United Athletic Conference

TECH IN SECOND ROUND OF NIT After an opening round victory over Louisiana-Lafayette (83-63) and a first round win versus Vanderbilt (83-68), Louisiana Tech advanced to the field of 16 and the second round of the NIT. The Bulldogs will play at Villanova on Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. (ET). If Louisiana Tech defeats the Wildcats, it would play either Temple or Louisville. The winner of that game would then go on to the NIT Final Four at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

LOUISIANA TECH IN THE NIT This is Louisiana Techs fifth trip to the NIT (1986-88-89-92-02). The Bulldogs are 7-4 in the NIT. In its last appearance, Louisiana Tech lost in the first round at New Mexico, 90-84. Techs best finish ever was in 1986 when it won the consolation game versus Florida to take third place in the NIT.

NIT OPPONENTS A quick look at Techs upcoming foes: Villanova is 18-12 after its first round 84-69 victory over Manhattan. The Wildcats have four players averaging double figures including team-leader Gary Buchanan (18.0 ppg). Temple is 16-14 after winning its first round game at Fresno State, 81-75. The Owls have won 10 of its last 12 games. Louisville improved to 19-12 after its first round victory versus Princeton. The Cardinals won the game 66-65 after Reece Gaines hit the game-winning shot with five seconds remaining.

SAVOVIC AND ELY NAMED AP ALL-AMERICANS Last week, Hawaii senior guard Predrag Savovic and Fresno State senior center Melvin Ely were named AP honorable mention All-Americans. For Hawaii, its the Rainbow Warriors fourth ever All-American honoree. Ely is the eighth All-American at Fresno State and this year marked the second season in a row he had received honorable mention honors from AP.

TULSA ADVANCES TO SECOND ROUND For the eighth straight year a WAC team advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. No. 12 Tulsa defeated No. 5 Marquette, 71-69, in the first round of the East Regional in St. Louis. Greg Harrington hit a runner in the lane with 14.6 seconds left to give the Golden Hurricane the victory. Antonio Reed led Tulsa with 18 points, while Kevin Johnson added 14 points and Harrington chipped in 12. Tulsa played No. 4 Kentucky in the second round, but lost 87-82. Johnson and Reed tied for team-high honors with 18 points, but the Hurricane couldnt stop Kentuckys Tayshaun Prince who poured in 41 points. It was the sixth time Kentucky has beaten a WAC team in the tournament and fifth since 1993 when the Wildcats stopped Utahs run four times (1993, 1996, 1997 and 1998). This was Tulsas 13th trip to the NCAA Tournament (1955-82-84-85-86-87-94-95-96-97-99-00-02) and fourth as a member of the WAC. Two years ago, the Golden Hurricane advanced to the regional finals before losing to North Carolina, 59-55. Tulsa is now 11-14 (.440) in NCAA Tournament games.

HAWAII DROPS FIRST ROUND GAME VERSUS XAVIER With 3:07 left in the first half, Carl English hit a three-pointer to put Hawaii up 40-28. The Rainbow Warriors then scored just five points over the next 17:31 and lost 70-58 to Xavier in the West Regionals first round in Dallas. Hawaii made 6-of-29 field goals (20.7 percent) in the second half and was 4-of-6 from the free throw line for the game. Predrag Savovic scored a game-high 26 points for the Rainbow Warriors. This was Hawaiis fourth trip to the NCAA Tournament (1972-94-01-02) and third as a member of the WAC. The Rainbow Warriors are now 0-4 in the NCAA Tournament. Last year, Hawaii earned a bid after winning the WAC Tournament. The Warriors lost in the first round to Syracuse, 79-69.

THE WAC IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT The WAC is now 64-82 record (.438) in its teams 75 appearances in the NCAA Tournament. Last year, two teams made the tournament. Fresno State defeated California before losing to eventual Final Four participant Michigan State, 81-65. Hawaii was ousted in the first round by Syracuse, 79-69. In 1998, Utah advanced to the NCAA title game before losing to Kentucky, 78-69. It was the furthest a WAC team had ever advanced. UTEP is the only current WAC team to have won a National Championship, but did so prior to joining the WAC (1966).

FRESNO STATE LOSES TO TEMPLE Fresno States season came to an end after an 81-75 loss against Temple in the first round of the NIT. Damon Jackson notched a double-double with 23 points and 11 rebounds while Melvin Ely ended his career with 19 points and eight boards. Temple was led by Lynn Greers 37 points. This was Fresno States eighth trip to the NIT (1983-85-94-96-97-98-99-02). The Bulldogs are now 14-8 in NIT competition.

THE WAC IN THE NIT The WAC has a 69-57 record (.548) in its teams 57 appearances in the NIT. Last year, Tulsa won the NIT after beating UC-Irvine, Minnesota, Mississippi State, Memphis and Alabama. UTEP also played in last years NIT. The Miners beat McNeese State, but lost to Memphis in the second round, 90-65. Prior to last year, Brigham Young was the only WAC team to win the NIT (1966), while Fresno State (1983) and Tulsa (1981) each wore the NIT crown prior to WAC membership.

TARKANIAN RETIRES Fresno States Jerry Tarkanian announced last week that he is retiring after 38 seasons as a college coach. In 31 seasons of Division I coaching, Tarkanian compiled a record of 778-202 (.794). The 778 wins are the sixth most of all-time and his .794 winning percentage is the sixth best of all-time. His teams won at least 20 games in 29 of his 31 years, one shy of the all-time record. As head coach of UNLV in 1990, Tarkanian led the Runnin Rebels to a national championship by defeating Duke, 103-73. He will continue to be associated with Fresno State and will serve as a senior development consultant to the Save Mart Center, slated to open in November 2003. Tarkanian is a 1955 graduate of Fresno State.

NATIONAL RANKINGS Hawaii is ranked 25th in the final AP poll and 24th in the USA Today-ESPN poll while Tulsa is receiving votes in both. Below are three other rankings prior to the postseason and the WAC teams ranked in the top 100 as well as the WACs overall ranking among the other 32 conferences.

Sagarin CollegeRPI.com Collegiate Basketball News
WAC 10 10 10
Tulsa 30 33 35
Hawaii 40 27 29
Louisiana Tech 66 72 76
Fresno State 75 64 59
Nevada 96

BULLDOG NOTES More information on Louisiana Tech: This is the first postseason for the Bulldogs since the 1991-92 NIT ... Tech has never played against Villanova or Temple and is 2-1 versus Louisville ... Lousiana Tech has 20 wins for the second time under head coach Keith Richard and the 17th time in school history ... Tech has won 13 of its last 16 games and won 11 of its last 12 conference games ... the Bulldogs have scored 80 or more points in five of the last six games ... Tech is 8-0 when scoring 80 or more points this year ... four players average in double figures (Gerrod Henderson-17.3 ppg, Marco Cole-11.5 ppg, Antonio Meeking-11.3 ppg and Darrian Brown-10.0 ppg) ... Louisiana Tech is now 192-48 (.800) in the Thomas Assembly Center ... Tech has recorded four consecutive winning seasons ... the Bulldogs are 19-0 when holding opponents to under 70 points ... Louisiana Tech was 7-2 on the road in WAC games, tying Tulsa for the best mark in the WAC ... Tech is 6-4 in games decided by five or fewer points this season ... the six wins are tied with Hawaii and San Jose State for the most by a WAC team ... Louisiana Tech leads the WAC in rebounding margin (+9.0), more than double the second place team (Nevada, +4.0).

TULSA SECOND BEST OVER LAST THREE YEARS Over the last three seasons, Tulsa has won 85 games, tied with Cincinnati for second in the nation only behind Dukes 94 victories. Gonzaga is next with 81 wins during the past three years.

HAWAII WINS SECOND STRAIGHT For the second consecutive season, Hawaii won the Williams WAC Tournament played in Tulsa. The top-seeded Rainbow Warriors beat No. 9 San Jose State on Thursday, 71-56, No. 5 Nevada on Friday, 90-68, and No. 2 Tulsa in the championship on Saturday night, 73-59. It was Hawaiis third tournament title as the Rainbow Warriors also won in 1994 and 2001. For Tulsa, it was their third straight loss in the championship game as the Golden Hurricane were defeated by Fresno State in 2000 and Hawaii last year. The home team has now won the WAC Tournament just three times in the last 12 years.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM Hawaii placed two players on the Williams WAC All-Tournament team as selected by the media in attendance. Rainbow Warriors Predrag Savovic and Phil Martin each received all-tournament honors, while Tulsas Greg Harrington and Kevin Johnson and Fresno States Melvin Ely rounded out the five-player team. Savovic, a senior guard, earned Most Valuable Player accolades after averaging 24.7 points and 7.3 rebounds while shooting 15-of-18 (.833) from the line and 11-of-26 (.423) from three-point range in the three games. In the semifinals against Nevada, he scored a tournament-high 31 points and then had 28 in the championship versus Tulsa.

ATTENDANCE The mens tournament was attended by 32,119 fans during the five sessions (6,424/session). The title game drew a sellout of 8,355 to the Donald W. Reynolds Center in Tulsa. All of those numbers were increases from a year ago when the tournament was also held at the Reynolds Center. In 2001, 27,889 attended the five sessions and the title game drew 8,160.

TOP SCORERS The WAC has four players that have scored 20 or more points in at least 15 games this year. Fresno States Melvin Ely has reached that mark 21 times while SMUs Damon Hancock has hit it in 19 games. Boise States Abe Jackson has scored 20 or more in 16 contests this season and Hawaiis Predrag Savovic has 15 games with 20 or more points. Hawaii is 13-2 when Savovic scores 20, Fresno State is 12-9 when Ely scores 20 or more, Boise State is 9-7 when Jackson hits the mark and SMU is 10-9 when Hancock reaches 20.

TULSA TOPS IN SHOOTING Tulsa continues to lead the WAC in all three shooting categories. The Golden Hurricane is shooting 47.7 percent from the field, 75.3 percent from the free throw line and 40.5 percent from three-point range. Only once before has a team led the WAC in all three shooting categories. Brigham Young performed the trifecta during the 1987-88 season.

HOME RECORDS As a league, all 10 WAC teams have a combined home record of 104-49 (.680). In conference games only, home teams were 52-38 (.578).

ALL 10 WITH AT LEAST 10 For the second straight year, every team in the WAC has at least 10 victories. Only three other conferences in the nation also had every one of its teams record double digit victories this season: SEC, Colonial Athletic Association and Southern Conference.

ALL-WAC TEAMS ANNOUNCED The 2002 all-WAC teams as voted upon by the coaches were announced earlier this month. For the second year in a row, Fresno States Melvin Ely was named the Player of the Year. Rice forward Michael Harris earned Freshman of the Year honors and Hawaiis Riley Wallace was chosen the Don Haskins Coach of the Year. The rest of the teams can be found later in this release.

SAVOVIC NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN, MANCE EARNS ALL-DISTRICT HONORS Hawaii senior guard Predrag Savovic was named a third team Verizon Academic All-American last week after being named to the all-district team last month. Rices Omar-Seli Mance was named to the Academic All-District VI team last month. The teams were voted on by members of the College Sports Information Directors Association of America (CoSIDA).

FOUR EARN USBWA ALL-DISTRICT HONORS Last week, four WAC players were named to the United State Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) All-District teams: Louisiana Techs Gerrod Henderson (District VII), SMUs Damon Hancock (District VII), Boise States Abe Jackson (District VIII) and Hawaiis Predrag Savovic (District IX).

SIX NAMED TO NABC ALL-DISTRICT TEAMS Last month, six WAC players were named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) all-district teams. Louisiana Techs Gerrod Henderson (District 8), SMUs Damon Hancock (District 9), Fresno States Melvin Ely (District 13) and Hawaiis Predrag Savovic (District 13) were first team members. Boise States Abe Jackson and Fresno States Chris Jefferies were named to the second team in District 13. The players are now eligible for the NABC/Pontiac Division I All-American Team to be announced at the end of the season. Also, Hawaii head coach Riley Wallace was named the District 13 Coach of the Year.

NON-CONFERENCE MARK The WAC is 71-45 (.612) in non-conference games this season, including a 61-43 (.587) mark against Division I teams. Last year, WAC teams were 88-32 (.733) in non-conference games with a 77-32 (.706) record 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).

BOISE STATE REMOVES JENSEN Athletic Director Gene Bleymaier announced earlier this month that Rod Jensen was removed as head mens basketball coach. Jensen, who has one year remaining on his contract, was removed after posting a 13-17 record and a seventh-place finish in the WAC this season. The Broncos season came to an end Thursday night at the hands of Tulsa in the quarterfinals of the WAC Tournament. During his seven-year career as head coach at Boise State, Jensen compiled a 109-93 record but saw his team finish with losing records during two of the last three seasons. Jensens best year came during the 1998-99 season when he led the Broncos to a 21-8 record, a Big West Eastern Division Championship, and a runner-up finish in the Big West Conference Tournament. Jensen was the fifth basketball coach in Boise States 34 years as a four-year institution and the 16th head coach since the schools founding in 1932. Jensen spent 12 years as an assistant coach at Boise State before being named to replace Bobby Dye on August 17, 1995, as head coach. Jensens 109 victories rank second in Boise State history.

TULSA TO HOST 2003 TOURNAMENT On Jan. 17, the WAC announced that the 2003 Williams WAC Mens and Womens Basketball Tournament will be returning to Tulsa for a third consecutive year. It will be held in the Donald W. Reynolds Center on The University of Tulsa campus, March 12-15.

WILLIAMS IS TOURNAMENT SPONSOR For the second year in a row, Williams was 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.

ESPN/FOX SPORTS SOUTHWEST SCHEDULE The WAC has a multi-year contract with ESPN for coverage of football and basketball. Five games were scheduled for ESPN2 (including the mens tournament championship game) and ABC while Fox Sports Southwest telecast five mens games and four womens games including the womens WAC tournament final played on March 9. Fox Sports Net Southwest reaches over 6.8 million cable and satellite subscribers in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and parts of New Mexico.