The WAC has a busy week coming up with 17 games between Tuesday and Sunday. New Mexico State heads to San Francisco for the USF Invitational. The Aggies face host San Francisco on Friday and will then play either Cal State Fullerton or Chicago State on Saturday. Also on Saturday, both Nevada and Fresno State will play in special games. The Wolf Pack will take on UCLA in the Wooden Classic while the Bulldogs will compete in the San Diego Slam against San Diego. The 12th annual John Wooden Classic features two games at Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, Calif. Prior to Nevada?™s game against UCLA, Washington will face New Mexico. The second annual San Diego SLAM is played at Cox Arena. Following the Fresno State-San Diego game, San Diego State will host Washington State.
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XBOX LIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK ?“ Nevada forward Nick Fazekas, a junior from Arvada, Colo. (Ralston Valley HS), averaged 29.0 points and 9.5 rebounds in a pair of road wins at Kansas and Pacifc. On Thursday night, Fazekas scored a career-high 35 points, including 21 in the second half, in Nevada?™s 72-70 win over Kansas. He also defended the potential game-tying shot as time expired. On Saturday, Fazekas scored a game-high 23 points and pulled down 11 rebounds in helping to snap Nevada?™s 20-game losing streak at Pacific, 77-70. For the week, he was 21-of-34 (.618) from the field and 14-of-15 (.933) from the free throw line. It is Fazekas?™ fifth career WAC Player of the Week award and second for a Wolf Pack player this year.
Others nominated:
Kenny Wilson, Jr., G, Boise State - averaged 15.5 points in a split of two games last week. He was 10-of-15 from three-point range in the two games.
Quinton Hosley, Jr., F, Fresno State - averaged 16.0 points and 6.5 rebounds in two road games. At Iowa State, he scored 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to go along with four steals and two assists.
Paul Millsap, Jr., F, Louisiana Tech - had double-doubles in both contests last week with 21 points and 11 rebounds at Alabama and 25 points and 15 rebounds against Southern. He was 19-of-31 (.613) from the field in the two games combined.
Elijah Ingram, Jr., G, New Mexico State - scored 17 points in both games against UTEP and New Mexico and averaged 4.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists in the split of the two games last week. Against New Mexico, he was 6-of-6 from the free throw line and pulled down six boards.
NEVADA WINS 14TH STRAIGHT ROAD GAME ?“ Nevada is 5-0 after completing a four-game road trip this past week. The Wolf Pack won at Vermont, UNLV, Kansas and Pacific. All four of those teams competed in the postseason last year. Dating back to last season, Nevada has now won 14 consecutive games on the road. Its last loss on the road came on Dec. 7, 2004 at Toledo, 83-75. The Wolf Pack?™s next road game is Dec. 31 when it travels to Saint Mary?™s. This weekend?™s game against UCLA is on a neutral court (Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, Calif.).
WAC WINS 8 OF LAST 10 ?“ After a tough start to the week, WAC teams rebounded by winning eight of their last 10 games. On Saturday, teams were 6-1 with the only loss coming on the road (San Jose State at UC Irvine).
IDAHO TO STREAM VIDEO OF HOME GAMES ?“ Last week, Idaho and the WAC began streaming video of the Vandals?™ home games. Four more Idaho games are scheduled this month: Dec. 7 vs Idaho State; Dec. 10 vs. Portland State; Dec. 17 vs. Eastern Oregon; and Dec. 21 vs. North Dakota State.
NATIONAL RANKINGS ?“ Nevada is up three spots to 20th in the AP poll and re-entered the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll at 22nd. Hawai'i is 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. Those two players with points and all-time school ranking: Nevada forward Nick Fazekas (1,203-12th); and Louisiana Tech forward Paul Millsap (1,172-25th). Utah State senior Nate Harris is next on the list with 998 points.
UTAH STATE/NEVADA TOP TEAMS OVER LAST FOUR YEARS ?“ Over the last four seasons, Utah State is 76-23 (.768), 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:
UTAH STATE OWNS LONGEST HOME STREAK ?“ Utah State owns the WAC?™s longest home winning streak at five in a row.
HOME SWEET HOME ?“ The WAC?™s nine teams are a combined 13-5 (.722) at home this season. On the road and in neutral site games, the WAC is 12-15 (.444).
NON-CONFERENCE MARK ?“ The WAC is 25-20 (.556) in non-conference games, including a 22-20 (.524) 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.
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 (3-2, 0-0 WAC)
Concludes its three-game road trip at BYU on Wednesday ... won at Weber State on Saturday to split the season series ... Seth Robinson came off the bench against Weber State to score 12 points and pull down eight rebounds ... junior guard Kenny Wilson has made 68.4 percent of his three-point field goal attempts this season (13-of-19), the third best percentage in the nation ... the Broncos were the only WAC team to open its season with three straight home games ... junior guard Coby Karl has started 44 consecutive games, the longest current streak in the WAC ... Karl is the only player in the WAC to rank in the top 10 in scoring (16.4 ppg-7th), rebounding (6.6 rpg-9th) and assists (4.2 apg-5th).
Fresno State Bulldogs (3-1, 0-0 WAC)
Quinton Hosley scored 22 points at Iowa State while Ja?™Vance Coleman added 20 ... it was the second time this season that the pair have scored 20 or more points in the same game ... Coleman has scored 20 or more points in three of the four games this season ... Hosley is eighth in the nation in steals with 3.8 per game ... Kevin Bell dished out a career-high 11 assists in the game at Buffalo ... junior Ja?™Vance Coleman has scored in double figures in 10 straight games, the longest active streak in the WAC ... leads the WAC in scoring with 79.5 points per game ... 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.
Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors (2-1, 0-0 WAC)
Ahmet Gueye is third in the nation in field goal percentage (.769) ... he leads the WAC in blocks with 2.74 per contest ... junior guard Matt Lojeski has made 12-of-17 (.706) three-point field goal tries this season, the second best percentage in the nation ... is 22-3 during the month of December over the past three seasons ... will be playing its 200th game at the Stan Sheriff Center on Tuesday night against UNLV ... lost at UNLV on Nov. 22, 67-61 ... UH was 1-of-17 from three-point range in that game ... UH has won 30 of its last 33 non-conference home games ... is 39-1 when scoring 80 or more points since 2000 ... hired former Rainbow Alika Smith as an assistant coach on Dec. 1.
Idaho Vandals (1-4, 0-0 WAC)
The win over Southern Utah snapped a 12-game losing streak ... prior to the win, the last Idaho victory came on Feb. 5, 2005, against Cal Poly ... outrebounded Southern Utah, 32-20, the first time this season that Idaho has outrebounded an opponent ... Tanoris Shepard scored a team-high 14 points in the game while Brett Ledbetter and David Dubois added 13 and 12, respectively ... is 1-1 in its current six-game homestand, the second longest homestand for a WAC team this season (Hawai'i-7) ... has not won more than two games in the month of December since winning four in 1999 ... has won just four road games since the 2003-04 season ... has not allowed its opponents to score 100 points in a game for 407 contests, the longest such streak in the WAC.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (3-3, 0-0 WAC)
Beat Southern on Saturday to give head coach Keith Richard his 123rd victory, placing him alone in third place on the school?™s all-time coaching list ... Tech is now 8-0 under Richard in home openers ... Paul Millsap scored a game-high 25 points against Southern while no other Bulldog had more than eight poitns ... junior forward Paul Millsap has led the nation in rebounding in each of his first two seasons ... he has scored 20 or more points in 27 contests during his career ... Millsap has never had less than seven rebounds in 63 career games ... he is the WAC?™s active leader in double-doubles with 46 and is the school?™s career leader (Karl Malone had 43 in his three seasons at Tech).
(17/22) Nevada Wolf Pack (5-0, 0-0 WAC)
Senior Mo Charlo scored a career-high 22 points in the win at Pacific ... he was 11-of-11 from the free throw line ... Nevada had lost its previous 20 games against Pacific in Stockton ... is facing UCLA this Saturday for the first time since the 1947-48 season ... just completed an 11-day four-game road trip traveling over 10,000 miles ... the Wolf Pack has a 14-game road winning streak ... was 11-2 on the road last season ... is 5-0 for the first time since winning its first 14 games during the 1951-52 season ... junior forward Nick Fazekas has scored 20 or more points in 28 contests in his career ... 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 (2-3, 0-0 WAC)
Finished its four-game homestand with a 2-2 record ... the win over New Mexico snapped a four-game losing streak against the Lobos ... Tyrone Nelson recorded a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds against New Mexico ... hosted UTEP and New Mexico last week and will play at those schools next week following its trip to San Francisco for the USF Invitational ... has made 95 free throws on the season while its opponents have attempted 97 ... 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 (3-4, 0-0 WAC)
Has lost its last three games after winning its previous three games ... the three-game losing streak is the longest active streak in the WAC ... is 0-2 in its current four-game road trip ... plays at Pacific on Wednesday and at Long Beach State on Saturday ... Alex Elam scored a game-high 19 points in the Spartan?™s last game against UC Irvine ... leading scorer Demetrius Brown missed the last two games due to health reasons ... Brown was 1-of-11 from the field in his last game against Santa Clara ... SJSU hit a season-high nine three-point field goals in that game ... has not scored 100 points in a game since beating Utah State, 101-85, on Jan. 25, 1979 (751 games).
Utah State Aggies (3-2, 0-0 WAC)
Forward Durrall Peterson scored a career-high 23 points in the win over Middle Tennessee on Monday ... he made 6-of-7 three-point field goals ... Nate Harris added 18 points and 10 rebounds while Jaycee Carroll scored 17 for the Aggies ... with its win, Utah State has now won 32 consecutive regular season non-conference home games ... the win was also the 100th for Utah State at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum under head coach Stew Morrill ... Utah State is second in the nation in field goal percentage (.551) ... 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.