Fresno State is the only WAC team not to play a game this year. The Bulldogs finally begin action on Wednesday night when it travels to Cal Poly. On Sunday, San Jose State won at Cal Poly, 72-57.
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XBOX LIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK ?“ Hawai'i guard Matt Lojeski, a junior from Racine, Wisc. (Eastern Wyoming College), made his Rainbow Warrior debut with a team-high 20 points in an 84-62 win over No. 4 Michigan State on Saturday. Lojeski was 7-of-11 from the field, including 6-of-8 from three-point range. He also pulled down four rebounds and had a steal in 31 minutes of playing time.
Others nominated:
Matt Bauscher, So., G, Boise State - scored 17 points and pulled down eight rebounds in the win over Montana. He also dished out five assists and added a block and a steal.
Paul Millsap, Jr., F, Louisiana Tech - was named the MVP of the John Thompson Foundation Basketball Challenge after averaging 16.7 points and 10.3 rebounds in three games. Millsap made 19-of-31 field goals (.613) and also added eight steals and three blocks during the tournament.
Nick Fazekas, Jr., F, Nevada - recorded a double-double with 28 points and 14 rebounds in a win over Sacramento State. He also had three blocks, three assists and two steals in the game.
Elijah Ingram, Jr., G, New Mexico State - scored a career-high 24 points in the Preseason NIT game at UCLA. He was 8-of-11 from the field, including 4-of-5 from three-point range.
Nate Harris, Sr., F, Utah State - scored a game-high 23 points in Utah State?™s 72-67 overtime win at Oral Roberts. Harris was 9-of-13 from the field and added a team-high six rebounds.
HAWAI'I DROPS NO. 4 MICHIGAN STATE ?“ Hawai'i opened its season with an 84-62 win over fourth-ranked Michigan State last Saturday. Matt Lojeski and Julian Sensley tied for game-high honors with 20 points apiece. Ahmet Gueye and Bobby Nash also scored in double figures with 13 and 10 points, respectively. It was the highest ranked opponent that Hawai'i has beaten since defeating No. 2 Kansas, 76-65, on Dec. 30, 1997. It was also the highest ranked opponent defeated by any WAC team since Nevada beat No. 3 Gonzaga, 91-72, on March 20, 2004.
WALLACE PICKS UP WIN NO. 300 ?“ Hawai'i head coach Riley Wallace earned his 300th victory with the Rainbow Warriors after the win over Michigan State. Wallace is now 300-241 in 19 seasons at Hawai'i. Overall, he is 315-268 in 21 years as a head coach. Wallace is just the second coach in WAC history to reach 300 wins as UTEP?™s Don Haskins won 561 games during his 30 years in the conference.
NATIONAL RANKINGS ?“ Nevada remains ranked 22nd in the AP poll and is receiving votes in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll. Last week, Nevada was ranked 25th in the coaches poll. Both Utah State and Hawai'i are also receiving votes in both polls.
1,000-POINT SCORERS ?“ The WAC has two players that have scored more than 1,000 points in their collegiate careers and both are juniors: Nevada forward Nick Fazekas (1,119); and Louisiana Tech forward Paul Millsap (1,110). Utah State senior Nate Harris is next on the list with 956 points.
UTAH STATE/NEVADA TOP TEAMS OVER LAST FOUR YEARS ?“ Over the last four seasons, Utah State is 74-22 (.771), 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.
UTAH STATE OWNS LONGEST HOME STREAK ?“ Utah State owns the WAC?™s longest home winning streak at three in a row.
HOME SWEET HOME ?“ The WAC?™s nine teams are a combined 4-1 (.800) at home this season. On the road and in neutral site games, the WAC is 4-6 (.400).
NON-CONFERENCE MARK ?“ The WAC is 8-7 (.533) in non-conference games, including a 7-7 (.500) mark against Division I teams. In 2004-05, WAC teams were 63-45 (.583) in non-conference games with a 55-45 (.550) mark against Division I teams. The WAC?™s best record ever against non-conference opponents came during the 1974-75 season when it was 73-22 (.768).
WAC ON ESPN/SPORTSWEST ?“ The WAC has a multi-year contract with both ESPN and SportsWest for coverage of WAC football and basketball. Currently, 22 basketball games between the two networks are scheduled this season.
BRACKET BUSTER SATURDAY ?“ For the fourth year in a row, the WAC has partnered with ESPN and several other top college basketball conferences for Bracket Buster Saturday, a one-day men?™s basketball event matching potential NCAA tournament hopefuls against each other. All nine WAC teams will be involved in this year?™s event to be held on Feb. 18, 2006. 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 Monday, Jan. 30, 2006.
NEVADA TO HOST 2006 TOURNAMENT ?“ For the second consecutive year, Nevada?™s Lawlor Events Center (11,200) will host the WAC Basketball Tournament. The dates for this season?™s tournament are March 9-11. Due to self-imposed penalties, Fresno State will not compete in the 2006 tournament. Therefore, with an eight-team field, there will be no first round games as in years past. The quarterfinals will begin on Thursday, March 9. As announced last week, New Mexico State will be the host for the 2007 and 2008 tournaments.
TWO WAC PLAYERS NAMED TO WATCH LISTS ?“ Louisiana Tech junior forward Paul Millsap and Nevada junior forward Nick Fazekas have been named as two of the top 50 preseason candidates for the 2005-06 Wooden Award and Naismith Trophy.
TOP PLAYERS RETURNING ?“ Just two players are back this season from both the 2004-05 all-WAC first and second-teams: junior forwards Nick Fazekas (Nevada) and Paul Millsap (Louisiana Tech). Both were first-team selections while Fazekas was also the WAC?™s Player of the Year. Millsap led the nation in rebounding in each of his first two seasons. Four of the five all-newcomer team honorees also returned from last year: Ja?™Vance Coleman, Jr., G, Fresno State; Matt Gibson, Jr., G, Hawai'i; Mo Charlo, Sr., G, Nevada; and Ramon Sessions, So., G, Nevada. Sessions was last year?™s WAC Freshman of the Year.
STAT LEADERS BACK ?“ Statistically, three of the top 10 scorers returned for the 2005-06 season. Nevada?™s Nick Fazekas was first in the WAC in scoring last year with a 20.7 point per game average. Others in the top 10 that returned are Paul Millsap, Louisiana Tech (20.4) and Ja?™Vance Coleman, Fresno State (16.9). Millsap was the leading returning rebounder with a 12.4 rpg average last season (first in the nation) and Louisiana Tech?™s Daevon Haskins returned after ranking second in the WAC in assists with 5.8 per game.
FAZEKAS NAMED PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR ?“ In a vote by the WAC?™s head coaches and media, Nevada junior forward Nick Fazekas was picked as the league?™s preseason Player of the Year. Last season, Fazekas led the WAC in scoring with 20.7 points per game and also pulled down 9.4 rebounds per contest. He helped lead the Wolf Pack to a 25-7 record and to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
MILLSAP LEADS NATION IN REBOUNDING FOR SECOND STRAIGHT YEAR ?“ Last year, Louisiana Tech sophomore Paul Millsap led the nation in rebounding with 12.4 per game. In 2003-04, Millsap became the first WAC player to finish the season as the nation?™s leading rebounder with 12.5 boards per game. He is the first player to lead the country in rebounding in back-to-back seasons since American?™s Kermit Washington did it in 1971-72 and 1972-73. Millsap is also the first ever to take consecutive rebounding titles as a freshman and sophomore.
TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Boise State Broncos (1-1, 0-0 WAC)
Led 29-22 at halftime in last night?™s 66-61 loss to Weber State ... Boise State made just 3-of-13 three point field goal attempts in the second half ... Coby Karl and Matt Bauscher led the Broncos with 16 points apiece while Eric Lane added 11 ... in its season opening 90-69 win over Montana last Friday, Boise State scored 56 points in the second half making 56.7 percent of its field goal attempts ... the Broncos trailed 40-34 at the half of that game ... Karl scored a game-high 22 points as all five starters scored in double figures ... the Broncos are the only WAC team that opens its season with three straight home games.
Fresno State Bulldogs (0-0, 0-0 WAC)
Opens its season on Wednesday at Cal Poly ... junior guard Ja?™Vance Coleman scored 27 points in both exhibition games this year ... newcomer Quinton Hosley added 20 points in the last exhibition win over Fresno Pacific last Tuesday ... guard Dwight O?™Neil contributed 19 points and a game-high eight rebounds ... Kevin Bell had a double-double with 11 points and 10 assists ... announced earlier this month that it self-imposed sanctions for NCAA rule violations and will not participate in the postseason including this year?™s WAC tournament ... is coached by Steve Cleveland who spent the last eight seasons at BYU ... the Cougars were members of the WAC during Cleveland?™s first two seasons.
Hawai'i Warriors (1-0, 0-0 WAC)
Michigan State closed to within six points at Hawai'i in the second half before Bobby Nash hit a three-pointer that started an 11-0 run to put the game away for the Rainbow Warriors ... junior forward Ahmet Gueye scored 13 points and pulled down a team-high six rebounds in his first career game at Hawai'i ... Deonte Tatum dished out seven assists, tied for the most by any WAC player last week ... plays at UNLV tonight and hosts the Runnin?™ Rebels in two weeks (Dec. 6) ... UH was 2-8 on the road last season ... one of its road victories came at Saint Louis, the Rainbow Warriors?™ opponent on Saturday night in Honolulu.
Idaho Vandals (0-1, 0-0 WAC)
Led 36-33 early in the second half last Friday night at No. 8 Gonzaga ... the Vandals fell behind but were within two at 59-57 before losing by the final score of 69-60 ... junior guard Brett Ledbetter came off the bench to score a team-high 14 points while Tanoris Shepard added 11 ... forward Mike Kale grabbed a team-high eight rebounds to go along with seven points ... has a nine-game losing streak ... has won just four road games since the 2003-04 season ... plays at No. 25 Washington tonight ... opens its season with three straight road games before returning home for six in a row ... has not allowed its opponents to score 100 points in a game for 403 contests, the longest such streak in the WAC.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (1-2, 0-0 WAC)
Junior forward Harry Disy grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds to go along with nine points in the game against Nebraska on Sunday ... junior guard Trey McDowell scored a game-high 23 points ... both Disy and McDowell are newcomers for the Bulldogs this year ... junior forward Paul Millsap scored eight points against Nebraska, snapping his streak of scoring in double figures in 35 consecutive games ... he has grabbed at least 10 rebounds in seven straight games ... Millsap has led the nation in rebounding in each of his first two seasons ... he has scored 20 or more points in 25 contests during his career ... Millsap has never had less than seven rebounds in 62 career games ... he is the WAC?™s active leader in double-doubles with 44.
(22/RV) Nevada Wolf Pack (1-0, 0-0 WAC)
Defeated Sacramento State, 82-74, after jumping out to a 58-35 lead midway through the second half ... Nick Fazekas scored a game-high 28 points while Marcelus Kemp added 15 ... Kemp missed all of last season due to a knee injury ... Mo Charlo and Chad Bell each contributed 11 points against the Hornets ... Fazekas has scored in double figures in 33 straight games and scored 20 or more in 25 contests in his career ... Nevada plays its next four games on the road ... the Wolf Pack has a 10-game road winning streak ... was 11-2 on the road last season ... has a nine-game WAC winning streak ... has won its last 28 games when holding an opponent to under 60 points including 17 times last year.
New Mexico State Aggies (1-1, 0-0 WAC)
Both Trevor Lawrence and Tyrone Nelson had double-doubles in an 83-51 win over Western New Mexico on Monday ... Lawrence had 15 points and 10 rebounds while Lawrence scored a game-high 21 points and pulled down 11 boards ... the Aggies outscored the Mustangs 51-26 in the second half ... Elijah Ingram scored just two points in the game after leading New Mexico State with a game-high 24 points in its opening season loss at UCLA last week ... has posted two consecutive losing seasons after two straight 20-win campaigns ... Reggie Theus is in his first year as a head coach ... he was an assistant at Louisville when the Cardinals advanced to last year?™s Final Four ... Theus played 13 years in the NBA and was a two-time All-Star.
San Jose State Spartans (2-1, 0-0 WAC)
Snapped a 14-game road losing streak with a 72-57 win at Cal Poly on Sunday ... the Spartans had not won on the road since beating San Diego on Nov. 27, 2004 ... Demetrius Brown scored a game-high 23 points while both Matt Misko and Menelik Barbary contributed 14 points ... hosts San Diego on Wednesday and is looking for its first three-game winning streak since winning four in a row from Dec. 6-20, 2003 ... has not started a season 3-1 since the 2000-01 season ... has not scored 100 points in a game since beating Utah State, 101-85, on Jan. 25, 1979 (747 games).
Utah State Aggies (1-1, 0-0 WAC)
Lost a Middle Tennessee on Monday night, 60-59 ... the Aggies scored just one point over the final 4:03 of the game ... Jaycee Carroll scored a game-high 17 points ... won its season opener at Oral Roberts, 72-67, in overtime on Saturday ... it was the 12th straight season opening win for Utah State ... Nate Harris scored 23 points in that game while Carroll added 20 for the Aggies ... Utah State is 26-5 in the month of November under head coach Stew Morrill ... the Aggies have participated in the postseason (4 NCAAs, 2 NITs) the past six years ... has a home record of 392-102 (.794) at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, the best winning percentage of any WAC team at its current arena.