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Paul Millsap
Louisiana Tech |
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PLAYER OF THE WEEK Boise State forward Jason Ellis, a senior from Kent, Washington (Kentridge HS), tied a career-high with 23 points and grabbed seven rebounds in a 70-67 win at Idaho. Ellis was 10-of-12 from the field (.833) and 3-of-3 from the free throw line. He also added two blocks and a steal in the victory. Ellis became the first player in the rivalry to complete a four-year career with an undefeated record (8-0) against the other team. It is Ellis first career WAC Player of the Week award.
Others nominated:
JaVance Coleman, So., G, Fresno State - averaged 20.5 points and 8.5 rebounds in two games and was named the MVP of the McCaffrey Classic. He scored a career-high 21 points in the win over Mississippi Valley State.
Julian Sensley, Jr., F, Hawaii - averaged 16.0 points and 11.5 rebounds in two wins. He had 17 points and 11 rebounds against Southern Illinois before scoring 15 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in a win at Saint Louis
Corey Dean, Sr., G, Louisiana Tech - averaged 12.0 points in two games including a team-high 17 in a win over Texas-San Antonio.
Nick Fazekas, So., F, Nevada - averaged 21.0 points and 9.5 rebounds in a split of two games last week. Against UNLV, he scored a game-high 25 points and added 10 rebounds for his ninth career double-double.
Michael Harris, Sr., F, Rice - had a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds in a one-point win over Houston.
Eric Castro, Sr., C, SMU - averaged 10.7 points and 5.7 rebounds in three games for the Mustangs. For the week, he was 14-of-20 (.700) from the field.
BULLDOGS WIN McCAFFREY CLASSIC In the only regular season tournament played by a WAC team last week, Fresno State won its own McCaffrey Classic. The Bulldogs beat Grand Canyon on Friday night, 63-53, and then defeated Mississippi Valley State on Saturday, 80-65. It was the 13th McCaffrey Classic title for Fresno State. Sophomore JaVance Coleman was named the MVP of the tournament after averaging 20.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game.
MILLSAP LEADS NATION IN REBOUNDING Louisiana Tech forward Paul Millsap is beginning where he left off last year. The sophomore leads the nation in rebounding with 13.4 boards per game. Last year as a freshman, Millsap became the first WAC player to finish the season as the nations leading rebounder with 12.5 boards per game.
FAZEKAS RANKED THRICE In the seasons first NCAA rankings, Nevada sophomore Nick Fazekas is ranked in three different statistical categories. Fazekas is 12th nationally in scoring with 22.4 points per game, 29th in free throw percentage (.926) and 46th in blocks per contest (2.2). He leads the WAC in all three of those categories.
HAWAII COMMITS FEWEST FOULS The Rainbow Warriors have committed an average of just 11.5 personal fouls per game, the fewest by any team in the nation. In two of Hawaiis four games, its opponents have made six or fewer free throws.
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 (1,470); and G Jason McKrieth (1,151). SMU senior forward Patrick Simpson has 991 points and his teammate, junior guard Bryan Hopkins, has scored 954 in his career. Tulsas Jarius Glenn has 906.
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 18 home games in a row, tied for the sixth 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 Hawaii is receiving votes in the AP poll.
HOME SWEET HOME The WACs 10 teams are a combined 25-6 (.806) at home this season. On the road and in neutral site games, the WAC is 8-10 (.444).
NON-CONFERENCE MARK The WAC is 33-16 (.673) in non-conference games this season, including a 28-16 (.636) 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 71-30 (.703), 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 71-30 (.703) 1. Hawaii 35-19 (.648)
2. Nevada 64-37 (.634) 2. Nevada 33-21 (.611)
3. Tulsa 60-40 (.600) 3. Fresno State 32-22 (.593)
Fresno State 57-38 (.600) 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 (4-2, 0-0 WAC)
Beat Idaho last week for the second time this year ... Boise State has won the last eight games versus future WAC member Idaho ... Jermaine Blackburn just missed a double-double against Idaho as he had 12 points and a game-high nine rebounds ... Blackburn was 4-of-17 from the field in that game ... BSU is playing at BYU on Wednesday for the first time since the 1996-97 season ... Jason Ellis has 744 rebounds and needs 62 to become the schools all-time leader ... Boise State is 3-1 in games it has trailed at the half ... the Broncos finished last season with 23 wins, one shy of the school record ... won a WAC-high 10 road games last season, setting a new school record.
Fresno State Bulldogs (4-0, 0-0 WAC)
Is 4-0 for the third time since the 1996-97 season ... sophomore JaVance Coleman leads the WAC in three-point field goals made per game (2.5) and in three-point field goal percentage (.345) ... Coleman was 12-of-14 from the free throw line in a win over Grand Canyon last Friday ... freshman Chris Berry has come off the bench in all four games and has scored at least 10 points in each contest ... Berry is second in the WAC in field goal percentage (.590) ... the Bulldogs lead the WAC in scoring (79.0 ppg), scoring defense (58.2 ppg) and rebounding margin (+16.5 per game) ... has won 21 straight against Sacramento State (its opponent on Saturday) and is 24-0 versus the Hornets at home.
(RV/--) Hawaii Rainbow Warriors (4-0, 0-0 WAC)
Is 4-0 for the first time since starting the 1997-98 season with a 5-0 mark ... Julian Sensley scored the game-winning basket against Saint Louis last Saturday with 15.2 seconds remaining ... won its two games last week by a total of three points ... 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 55 of its last 60 games in Honolulu (91.7 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 (2-3, 0-0 WAC)
Sophomore Paul Millsap had seven rebounds in the win against Texas-San Antonio last week, his lowest number of boards in a game since joining the Bulldogs ... Millsap led the WAC in double-doubles with 20 last season and and has four this year ... he had a streak of eight straight double-doubles snapped last week ... Tech is last in the WAC in free throw percentage making just 48-of-88 shots (.545) ... Tech has not allowed its opponents to score 100 points in a game for 314 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 (4-1, 0-0 WAC)
Is 4-1 for the third time since the 2000-01 season ... faces Toledo tonight in a rematch of a Bracket Buster game from last year in which Nevada won 60-58 after a Garry Hill-Thomas tip-in at the buzzer ... freshman Ramon Sessions dished out 10 assists last Saturday against UNLV, the most assists by a WAC player this year ... sophomore Nick Fazekas leads the WAC in scoring with 22.4 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 18.4 points per game at home during its current 18-game home winning streak ... the streak is a Division I school record for the Pack.
Rice Owls (4-1, 0-0 WAC)
Scored a school-record 113 points in a win over Grambling State last night ... it marked the first 100-point game by a WAC team this year ... senior Michael Harris scored a career-high 31 points in the game while senior Jason McKrieth added 21 ... Harris has had a double-double in three straight games and four of five this season ... sophomore guard Lorenzo Williams scored a career-high 11 points and hit the game-winner with 2.8 seconds remaining to beat Houston last week ... both Harris and McKrieth have scored in double figures in all five games for the Owls ... Rice leads the WAC in three-point field goal percentage (.473) ... Harris has 37 career double-doubles, the most of any active WAC player ... Rice is off until Dec. 16 due to exams.
San Jose State Spartans (3-2, 0-0 WAC)
Faces San Diego tonight in a rematch of a Nov. 27 game at San Diego that the Spartans won 71-70 ... SJSU has won three of its last four games after losing 21 of its previous 22 games ... its 3-2 start against Division I competition is its best since the 1996-97 season ... has held all three opponents it has beaten to under 40 percent from the field ... faces a team from the Big East for the first time in school history when it travels to Georgetown on Saturday ... Marquin Chandler has recorded two straight double-doubles ... no San Jose State player has had three in a row since the 1992-93 season ... SJSU has not scored 100 points in a game since beating Utah State, 101-85, on Jan. 25, 1979 (720 games).
SMU Mustangs (3-2, 0-0 WAC)
Takes on TCU for the 180th time this Sunday in Fort Worth ... the teams have not met since SMU won 87-84 in overtime on Nov. 24, 2002 ... junior Bryan Hopkins was 5-of-10 from three-point range in the win over Texas State after making just 4-of-28 in his first four games ... Eric Castro hit 8-of-9 field goal attempts against Texas State ... Hopkins leads the WAC in assists with 5.8 per game ... SMU allowed 105 points against Texas Tech last week, the most points given up by a WAC team in a non-conference game since Rice lost at Colorado, 108-80 on Nov. 22, 2001 ... senior Patrick Simpson needs nine points to become the 32nd Mustang with 1,000 in his career ... has won 34 of its last 35 games when holding an opponent to less than 60 points.
UTEP Miners (4-2, 0-0 WAC)
Had its 11-game home winning streak snapped in the loss to Texas Tech on Saturday ... senior guard Filiberto Rivera did not play in the game due to an ankle injury ... the Miners blocked nine shots in that game led by Stanley Branchs four ... UTEP was 6-of-8 from the free throw line versus Texas Tech with all eight attempts by senior Omar Thomas ... UTEP leads the WAC in free throw percentage (.735) ... won 13 conference games a year ago, seven more than the combined total of the previous two seasons ... won 18 more games last year than the previous year, setting a new school record and tying the NCAA record.
Tulsa Golden Hurricane (1-3, 0-0 WAC)
Senior Jarius Glenn had 11 or more rebounds in his first three games before grabbing just two against Oral Roberts on Sunday ... it was the first time a Tulsa player had three straight double-digit rebounding games since Eric Coley in the 1999-2000 season ... Glenn scored a career-high 30 points to go along with 11 rebounds, five assists and three steals against Arkansas last week ... the Golden Hurricane are last in the WAC in field goal percentage (.411) ... 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.