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PLAYER OF THE WEEK San Jose State forward Marquin Chandler, a senior from Oakland, Calif. (George Washington), averaged 22.0 points and 7.5 rebounds as San Jose State won both of its games last week. Chandler scored 18 points, pulled down nine rebounds and blocked a school-record six shots in a 65-64 win over Montana State. He scored the game-winning basket with 1.2 seconds remaining. The victory snapped an eight-game losing streak for the Spartans. Chandler then scored 26 points, including eight of the teams final 10, in a 71-70 win at San Diego. The victory broke a 14-game road losing streak for San Jose State. It was the Spartans first win on the road since Feb. 15, 2003. It is Chandler's first career WAC Player of the Week award.
Others nominated:
Mustafa Al-Sayyad, Sr., C, Fresno State - scored 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in a 90-73 win at East Tennessee State. He notched his sixth career double-double by halftime of the game.
Chris Botez, Jr., C, Hawaii - averaged 13.0 points and 10.5 rebounds in a pair of victories last week. In his first career game, he scored 15 points and had 16 rebounds against Mississippi Valley State.
Paul Millsap, So., F, Louisiana Tech - scored a career-high 31 points and had 18 rebounds against Auburn. It was his third straight double-double.
Patrick Simpson, Sr., F, SMU - tallied 23 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in an overtime win at Montana State. The 23 points tied a career-high.
Omar Thomas, Sr., F, UTEP - averaged 23.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 2.3 steals in three games for the Miners. He had 25 points and a career-high 15 rebounds against Jackson State and added 26 points and 11 rebounds versus Arizona State. The double-doubles were the first two of his career.
WALLACE WINS 300TH Hawaii opened its season by winning its first two games giving head coach Riley Wallace his 300th victory as a head coach. Wallace is now 300-255 in 20 years as a head coach. In 18 years at Hawaii, Wallace is 285-228, the second winningest coach in WAC history.
MINERS PLACE SECOND IN LAS VEGAS UTEP opened its season in the four-game Las Vegas Holiday Invitational and went 3-1 in the tournament. The Miners beat Delaware State and Jackson State in El Paso before traveling to Las Vegas where they defeated Arizona State last Friday, 66-65. UTEP advanced to the title game where it lost to Southern Illinois, 68-62. Miners Omar Thomas and Will Kimble were named to the all-tournament team. Thomas averaged 21.0 points and 8.0 rebounds while Kimble was 11-of-12 from the field and averaged 8.3 points during the four games.
WAC TO CHANGE IN 2005-06 Over the last year, the WAC issued invitations to Idaho, New Mexico State and Utah State effective July 1, 2005, the same date that Rice, SMU, UTEP and Tulsa are moving to Conference USA. In mens basketball last year, Idaho was 14-16, New Mexico State was 13-14 and Utah State was 25-4.
1,000-POINT SCORERS The WAC has two players that have scored more than 1,000 points in their collegiate careers and both are from Rice: F Michael Harris (1,419); and G Jason McKrieth (1,118). SMU senior forward Patrick Simpson has 952 points and his teammate, junior guard Bryan Hopkins, has scored 921 in his career.
WAC ON ESPN/SPORTSWEST The WAC has a multi-year contract with both ESPN and SportsWest for coverage of WAC football and basketball. A minimum of 15 basketball games between the two networks are scheduled this season.
BRACKET BUSTER SATURDAY For the third year in a row, the WAC has partnered with ESPN and several other top college basketball conferences for Bracket Buster Saturday, a one-day mens basketball event matching potential NCAA tournament hopefuls against each other. All 10 WAC teams will be involved in this years event to be held on Feb. 19, 2005. ESPN and ESPN2 will present six games while five more games will be produced and distributed in the markets of the competing teams. The match-ups for Bracket Buster Saturday will be determined by ESPN in conjunction with the conferences on Sunday, Jan. 30, 2005.
2005 WAC TOURNAMENT The 2005 WAC Tournament will be held March 8-12 at the Lawlor Events Center in Nevada, Reno. Both the men and women compete during the same week. On the mens side, the seven, eight, nine and 10 seeded teams will play on Tuesday, March 8. The remaining eight teams will all play in the quarterfinals on Thursday, March 10 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.
NEVADA OWNS LONGEST HOME STREAK Nevada has won 17 home games in a row, the fourth longest streak in the nation. In conference games only, the Packs nine-game home winning streak is also the longest in the WAC.
NATIONAL RANKINGS No WAC teams are ranked in the top 25, but both Nevada and UTEP are receiving votes in the AP poll.
MILLSAP LED NATION IN REBOUNDING Sopohomore Paul Millsap finished last season averaging 12.5 rebounds per game, the best of any player in the nation. It marked the first time in WAC history that a player from the league led the nation in rebounding. Millsap had at least eight rebounds in every game last year and 10 or more in 23 of his 30 contests. Millsap is averaging 15.3 rebounds in his first three games this season.
HOME SWEET HOME The WACs 10 teams are a combined 15-3 (.833) at home this season. On the road and in neutral site games, the WAC is 6-5 (.545).
NON-CONFERENCE MARK The WAC is 21-8 (.724) in non-conference games this season, including a 17-8 (.680) mark against Division I teams. In 2003-04, WAC teams were 72-42 (.632) in non-conference games with a 61-41 (.598) 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).
HAWAII TOP TEAM OVER LAST FOUR YEARS Over the last four seasons, Hawaii is 69-30 (.697), the best record of any WAC team during that time. In conference games, Hawaii has won 35 games, the most in that same time period. The top five teams in wins (both overall and WAC) over the last four seasons:
Overall Record (Pct.) WAC Record (Pct.)
1. Hawaii 69-30 (.697) 1. Hawaii 35-19 (.648)
2. Nevada 63-36 (.636) 2. Nevada 33-21 (.611)
3. Tulsa 60-38 (.612) 3. Fresno State 32-22 (.593)
4. Fresno State 55-38 (.591) Tulsa 32-22 (.593)
5. Rice 53-41 (.564) 5. La. Tech 31-23 (.574)
TOP PLAYERS RETURNING A total of five players from both the all-WAC first and second-teams returned this year: Michael Harris, Sr., F, Rice; Filiberto Rivera, Sr., G, UTEP; Paul Millsap, So., F, Louisiana Tech; Jason McKrieth, Sr., G, Rice; and Omar Thomas, Sr., F, UTEP. Four of the five all-newcomer team honorees also returned from last year and include: Millsap, Rivera, Thomas and Nick Fazekas, So., F, Nevada. Millsap was last years WAC Freshman of the Year after averaging 15.6 points and a nation-best 12.5 rebounds per game.
STAT LEADERS BACK Statistically, five of the top 10 scorers returned for the 2004-05 season. SMUs Bryan Hopkins was third in the WAC in scoring last year with a 17.7 point per game average. Others coming back included: Michael Harris, Rice (17.5); Jason McKrieth, Rice (15.8); Paul Millsap, Louisiana Tech (15.6); and Omar Thomas, UTEP (15.5). Millsap was the leading returning rebounder with a 12.5 rpg average last season (1st in the nation), and UTEPs Filiberto Rivera returned after ranking third in the WAC in assists with 4.8 per game.
HARRIS NAMED PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR In a vote by the WACs head coaches and media, Rice senior forward Michael Harris was picked as the leagues preseason Player of the Year. Last season, Harris averaged 17.5 points and 8.9 rebounds in leading the Owls to a 22-11 record and a berth in the NIT.
FIVE IN POSTSEASON Last year, the WAC had five teams that made appearances in the 2004 postseason tournaments. It was the most since the 1999 season when the WAC placed eight teams as a 16-team conference. In its six previous seasons as a 10-team conference (1993-94-95-96-02-03), the most teams placed into the postseason had been four teams in 1994, 1996 and 2002.
FIVE WITH 20 For the first time in seven seasons as a 10-team conference, the WAC had five teams with 20 or more wins last year. Boise State, Hawaii, Nevada, Rice and UTEP all hit that mark. The last time the WAC had five 20-win teams came in 1998-99 when it was a 16-team conference. The WAC did have five with 20 twice as a nine-team league in 1987-88 and 1989-90.
UTEP HAD NATIONS BIGGEST IMPROVEMENT After a 6-24 record in 2002-03, UTEP finished last year with a 24-8 mark. The 17-game improvement ties the NCAA record (that began being kept track of in 1974) set by Mercer in 2002-03 (6-23 to 23-6).
TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Boise State Broncos (3-2, 0-0 WAC)In his first action since sitting out last year, Kenney Gainous scored six points and grabbed five rebounds in a 63-51 win over Portland State ... junior forward Tez Banks was suspended prior to the Portland State game ... sophomore guard Eric Lane sustained injuries after being a victim of assault last Wednesday night and will be out of the lineup for up to three weeks ... the Broncos finished last season with 23 wins, one shy of the school record ... Boise State had its first 20-win season since it went 21-8 in 1998-99 ... played a school record 33 games ... won 12 WAC games, one shy of its combined total in its first two years in the league ... was 6-3 in games decided by five points or less ... won a WAC-high 10 road games last season, setting a new school record.
Fresno State Bulldogs (2-0, 0-0 WAC)
Is 2-0 for the third time in the last four years ... has scored at least 80 points in consecutive games for the first time under head coach Ray Lopes ... the 90 points scored against East Tennessee State are the second most under the third year coach ... of the nine players that saw time against ETSU, six are freshman and sophomore JaVance Coleman is in his first year at the Division I level ... the Bulldogs have outrebounded its two opponents, 114-72, and lead the WAC in rebounding margin (+21.0) ... Fresno State was 3-8 in games decided by five points or less last year ... lost nine games at home a year ago for the first time since the 1989-90 season when it lost 10 contests.
Hawaii Rainbow Warriors (2-0, 0-0 WAC)
Overcame a 22-point second half deficit in the 72-65 win over Coastal Carolina on Friday ... committed just six fouls against Mississippi Valley State, the lowest in the programs history in the shot clock era ... UH has had at least 20 wins in two of the last three seasons ... has won 33 straight games when scoring 80 or more points ... lost more home games (3) last year than it did in the previous two seasons combined (2) ... Hawaii has won 54 of its last 59 games in Honolulu (91.5 percent) ... head coach Riley Wallace is in his 18th year with UH, the second longest stint in WAC history behind UTEPs Don Haskins (30 years) ... his 151 conference wins trails only Haskins 262 victories.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (1-2, 0-0 WAC)
Wayne Powell tied a career-high with 12 rebounds last week against Auburn ... the Bulldogs outrebounded Auburn, 45-36 ... Daevon Haskins dished out a career-high nine assists in that contest ... Haskins leads the WAC in assists with 6.3 per game ... sophomore Paul Millsap led the WAC in double-doubles with 20 last season and and has three this year ... Tech is averaging 16.0 assists per game after averaging 11.1 last season ... is last in the WAC in free throw percentage making just 24-of-51 shots (.471) ... Tech has not allowed its opponents to score 100 points in a game for 312 contests, the longest such streak in the WAC ... the Bulldogs are 19-2 in non-conference home games under head coach Keith Richard.
(RV/--) Nevada Wolf Pack (3-0, 0-0 WAC)
Is 3-0 for the first time since beginning the 2000-01 season with a 4-0 mark ... has won seven consecutive regular season games ... in the win at Georgia, sophomore Nick Fazekas scored a team-high 16 points and blocked four shots ... the pack led 13-2 to open the game against the Bulldogs ... Fazekas is second in the WAC in scoring with 23.3 points per game ... last year, its 25 wins tied for the most in school history as it was 25-8 in 1945-46 ... has won more games than the previous season in five consecutive years ... Nevada has outscored its opponents by 19.1 points per game at home during its current 17-game home winning streak ... the streak is a Division I school record for the Pack.
Rice Owls (2-1, 0-0 WAC)
Junior J.R. Harrison scored a career-high 15 points in the loss at Louisiana-Lafayette ... senior Michael Harris grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds in that game ... the Owls committed 31 turnovers in the game, their most since they had 35 against Tulsa on Feb. 14, 2000 ... both Michael Harris and Jason McKrieth have scored in double figures in all three games for the Owls ... Rice leads the WAC in three-point field goal percentage (.424) ... Harris has 35 career double-doubles, the most of any active WAC player ... last year, had back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since recording five straight from 1990-91 to 1994-95.
San Jose State Spartans (2-1, 0-0 WAC)
Has won two games in a row after losing lost 21 of its previous 22 games ... snapped its 14-game road losing streak with a 71-70 win at San Diego ... San Jose State was the only team in the WAC to not win a road game last year (0-12) ... Alex Elam scored a sesason-high 19 points in the win over San Diego ... Marquin Chandler leads the WAC in blocked shots with 2.7 per game ... SJSU has not scored 100 points in a game since beating Utah State, 101-85, on Jan. 25, 1979 (718 games).
SMU Mustangs (2-0, 0-0 WAC)
Is 2-0 for the first time since the 2001-02 season ... has not opened 3-0 since beginning the 2000-01 season 4-0 ... hosts No. 6 Oklahoma State tonight ... it is the first time a ranked opponent has played at SMU since the Mustangs lost to No. 25 Fresno State on Feb. 22, 2001 ... SMU has lost seven straight against Oklahoma State and has not beaten the Cowboys since 1985 ... the overtime win at Montana State last Monday was its first in a road opener since beating Lamar in 2000 ... the Mustangs have outrebounded its two opponents, 47.0-30.5 ... has won 33 of its last 34 games when holding an opponent to less than 60 points.
(RV/--) UTEP Miners (3-1, 0-0 WAC)
Led 13-5 in the game against Southern Illinois as Omar Thomas scored nine of his 18 points in the first three minutes of the game ... Filiberto Rivera added 15 points in the title game ... UTEP leads the WAC in free throw percentage (.743) ... has made more free throws (78) than its opponents have attempted (68) ... was the only team in the WAC last season to finish the season with more made free throws than its opponents attempted ... won 13 conference games a year ago, seven more than the combined total of the previous two seasons ... averaged a WAC-best 77.5 points per game ... won 18 more games than the previous year, setting a new school record and tying the NCAA record.
Tulsa Golden Hurricane (1-1, 0-0 WAC)Plays at Arkansas on Tuesday after a nine-day layoff ... senior Jarius Glenn is averaging 18.0 points and 12.5 rebounds in the teams first two games ... Seneca Collins leads the WAC in three-point field goals made per game (3.0) ... the Golden Hurricane are last in the WAC in field goal percentage (.390) ... Tulsa is 72-19 (.791) at the Reynolds Center, the best winning percentage at home of any WAC team in its current arena ... had its five-year streak of winning at least 20 games snapped last season ... every season that Tulsa has won 20 games, it has either played in the NCAA Tournament or won the NIT Championship.