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NEVADA, UTEP EARN REPEAT TRIPS TO NCAA TOURNAMENT For the second year in a row, Nevada and UTEP both played in the NCAA Tournament. The Wolf Pack were a nine seed in the Chicago Regional and opened with a 61-57 win over No. 8 Texas in a game played in Indianapolis. Kevinn Pinkney led Nevada with 15 points while Nick Fazekas scored 10 and pulled down 13 rebounds. The Pack then met top-ranked and No. 1 seed Illinois in a second round game. Pinkney again led Nevada with 22 points and also grabbed 11 rebounds, but the Pack fell, 71-59, to finish their season with a 25-7 record. UTEP earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament with the WACs automatic bid after winning the WAC Tournament. The Miners were the No. 11 seed in the Austin Regional and lost their first round game to sixth-seeded Utah, 60-54, in Tucson, Ariz. Omar Thomas scored 24 points to lead UTEP. The 54 points were tied for the lowest by the Miners this season. UTEP led the WAC in scoring with 74.7 points per game.
THE WAC IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT The WAC has a 64-85 record (.430) in its teams 79 appearances in the NCAA Tournament including the two this season by Nevada (1-1) and UTEP (0-1). In 1998, Utah played in the NCAA title game, losing to Kentucky, 78-69, in San Antonio. It was the furthest a WAC team had ever advanced. UTEP is the only current WAC team to have won a National Championship, but did so prior to joining the WAC (1966).
RICE DROPS NIT OPENER Rice made its second consecutive appearance in the NIT where it lost an opening round game at Southwest Missouri State, 105-82. Michael Harris led the Owls with 24 points and 10 rebounds, his 55th career double-double. The 105 points allowed by Rice were tied for the most given up by a WAC team in a game this past year.
THE WAC IN THE NIT The WAC is 74-62 (.544) in its teams 62 appearances in the NIT including the one this season by Rice (0-1). Two WAC teams have won the NIT title as Brigham Young did it in 1966 and Tulsa in 2001. Fresno State (1983) and Tulsa (1981) each wore the NIT crown prior to WAC membership.
MILLSAP LEADS NATION IN REBOUNDING Louisiana Tech sophomore Paul Millsap led the nation in rebounding while Rice senior Michael Harris was fourth. Millsap averaged 12.4 rebounds per game and Harris averaged 11.7. Last year, Millsap became the first WAC player to finish the season as the nations 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 Americans 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.
MINERS FIRST IN NATION IN FREE THROW PERCENTAGE UTEP led the WAC and the nation in free throw percentage (.792). It is the second consecutive year that the Miners led the WAC in this statistic as last year UTEP shot 75.2 percent from the charity stripe. The Miners are the first team to lead the nation in free throw percentage since Utah did it during the 1995-96 season (.784).
UTEP WINS 2005 WAC TOURNAMENT For the fifth time in school history and first since 1990, UTEP won the WAC Tournament after beating Boise State in the championship game, 91-76. It was the 10th time the Miners had appeared in the title game and second year in a row. The 91 points were the most ever scored in a WAC Tournament championship game. Last season, UTEP lost to Nevada in the finals, 66-60. UTEP opened the 2005 tournament by beating Hawaii in the quarterfinals, 80-62, and Rice in the semifinals, 85-77.
BOISE STATE MAKES FINAL AS AN EIGHT SEED For the first time in WAC history, an eight seed advanced to the finals of the WAC Tournament. Boise State opened the tournament with an 83-73 win over Tulsa in the first round. The Broncos then beat the host and No. 1 seed Nevada, 73-72 in the quarterfinals. Boise State picked up another one-point win in the semifinals, 86-85, over Fresno State. Only once previously had a team that played in the opening round advanced to the championship game. UNLV did it in 1998 when it won the tournament as a fifth seed out of the Mountain Division.
RECORDS SET There were a few conference tournament records established in Reno. Boise State senior Jason Ellis pulled down 21 rebounds in a first round game against Tulsa to break the old record of 19 set by Wyomings Theo Ratliff against San Diego State in 1994. Ellis ended up with 53 rebounds in the tournament, surpassing the old record of 44 set by Fresno States Larry Abney in 2000. UTEP senior Omar Thomas was 24-of-26 from the free throw line during his three games. The 24 made free throws broke the old record of 23.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM UTEP placed two players on the WACs all-tournament team as selected by the media in attendance. Miner teammates Filiberto Rivera and Omar Thomas were joined by Boise States Jason Ellis and Jermaine Blackburn and Rices Michael Harris. Rivera was named the tournament MVP after averaging 20.0 points and 8.0 assists in the three contests. He had 11 assists against Hawaii in the quarterfinals and scored a career-high 32 points and added eight more assists in the championship game against Boise State.
ATTENDANCE The mens tournament was attended by 19,607 fans during the five sessions (3,921/session). The title game drew 4,178 to the Lawlor Events Center in Reno, Nevada.
2006 WAC BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT The 2006 WAC Tournament will again by played at Nevadas Lawlor Events Center, March 7-11.
PACK WINS RECORD 16TH WAC GAME For the first time in WAC history, a team won 16 conference games. Nevada finished the regular season with a 16-2 mark in league play to win the regular season conference title by two games. This year marked the eighth season that the WAC had an 18-game conference schedule. Previously, seven teams had won 15 WAC games with Hawaii and Tulsa the last schools to do it in 2001-02.
WAC ON ESPN/SPORTSWEST The WAC has a multi-year contract with both ESPN and SportsWest for coverage of football and basketball. A total of 24 basketball games between the two networks were scheduled this season including the final seven games of the WAC Tournament.
ALL-WAC TEAMS The 2005 all-WAC teams as voted upon by the coaches were announced in early March. Nevada sophomore forward Nick Fazekas was named the Player of the Year. Nevada guard Ramon Sessions garnered Freshman of the Year honors and his coach, Mark Fox, was named the Don Haskins Coach of the Year. The complete list of teams can be found later in this release.
FAZEKAS HONORABLE MENTION Forward Nick Fazekas was named an AP honorable mention All-America. The sophomore led the WAC in scoring with 20.7 points per game and was third in the conference in rebounding with 9.4 boards per contest.
USBWA ALL-DISTRICT TEAMS Rice senior Michael Harris, UTEP senior Omar Thomas, SMU junior Byran Hopkins and Louisiana Tech sophomore Paul Millsap were named all-District 7 by the United State Basketball Writers of America (USBWA). Nevada sophomore Nick Fazekas earned all-District 8 honors.
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.
NATIONAL SINGLE-GAME HIGHS Two WAC players posted stats in games that ranked the best in the nation this past year. Louisiana Techs Paul Millsap grabbed 25 rebounds against Boise State on Feb. 27. That total is the most since Ohios Brandon Hunter had 26 rebounds on Jan. 8, 2003. UTEPs Filiberto Rivera dished out 18 assists against Louisiana Tech on Feb. 25, tied for the most by any player in the nation.
FOUR SCORERS OVER 20 PPG In the final WAC stats, four players finished the season averaging more than 20 points per game. Last year, Kirk Snyder led the WAC with 18.8 points per game. Nevadas Nick Fazekas was first with 20.7 points per game followed by Rices Michael Harris (20.6), UTEPs Omar Thomas (20.5) and Louisiana Techs Paul Millsap (20.4). San Jose States Marquin Chandler finished just short of the mark with 19.6 points per game. In the final NCAA stats, the four players were all ranked in the top 20 nationally in scoring while Fazekas ranks 14th.
FOX, SADLER RANK NEAR TOP OF FIRST-YEAR COACHES There were 38 coaches in Division I who were in their first year at their respective schools. Nevadas Mark Fox and UTEPs Doc Sadler finished near the top of the list. Fox had a 25-7 record and his winning percentage of .781 was second behind only Utahs Ray Giacoletti (29-6, .829). Sadlers record of 27-8 (.771) ranked tied for third while his 27 wins were tied for second for the most in the nation.
GLENN LEADS TEAM Tulsas Jarius Glenn was the only WAC player to lead his team in scoring, rebounding and assists. The WAC had seven other players that led their teams in two of those three statistical categories:
Julian Sensley, Jr., F, Hawaii (6.9 rpg, 3.1 apg)
Paul Millsap, So., F, Louisiana Tech (20.4 ppg, 12.4 rpg)
Nick Fazekas, So., F, Nevada (20.7 ppg, 9.4 rpg)
Michael Harris, Sr., F, Rice (20.6 ppg, 11.7 rpg)
Marquin Chandler, Sr., F, San Jose State (19.6 ppg, 8.6 rpg)
Bryan Hopkins, Jr., G, SMU (17.9 ppg, 3.9 apg)
Omar Thomas, Sr., F, UTEP (20.5 ppg, 6.7 rpg)
Jarius Glenn, Sr., F, Tulsa (17.1 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 3.4 apg)
1,000-POINT SCORERS The WAC had 11 players that scored more than 1,000 points in their collegiate careers. Those 11 players with points and all-time school ranking: Rice senior forward Michael Harris (2,014-1st); Rice senior guard Jason McKrieth (1,500-7th); SMU junior guard Bryan Hopkins (1,342-16th); Tulsa senior forward Jarius Glenn (1,329-15th); SMU senior forward Patrick Simpson (1,271-17th); UTEP senior forward Omar Thomas (1,211-12th), SMU senior forward/center Eric Castro (1,093-27th), Nevada sophomore forward Nick Fazekas (1,070-13th), Louisiana Tech sophomore Paul Millsap (1,060-29th), Rice senior guard Brock Gillespie (1,007-26th) and Boise State senior Jason Ellis (1,004-16th).
NATIONAL RANKINGS The WAC had no teams ranked in the final top 25 polls but both Nevada and UTEP earned votes in the final AP poll prior to the start of the NCAA Tournament while Nevada received votes in the final USA Today/ESPN coaches poll.
HOME SWEET HOME The WACs 10 teams were a combined 107-51 (.677) at home this past season. On the road and in neutral site games, the WAC was 47-86 (.353). In conference games, home teams were 59-31 (.656).
ROAD WARRIORS In all games, the WAC had two teams with winning road records. Nevada was 11-2 while UTEP was 7-4. In conference games only, Nevada was 9-0, UTEP was 6-3 and Rice 5-4.
NON-CONFERENCE MARK The WAC was 63-45 (.583) in non-conference games, including a 55-45 (.550) 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 85-43 (.664), the best record of any WAC team during that time. In conference games, Nevada has won 49 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 85-43 (.664) 1. Nevada 49-23 (.681)
2. Hawaii 83-43 (.659) 2. Hawaii 42-30 (.583)
3. Rice 70-52 (.574) 3. Fresno State 41-31 (.569)
4. Fresno State 69-52 (.570) 4. Louisiana Tech 40-32 (.556)
5. Tulsa 68-57 (.544) Rice 40-32 (.556)
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 past year, Utah State finished its season with a 24-8 mark after a first round loss in the NCAA Tournament. Idaho was 8-22 and New Mexico State finished at 6-24. New Mexico State will have a new coach for the 2005-06 season after hiring Reggie Theus in late March. A former NBA all-star, Theus comes to New Mexico State after serving as an assistant coach for Louisville the past two seasons.TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Boise State Broncos (16-18, 6-12 WAC)
Jason Ellis grabbed 21 rebounds (to go along with 22 points) against Tulsa in the first round of the WAC Tournament ... the 21 boards are a tournament record and one shy of the school record set three times ... sophomore guard Coby Karl scored a team-high 24 points in the championship game against UTEP ... finished the season with a 7-4 mark after losing its previous five games ... was the only WAC team to not lose a conference game decided by five points or less (4-0) ... Boise State led 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 948, the 15th most in WAC history ... he had 496 career rebounds in WAC games, the 12th most in conference history.
Fresno State Bulldogs (16-14, 9-9 WAC)
Head coach Ray Lopes resigned on March 17 ... lost five of its last seven games ... was 6-1 in conference games decided by five points or less and 8-4 overall ... after scoring at least 80 points in four of its first seven games, the Bulldogs reached that mark just twice in the final 23 ... senior center Mustafa Al-Sayyad led the WAC in blocks (2.3 bpg) ... freshman Donovan Morris led the WAC in three-point FG percentage (.425) ... featured an 11-man rotation that included seven freshmen and a sophomore in his first year at the Division I level (JaVance Coleman) ... Coleman led the WAC in three-point field goals made per game (2.7) ... senior center Jack Marlow was held out of the last five games due to an issue concerning his eligibility.
Hawaii Rainbow Warriors (16-13, 7-11 WAC)
Finished with a winning season for the sixth straight year, the longest such streak in the WAC ... did not have a player score more than 13 points in either WAC Tournament game ... sophomore guard Matt Gibson averaged 16.5 points per game in the last 12 contests after beginning the season with a 10.5 per game average in his first 17 games ... Gibson scored just 12 points in two WAC Tournament games ... he scored at least 20 points in five of his last nine games ... lost eight of its last 11 games ... opened the season winning its first eight contests and had the best non-conference record in the WAC (8-1) ... UH led the WAC in assists with 17.0 per game ... was 6-7 in games decided by five points or less ... the 13 five-point games were the most in the WAC.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (14-15, 9-9 WAC)
Sophomore forward Paul Millsap has scored in double figures in 33 straight games ... he had 25 points and 17 points in the quarterfinal loss against Fresno State ... Millsap tied for a WAC-high 22 double-doubles this year and has 42 in his two-year career ... he became the first player to lead the nation in rebounding in back-to-back seasons since Americans Kermit Washington did it in 1973 ... lost six of its last seven games after winning seven of its previous eight ... Tech has not allowed its opponents to score 100 points in a game for 338 contests, the longest such streak in the WAC ... has a home record of 216-60 (.783) at the Thomas Assembly Center, the best winning percentage of any WAC team at its current arena.
Nevada Wolf Pack (25-7, 16-2 WAC)
Had its 10-game winning streak snapped against Boise State in the quarterfinals of the WAC Tournament ... was 11-2 on the road after a 5-8 mark last year ... had a better road record than home record (13-4) ... will bring a 10-game road winning streak and a nine-game WAC winning streak into next season ... was 17-0 when holding an opponent to 60 points or less ... Nick Fazekas scored in double figures in all 32 games this year and scored 20 or more in 18 contests, tied for the most of any player in the WAC ... he led the WAC in scoring with 20.7 ppg ... Nevada led the WAC in scoring defense (61.7), field goal percentage defense (.389), rebounds (39.8) and rebounding margin (+7.6) ... made more free throws (556) than its opponents attempted (500).
Rice Owls (19-12, 12-6 WAC)
Senior Michael Harris scored in double figures in 34 straight games ... he had 55 career double-doubles, the most of any active WAC player ... he was second in the WAC in rebounding (11.7 rpg) and first in field goal percentage (.608) ... he was first in rebounding in conference games only (12.7 rpg) and his 229 rebounds are the second most ever in a WAC season ... he is the Owls all-time and WACs active leading scorer (1,214) and rebounder (1,111) ... Harris became the fourth player in WAC history with 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds ... senior Jason McKrieth recorded a triple-double on Dec. 29 against SMU, the first by a WAC player in over three years ... Rice led the WAC in FG percentage (.481) ... was 125-137 (.477) in the WAC.
San Jose State Spartans (6-23, 3-15 WAC)
Phil Johnson resigned on March 7 but did coach the Spartans in their first round WAC Tournament loss against Hawaii ... SJSU hired George Nessman on March 15 ... Nessman was an assistant at California this past season ... after matching its win total from a year ago on Jan. 29, the Spartans lost 11 games in a row, the longest current streak in the WAC ... had three WAC wins this season, two more than all of last year ... three of its six wins came by one point ... averaged a WAC-low 61.0 points per game ... senior forward Marquin Chandler finished his career with a 30-game double figure scoring streak ... 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 (744 games).
SMU Mustangs (14-14, 9-9 WAC)
Lost to Rice in the quarterfinals of the WAC Tournament ... it was the first time SMU had lost three games to the same team in a season since joining the WAC ... senior forward Patrick Simpson led the Mustangs with 15 points and 11 rebounds in the game against Rice ... it was Simpsons sixth double-double of the year and 15th of his career ... played a WAC-high five overtime games this year (3-2) ... was 10-4 at home ... junior guard Bryan Hopkins led the WAC in steals (2.4) ... the Mustangs were 11-2 when Hopkins led the team in scoring ... SMU led the WAC in steals (8.6) ... completed its nine-year tenure in the WAC with a 146-117 (.556) record and had one 20-win season (1999-2000).
UTEP Miners (27-8, 14-4 WAC)
Its 27 wins broke the old school record of 25 ... won a WAC-high 16 home games ... was 7-4 on the road ... Filiberto Riveras 229 assists are a new school single-season record and the fourth most in WAC history ... Rivera was first in the WAC in FT percentage (.853) while Omar Thomas was second (.845) ... senior forward Jason Williams started 67 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the WAC ... senior Will Kimble was one of 18 finalists for the V Foundation Comeback Award ... was 21-0 when scoring 70 or more points ... UTEP led the WAC in scoring (74.7), FT percentage (.792), three-point FG percentage (.364) and scoring margin (+9.7) ... made more free throws (606) than its opponents attempted (589).
Tulsa Golden Hurricane (9-20, 5-13 WAC)
Hired Doug Wojcik as its head coach on March 14 ... Wojcik was an assistant at Michigan State the past two seasons ... he is the eighth coach for the Golden Hurricane since 1990 ... won six of its final seven home games ... was 0-9 on the road in WAC games this season ... has lost eight overtime games in a row and was 0-4 this season ... was 2-13 in games decided by eight points or less ... led the WAC in blocks with 5.7 per game ... Jarius Glenn led the team in scoring, rebounding and assists ... completed its nine-year tenure in the WAC with a 192-105 (.647) record, had six 20-win seasons (1996-97, 98-99, 99-00, 00-01, 01-02, 02-03), five NCAA appearances and one NIT appearance which it won in 2001.