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PLAYER OF THE WEEK Rice forward Michael Harris, a senior from Hillsboro, Texas (Hillsboro HS), averaged 25.0 points and 17.7 rebounds in three wins. He opened the week with 30 points and 11 rebounds at Fresno State last Monday night. On Friday, he scored 15 points and tied his career-high with 18 rebounds versus San Jose State. Yesterday, Harris scored 30 points, pulled down a new career-high 24 rebounds and had three blocks against Hawaii. For the week, he was 30-of-49 (.612) from the field and had six steals, five assists and four blocks. Harris also became the Owls all-time leader in both scoring (1,910) and rebounding (1,057) on Sunday. It is Harris' fifth career WAC Player of the Week award and second this year.
Others nominated:
Jermaine Blackburn, Sr., G, Boise State - averaged 16.7 points in three games for the Broncos last week (2-1). He scored 16 against both San Jose State and SMU and added 18 versus Louisiana Tech. Blackburn was 11-of-11 from the free throw line in the three games.
Donovan Morris, Fr., G, Fresno State - averaged 14.5 points in two games. Against Nevada, he was 10-of-11 from the free throw line and scored 15 points.
Paul Millsap, So., F, Louisiana Tech - averaged 26.0 points and 16.0 rebounds in two road games. Against Boise State, he scored 29 points and grabbed 25 rebounds, the most boards by a NCAA player in over two years.
Nick Fazekas, So., F, Nevada - averaged 21.5 points and 13.0 rebounds in wins over Tulsa and Fresno State. He was 13-of-15 from the free throw line and also blocked six shots in the two games.
Patrick Simpson, Sr., F, SMU - averaged 17.5 points and 7.0 rebounds in a split of two road games. Against UTEP, he scored a team-high 22 points.
Filiberto Rivera, Sr., G, UTEP - averaged 12.3 points and 11.0 assists in three wins for the Miners. Against Louisiana Tech, he set a school-record with 18 assists. On Sunday, he scored 16 points and dished out nine more assists against SMU. The 18 assists are tied for the most by any player in the nation this season.
PACK CLINCHES SHARE OF TITLE Nevadas win over Fresno State assured the Wolf Pack of at least a tie for the WAC regular season championship. Nevada can win the outright title by either winning one of its last two games or if UTEP loses against Boise State on Saturday. Nevada and UTEP tied for the regular season title last season.
POSSIBLE SCENARIOS The WAC will be releasing every possible scenario for the tournament seedings on Friday morning. This will include what seeds each team could end up with and how they would get there.
WHAT IS KNOWN What is known about next weeks tournament is that Boise State, San Jose State and Tulsa will be playing on Tuesday, March 8 in the first round games, while Hawaii and SMU will play out this week to see which team can avoid an early game. Nevada, UTEP, Rice, Fresno State and Louisiana Tech will begin tournament play in the quarterfinals on Thurs., March 10.
NEVADA WINS EIGHTH IN A ROW Nevada won at Fresno State on Saturday night to notch its eight consecutive victory, currently tied for the seventh longest in the nation. It also ties for the longest by a WAC team this year. Hawaii opened the season winning its first eight games.
NATIONAL SINGLE-GAME HIGHS Three WAC players posted stats that rank near the top of this years national game-highs. Louisiana Techs Paul Millsap grabbed 25 rebounds against Boise State on Sunday. That total is the most since Ohios Brandon Hunter had 26 rebounds on Jan. 8, 2003. Rices Michael Harris pulled down 24 rebounds against Hawaii on Sunday, tied for the second most by any player in the nation this season. On Friday, UTEPs Filiberto Rivera dished out 18 assists against Louisiana Tech. That total is tied for the most by any player this year.
ALL-WAC TEAMS The all-WAC teams as selected by the coaches in the league will be announced on Sunday afternoon. There will be a first-team, second-team, all-newcomer team and all-defensive team. Also, the player, freshman and coach of the year will be announced at that time.
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 21.3 points per game followed by Rices Michael Harris (20.6), Louisiana Techs Paul Millsap (20.2), UTEPs Omar Thomas (20.1) and San Jose States Marquin Chandler (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 FIRST IN NATION IN REBOUNDING Louisiana Tech sophomore Paul Millsap leads the nation in this weeks rebounding statistics while Rice senior Michael Harris is fourth. Millsap is averaging 12.1 rebounds per game while Harris is averaging 11.9 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 (.791). Michigan State leads the nation shooting 79.6 percent from the line. The Miners led the WAC in free throw percentage last year (.752). Last week, UTEP was 35-of-43 (.814) in its two home games against Louisiana Tech and SMU.
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 22-5 record and his winning percentage of .815 is the second best of the group. Sadlers record of 23-7 (.767) ranks fourth. Utahs Ray Giacoletti is first with a record of 24-4 (.857).
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.
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. All four mens quarterfinal and both semifinal games in next weeks WAC tournament will be produced by SportsWest and will be shown on ESPNs Full Court package. The games will also be made available to the local markets of the competing teams. Rich Cellini and Dave Bollwinkel will be the announcers for those six games. ESPN2 will televise the mens championship game on Saturday, March 12 at 6:00 p.m. (PT).
SIRIUS RADIO TO CARRY TOURNAMENT GAMES Sirius radio will carry the mens quarterfinal, semifinal and championship games of the 2005 WAC Tournament. A feed from one of the local broadcasts of the competing teams will be made available to all Sirius subscribers. All four quarterfinal games on Thursday, March 10 will be on channel 126. The semifinal games on Friday will be on channel 131 and the championship game will be on channel 123.
GLENN LEADS TEAM Tulsas Jarius Glenn is the only WAC player to lead his team in scoring, rebounding and assists. The WAC has seven other players that lead their teams in two of those three statistical categories:
Julian Sensley, Jr., F, Hawaii (7.1 rpg, 3.2 apg)
Paul Millsap, So., F, Louisiana Tech (20.2 ppg, 12.1 rpg)
Nick Fazekas, So., F, Nevada (21.3 ppg, 9.4 rpg)
Michael Harris, Sr., F, Rice (20.6 ppg, 11.9 rpg)
Marquin Chandler, Sr., F, San Jose State (19.7 ppg, 8.8 rpg)
Bryan Hopkins, Jr., G, SMU (17.8 ppg, 4.0 apg)
Omar Thomas, Sr., F, UTEP (20.1 ppg, 6.5 rpg)
Jarius Glenn, Sr., F, Tulsa (17.0 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 3.5 apg)
1,000-POINT SCORERS The WAC has eight players that have scored more than 1,000 points in their collegiate careers. Those eight players with points and all-time school ranking: Rice senior forward Michael Harris (1,910-1st); Rice senior guard Jason McKrieth (1,427-9th); SMU junior guard Bryan Hopkins (1,286-16th); Tulsa senior forward Jarius Glenn (1,275-16th); SMU senior forward Patrick Simpson (1,222-20th); UTEP senior forward Omar Thomas (1,098-21st), SMU senior forward/center Eric Castro (1,053-29th) and Nevada sophomore forward Nick Fazekas (1,004-17th). Louisiana Tech sophomore Paul Millsap (991) and Rice senior guard Brock Gillespie (976) are next on the list.
NEVADA OWNS LONGEST HOME STREAK Nevada has the WACs longest home winning streak at five in a row. In conference home games only, Louisiana Tech has won the most consecutive games at five straight.
NATIONAL RANKINGS Nevada is ranked 25th in this weeks AP poll and received votes in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll. UTEP also earned consideration in the coaches poll. The top three WAC teams in the CollegeRPI.com ratings are Nevada (28), UTEP (50) and Rice (96).
HOME SWEET HOME The WACs 10 teams are a combined 103-45 (.696) at home this season. On the road and in neutral site games, the WAC is 40-79 (.336). In conference games, home teams are 55-26 (.679).
ROAD WARRIORS In all games, the WAC has two teams with winning road records this season. Nevada is 9-2 while UTEP is 7-4. In conference games only, Nevada is 7-0 and UTEP is 6-3. Two WAC teams won road games last week as SMU won at Boise State on Friday while Nevada beat Fresno State on Saturday 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).
NEVADA TOP TEAM OVER LAST FOUR YEARS Over the last four seasons, Nevada is 82-41 (.667), the best record of any WAC team during that time. In conference games, Nevada has won 47 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. Nevada 82-41 (.667) 1. Nevada 47-23 (.671)
2. Hawaii 81-41 (.664) 2. Hawaii 41-29 (.586)
3. Fresno State 67-50 (.573) 3. Fresno State 40-30 (.571)
Rice 67-50 (.573) 4. Louisiana Tech 39-31 (.557)
5. Tulsa 68-54 (.557) 5. Rice 38-32 (.543)
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 8-20, New Mexico State is 5-23 and Utah State is 21-7.TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Boise State Broncos (13-16, 6-11 WAC)
Plays at UTEP on Saturday and was the only WAC team to win in El Paso last season ... the Broncos lead the series against the Miners, 5-4 ... Boise State has won four of its last six games after a five-game losing streak ... is the only WAC team to not lose a conference game decided by five points or less (4-0) ... Boise State leads the WAC in three-point field goals made per game (7.7) ... senior forward Jason Ellis is the schools all-time leader in rebounds with 881 ... Ellis is the first Bronco to score more than 900 points (930) and pull down more than 800 rebounds ... he has 482 career rebounds in WAC games, the 12th most in conference history.
Fresno State Bulldogs (14-12, 8-8 WAC)
Has lost five of its last six games ... has lost four of its last six home games including three in a row ... it was the first time the Bulldogs lost its last three home games since 1989-90 ... 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 19 ... senior center Mustafa Al-Sayyad leads the WAC in blocks (2.5 bpg) ... features an 11-man rotation that includes seven freshmen and a sophomore in his first year at the Division I level (JaVance Coleman) ... senior center Jack Marlow was held out of Saturdays game against Nevada due to an issue concerning his eligibility.
Hawaii Rainbow Warriors (14-11, 6-10 WAC)
Prior to its 19-point loss against Rice, UH had not lost a game by more than seven points this season ... has lost six of its last seven games including four in a row ... has lost its last two home games ... has not lost five games in a row or three home games in a row since the 1998-99 season ... has never lost to Nevada at home in a WAC game (4-0) ... won its last game against a top 25 opponent when it beat Utah State last year in the NIT ... senior Jake Sottos leads the WAC in three-point FG percentage (.442) ... Matt Gibson is averaging 18.3 points per game over his last seven contests ... UH leads the WAC in assists with 17.1 per game ... is 6-7 in games decided by five points or less ... has lost its 11 games by an average of 4.9 points per contest.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (13-13, 8-8 WAC)
Has lost five of its last seven games after a five-game winning streak ... Eric Woods is 3-of-3 in his career in halftime buzzer beaters after making a halfcourt shot against UTEP on Friday ... Paul Millsap has scored in double figures in 30 straight games, the longest active streak in the WAC ... Millsap has a WAC-high 19 double-doubles this year and 39 in his two-year career ... he was 10-of-12 from the field in the game against UTEP last Friday ... Tech has not allowed its opponents to score 100 points in a game for 335 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 (22-5, 14-2 WAC)
Has won eight games in a row ... has never won a WAC game at Hawaii ... its 22-5 mark is its best since the 1945-46 season (also 22-5) ... is 9-2 on the road after a 5-8 mark last year ... plays its final two regular season games on the road ... has won eight straight road games overall and eight 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 27 games this year and has scored 20 or more in 16 contests, the most of any player in the WAC ... he leads the WAC in scoring with 21.3 ppg ... Nevada leads the WAC in scoring defense (61.4), field goal percentage defense (.384), rebounds (39.3) and rebounding margin (+7.5) ... has made more free throws (472) than its opponents have attempted (447).
Rice Owls (16-10, 10-6 WAC)
Has won three games in a row ... Jason McKrieth scored a season-high 22 points in the game against Hawaii ... senior Michael Harris has scored in double figures in 29 consecutive games ... he has 51 career double-doubles, the most of any active WAC player ... he is second in the WAC in rebounding (11.9 rpg) and first in field goal percentage (.611) ... he is first in rebounding in conference games only (12.9 rpg) ... Harris is the Owls all-time leading scorer (1,910) and rebounder (1,057) ... he 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 FG percentage (.481).
San Jose State Spartans (6-20, 3-13 WAC)
After matching its win total from a year ago on Jan. 29, the Spartans have lost eight in a row, the longest current streak in the WAC ... the 32-point loss to Tulsa was its worst of the season ... has three WAC wins this season, two more than all of last year ... three of its six wins have come by one point ... is averaging a WAC-low 61.4 points per game for the season ... is the only team in the WAC with just one player averaging double figures in scoring (Marquin Chandler) ... senior forward Marquin Chandler has reached double figures in scoring in 27 straight games ... has lost its last 20 conference road games ... SJSU has not scored 100 points in a game since beating Utah State, 101-85, on Jan. 25, 1979 (741 games).
SMU Mustangs (13-12, 8-8 WAC)
Has won four of its last six games ... is 9-3 at home and has won four in a row at Moody Coliseum ... is the only team in the WAC to have four players averaging double figures in scoring (Bryan Hopkins, Eric Castro, Patrick Simpson and Devon Pearson) Hopkins scored a game-high 28 points in the win over Boise State on Friday ... had five players score in double figures in the loss to UTEP on Sunday ... junior guard Byran Hopkins leads the WAC in steals (2.5) and three-point field goals made per game (2.4) ... the Mustangs are 10-2 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 (17.8 ppg) and Eric Castro is 10th (14.3 ppg) ... SMU leads the WAC in steals (8.8).
UTEP Miners (23-7, 13-4 WAC)
Has won four of its last five games including three in a row ... is 7-4 on the road this season and completed its WAC road schedule with a 6-3 mark ... Filiberto Rivera leads the WAC in assists (7.2 apg) ... his 193 assists are a new school season record ... Rivera is first in the WAC in FT percentage (.841) while Omar Thomas is third (.834) ... Thomas made all 12 of his free throw attempts against Louisiana Tech last Friday ... senior forward Jason Williams has started 62 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the WAC ... is 17-0 when scoring 70 or more points ... UTEP leads the WAC in scoring (74.3), FT percentage (.791), three-point FG percentage (.363) and scoring margin (+9.7) ... has made more free throws (519) than its opponents have attempted (500).
Tulsa Golden Hurricane (9-17, 5-11 WAC)
Beat Hawaii, 83-76, its first win allowing more than 65 points in a game this season ... Guilherme Teichmann scored a season-high 23 points and tied a career-high with 12 rebounds in the home finale against San Jose State ... has won three of its last four games ... has won six of its last seven home 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 2-12 in games decided by eight points or less after beating Hawaii by seven on Friday ... leads the WAC in blocks with 5.8 per game ... Jarius Glenn leads the team in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals ... interim head coach Alvin Pooh Williamson, 31, is the second youngest coach in NCAA Division I this season.