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Doc Sadler (left) and Mark Fox
have kept their teams at the
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PLAYER OF THE WEEK Louisiana Tech forward Paul Millsap, a sophomore from Grambling, La. (Grambling HS), scored 25 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked three shots in 40 minutes of play in a 58-57 win over SMU on Saturday. It was his 12th double-double of the season. Millsap was 10-of-15 from the field and 5-of-7 from the free throw line. It is Millsaps second career WAC Player of the Week award and first for a Bulldog player this year.
Others nominated:
Jermaine Blackburn, So., G, Boise State - averaged 15.0 points and 9.0 rebounds in a pair of home victories last week. He had a career-high 11 rebounds and scored 19 points against Hawaii to record his second career double-double.
Mustafa Al-Sayyad, Sr., C, Fresno State - averaged 13.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.5 blocks in a pair of road games.
Nick Fazekas, So., F, Nevada - averaged 22.0 points and 9.0 rebounds in a pair of road wins. He was 16-of-30 (.533) from the field and 11-of-14 (.786) from the free throw line. Against Tulsa, he scored a career-high 33 points, tied for the second most by a WAC player this year.
Eric Castro, Sr., F/C, SMU - scored 19 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the field and pulled down eight rebounds in the game at Louisiana Tech.
Jason Williams, Jr., G/F, UTEP - averaged 17.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists in a pair of home victories. He scored a career-high 25 points in the win over San Jose State on Saturday.
Jarius Glenn, Sr., F, Tulsa - averaged 16.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists in two home games. He scored 15 points against Nevada and a team-high 18 points versus Fresno State.
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. 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 announced by ESPN in conjunction with the conferences on Monday, Jan. 31.
FIVE UNDER FIVE In all five games on Saturday, the score was decided by four points or less. Hawaii has played five conference games this year decided by five points or less and is 0-5 in those games. Fresno State (3-1), UTEP (3-1) and Louisiana Tech (2-2) have each played four WAC games decided by five points or less. The rest of the teams in the WAC have all played at least two such games. Boise State is the only team to not lose a close conference contest (2-0).
SADLER, FOX RANK NEAR TOP OF FIRST-YEAR COACHES There are 38 coaches in Division I who are in their first year at their respective schools. UTEPs Doc Sadler and Nevadas Mark Fox are near the top of the list. Sadler has a 16-3 record and his winning percentage of .842 is tied for the second best of the group. Foxs record of 14-4 (.778) ranks fifth. Utahs Ray Giacoletti is first with a record of 17-3 (.850).
GLENN LEADS TEAM Tulsas Jarius Glenn leads the Golden Hurricane in scoring, rebounding and assists. The WAC has six other players that lead their teams in two of those three statistical categories:
Julian Sensley, Jr., F, Hawaii (12.8 ppg, 7.3 rpg)
Paul Millsap, So., F, Louisiana Tech (19.3 ppg, 11.8 rpg)
Nick Fazekas, So., F, Nevada (20.5 ppg, 8.7 rpg)
Michael Harris, Sr., F, Rice (19.7 ppg, 11.4 rpg)
Marquin Chandler, Sr., F, San Jose State (19.3 ppg, 8.4 rpg)
Bryan Hopkins, Jr., G, SMU (16.9 ppg, 4.4 apg)
Jarius Glenn, Sr., F, Tulsa (16.4 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 3.7 apg)
MILLSAP, HARRIS 3-4 IN NATION IN REBOUNDING Louisiana Tech forward Paul Millsap remained third nationally in this weeks rebounding statistics while Rice forward Michael Harris was fourth. Millsap is averaging 11.8 rebounds per game. Weber States Lance Allred is first with 12.2 boards per contest. Rice senior Michael Harris is averaging 11.4 rebounds per game. Last year, Millsap became the first WAC player to finish the season as the nations leading rebounder with 12.5 boards per game.
MINERS SECOND IN NATION IN FREE THROW PERCENTAGE UTEP leads the WAC and is second in the nation in free throw percentage (.781). The Miners led the WAC in free throw percentage last year (.752). Last week, UTEP was 42-of-53 (.792) in its two games against Hawaii and San Jose State, including an 11-of-12 performance by senior Filiberto Rivera.
FIVE WITH 19 In this weeks WAC stats, five players are averaging at least 19 points per game. At this time last year, there was one (Hawaiis Michael Kuebler-19.5 ppg). Nevadas Nick Fazekas is first with 20.5 points per game followed by Rices Michael Harris (19.7, UTEPs Omar Thomas (19.7), San Jose States Marquin Chandler (19.3) and Louisiana Techs Paul Millsap (19.3).
WAC TO CHANGE IN 2005-06 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 this year, Idaho is 7-11, New Mexico State is 5-13 and Utah State is 13-5.
1,000-POINT SCORERS The WAC has five players that have scored more than 1,000 points in their collegiate careers: Rice senior forward Michael Harris (1,671); Rice senior guard Jason McKrieth (1,262); SMU junior guard Bryan Hopkins (1,131); SMU senior forward Patrick Simpson (1,108); and Tulsa senior forward Jarius Glenn (1,096). SMU senior Eric Castro is next on the list with 913 points.
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.
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.
UTEP OWNS LONGEST HOME STREAK With Rices nine-game home winning streak coming to an end on Saturday, UTEP now owns the WACs longest home winning streak at nine in a row. In conference games only, UTEPs 12-game home winning streak is the longest in the WAC.
NATIONAL RANKINGS No WAC teams are ranked in the top 25, but Nevada and UTEP are receiving votes in both the ESPN/USA Today coaches and AP polls. The top four WAC teams in the CollegeRPI.com ratings are Nevada (37), Rice (45), UTEP (52) and Hawaii (84).
HOME SWEET HOME The WACs 10 teams are a combined 68-27 (.716) at home this season. On the road and in neutral site games, the WAC is 26-44 (.371). In conference games, home teams are 24-12 (.667). Last week, Nevada was the only team to win on the road when the Wolf Pack won at both Tulsa and Rice.
NON-CONFERENCE MARK The WAC is 58-35 (.624) in non-conference games this season, including a 51-35 (.593) 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 77-35 (.688), the best record of any WAC team during that time. In conference games, Nevada has won 40 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 77-35 (.688) 1. Nevada 40-22 (.645)
2. Nevada 74-40 (.649) 2. Hawaii 37-24 (.607)
3. Fresno State 64-44 (.593) 3. Fresno State 37-25 (.597)
4. Rice 61-45 (.575) 4. La. Tech 34-27 (.557)
5. Tulsa 63-49 (.563) 5. Rice 33-28 (.541)
Tulsa 33-28 (.541)
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
Boise State Broncos (9-9, 3-4 WAC)
Won two games in a row last week for the first time since opening the season with two straight victories ... plays its next four games on the road ... Boise State leads the WAC in three-point field goals made per game (7.7) ... senior Franco Harris is second in the WAC in three-point field goal percentage (.377) ... senior forward Jason Ellis returned last week after missing six games (1-5) after undergoing a hernia operation in late December ... he averaged 8.0 points and 7.0 rebounds in his first two games back (both wins) ... Ellis has 786 rebounds and needs 20 to become the schools all-time leader ... he has 16 career double-doubles, the third most of any active WAC player ... the Broncos finished last season with 23 wins, one shy of the school record.
Fresno State Bulldogs (11-6, 5-3 WAC)
Lost two in a row after winning five of its previous six ... has won four straight home games ... is 3-1 in conference games decided by five points or less and 4-2 overall ... has not scored over 70 points in five of its last six games ... sophomore JaVance Coleman had his streak of scoring in double figures snapped at 15 after getting eight at Rice on Thursday ... Mustafa Al-Sayyad leads the WAC in field goal percentage (.607) and blocks (2.2 bpg) ... has scored at least 80 points five times this year, matching its total in the past two years combined ... leads the WAC in rebounds with 40.2 per game ... features an 11-man rotation that includes seven freshmen and a sophomore in his first year at the Division I level (Coleman).
Hawaii Rainbow Warriors (10-5, 2-5 WAC)
After averaging 3.3 points per game in his first nine contests, senior Jake Sottos has averaged 17.5 ppg in the last four games ... Sottos set a new school-record by hitting 6-of-6 from three-point range against UTEP last Thursday and was 7-of-7 from the field overall ... has not lost a game by more than four points and its five losses are by a combined 11 points ... the last time UH started 2-5 in WAC play it went on to win the WAC tournament in 2001 ... has won 35 straight games when scoring 80 or more points ... has won 17 of its last 19 home games ... has held its opponents to under 90 points in 129 consecutive games ... head coach Riley Wallace is in his 18th year with UH, the second longest stint in WAC history behind UTEPs Don Haskins (30 years).
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (8-8, 3-4 WAC)
Has won two games in a row after a four-game losing streak ... had four players play all 40 minutes in the win over SMU last Saturday (Donell Allick, Daevon Haskins, Corey Dean and Paul Millsap) ... held SMUs Bryan Hopkins (the WACs second leading scorer in conference games with 22.2 ppg) to no points ... Paul Millsap has scored in double figures in 20 straight games, the longest active streak in the WAC ... Millsap has a WAC-high 12 double-doubles this year, including four in a row ... Tech has not allowed its opponents to score 100 points in a game for 325 contests, the longest such streak in the WAC ... has a home record of 210-56 (.789) at the Thomas Assembly Center, the best winning percentage of any WAC team at its current arena.
Nevada Wolf Pack (14-4, 7-1 WAC)
Nevadas 14-4 start is its best since beginning the 1981-82 season 16-4 ... has won 10 of its last 11 games ... is 6-2 on the road after a 5-8 mark last year ... has won five straight road games including four in a row in the WAC ... senior sophomore Nick Fazekas has scored in double figures in all 18 games this year and has scored 20 or more in 10 contests ... he leads the WAC in scoring with 20.5 points per game ... Nevada leads the WAC in scoring defense (62.0), field goal percentage defense (.386) and rebounding margin (+8.8) ... has won 23 of its last 25 games at home ... has made more free throws (309) than its opponents have attempted (285) ... last year, its 25 wins tied the 1945-46 squad for the most in school history.
Rice Owls (10-5, 5-2 WAC)
Has won five of its last seven games ... senior Michael Harris has scored in double figures in 18 consecutive games ... he has 43 career double-doubles, the most of any active WAC player ... he is second in the WAC in scoring (19.7 ppg) and in rebounding (11.4 rpg) ... Harris has 922 career rebounds and is three shy of tying Kendall Rhine for second on the all-time list at Rice ... he was one of 12 named to CollegeInsider.coms mid-season All-America team ... senior Jason McKrieth returned to action after missing one game and averaged 16.5 points and 4.5 rebounds last week ... McKrieth recorded a triple-double on Dec. 29 against SMU, the first by a WAC player in over three years ... Rice leads the WAC in FG percentage (.482).
San Jose State Spartans (4-12, 1-6 WAC)
Has lost three in a row and 10 of its last 11 games ... is 1-17 against Thursdays opponent, Tulsa ... three of its four wins this season have come by one point ... is averaging a WAC-low 60.7 points per game for the season ... is 3-0 when leading at the half, but just 1-12 when trailing or tied at the intermission ... Marquin Chandler has reached double figures in scoring in 17 straight games ... he recorded two double-doubles last week with 15 points and 16 rebounds at Boise State and 20 points and 12 rebounds at UTEP ... Chandler has scored in double figures in 17 straight games ... has lost its last 16 conference road games ... SJSU has not scored 100 points in a game since beating Utah State, 101-85, on Jan. 25, 1979 (731 games).
SMU Mustangs (8-7, 3-4 WAC)
Has lost three of its last four games ... junior Bryan Hopkins scored no points in 36 minutes in the loss at Louisiana Tech ... he was 0-for-6 from the field ... senior Eric Castro and freshman Derrick Roberts each scored 19 points in the loss ... senior Patrick Simpson played just four minutes due to an ankly injury ... Hopkins leads the WAC in three-point field goals made per game (2.9) and steals (2.0) ... the Mustangs are 6-0 when shooting better than 50 percent from the field ... SMU leads the WAC in steals (9.2) ... had won 36 of its last 37 games when holding an opponent to less than 60 points before losing to Louisiana Tech, 58-57, on Saturday ... has played just two games decided by five points or less (0-2).
UTEP Miners (16-3, 6-1 WAC)
Has won 12 of its last 13 games ... is the only WAC team with one road loss (3-1) ... plays its next four games on the road ... is the only WAC team to not lose back-to-back games this year ... Omar Thomas had his streak of scoring in double figures snapped at 22 games after getting three versus SJSU on Saturday ... he is third in the WAC in scoring with 19.7 points per game ... Filiberto Rivera leads the WAC in assists (6.6 apg) and free throw percentage (.859) ... Jason Williams has started 51 consecutive games, tied for the longest active streak in the WAC ... UTEP leads the WAC in scoring (76.2), FT percentage (.781), 3-point FG percentage (.380), assists (16.9) and scoring margin (+14.2) ... has made more free throws (354) than its opponents have attempted (302).
Tulsa Golden Hurricane (4-12, 1-6 WAC)
Was 0-11 when trailing at halftime before beating Fresno State on Saturday after going into the intermission down, 30-28 ... is the only team in the WAC with two players in the top 10 in scoring as Jarius Glenn is eighth (16.4 ppg) and Anthony Price is 10th (15.5 ppg) ... has scored more points in the second half than the first half in 11 of 16 games this season ... Glenn has started 51 consecutive games, tied for the longest active streak in the WAC ... Alvin Pooh Williamson, 31, is the second youngest coach in NCAA Division I this season ... 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.