonzaga has 88.

HAWAII OWNS LONGEST HOME STREAK Hawaii has the WACs longest home winning streak at 14 in a row. The WACs second longest current home winning streak is eight games by Louisiana Tech.

1,000-POINT SCORERS The WAC has six players that have scored more than 1,000 points in their collegiate careers: Terrance Green, G, Nevada (1,294); Quinton Ross, G, SMU (1,276); Kevin Johnson, F, Tulsa (1,184); Antonio Meeking, F, Louisiana Tech (1,121); Roy Smallwood, F, UTEP (1,117); and Dante Swanson, G, Tulsa (1,032).

NATIONAL RANKINGS Tulsa is ranked 22nd in both the AP and ESPN-USA Today polls. Hawaii also received votes in the coaches poll.

NON-CONFERENCE MARK The WAC is 29-26 (.527) in non-conference games this season, including a 24-26 (.480) mark against Division I teams. Last year, WAC teams were 71-46 (.607) in non-conference games with a 61-44 (.581) mark against Division I teams. The WACs best record ever against non-conference opponents came during the 1974-75 season when it was 73-22 (.768).

2003 WILLIAMS WAC TOURNAMENT The 2003 Williams WAC Tournament will be held March 11-15 at the Donald W. Reynolds Center in Tulsa, Okla. Both the men and women compete during the same week. On the mens side, the seven, eight, nine and ten seeded teams will play on Tuesday, March 11. The remaining eight teams will all play in the quarterfinals on Thursday, March 13 with the top seed competing versus the winner of the Tuesday eight-nine game, the No. 2 seed vs. the winner of the seven-10 game, the No. 3 seed vs. No. 6 and No 4 vs. No. 5. The winners will play in the semifinals on Friday and the championship game will be Saturday night.

WILLIAMS IS TOURNAMENT SPONSOR For the third year in a row, Williams will be the WACs tournament sponsor. Williams, through its subsidiaries, connects businesses to energy, delivering innovative, reliable products and services. Williams information is available at www.williams.com.

FRESNO STATE, NEVADA TO HOST FUTURE WAC TOURNAMENTS Earlier this fall, Fresno State was selected to host the 2004 WAC Tournament while Nevada will host the tournament in 2005. In 2004, the tournament will be played in the brand new Save Mart Center on the Fresno State campus. The following year, it will be held in Nevadas Lawlor Events Center.

ESPN/FOX SPORTS SOUTHWEST SCHEDULE The WAC has a multi-year contract with ESPN for coverage of football and basketball. Four games were scheduled for ESPN/ESPN2 (including the mens tournament championship game) while Fox Sports Net will telecast six mens games and four womens games including the womens WAC tournament final.

BRACKET BUSTER SATURDAY The WAC and four of its teams have partnered with ESPN and several other top college basketball conferences for Bracket Buster Saturday, a new one-day, nine-game mens basketball event matching potential NCAA tournament hopefuls against each other. Bracket Buster Saturday will be played annually beginning with the inaugural event February 22, 2003. ESPN and ESPN2 will present five live games highlighted by the only predetermined game for 2003 featuring two teams that have reached the Elite Eight in recent years: Tulsa (2000) at Gonzaga (1999). In addition to those five, there will be four games produced and distributed in the markets of the competing teams. The 18-team field will feature four teams from the WAC (Fresno State, Hawaii, Louisiana Tech and Tulsa), Mid-American Conference and Missouri Valley Conference and three from the Horizon League, plus UC Santa Barbara from the Big West Conference, Western Kentucky from the Sun Belt Conference and Gonzaga from the West Coast Conference. The match-ups for Bracket Buster Saturday will be determined by ESPN in conjunction with the conferences on Monday, Feb. 3, 2003.

TEAM NOTES Information on the mens basketball teams in the WAC:

Boise State - the Broncos swept their home-and-home series with Idaho winning at Moscow, 75-70 ... Boise State shot a season-high 49.2 percent in the game against the Vandals ... the Broncos play its next five games at home after finishing up a three-game road trip where they went 2-1 ... C.J. Williams leads the WAC with 20 three-point field goals ... Boise State has not scored 100 points since beating U.S. International, 106-82, during the 1985-86 season (476 games).

Fresno State - the Bulldogs began the season 5-0 for the sixth time in school history before losing game six on Sunday against Oklahoma State ... the 5-0 start tied for the fourth-best in program history ... the Bulldogs take on Centenary on Friday, a team that has won four of its last five games ... current assistant coach Arturo Ormond was an assistant at Centenary the past three seasons ... Fresno State plays six of its next seven games at home ... the Bulldogs are tied for first in the WAC in scoring defense (62.5 points/game) ... Travis DeManby has attempted 29 field goals, 26 of which came from behind the three-point line ... the Bulldogs lead the WAC in free throw percentage (.808) and rebounding margin (+6.2 per game) Damon Jackson is tied for the WAC lead in three-pointers made per game (3.0) ... Fresno State is 106-20 (.841) at Selland Arena since the 1995-96 season ... this is the final season at Selland Arena for Fresno State as the Bulldogs will play in the Save Mart Center next year.

Hawaii - the San Diego State game was the only non-conference road game that UH will play until Feb. 22 when it plays on the road in ESPNs Bracket Buster Saturday ... Hawaii plays its next five games at home ... Mark Campbell leads the WAC in assists with 5.67 per contest ... Carl English is tied for the WAC lead in three-pointers made per game (3.0) ... Jason Carter leads the WAC in three-point shooting percentage (.538) ... Phil Martin has hit 71.4 percent of his field goals, the best in the WAC ... the Rainbow Warriors lead the WAC in scoring with 76.7 points per game ... UH has made 24-of-52 (.462) three-point shots to lead the WAC ... the 8.0 treys made per game is tops in the conference ... the Rainbow Warriors also lead the WAC in field goal percentage (.489) ... UH has won 23 of its last 28 games (.821) ... Hawaii has won 14 straight home games and 25 of its last 26 in Honolulu ... in addition, UH has won 16 straight WAC home games dating back to 2000-01, the longest current streak in the conference.

Louisiana Tech - Marcelle Davis has made all eight of his free throw attempts on the season ... Tech plays its next two games at home after opening the season with three of four on the road ... Louisiana Techs opponent tonight is Harding ... the 6-0 Bisons are averaging 96.2 points per game ... the Bulldogs are last in the WAC in scoring with 57.5 points per game ... Louisiana Tech is 15-0 at home against non-conference opponents under head coach Keith Richard ... Tech has won 11 of its last 12 conference games.

Nevada - the Wolf Pack plays its last three non-conference games at home after opening with five of their first seven on the road ... four of the Packs five losses have come by five or less points ... Nevada is 1-4 in games decided by five points or less ... the 2-5 start is the worst for Nevada since going 1-6 in 1999-2000 ... Nevada shot just 48 percent (10-of-21) from the free throw line at Arizona State last Tuesday ... Nevada was outrebounded for the first time in its last game against Santa Clara, 41-30 ... Jair Veldhuis was dismissed from the team last week ... Veldhuis, a transfer from Villanova, never suited up for the Wolf Pack.

Rice - the Owls are 3-0 at home, but 0-2 on the road ... Rice finishes up an 11-day break for fall semester final exams this week and returns to action on Dec. 18 against Saint Edwards ... the Owls play four of its next five at home ... Rice has won its three home games by an average of 16.3 points ... Rice leads the WAC in steals with 10.0 per game ... head coach Willis Wilson is tied with Don Suman for the most victories at Rice (131).

San Jose State - Oudie Baker recorded two double-doubles last week and leads the WAC with three on the season ... Baker averaged 23.5 points and 10.5 rebounds last week ... the Spartans host Pacific on Saturday, a team that Nevada beat by 29 and Fresno State beat by 20 earlier this season ... Anotnio Lawrence leads the WAC in steals with 2.5 per game ... San Jose State is last in the WAC in free throw percentage (.555) ... SJSU has not scored 100 points in a game since beating Utah State, 101-85, on Jan. 25, 1979 (665 games).

SMU - junior Quinton Ross has scored in double figures in the last 27 games, currently the longest streak in the WAC ... Ross leads the WAC in scoring with 24.6 points per game and is the only player averaging more than 20 points a game ... the Mustangs lead the WAC in blocked shots with 5.8 per game.

UTEP - Justino Victoriano leads the WAC in rebounding with 9.0 per game ... freshmen John Tofi and Giovanni St. Amant lead the Miners in scoring with 13.6 and 13.2 points per game, repsectively ... only five UTEP freshmen have ever finished the season averaging in double figures ... the last one to do so was senior Roy Smallwood (13.4 ppg) ... the Miners have lost 16 road games in a row dating back to Feb. 24, 2001, when it won at Rice, 59-52 ... UTEP was the only WAC team to not win a road game last year ... UTEP has a four-game losing streak, the longest in the WAC ... the Miners have been off since Dec. 7 when they lost to New Mexico State ... UTEP returns to action against NMSU on Dec. 18 in Las Cruces ... after the New Mexico State game, UTEP will play its next five games at home ... UTEP will honor Bobby Joe Hill, who passed away on Dec. 8, prior to the Tennessee State game on Saturday.

Tulsa - senior Antonio Reed missed the Southwest Missouri State game with an injury ... TUs next three games are at home ... the Hurricane takes on Oral Roberts on Thursday and have won 23 of the last 26 games between the two teams ... Tulsa has won 17 of its last 21 games (.810) ... the Golden Hurricane are tied for the WAC lead in scoring defense (62.5 points per game) ... last year, senior guard Dante Swanson led the WAC and the nation in three-point field goal percentage (.490) ... he is 14-of-29 (.483) from three-point range this year ... Kevin Johnson leads the WAC in blocks with 2.0 per game ... the current five-member senior class has a record of 90-24 (.789) ... Tulsa has sold out 29 of its 60 games at the Reynolds Center where it has gone 51-9 (.850), the best winning percentage at home of any WAC team in its current arena ... every season that Tulsa has won 20 games, it has either played in the NCAA Tournament or won the NIT Championship.