United Athletic Conference

Other nominations Other player of the week nominations included:
Bryan Defares, Sr., G/F, Boise State - averaged 16.0 points and 6.0 rebounds in a pair of road victories last week. He had 17 points, six rebounds and seven assists versus SMU and added 15 points and six rebounds versus Louisiana Tech.
Mustafa Al-Sayyad, Jr., F/C, Fresno State - averaged 14.5 points and 6.5 rebounds in a pair of games last week.
Julian Sensley, So., F, Hawaii - scored a career-high 21 points and had five rebounds, eight assists, two blocks and two steals in a win over Rice. For the week, he averaged 17.7 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.7 assists in three games.
Corey Dean, Jr., G, Louisiana Tech - averaged 22.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists in two games last week. Against Boise State, he scored a career-high 24 points.
Todd Okeson, Sr., G, Nevada - scored 11 points, grabbed five rebounds and dished out five assists in a 64-55 win at Fresno State.

UTEP EARNS AT LEAST SHARE OF WAC TITLE The UTEP Miners capped a spectacular turnaround season by clinching at least a tie for the WAC title after beating SMU on Saturday, 81-71. UTEP was 6-24 last season and is 22-5 this year. Its the Miners first regular season championship since the 1991-92 season when it tied Brigham Young with a 12-4 record. UTEP can win the outright title by beating Boise State this Saturday afternoon. UTEPs last outright title came in 1986-87 when it was 13-3.

FOUR TEAMS IN TOP 64 The WAC has four teams ranked 57th or better in CollegeRPI.coms most recent rankings. Nevada is 42nd, followed by UTEP at 44th, Hawaii at 54th and Rice at 57th.

FIVE WITH 20? Both UTEP and Rice have reached 20 wins while Hawaii and Boise State have 19 and Nevada 18. The last time the WAC had five 20-win teams came in 1998-99 when it was a 16-team conference. The WAC has never had five 20-win teams in the six previous seasons as a 10-team conference.

FOUR TEAMS IN CONTENTION FOR TITLE With just one weekend left, there are four teams that still have a chance to grab at least a share of the WACs regular season title. UTEP has already clinched at least a tie for first, but if the Miners lose at Boise State on Saturday, Hawaii, Nevada and Rice all have a chance to tie UTEP with 13-5 marks. Hawaii plays at Nevada on Thursday night in the only game between the four teams this week.

POSSIBLE SCENARIOS The WAC will be releasing every possible scenario for the tournament seedings on Friday morning. This will include what seeds each team could end up with and how they would get there.

WHAT IS KNOWN What is known about next weeks tournament is that SMU and Tulsa will play each other next Tuesday evening at 6:00 p.m. (PT). The two teams meet this Thursday night in Tulsa with the winner probably earning the eighth seed and the loser receiving the ninth seed. Fresno State and Louisiana Tech are battling for the all important sixth seed. The sixth seed plays its first game on Thursday in the quarterfinals while the seventh seed starts its tournament run on Tuesday night in the preliminary round. San Jose State is the 10th seed and will play the seventh seed in that game.

ALL-WAC TEAMS The WAC will announce the all-WAC teams as voted upon by the head coaches on Sunday afternoon. There will be a first and second team along with an all-newcomer and all-defensive team. Also announced will be the Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year and the Don Haskins Coach of the Year awards.

LINEBURG TAKES OVER SMU PROGRAM Last Friday, SMU relieved head basketball coach Mike Dement of his coaching duties following the Mustangs 89-50 loss at home against Boise State. Robert Lineburg, a long-time SMU assistant, is serving as interim head coach for the remainder of the season. Dement became the schools 14th head basketball coach on May 5, 1995. He compiled a 138-120 record at SMU in his nine seasons at the school and a career mark of 260-243 in 18 campaigns. Lineburg is in his seventh season at SMU, having served two tours of duty with the Mustang basketball program.

MILLSAP LEADS NATION IN REBOUNDING Freshman forward Paul Millsap is averaging 12.3 rebounds per game, the best of any player in the nation. No WAC player has ever led the nation in rebounding. Millsap has had at least eight rebounds in every game this year and 10 or more in 19 of his 26 contests.

TOP-SHOOTING MINERS UTEP leads the WAC in all three shooting categories this year. The Miners are shooting 48.7 percent from the field, 75.6 percent from the free throw line and 38.9 percent from three-point range. After having this feat happen once prior to the 2001-02 season, this would mark the third straight year a WAC team has led the conference in all three categories as Tulsa accomplished it in 2001-02 and Rice performed the trifecta last year.

SIX NAMED TO NABC ALL-DISTRICT TEAMS The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) announced its All-District teams and six WAC players received recognition, including four on first teams: Paul Millsap, Fr., F, Louisiana Tech; Michael Harris, Jr., F, Rice; Bryan Hopkins, So., G, SMU; and Kirk Snyder, Jr., F, Nevada. The WAC had two second team all-district selections in Jason McKrieth (Rice) and Michael Kuebler (Hawaii).

SPORTSWEST TELEVISING WAC GAMES The WAC has 16 games that will be produced by SportsWest and shown in the competing teams local markets while some will also be on ESPNs Full Court package. The next scheduled game is March 4 when Rice hosts Louisiana Tech.

1,000-POINT SCORERS The WAC has eight players that have scored at least 1,000 points in their collegiate careers. The following list contains those players, their totals and where they rank in school history: Jason Parker, Sr., G, Tulsa (1,359-14th); Roy Smallwood, Sr., F, UTEP (1,340-6th); Michael Harris, Jr., F, Rice (1,300-11th); Garry Hill-Thomas, Sr., G, Nevada (1,266-7th); Kirk Snyder, Jr., G, Nevada (1,251-9th); Phil Martin, Sr., F, Hawaii (1,196-8th); Bryan Defares, Sr., G, Boise State (1,010-14th); and Jason McKrieth, Jr., G, Rice (1,003-26th). Boise States Booker Nabors (995) is next on the list.

DOUBLE LEADERS Six of the WAC schools feature players that lead their teams in two of three categories (points, rebounds and assists):
Shantay Legans, Sr., G, Fresno State (14.2 ppg, 5.8 apg)
Paul Millsap, Fr., F/C, Louisiana Tech (15.2 ppg, 12.3 rpg)
Michael Harris, Jr., F, Rice (18.0 ppg, 9.3 rpg)
Eric Walton, Sr., C, San Jose State (11.7 ppg, 6.4 rpg)
Bryan Hopkins, So., G, SMU (16.6 ppg, 4.0 apg)
Jason Parker, Sr., G, Tulsa (17.2 ppg, 2.9 apg)

HOME SWEET HOME The WACs 10 teams are a combined 92-46 (.667) at home so far this season. On the road, the WAC is 47-70 (.402). In conference only games, the home teams are 50-31 (.617). Last week, home teams were just 4-7 as only Rice, UTEP and Hawaii (two games) won their contests at home.

ROAD WARRIORS In all games, the WAC has two teams with winning road records this season. Boise State is 9-4 and UTEP is 6-4. In conference games only, UTEP is 5-3, Hawaii is 4-3, Boise State is 5-4 and Fresno State is 5-4.

PACK, OWLS OWN LONGEST HOME WINNING STREAKS The longest current home winning streak in the WAC is 13 by Nevada, the only team in the conference with an unblemished home record this season. The streak is tied for the 13th longest in the nation. The Pack closes out the regular season with home games against Hawaii and San Jose State this week. Rices nine-game home winning streak is the second longest in the WAC. In conference home games only, Rice has the WACs longest winning streak at 14 straight.

NON-CONFERENCE MARK The WAC is 66-37 (.641) in non-conference games this season, including a 55-36 (.604) mark against Division I teams. Last year, WAC teams were 56-45 (.554) in non-conference games with a 47-45 (.511) 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 FOUR YEARS Over the last four seasons, Hawaii is 82-40 (.672), the best record of any WAC team since 2000-01. In conference games, Fresno State and Hawaii have won 43 games, the most in that same time period. The top five teams in winning percentage over the last four seasons:

Overall Record (Pct.) WAC Record (Pct.)
1. Hawaii 82-40 (.672) 1. Fresno State 43-25 (.632)
2. Tulsa 84-46 (.646) Hawaii 43-25 (.632)
3. Fresno State 77-44 (.636) 3. Tulsa 41-27 (.603)
4. Louisiana Tech 64-50 (.561) 4. *Louisiana Tech 30-22 (.577)
5. Nevada 63-53 (.543) 5. Nevada 34-34 (.500)
Rice 63-53 (.543)

*Louisiana Tech is in its third season in the WAC

2004 McCAFFREY WAC BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT The 2004 WAC McCaffrey WAC Basketball Tournament will be held March 9-13 at the Save Mart Center in Fresno, Calif. 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 9. The remaining eight teams will all play in the quarterfinals on Thursday, March 11 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. The 2005 WAC Tournament will be played at Nevadas Lawlor Events Center, March 8-12.

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 14 games between the two networks are scheduled this season.

WAC ADDS NEW MEXICO STATE, UTAH STATE On Oct. 23, 2003, the WAC issued invitations to New Mexico State and Utah State effective July 1, 2005, the same date that Rice, SMU and Tulsa are moving to Conference USA. In mens basketball, Utah State is 24-2 and was ranked 21st in the AP poll and 23rd in the coaches poll. New Mexico State is 13-14 on the season.

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

Boise State - is one win shy of its first 20-win season since 1998-99 (21-8) ... has won eight of its last nine games ... has a five-game winning streak, currently the longest in the WAC ... is 6-0 all-time in home afternoon WAC games and hosts UTEP this Saturday at 2:00 p.m. ... has won 11 WAC games, the most since joining the league ... junior Jermaine Blackburn has been sidelined since Feb. 7 and is now listed as day-to-day ... is 5-3 in games decided by five points or less ... has won nine road games this season, tying the school record set in 1987-88 and matched in 1998-99.

Fresno State - has lost five of its last six games ... has lost three of its last 11 WAC games after a 5-0 start ... has lost nine of its last 12 games ... has lost four consecutive home games for the first time since the 1989-90 season ... is shooting .450 from the field on the road and just .405 at home ... is 2-8 in games decided by five points or less ... has lost eight games at home for the first time since the 1989-90 season when it lost 10 contests ... senior Shantay Legans leads the WAC in assists with 5.8 per game ... Legans could become the first person in WAC history to lead the conference in assists while playing for the lowest scoring team in the league since assist records began being kept during the 1976-77 season ... Legans has played 323 consecutive minutes for the Bulldogs ... Fresno State is allowing 51.8 points per game in its 12 victories and 68.8 points per game in its 14 losses ... plays in the brand new Save Mart Center (home of this years 2004 McCaffrey WAC Basketball Tournament) after posting a 406-136 (.749) in 37 seasons at Selland Arena.

Hawaii - is one win shy of its second 20-win season in three years ... has won two in a row after losing four of its previous five contests ... committed a season-low six turnovers against Tulsa on Friday ... is 6-5 in road and neutral site games this year after a 4-11 mark last year ... has won 32 straight games when scoring 80 or more points ... has already lost more home games (3) this year than it did in the previous two seasons combined (2) ... senior Michael Kuebler has scored 20 or more points in 14 games this season ... he has scored in double figures in 21 straight games, the longest current streak in the WAC ... senior Haim Shimonovich has 140 blocked shots in his career, the most in the WAC by any active player ... Phil Martin has started 97 consecutive games, the longest current streak in the WAC ... Martin has played 121 games, breaking the old school record of 120 set by Phil Lott (1988-92) ... Hawaii has won 51 of its last 56 games in Honolulu (91.1 percent) ... head coach Riley Wallace is in his 17th 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 - has lost four of its last six games ... junior Barry Thompson tied his career-high with 13 points in the loss to UTEP ... freshman Paul Millsap leads the WAC in double-doubles with 16 this season and also leads the WAC in rebounding (12.3 rpg) and blocked shots (1.5 bpg) ... he is first in the nation in rebounding ... no WAC player has ever led the nation in rebounding and only one freshman has ever done it as Kenny Miller of Loyola (Ill.) performed the feat during the 1987-88 season ... Millsap is on pace to become the first WAC player to average 12 rebounds per game since San Diego States Michael Cage pulled down 12.6 boards per contest during the 1983-84 season ... Tech leads the WAC in rebounding margin at +7.6 per game ... Tech has not allowed its opponents to score 100 points in a game for 305 contests, the longest such streak in the WAC ... the Bulldogs are 19-2 in non-conference home games under head coach Keith Richard.

Nevada - is two wins shy of of its first 20-win season since 1996-97 (21-10) ... has won nine of its last 11 games ... its 18 wins ties last years mark for the most under head caoch Trent Johnson ... junior forward Kirk Snyder leads the WAC in scoring with 18.7 points per game ... he has scored 20 or more points in 12 games this season ... Snyder has scored in double figures in 25-of-26 games this season (including a current 19-game streak) and 70-of-76 in his career ... freshman Nick Fazekas leads the team in three-point field goal percentage (.389) ... is 18-0 when leading at the half and 0-8 when trailing ... has outscored its opponents by 15.9 points per game at home and is the only team in the WAC to win all of its home games this season (13) ... its the best start at home since becoming a Division I program prior to the 1969-70 season and ties the school record for consecutive home wins that was set between the 1977-78 and 1978-79 seasons ... head coach Trent Johnson is one game under .500 (72-73) and 34-34 in WAC contests.

Rice - the loss at Hawaii snapped its season-long five-game winning streak ... has recorded its first 20-win season under head coach Willis Wilson and first since the 1991-92 season (20-11) ... its the sixth 20-win season in school history ... has back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since recording five straight from 1990-91 to 1994-95 ... freshman Morris Almond led Rice in scoring for the first time with 15 points at San Jose State ... Jason McKrieth leads the WAC in free throw percentage (.864) ... he had a school-record 38 consecutive free throws made at one point during the month of January ... in WAC games only, he leads the league, making 91.1 percent of his tries (72-of-79) ... Rashid Smith is the WACs active career leader in assists with 321 ... junior Michael Harris has scored 20 or more points in 12 games this season ... he had his WAC-leading streak of scoring in double figures snapped at 20 after scoring eight at San Jose State last Friday ... Harris leads the WAC in field goal percentage (.608).

San Jose State - has lost 17 of its last 18 games ... was 18-of-18 from the free throw line against Tulsa on Sunday, the third most made free throws in the nation of any team that has been perfect from the line this year ... snapped a streak of not scoring more than 56 points in seven consecutive games in the 65-64 loss versus Tulsa on Sunday ... Eric Walton is averaging 11.7 points per game, the only Spartan to average double figures in scoring ... is the only team in the WAC to not win a road game this year (0-10) and has lost 12 straight on the road dating back to last year ... leads the WAC in field goal percentage defense in non-conference games (.375), but is last in the WAC in that stat in conference games (.485) ... SJSU has not scored 100 points in a game since beating Utah State, 101-85, on Jan. 25, 1979 (712 games).

SMU - shot a season-best 55 percent from the floor in the loss against UTEP on Saturday ... has lost nine of its last 11 games including the last four in a row ... has played a WAC-high 12 games decided by five points or less and is 4-8 in those contests (1-6 in conference games) ... has won 32 of its last 33 games when holding an opponent to less than 60 points.

UTEP - has won 10 of its last 11 games and has a four-game winning streak ... has won 13 conference games, seven more than each of the last two seasons combined ... is 19-0 when leading at the half ... had eight sellouts (12,000) this season ... is the only team in the WAC that has made more free throws (534) than its opponents have attempted (450) ... the Miners have attempted 230 more free throws than its opponents ... is the only school in the WAC to not lose back-to-back games this year ... is averaging a WAC-best 79.4 points per game ... has scored at least 100 points in three games this season, tying a school record set in 2000-01 ... junior Filiberto Rivera leads the WAC in steals with 2.0 per game ... senior Chris Craig leads the WAC in three-point field goal percentage (.427) ... Craig has made a three-point field goal in 23 straight games, breaking the record of 20 set by Eddie Rivera during the 1992-93 season and tied by Carl Davis the following year ... senior Roy Smallwood is the WACs active career leader in rebounds (738) ... of the 71 Division I teams which won 10 or less games a year ago, none have a better winning percentage this season than the Miners (.815) ... has won 16 more games than last year, setting a new school record ... the old record of 12 was set when the 1964-65 Miners were 16-9 and the following year, UTEP was 28-1 and the national champions.

Tulsa - won its first game of the year when trailing at the half when it beat San Jose State on Sunday and is now 1-12 in such games ... the win snapped an eight-game losing streak and an 11-game road losing streak ... with Tulsa trailing 64-63 against San Jose State, Jarius Glenn blocked a layup attempt and scored the winning layup seconds later for the win ... has lost six games in which it led at the half, the most in the WAC this season ... senior guard Jason Parker is the WACs active career leader in points (1,359), field goal attempts (1,124), three-point field goals made (159), three-point field goals attempted (427), steals (162) and games played (130) ... Parker has scored 20 or more points in 10 games this season ... Tulsa is 70-17 (.805) at the Reynolds Center, the best winning percentage at home of any WAC team in its current arena ... Tulsa has won at least 20 games in each of the previous five seasons and nine times in the last 10 years ... every season that Tulsa has won 20 games, it has either played in the NCAA Tournament or won the NIT Championship ... Tulsa is 10-3 in the postseason the last four years: 3-1 in 2000 NCAA, 5-0 in 2001 NIT, 1-1 in 2002 NCAA and 1-1 in 2003 NCAA.