PLAYER OF THE WEEK ? Fresno State forward Dominic McGuire, a junior from San Diego, Calif. (California), was named the Most Valuable Player of the Basketball Travelers at Fresno State Invitational over the weekend. McGuire averaged 11.7 points, 10.0 rebounds, 4.7 blocks and 3.7 assists in helping the Bulldogs to a 3-0 record in the tournament. He was 12-of-23 (.522) from the field and 10-of-12 (.833) from the free throw line. Fresno State won its three games by an average of 21 points per game including a win over 2006 NCAA tournament participant South Alabama. It is McGuire’s first career WAC Player of the Week award.
Others nominated:
Nick Fazekas, Sr., F, Nevada - scored 29 points and pulled down 10 rebounds in just 21 minutes of action in the win over Alaska-Anchorage. He was 11-of-14 from the field and hit all six free throw attempts. He also had four assists.
Jaycee Carroll, Jr., G, Utah State - scored a game-high 19 points in the loss at Northwestern State. He was 8-of-15 from the field and also grabbed four rebounds.
FRESNO STATE TAKES TITLE ? Fresno State began its season last week by hosting the Basketball Travelers at Fresno State Invitational. The Bulldogs won all three games by an average of 21 points after beating Winston-Salem State, South Alabama and UC Irvine. Newcomer Dominic McGuire was named the MVP after averaging 11.7 points and 10.0 rebounds in the three games. It was the first tournament played at the Save Mart Center since December 2004 when the Bulldogs won the McCaffrey Classic by beating Grand Canyon and Mississippi Valley State.
THREE TEAMS IN TOURNAMENTS ? This week, three more WAC teams compete in tournaments. San Jose State has already played one game, losing to host Stanford in the first round of the CBE Classic on Tuesday night. The Spartans face Long Beach State tonight in the consolation game. On Friday, Louisiana Tech begins its season at the Texas A&M Tournament. The Bulldogs face Saint Louis in the opener before playing against the host and 12th-ranked Texas A&M on Saturday. The tournament will conclude on Sunday with a game against Lamar. Utah State is also playing in a three-day tournament when it travels to Fairbanks, Alaska for the BP Top of the World Classic. The Aggies face Centenary in the opener.
OTHER ACTION ? The remaining six teams in the WAC are also in action this week highlighted by 23rd-ranked Nevada traveling to Oregon State tonight. The Beavers then head to Hawai?i for a game against the Rainbow Warriors on Sunday evening. New Mexico State takes to the road with games at Loyola Marymount on Friday and No. 15 Arizona on Sunday.
NATIONAL RANKINGS ? Nevada remained 24th in the AP poll and moved up two spots to 23rd in the ESPN/USA Today coaches’ poll. New Mexico State also recieved a vote in the coaches’ poll.
1,000-POINT SCORERS ? The WAC has five players that have scored more than 1,000 points in their collegiate careers. Those players with points and all-time school ranking: Nevada senior forward Nick Fazekas (1,841-2nd); Boise State senior guard Coby Karl (1,249-6th); Fresno State senior guard Ja’Vance Coleman (1,041-23rd); Utah State junior guard Jaycee Carroll (1,010-30th); and New Mexico State senior guard Elijah Ingram (1,005-scored 607 points at St. John’s). New Mexico State’s Tyrone Nelson is next on the list with 913 points.
NEVADA OWNS WAC’S LONGEST HOME WINNING STREAK ? Nevada extended its home winning streak to 10 in a row after beating Alaska-Anchorage last week. The Wolf Pack also have the longest home winning streak in WAC games only at five straight.
UTAH STATE, NEVADA TOP TEAMS OVER LAST FOUR YEARS ? Over the last four seasons, Utah State is 73-22 (.768), the best record of any WAC team during that time. In conference games, Nevada has won 53 games, the most in that same time period.
FAZEKAS NAMED TO WOODEN AWARD WATCH LIST ? For the second straight year, Nevada forward Nick Fazekas has been named as one of the top 50 preseason candidates for the men’s Wooden Award. The Wooden Watch List is comprised of 50 student athletes who, based on last year’s individual performance and team records, are the early frontrunners for college basketball’s most coveted trophy.
FAZEKAS NAMED PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR ? In a vote by the WAC’s head coaches and media, Nevada senior forward Nick Fazekas was picked as the league’s preseason Player of the Year. Last season, Fazekas led the WAC in scoring with 21.8 points per game and also pulled down 10.4 rebounds per contest. He helped lead the Wolf Pack to a 27-6 record and a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
HOME SWEET HOME ? The WAC’s nine teams are a combined 6-1 (.857) at home this season. On the road and in neutral site games, the WAC is 0-5 (.000).
NON-CONFERENCE MARK ? The WAC is 6-6 (.500) in non-conference games, including a 5-6 (.455) mark against Division I team. Last year, the WAC was 63-52 (.548) in non-conference games (57-52 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).
NEW MEXICO STATE TO HOST 2007 AND 2008 WAC TOURNAMENTS ? Las Cruces and New Mexico State University will be the host for both the 2007 and 2008 WAC Tournaments. The 2007 tournament will be held March 6-10 and will feature all nine men’s and women’s teams.
WAC ON ESPN ? The WAC has a multi-year contract with ESPN for coverage of WAC football and basketball. Four games have been scheduled so far while others could be added during the season.
BRACKETBUSTERS ? For the fifth year in a row, the WAC has partnered with ESPN and several other top college basketball conferences for BracketBusters, a weekend men’s basketball event matching potential NCAA tournament hopefuls against each other. All nine WAC teams will be involved in this year’s pool of teams. The event will be held February 16-17, and ESPN2 and ESPNU will present 11 games. The match-ups for BracketBusters will be determined by ESPN in conjunction with the conferences about three weeks before the event.
TOP PLAYERS RETURNING ? The WAC returns seven of the 10 players that were named to last year’s all-WAC first and second-teams. Senior forward Nick Fazekas (Nevada) and junior forward Tyrone Nelson (New Mexico State) were both first-team selections. All five second-teamers return: Coby Karl, Sr., G, Boise State; Ja’Vance Coleman, Sr., G, Fresno State; Quinton Hosley, Sr., F, Fresno State; Elijah Ingram, Sr., G, New Mexico State; and Jaycee Carroll, Jr., G, Utah State. All five members of the all-newcomer team also return from last year: Hosley; Ingram; Nelson; Ahmet Gueye, Sr., F, Hawai?i; and Matt Lojeski, Sr., G, Hawai?i. Gueye is the only returning member from last year’s all-defensive team. Hawai?i’s Dominic Waters was last year’s WAC Freshman of the Year.
STAT LEADERS BACK ? Statistically, six of the top 10 scorers return for the 2006-07 season. Nevada’s Nick Fazekas was first in the WAC in scoring last year (for the second straight season) with a 21.8 point per game average. Others in the top 10 coming back are Quinton Hosley, Fresno State (18.6-3rd); Tyrone Nelson, New Mexico State (17.8-4th); Ja’Vance Coleman, Fresno State (17.5-6th); Coby Karl, Boise State (17.2-8th); and Jaycee Carroll, Utah State (16.3-9th). Fazekas is the leading returning rebounder with a 10.4 rpg average last season (2nd in the WAC) and Fresno State’s Kevin Bell returns after leading the WAC in assists with 5.9 per game.
TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Boise State Broncos (0-1, 0-0 WAC)
In his first game with the Broncos, junior F Matt Nelson nearly had a double-double with 16 points and nine rebounds against Wyoming ... senior G Eric Lane had a team-high 20 points... senior G Coby Karl had nine points and eight assists ... plays at Colorado State on Monday night, the first matchup between the two schools since the 1994-95 season ... the teams also meet in Boise on Dec. 22 ... senior G Kenny Wilson has made his last 15 free throw attempts ... is one of two teams in the WAC that return all five starters from last season ... Karl has started 69 consecutive games, the second longest current streak in the WAC ... is 21-1 when scoring 80 or more points under head coach Greg Graham.
Fresno State Bulldogs (3-0, 0-0 WAC)
Junior G/F Dominic McGuire was named the MVP of the Fresno State Invitational last week while both senior G/F Quinton Hosley and senior G Ja’Vance Coleman made the all-tournament team ... Coleman became the 26th player in Bulldog history to reach 1,000 points in his career ... junior G Eddie Miller scored a game-high 23 points off the bench in the game against UC Irvine ... he made 7-of-12 three-point attempts ... Fresno State blocked 25 shots in the three games including 11 against Winston-Salem State and nine versus South Alabama ... the Bulldogs are one of two teams in the WAC that return all five starters from last season ... Hosley and Coleman have scored 20 or more points in the same game seven times.
Hawai?i Rainbow Warriors (1-1, 0-0 WAC)
Opened on the road for the first time since 1994 and lost at UNLV, 73-59 ... senior F Ahmet Gueye had a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds while junior G Matt Gibson scored a game-high 20 points ... in Monday’s win over Coppin State, Gueye had another double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds while senior G Matt Lojeski scored a game-high 23 points to go along with eight rebounds and seven assists ... the win was Riley Wallace’s 400th as a head coach when counting his 68 victories at Seminole Junior College ... hosts Oregon State on Sunday and is 27-107 all-time against Pac-10 opponents ... UH has posted seven consecutive winning seasons ... has won seven straight OT games dating back to the 2002-03 season.
Idaho Vandals (0-1, 0-0 WAC)
Had four players score in double figures in the loss against North Dakota State led by junior G Mario Mackey’s 21 points ... was tied with NDSU at the half, 40-40, before losing the game 91-76 ... the Bison shot .627 from the field ... has lost 19 of its last 20 games, including 10 straight ... has lost 18 straight road games with its last win coming Feb. 5, 2005, at Cal Poly ... plays its next game on the road at South Dakota State on Thursday, the first ever meeting between the two schools ... has 11 newcomers on its team this season ... has not allowed its opponents to score 100 points in a game for 432 contests, the longest such streak in the WAC ... has made a three-point field goal in 254 consecutive games (since Feb. 27, 1997).
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (0-0, 0-0 WAC)
Is the only WAC team to have not played yet ... the Bulldogs open the season this Friday at the Texas A&M Tournament against Saint Louis ... defeated Arkansas Tech, 89-47, in its only exhibition game this season ... freshman guard Kyle Gibson led the team with 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting ... sophomore F Adrian Rogers grabbed a team-high seven rebounds ... the Bulldogs will try to replace Paul Millsap who led the nation in rebounding in each of his first three seasons ... Millsap declared early for the NBA draft and was taken in the second round by the Utah Jazz.
Nevada Wolf Pack (1-0, 0-0 WAC)
Plays at Oregon State on Wednesday night and has won its last five regular season road games ... was 10-3 on the road last year ... has won 10 straight home games after beating Alaska-Anchorage last week ... junior G Marcelus Kemp came off the bench and scored 17 points in that game, making 5-of-8 from three-point range ... senior F Nick Fazekas was named the top senior in the nation by SI.com ... he has scored 20 or more points 48 times in his career and has scored in double figures in 31 straight games ... with 1,841 points, he is 36 shy of tying Edgar Jones for first on the school’s all-time scoring list ... has started 72 straight games, the longest such current streak in the WAC ... Nevada has won at least 25 games in each of the past three seasons.
New Mexico State Aggies (1-0, 0-0 WAC)
Won each half against Pacific, 38-37, in its season opener ... junior G Fred Peete scored a team-high 19 points while junior G/F Justin Hawkins added 18 and nine rebounds ... both are transfers from Kansas State and Utah, respectively ... senior G Elijah Ingram surpassed 1,000 points for his career with 10 points in the game ... junior F Tyrone Nelson did not play in the opener against Pacific ... Nelson was a first-team all-WAC selection last year ... NMSU takes to the road this week with games at Loyola Marymount and Arizona ... the 15th-ranked Wildcats lost at Virginia to open its season ... the Aggies had 10 more wins in 2005-06 than all of the previous season (6-24), tied for the fifth biggest improvement by any team in the nation.
San Jose State Spartans (0-2, 0-0 WAC)
Lost at Stanford in the first round of the CBE Classic on Tuesday and now plays Long Beach State in a consolation game ... junior G Jamon Hill and junior F Harry Brown each scored 12 points for the Spartans ... the 52 points scored by the Spartans are the lowest by a WAC team this year ... in the season opener against UC Santa Barbara, sophomore F Tim Pierce, a transfer from Arizona State, had a team and career-high 18 points ... has 10 newcomers on its roster this season ... lost 15 of its last 16 games, including 11 in a row ... has posted six victories in each of the past three seasons ... has not scored 100 points in a game since beating Utah State, 101-85, on Jan. 25, 1979 (777 games).
Utah State Aggies (0-0, 0-0 WAC)
The loss at Northwestern State snapped its 12-game winning streak in season openers ... junior G Jaycee Carroll became the 32nd player in school history to reach 1,000 points and the 12th fastest ... the Top of the World Classic appearance this week is the third for Utah State, the most of any team (other than the host Alaska-Fairbanks) ... was 2-1 in both previous appearances, playing in the championship game in 2000 ... is playing five of its first six games on the road ... the Aggies have participated in the postseason in each of the past seven years (5 NCAAs, 2 NITs) ... is one of five teams across the country to win at least 23 games in each of the last seven years joining Duke, Gonzaga, Illinois and Kansas ... is 112-11 at home under Stew Morrill.