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PLAYER OF THE WEEK Fresno State center Mustafa Al-Sayyad, a senior from Khartoum, Sudan (Washington Academy), averaged 20.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and 4.0 blocks for the Bulldogs in a pair of wins. He opened the week with 18 points, six rebounds and four blocks in a 71-68 win at USC. On Saturday, he scored a game-high 22 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked four more shots in the victory over Sacramento State. It was his third double-double of the season. In both games, Al-Sayyad shot 8-of-10 from the field. It is Al-Sayyads first career WAC Player of the Week award.
Others nominated:
Jason Ellis, Sr., F, Boise State - scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds against Brigham Young.
Julian Sensley, Jr., F, Hawaii - scored a season-high 23 points in the win over Saint Marys. He played all 40 minutes and was 10-of-15 from the field with four assists.
Paul Millsap, So., F, Louisiana Tech - averaged 24.0 points and 10.0 rebounds in a split of two games. He also added four steals in the game against Texas-San Antonio.
Michael Harris, Sr., F, Rice - scored 31 points and had 10 rebounds in just 23 minutes in the win over Grambling State. He scored 29 of his 31 points in the first half of the game.
Patrick Simpson, Sr., F, SMU - posted a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds against TCU on Sunday.
Omar Thomas, Sr., F, UTEP - scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the win over Oklahoma Panhandle State.
Jarius Glenn, Sr., F, Tulsa - had 14 points and 11 rebounds against Prairie View A&M.
FRESNO STATE, HAWAII REMAIN UNDEFEATED Both Fresno State and Hawaii are perfect on the season. The Bulldogs beat both USC and Sacramento State last week to improve to 6-0. Their six-game winning streak is tied for the eighth longest in the nation. Hawaii won its only game last week against Saint Marys to go to 5-0 on the year. There are 16 other teams in the nation without a loss this year.
PACK HOSTS TOURNAMENT Nevada hosts the Dodge Holiday Classic this Friday and Saturday. The tournament features Eastern Illinois, Florida Atlantic and Idaho State. The Pack will play Florida Atlantic on Friday night and then one of the other two teams on Saturday. In last years tournament, Nevada beat Alabama State and then defeated Kansas, 75-61, to take the title.
SENSLEY, GLENN LEAD TEAMS Hawaiis Julian Sensley and Tulsas Jarius Glenn each lead their teams in scoring, rebounding and assists. Sensley averages 16.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game while Glenn averages 17.2 points, 9.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. In the WAC statistics, Glenn is sixth in scoring and third in rebounding while Sensley is eighth in both scoring and rebounding. The two forwards are tied for seventh in the WAC in assists. Five other schools feature players that lead their teams in two of the three categories:
Paul Millsap, So., F, Louisiana Tech (21.6 ppg, 12.4 rpg)
Nick Fazekas, So., F, Nevada (20.1 ppg, 7.1 rpg)
Michael Harris, Sr., F, Rice (19.0 ppg, 11.2 rpg)
Marquin Chandler, Sr., F, San Jose State (18.9 ppg, 8.3 rpg)
Omar Thomas, Sr., F, UTEP (19.4 ppg, 7.3 rpg)
MILLSAP SECOND IN REBOUNDING Louisiana Tech forward Paul Millsap dropped to second nationally in this weeks rebounding statistics. The sophomore is averaging 12.4 rebounds per game. Last year, he became the first WAC player to finish the season as the nations leading rebounder with 12.5 boards per game.
WAC TRIO RANKED THRICE In this weeks NCAA rankings, three WAC players are ranked in three different statistical categories. Louisiana Tech sophomore Paul Millsap is 10th nationally in scoring with 21.6 points per game, 2nd in rebounding (12.4 rpg) and 40th in field goal percentage (.602). He leads the WAC in both scoring and rebounding. Rice senior Michael Harris is 42nd in scoring (19.0 ppg), 6th in rebounding (11.2 rpg) and 19th in field goal percentage (.640). Fresno State senior Mustafa Al-Sayyad is 48th in rebounding (9.0 rpg), 22nd in field goal percentage (.635) and 44th in blocks (2.2 bpg).
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 three players that have scored more than 1,000 points in their collegiate careers: Rice senior forward Michael Harris (1,470); Rice senior guard Jason McKrieth (1,151); and SMU senior forward Patrick Simpson (1,005). SMU junior guard Bryan Hopkins has scored 962 while Tulsa senior forward Jarius Glenn has 920.
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.
HAWAII OWNS LONGEST HOME STREAK With Nevadas 18-game home winning streak coming to an end last week, Hawaii now owns the WACs longest streak at eight in a row. In conference games only, Nevada has a nine-game home winning streak, the longest in the WAC.
NATIONAL RANKINGS No WAC teams are ranked in the top 25, but Hawaii is receiving votes in the AP poll. The top two WAC teams in the CollegeRPI.com ratings are Hawaii (38) and Rice (56).
HOME SWEET HOME The WACs 10 teams are a combined 29-8 (.784) at home this season. On the road and in neutral site games, the WAC is 9-15 (.375).
NON-CONFERENCE MARK The WAC is 39-23 (.629) in non-conference games this season, including a 33-23 (.589) 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 72-30 (.706), 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 72-30 (.706) 1. Hawaii 35-19 (.648)
2. Nevada 64-39 (.621) 2. Nevada 33-21 (.611)
3. Fresno State 59-38 (.608) 3. Fresno State 32-22 (.593)
4. Tulsa 61-40 (.604) Tulsa 32-22 (.593)
5. Rice 55-41 (.573) 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 (4-3, 0-0 WAC)
Opens a seven-game homestand (the longest of any WAC team this season) on Wednesday night when it hosts Eastern Washington ... wont play on the road again until Jan. 13 when it travels to Fresno ... has a 26-6 record against Eastern Washington but has lost the last two meetings ... senior forward Jason Ellis has scored 20 or more points in back-to-back games for the first time in his career ... Ellis has 754 rebounds and needs 52 to become the schools all-time leader ... he has 15 career double-doubles, the third most of any active WAC player ... Ellis has started 69 straight games, the longest active streak in the WAC ... the Broncos finished last season with 23 wins, one shy of the school record.
Fresno State Bulldogs (6-0, 0-0 WAC)
Is 6-0, matching the third-best start in program history ... has not been 7-0 since winning its first 10 during the 1980-81 season ... features a roster with nine freshmen and 10 newcomers ... returns forward Dreike Bouldin on Saturday as the senior missed the first six games while attending to his academics ... Bouldin averaged 10.3 ppg in the teams final eight games last season ... beat Sacramento State on Saturday, its 22nd straight win against the Hornets ... sophomore JaVance Coleman leads the WAC in three-point field goals made per game (2.33) ... the Bulldogs lead the WAC in scoring margin (+17.3 ppg) and in two-point field goal percentage (.538) ... has made more free throws (97) than its opponents have attempted (79).
(RV/--) Hawaii Rainbow Warriors (5-0, 0-0 WAC)
Is 5-0 for the seventh time in school history and first since the 1997-98 season ... has not started 6-0 since an 11-0 start in 1973-74 ... has won its last four games by a total of 17 points ... Julian Sensley has played in every minute of three of five games ... is off until Dec. 20 when it hosts Long Beach State in the first round of the 41st Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic ... UH has had at least 20 wins in two of the last three seasons ... has won 34 straight games when scoring 80 or more points ... Hawaii has won 56 of its last 61 games in Honolulu (91.8 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 (3-4, 0-0 WAC)
Sophomore Paul Millsap scored 30 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and had four steals in the loss at Texas-San Antonio ... Daevon Haskins tied a career-high with nine assists versus UTSA ... Millsap has never had less then seven rebounds in a game ... Millsap led the WAC in double-doubles with 20 last season and has five this year ... Tech is last in the WAC in free throw percentage making just 81-of-152 shots (.533) ... Tech has not allowed its opponents to score 100 points in a game for 316 contests, the longest such streak in the WAC ... the Bulldogs are 20-2 in non-conference home games under head coach Keith Richard ... Tech is 208-54 (.794) at the Thomas Assembly Center, the best winning percentage at home of any WAC team in its current arena.
Nevada Wolf Pack (4-3, 0-0 WAC)
Sophomore Kyle Shiloh scored a career-high 11 points against Toledo last week but was held scoreless in Saturdays game against Pacific ... had its school-record 18-game home winning streak snapped against Pacific ... was 2-of-15 from three-point range in that three-point loss ... five players scored in double figures in the game ... the Pack has outshot its opponents in six of seven games ... sophomore Nick Fazekas is second in the WAC in scoring with 20.1 points per game ... he leads the WAC in free throw percentage (.861) ... freshman Ramon Sessions leads the WAC in assists with 6.14 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.
Rice Owls (4-1, 0-0 WAC)
Hosts Lamar on Thursday night ... hasnt played since scoring a school-record 113 points in a win over Grambling State on Dec. 6 ... it is the only 100-point game for a WAC team this year ... senior Michael Harris scored a career-high 31 points in that game while senior Jason McKrieth added 21 ... both Harris and McKrieth have scored in double figures in all five games for the Owls ... Harris has had a double-double in three straight games and four of five this season ... Harris has 37 career double-doubles, the most of any active WAC player ... Rice leads the WAC in three-point field goal percentage (.473) ... has made more free throws (106) than its opponents have attempted (71).
San Jose State Spartans (3-4, 0-0 WAC)
Scored just 40 points in the loss at Georgetown, its lowest output since scoring 39 against Portland State on Dec. 7, 1999 ... has held all three opponents it has beaten to under 40 percent from the field ... has been outrebounded by at least 10 boards in three straight games ... Marquin Chandler has recorded double-doubles in three of his last four games ... Chandler has reached double figures in scoring in eight straight games ... he scored a game-high 15 points and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds in the loss at Georgetown ... SJSU has not scored 100 points in a game since beating Utah State, 101-85, on Jan. 25, 1979 (722 games).
SMU Mustangs (3-3, 0-0 WAC)
Is the only team in the WAC with four players who average 10 or more points per game (Patrick Simpson, 14.5; Eric Castro, 11.3; Bryan Hopkins, 11.3; and Justin Isham, 10.7) ... senior Patrick Simpson scored 14 points against TCU to become the 32nd Mustang to score 1,000 points in his career and currently has 1,005 ... both Simpson (14 points, 10 rebounds) and Eric Castro (12 points, 13 rebounds) recorded double-doubles in the TCU game ... Bryan Hopkins was 1-of-8 from three-point range in that game ... is 3-0 when outshooting its opponents ... has won 34 of its last 35 games when holding an opponent to less than 60 points.
UTEP Miners (5-2, 0-0 WAC)
UTEP plays at New Mexico State on Wednesday and then hosts the Aggies on Saturday ... it will be the Miners first true road game of the year ... has scored under 70 points in five straight games after reaching 80 in three of its first four ... senior guard Filiberto Rivera has missed the last three games due to an ankle injury but is expected to return Wednesday ... Omar Thomas has scored at least 10 points in 11 straight games, tied with Louisiana Techs Paul Millsap for the longest such active streak in the WAC ... UTEP leads the WAC in free throw percentage (.738) ... has made more free throws (118) than its opponents have attempted (111) ... won 18 more games last year than the previous year, setting a new school record and tying the NCAA record.
Tulsa Golden Hurricane (2-3, 0-0 WAC)
The 53-point win over Prairie View A&M is the third largest in the Reynolds Center ... the Reynolds Center record is 69 set against Prairie View (2000) and the school record is 91 also set against Prairie View (1995) ... Tulsa had 60 rebounds in the game, setting a Reynolds Center record ... senior Jarius Glenn has 920 points and 471 rebounds in his career and is looking to become the 14th Tulsa player to reach 1,000 points and 500 rebounds ... 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.