Two WAC teams play in tournaments this week. On Tuesday, Hawai'i hosts Loyola Marymount in the first day of the Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic. The tournament features eight teams and will be played over four days. The Rainbow Warriors will take Wednesday off and then play either Colorado State or Western Michigan on Thursday. Hawai'i has won the past four Rainbow Classics and has a 12-game winning streak in the tournament. This is the 42nd edition of the Classic. Boise State travels to Tempe, Ariz. for the ASU Holiday Tournament. The Broncos face host Arizona State on Wednesday and then either Northern Arizona or San Francisco on Thursday. Boise State is coming off a win over Utah Valley State which beat Arizona State on Dec. 10, 75-71.
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XBOX LIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK ?“ Louisiana Tech forward Paul Millsap, a junior from Grambling, La. (Grambling HS), averaged 24.0 points and 16.0 rebounds in leading the Bulldogs to a pair of home wins last week. On Tuesday against Louisiana-Lafayette, Millsap scored 24 points and pulled down 19 rebounds. He also had 3 assists, two blocks and two steals. On Saturday night, he scored 24 points and pulled down 13 rebounds against McNeese State for his seventh straight double-double. He added four blocks and three steals. For the week, he was 13-of-22 from the field and averaged 3.0 blocks and 2.5 steals. It is Millsap?™s fourth career WAC Player of the Week award and first for a Bulldog player this year.
Others nominated:
Eric Lane, Jr., G, Boise State - scored 18 points and made 5-of-9 three-point field goal attempts in the win over Utah Valley State. He also had five rebounds, three assists and three blocks.
Matt Lojeski, Jr., G, Hawai'i - matched a season-high with 20 ponts on 8-of-11 shooting in the win over Utah State. He also had five rebounds, three assists, three blocks and two steals in the game.
David Dubois, Fr., F, Idaho - scored a career-high 21 points on 10-of-15 shooting and pulled down four rebounds in the win over Eastern Oregon.
Mo Charlo, Sr., F, Nevada - scored a game-high 18 points in the win over Seattle Pacific last Tuesday. He was 7-of-10 from the field and made all three three-point field goal attempts. He also added three steals and an assist.
Shaun Davis, Jr., G, New Mexico State - averaged 15.5 points and made 7-of-14 three-point field goal attempts in two road games last week.
WAC SCHOOLS STREAM VIDEO OF HOME GAMES ?“ Idaho, Nevada and San Jose State have had hardware installed to stream live video and audio of its home games via the WAC?™s website at www.wacsports.com. Additional teams will have hardware installed in the coming weeks and will be added to the schedule.
This month?™s remaining streaming schedule:
Dec. 21-North Dakota State at Idaho, 7:00 p.m. (PT)
Dec. 21-Georgia at Nevada, 7:00 p.m. (PT)
Dec. 27-Norfolk State at Nevada, 5:00 p.m. (PT)
Dec. 29-Louisiana-Lafayette at Nevada, 7:00 p.m. (PT)
NATIONAL RANKINGS ?“ Nevada remained at 20th in the AP poll and 21st in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll.
1,000-POINT SCORERS ?“ The WAC has three players that have scored more than 1,000 points in their collegiate careers. Those players with points and all-time school ranking: Louisiana Tech junior forward Paul Millsap (1,264-22nd); Nevada junior forward Nick Fazekas (1,252-10th) and Utah State senior forward Nate Harris (1,020-28th). Three other players are getting close: Boise State?™s Coby Karl (860); Louisiana Tech?™s Corey Dean (860) and Hawai'i?™s Julian Sensley (859).
KARL LEADS TEAM ?“ Boise State?™s Coby Karl is the only player in the WAC to lead his team in scoring, rebounding and assists. The WAC has five other players that lead their teams in two of those three statistical categories
Coby Karl, Jr., G, Boise State (14.9 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 4.4 apg)
Quinton Hosley, Jr., G/F, Fresno State (20.0 ppg, 9.8 rpg)
Julian Sensley, Sr., F, Hawai'i (17.3 ppg, 3.5 apg)
Tanoris Shepard, Sr., G, Idaho (14.3 ppg, 3.6 apg)
Paul Millsap, Jr., F, Louisiana Tech (20.4 ppg, 12.4 rpg)
Nick Fazekas, Jr., F, Nevada (20.1 ppg, 8.3 rpg)
MILLSAP THIRD IN NATION IN REBOUNDING ?“ Louisiana Tech junior forward Paul Millsap moved up to third nationally in this week?™s rebounding statistics with 12.4 per game. Arkansas-Little Rock?™s Rashad Jones-Jennings is first with 12.6 per contest. Millsap was the nation?™s leading rebounder in each of the past two seasons. As a freshman, he became the first WAC player to lead the nation in rebounding with 12.5 boards per game. Last year, he became 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 was also the first ever to take consecutive rebounding titles as a freshman and sophomore. No player has ever won three NCAA rebounding titles.
UTAH STATE/NEVADA TOP TEAMS OVER LAST FOUR YEARS ?“ Over the last four seasons, Utah State is 77-24 (.762), 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 three teams in wins (both overall and WAC) over the last four seasons:
HAWAI'I, UTAH STATE OWNS LONGEST HOME STREAKS ?“ With Hawai'i?™s 69-59 win over Utah State in Honolulu last Saturday, the Rainbow Warriors have now won five straight home games, matching Utah State for the WAC?™s longest active home winning streak.
HOME SWEET HOME ?“ The WAC?™s nine teams are a combined 24-8 (.750) at home this season. On the road and in neutral site games, the WAC is 16-26 (.381).
NON-CONFERENCE MARK ?“ The WAC is 39-33 (.542) in non-conference games, including a 34-33 (.507) 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 on Nov. 11, 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.
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.
TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Boise State Broncos (5-3, 0-0 WAC)
Had four players score in double figures in the win over Utah Valley State ... Eric Lane scored a team-high 18 points ... leads the WAC in scoring with 76.5 points per game ... is the only WAC team to have scored at least 70 points in its last six games ... has been held to under 70 points just once this season ... junior guard Kenny Wilson has made 60.9 percent of his three-point field goal attempts this season (14-of-23), but does not have enough made treys to qualify for the NCAA statistics ... junior guard Coby Karl has started 47 consecutive games, tied for the longest current streak in the WAC ... he is the only player in the WAC to lead his team in scoring (14.9), rebounds (5.6) and assists (4.4).
Fresno State Bulldogs (5-3, 0-0 WAC)
Both Quinton Hosley and Ja?™Vance Coleman have scored 20 or more points in two consecutive games and four times this season ... has led at the half in just two games this year, the fewest in the WAC ... has more than twice as many blocks (41-19) and steals (89-43) than its oppopnents ... has recorded 10 or more steals in six of eight games ... junior forward Quinton Hosley has posted five straight double-doubles ... Hosley is 12th in the nation in steals with 3.1 per game ... he has scored at least 20 points in five of the eight games this season ... announced in November that it self-imposed sanctions for NCAA rule violations and will not participate in the postseason including this year?™s WAC tournament.
Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors (4-2, 1-0 WAC)
Senior forward Julian Sensley is averaging 22.3 points per game in the Rainbow Warriors?™ four home games ... is 1-0 in its current seven-game homestand, the longest for a WAC team this season ... is a WAC-best 4-0 at home this season ... Ahmet Gueye is fourth in the nation in field goal percentage (.698) and 35th in blocks (2.3) ... junior Matt Lojeski has made 17-of-28 (.607) three-point field goal tries this season, the second best percentage in the nation ... is 24-4 during the month of December since 2002 ... UH has won 31 of its last 34 non-conference home games ... is 39-1 when scoring 80 or more points since 2000 ... has lost 16 of its last 18 road games ... Matt Gibson has missed the last four games due to a team suspension (3) and surgery (1).
Idaho Vandals (2-6, 0-0 WAC)
Made 33-of-55 field goals (.600) against Eastern Oregon last week, the second best percentage by a WAC team in a game this season ... it was the best shooting percentage for the Vandals in a game since Jan. 8, 1998 ... had four players score in double figures in that game led by David Dubois?™ game-high 21 points ... Tanoris Shepard added 14 points and eight assists ... hosts North Dakota State on Wednesday night and returns the game in Fargo on Jan. 24 ... is 2-3 in its current six-game homestand, the second longest homestand for a WAC team this season (Hawai'i-7) ... has won just four road games since the 2003-04 season ... has not allowed its opponents to score 100 points in a game for 410 contests, the longest such streak in the WAC.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (6-4, 0-0 WAC)
Faces No. 4 Memphis on Dec. 20 ... the last time a WAC team played the No. 4 team in the nation was when Hawai'i beat Michigan State last month ... made 14 three-point field goals against Louisiana-Lafayette last week, the most by a WAC team in a game this season ... junior forward Paul Millsap has recorded seven straight double-doubles and has pulled down at least 10 rebounds in 14 straight games ... Millsap has scored 20 or more points in 30 contests during his career ... he has never had less than seven rebounds in 69 career games ... Millsap is the WAC?™s active leader in double-doubles with 50 and is the school?™s career leader ... he has started 47 consecutive games, tied for the longest current streak in the WAC.
(20/21) Nevada Wolf Pack (7-1, 0-0 WAC)
Is off to its best start since going 10-1 during the 1978-79 season ... is 1-0 in its four-game homestand, the longest of the year for the Pack ... leads the WAC in free throw percentage (.731) and has the top three free throw shooters in the WAC ... the Wolf Pack has a 14-game road winning streak ... was 11-2 on the road last season ... is the only team in the WAC to have made more free throws (144) than its opponents have attempted (131) ... junior forward Nick Fazekas has scored 20 or more points in 29 contests in his career ... has a nine-game WAC winning streak ... has won its last 30 games when holding an opponent to under 60 points ... Mo Charlo has scored in double figures in 12 straight games, the longest active streak in the WAC.
New Mexico State Aggies (3-6, 0-0 WAC)
Sophomore forward Tyrone Nelson had eight steals in the game against New Mexico last week, the most by a WAC player this season ... attempted 73 field goals against UTEP, tied for the most by a WAC team this year ... junior forward David Fisher had a double-double against UTEP with 14 points and 10 rebounds ... made just 14 of its last 27 free throw attempts over the last two games after shooing 85.3 percent from the free throw line in its previous three games ... has four players averaging in double figures in points, the most in the WAC ... Reggie Theus, in his first year as a head coach, 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 (4-6, 0-0 WAC)
In its 82-64 loss against Drake last week, the Spartans trailed 50-27 at the half before outscoring its opponent 37-32 in the second half ... senior forward Demetrius Brown returned to action after missing four games and scored a team-high 19 points ... hosts Cal State Fullerton on Wednesday ... the series between the two schools is tied 24-24 ... the teams have not met since 1999 ... has won two road games for the first time since the 2002-03 season ... has not won three road games since going 5-9 away from home in 2000-01 ... has been involved in only one game that has been decided by less than 10 points, a 47-46 loss against Santa Clara ... has not scored 100 points in a game since beating Utah State, 101-85, on Jan. 25, 1979 (754 games).
Utah State Aggies (4-3, 0-1 WAC)
Sophomore guard Jaycee Carroll led the Aggies with 15 points in Utah State?™s loss at Hawai'i ... faces Oral Roberts on Tuesday night ... the Aggies beat Oral Roberts in its season opener in Tulsa, 72-67 in overtime ... has not allowed more than 69 points in a game this season ... plays its next four games at home, its longest homestand of the season ... has won 33 straight games at home during the month of December ... has won 32 consecutive regular season non-conference home games ... the Aggies have participated in the postseason (4 NCAAs, 2 NITs) the past six years ... has a home record of 394-102 (.794) at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, the best winning percentage of any WAC team at its current arena.