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PLAYER OF THE WEEK Nevada forward Nick Fazekas, a sophomore from Arvada, Colo. (Ralston Valley HS), averaged 25.0 points and 12.0 rebounds in two home victories last week. On Wednesday, he scored 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds against Rice. He then had 31 points and 14 rebounds in a 74-64 win versus Vermont to notch his 12th double-double of the season. For the week, he shot 18-of-33 (.545) from the field, 3-of-6 (.500) from three-point range, 11-of-14 (.786) from the free throw line and also blocked three shots. Fazekas has scored in double figures in all 25 games this season. It is Fazekas fourth career WAC Player of the Week award and third this year.
Others nominated:
Mustafa Al-Sayyad, Sr., C, Fresno State - averaged 8.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 9.0 blocks in two games. He had eight points, seven rebounds and seven blocks in a win over Tulsa. Against Buffalo, he set a school-record with 11 blocks to go along with nine points and nine rebounds. The 11 blocks are tied for the third most by any player in the nation this year.
Matt Gibson, So., G, Hawaii - averaged 23.5 points in two games. He opened the week with 21 points and five rebounds against Boise State. Against Wisconsin-Milwaukee he scored a career-high 26 points and was 9-of-13 from the field including a school-record 6-of-6 from three-point range.
Paul Millsap, So., F, Louisiana Tech - averaged 17.0 points, 11.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocked shots in two games last week. He had a pair of double-doubles with 12 points and 11 rebounds at SMU and 22 points and 12 rebounds against New Orleans.
Bryan Hopkins, Jr., G, SMU - averaged 20.0 points in a split of two games. He scored 22 points against Louisiana Tech including 17 in the second half to help the Mustangs overcome a 16-point deficit, the third-largest in team history.
Brett McDade, Fr., G, Tulsa - averaged 14.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists in a pair of games last week. At Fresno State, he had 11 points and a career-high seven rebounds. Against Northern Arizona, he scored 18 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out six assists in the win.
NEVADA CRACKS TOP 25 For the first time in school history, Nevada has made an appearance in the APs top 25 poll. The Wolf Pack are 25th in this weeks poll. Nevada has won seven straight games and 10 of its last 11. Nevada advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament last year and finished the season 21st in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll but was unranked in the final AP poll which comes out prior to the NCAA Tournament. Nevada is the first team to be ranked in the AP poll since Tulsa was 20th on Dec. 23, 2002.
BRACKET BUSTER SATURDAY The WAC competed in ESPNs Bracket Buster Saturday last weekend and was 1-4 in its five games. Nevada opened the event by beating Vermont, 74-64. The win vaulted the Wolf Pack into the AP top 25 poll. Rice, Fresno State and Hawaii lost their home games while UTEP lost at No. 19 Pacific, 73-66.
NABC ALL-DISTRICT TEAMS The WAC had six players named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-District teams. First-team selections included Louisiana Techs Paul Millsap, Rices Michael Harris, Nevadas Nick Fazekas and UTEPs Omar Thomas. Brian Hopkins of SMU and Filiberto Rivera of UTEP were second-team honorees. Selected and voted on by member coaches of the NABC, the 150 student-athletes, from 15 districts, are now eligible for the NABC Division I All-American Team to be announced at the conclusion of the 2004-05 season.
FIVE SCORERS IN NATIONS TOP 30 In this weeks WAC stats, five players are averaging at least 19.7 points per game. At this time last year, there were none. Nevadas Nick Fazekas is first with 21.0 points per game followed by Rices Michael Harris (20.4), San Jose States Marquin Chandler (20.1), UTEPs Omar Thomas (19.8) and Louisiana Techs Paul Millsap (19.7). In the most recent NCAA stats, the five players are all ranked in the top 30 nationally in scoring. No other conference has more than three in the top 30. Fazekas ranks 11th in the nation.
MILLSAP THIRD IN NATION IN REBOUNDING Louisiana Tech forward Paul Millsap is third nationally in this weeks rebounding statistics while Rice forward Michael Harris is sixth. Millsap is averaging 11.8 rebounds per game. Utahs Andrew Bogut is first with 11.9 boards per contest. Rice senior Michael Harris is averaging 11.1 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 (.790). Michigan State leads the nation shooting 80.5 percent from the line. The Miners led the WAC in free throw percentage last year (.752). Last week, UTEP was 31-of-38 (.816) in its three road games San Jose State, Pacific and Hawaii.
FOX, SADLER RANK NEAR TOP OF FIRST-YEAR COACHES There are 38 coaches in Division I who are in their first year at their respective schools. Nevadas Mark Fox and UTEPs Doc Sadler are near the top of the list. Fox has a 21-5 record and his winning percentage of .808 is the second best of the group. Sadlers record of 21-7 (.750) ranks fourth. Utahs Ray Giacoletti is first with a record of 23-4 (.852).
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.
GLENN, SENSLEY LEAD TEAMS Tulsas Jarius Glenn and Hawaiis Julian Sensley lead their respective teams in scoring, rebounding and assists. The WAC has five other players that lead their teams in two of those three statistical categories:
Julian Sensley, Jr., F, Hawaii (12.9 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 3.2 apg)
Paul Millsap, So., F, Louisiana Tech (19.7 ppg, 11.8 rpg)
Nick Fazekas, So., F, Nevada (21.0 ppg, 9.3 rpg)
Michael Harris, Sr., F, Rice (20.4 ppg, 11.1 rpg)
Marquin Chandler, Sr., F, San Jose State (20.1 ppg, 8.9 rpg)
Bryan Hopkins, Jr., G, SMU (17.6 ppg, 4.1 apg)
Jarius Glenn, Sr., F, Tulsa (17.0 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 3.6 apg)
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. This week, SportsWest is producing the Louisiana Tech-UTEP and SMU-Boise State games on Friday. Both games will be shown on ESPNs Full Court package.
1,000-POINT SCORERS The WAC has seven players that have scored more than 1,000 points in their collegiate careers. Those seven players with points and all-time school ranking: Rice senior forward Michael Harris (1,865-2nd); Rice senior guard Jason McKrieth (1,397-9th); SMU junior guard Bryan Hopkins (1,245-17th); Tulsa senior forward Jarius Glenn (1,241-16th); SMU senior forward Patrick Simpson (1,187-25th); UTEP senior forward Omar Thomas (1,049-24th) and SMU senior forward/center Eric Castro (1,031-31st). Nevada sophomore forward Nick Fazekas is next on the list with 976 points.
NEVADA OWNS LONGEST HOME STREAK With Louisiana Techs five-game home winning streak snapped last Saturday against New Orleans, Nevada now has the WACs longest home winning streak at five in a row. In conference games only, Louisiana Tech has the longest home winning streak at five straight.
NATIONAL RANKINGS Nevada is ranked 25th in this weeks AP poll and received votes in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll. The top three WAC teams in the CollegeRPI.com ratings are Nevada (28), UTEP (62) and Rice (96).
HOME SWEET HOME The WACs 10 teams are a combined 96-43 (.691) at home this season. On the road and in neutral site games, the WAC is 38-72 (.345). In conference games, home teams are 48-24 (.667).
ROAD WARRIORS In all games, the WAC has two teams with winning road records this season. Nevada is 8-2 while UTEP is 7-4. In conference games only, Nevada is 6-0 and UTEP is 6-3. UTEP won both of its WAC road games last week while Rice and Boise State won at Fresno State and San Jose State, respectively, on Monday night.
NON-CONFERENCE MARK The WAC is 62-42 (.596) in non-conference games this season, including a 54-42 (.563) 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 81-39 (.675), the best record of any WAC team during that time. In conference games, Nevada has won 46 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 81-39 (.675) 1. Nevada 46-23 (.667)
2. Nevada 81-41 (.664) 2. Hawaii 41-27 (.603)
3. Fresno State 67-49 (.578) 3. Fresno State 40-29 (.580)
4. Rice 65-50 (.565) 4. Louisiana Tech 39-29 (.574)
5. Tulsa 66-54 (.550) 5. Rice 36-32 (.529)
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 8-18, New Mexico State is 5-21 and Utah State is 19-7.
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.TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Boise State Broncos (12-15, 5-10 WAC)
The win at San Jose State snapped a seven-game conference road losing streak and an eight-game road losing streak overall ... Jermaine Blackburn scored 16 points against the Spartans including eight in the final six minutes ... senior forward Jason Ellis scored 18 points in the game, his most since scoring 19 on Dec. 15 against Eastern Washington ... has won three of its last four games after a five-game losing streak ... is the only WAC team to not lose a conference game decided by five points or less (3-0) ... Boise State leads the WAC in three-point field goals made per game (7.9) ... senior forward Jason Ellis is the schools all-time leader in rebounds with 867 ... Ellis is the first Bronco to score more than 900 points (915) and pull down more than 800 rebounds.
Fresno State Bulldogs (14-11, 8-7 WAC)
Has lost four of its last five games ... has lost three of its last five home games ... sophomore guard JaVance Coleman played just seven minutes in the game against Buffalo due to an achilles injury ... he played 24 minutes against Rice on Monday and scored 13 points ... is 6-1 in conference games decided by five points or less and 7-3 overall ... after scoring at least 80 points in four of its first seven games, the Bulldogs have reached that mark just twice in the last 18 ... senior center Mustafa Al-Sayyad leads the WAC in blocks (2.5 bpg) ... he blocked seven shots against Tulsa and then a school-record 11 versus Buffalo ... 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 (14-9, 6-8 WAC)
Has lost four of its last five games including two of three at home ... the loss to Wisconsin-Milwaukee snapped a 14-game home winning streak against non-conference opponents ... senior Jake Sottos leads the WAC in three-point FG percentage (.453) ... junior Julian Sensleys games started streak came to an end last night at 55 games ... he had started every game played at Hawaii ... leads the WAC in assists with 17.0 per game ... is 6-7 in games decided by five points or less ... UH has not lost a game by more than six points and its nine losses are by a combined 28 points (3.1 points per loss) ... had won 36 straight games when scoring 80 or more points until losing to Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Saturday, 87-81.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (13-11, 8-6 WAC)
Has lost three of its last five games after a five-game winning streak ... is now 12-4 in overtime games under head coach Keith Richard after losing to New Orleans, 87-85 ... had its five-game home winning streak snapped by New Orleans ... Paul Millsap has scored in double figures in 28 straight games, the longest active streak in the WAC ... Millsap has a WAC-high 18 double-doubles this year (including four in a row), and 38 in his two-year career ... Tech has not allowed its opponents to score 100 points in a game for 333 contests, the longest such streak in the WAC ... has a home record of 215-59 (.785) at the Thomas Assembly Center, the best winning percentage of any WAC team at its current arena.
Nevada Wolf Pack (21-5, 13-2 WAC)
Has won seven games in a row for the second time this season ... its 21-5 mark is its best since beginning the 1945-46 season with a 22-4 record ... is 8-2 on the road after a 5-8 mark last year ... plays its final three regular season games on the road ... has won seven straight road games overall and seven in a row in the WAC ... is 16-0 when holding an opponent to 60 points or less ... Nick Fazekas has scored in double figures in all 26 games this year and has scored 20 or more in 15 contests, the most of any player in the WAC ... he leads the WAC in scoring with 21.0 ppg ... Nevada leads the WAC in scoring defense (61.3), field goal percentage defense (.386), rebounds (39.3) and rebounding margin (+7.5) ... has made more free throws (457) than its opponents have attempted (418).
Rice Owls (14-10, 8-6 WAC)
Senior Michael Harris has scored in double figures in 27 consecutive games ... he has 49 career double-doubles, the most of any active WAC player ... he is second in the WAC in rebounding (11.1 rpg) and first in field goal percentage (.610) ... he is first in rebounding in conference games only (11.8 rpg) ... Harris has 1,865 career points and 1,015 career rebounds ... he needs 41 points and 34 rebounds to tie Brent Scott for first at Rice ... Harris was one of 12 named to CollegeInsider.coms mid-season All-America team ... senior guard Jason 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 scoring (74.4) and FG percentage (.479).
San Jose State Spartans (6-18, 3-11 WAC)
Had five players score in double figures in the loss to Boise State on Monday ... is 0-6 in its last three trips to Rice and Tulsa ... after matching its win total from a year ago on Jan. 29, the Spartans have lost six in a row, the longest current streak in the WAC ... has three WAC wins this season, two more than all of last year ... three of its six wins have come by one point ... leads the WAC in three-point field goal percentage (.357) ... is averaging a WAC-low 62.5 points per game for the season ... senior forward Marquin Chandler has reached double figures in scoring in 25 straight games ... has lost its last 18 conference road games ... SJSU has not scored 100 points in a game since beating Utah State, 101-85, on Jan. 25, 1979 (739 games).
SMU Mustangs (12-11, 7-7 WAC)
Has won three of its last four games ... completed a three-game homestand (the longest of the year) last week with a 3-0 record ... won its first game decided by five points or less (1-4) when it beat Louisiana Tech last Wednesday, 73-70 ... came back from 16 points down against the Bulldogs, the third largest deficit SMU has overcome in school history ... is 9-3 at home and has won four in a row at Moody Coliseum ... junior guard Byran Hopkins leads the WAC in steals (2.5) and three-point field goals made per game (2.6) ... the Mustangs are 9-2 when Hopkins leads the team in scoring ... is the only team in the WAC with two players in the top 10 in scoring as Hopkins is sixth (17.6 ppg) and Eric Castro is 10th (14.6 ppg) ... SMU leads the WAC in steals (9.0).
UTEP Miners (21-7, 11-4 WAC)
Outrebounded Hawaii by six, the first time the Miners have outrebounded an opponent in 10 games ... is 4-4 in its last eight games ... is 7-4 on the road this season and completed its WAC road schedule with a 6-3 mark ... finishes its regular season with three straight home games ... Filiberto Rivera leads the WAC in assists (6.6 apg) ... Rivera is first in the WAC in free throw percentage (.865) while Omar Thomas is third (.826) ... senior forward Jason Williams has started 60 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the WAC ... is 15-0 when scoring 70 or more points ... UTEP leads the WAC in FT percentage (.790) and scoring margin (+9.5) ... has made more free throws (484) than its opponents have attempted (466).
Tulsa Golden Hurricane (7-17, 3-11 WAC)
Has won four of its last five home games ... has lost three of its last four games ... is 0-7 on the road in WAC games this season ... has lost seven overtime games in a row and is 0-3 this season ... is 7-1 when holding its opponents to 65 points or less ... is 1-12 in games decided by eight points or less ... leads the WAC in blocks with 5.8 per game ... senior Jarius Glenn has led the Golden Hurricane in scoring in eight of the last 11 games ... Glenn leads the team in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals ... freshman Brett McDade has averaged 12.7 points per game in his last 10 contests after averaging 4.4 in his first 13 games ... interim head coach Alvin Pooh Williamson, 31, is the second youngest coach in NCAA Division I this season.