PLAYER OF THE WEEK ? Fresno State forward Hector Hernandez, a junior from Chihauhua, Mexico (Abraham Lincoln HS), scored 23 points and grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds in Fresno State’s 74-69 win at Oregon State on Saturday. He was 9-of-13 from the field, including 3-of-5 from three-point range, and made both of his free throw attempts. Hernandez also blocked one shot in helping to keep the Bulldogs perfect on the season (7-0). It is Hernandez’s first career WAC Player of the Week award and second for a Bulldog player this year.
Others nominated:
Coby Karl, Sr., G, Boise State - averaged 19.5 points and 5.0 rebounds in a split of two games last week. He had 18 points, seven rebounds and four assists in the win over Brigham Young before scoring 21 points in the game at Montana.
Ramon Sessions, Jr., G, Nevada - averaged 14.5 points, 6.5 assists and 4.0 rebounds in two wins. He had 10 points and a season-high seven assists at Louisiana-Lafayette before scoring a season-high 19 points in the win over California. He had 12 of high 19 points in the second half, including eight straight after California tied the game.
Justin Hawkins, Jr., F, New Mexico State - averaged 22.7 points and 8.3 rebounds in three games last week. He had at least 22 points and led the team in scoring in each game. Against New Mexico, he had 23 points and then had a double-double against Chicago State with 22 points and 10 rebounds. On Saturday, he finished the week with a career-high 24 points versus San Francisco.
Jaycee Carroll, Jr., G, Utah State - averaged 21.0 points and 7.5 rebounds in a pair of wins last week. He had a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds against South Dakota State and then added 22 points on 7-of-8 shooting versus Idaho State.
FRESNO STATE, NEVADA REMAIN UNDEFEATED ? Fresno State and Nevada are both 7-0 on the season. There are just 15 teams left in the nation that are still undefeated. The WAC is one of five conferences to have at least two teams without a loss. The seven-game winning streaks are also currently tied for the sixth longest in the nation. Fresno State continues its season tonight at UC Santa Barbara while Nevada hosts in-state rival UNLV on Saturday night.
FAZEKAS NEARING 2,000 POINTS & 1,000 REBOUNDS ? Nevada senior forward Nick Fazekas has 1,970 points and 996 rebounds in his career. No player in Nevada history has ever scored 2,000 points and pulled down 1,000 rebounds. He would become the fifth player in WAC history to accomplish the feat joining Arizona’s Bob Elliott, Utah’s Josh Grant, Utah’s Keith Van Horn and Rice’s Michael Harris.
NATIONAL RANKINGS ? Nevada moved up four spots to 20th in the AP poll and one spot to 19th in the ESPN/USA Today coaches’ poll. Fresno State also received votes in the AP 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 (1,970-1st); Boise State senior guard Coby Karl (1,329-6th); Utah State junior guard Jaycee Carroll (1,150-24th); Fresno State senior guard Ja’Vance Coleman (1,089-22nd); and New Mexico State senior guard Elijah Ingram (1,057-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 12 in a row after beating UC Irvine on Nov. 21. The streak is currently the 15th longest in the nation. Fresno State has the WAC’s second longest streak at nine in a row. 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 79-22 (.782), 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.
WAC.TV ? The Western Athletic Conference officially launched WAC.tv prior to the 2006-07 season. Nine games will be available this week. WAC.tv, the Internet based media platform of the Western Athletic Conference, will offer nearly all of the conferences home games this season, many of them on an exclusive basis.
FAZEKAS NAMED TO WATCH LISTS ? For the second straight year, Nevada forward Nick Fazekas has been named a candidate for both the Wooden Award and Naismith Trophy. Both awards listed 50 players on their early season watch lists.
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 19-5 (.792) at home this season. On the road and in neutral site games, the WAC is 14-24 (.368).
NON-CONFERENCE MARK ? The WAC is 33-29 (.532) in non-conference games, including a 32-21 (.525) 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 (2-4, 0-0 WAC)
Is 2-0 at home and 0-4 on the road ... has lost seven straight road games ... the win over Brigham Young was its first in three tries against Mountain West opponents this season ... sophomore Kurt Cunningham will miss six to eight weeks with a stress fractures in his left foot ... senior G Kenny Wilson has made his last 17 free throw attempts ... senior G Coby Karl is averaging 19.3 points per game in his last three contests after averaging 10.3 points per game in his first three games ... Karl has started 74 consecutive games, the second longest current streak in the WAC ... is the only team in the WAC that returns all five starters from last season ... is 21-1 when scoring 80 or more points under head coach Greg Graham.
Fresno State Bulldogs (7-0, 0-0 WAC)
Is 7-0 for the first time since winning its first 10 games of the 1980-81 season ... in its 74-69 win, held Oregon State to just two points in the final 7:58 ... is the only team in the WAC with five players averaging in double figures in scoring led by Ja’Vance Coleman’s 13.1 points per game ... junior G Kevin Bell leads the WAC in assists with 5.7 per game ... Dominic McGuire leads the WAC in blocks with 2.9 per contest ... Eddie Miller leads the WAC in three-point field goals made per game (3.0) ... senior G/F Quinton Hosley and senior G Ja’Vance Coleman scored 20 or more points in the same game seven times last season, but the pair has not accomplished the feat this year as Coleman has just one 20-point game and Hosley has none.
Hawai?i Rainbow Warriors (4-4, 0-0 WAC)
Made just 12-of-21 (.571) free throws in the second half of the loss against UNLV after coming into the game with a team percentage of .766 ... Dominic Waters, Matt Gibson, and Bobby Nash each scored 11 points while Ahmet Gueye had eight points and 11 rebounds against UNLV ... lost at Santa Clara last week and has now lost 23 of its last 28 road games dating back to the 2003-04 season ... is off for 11 days before resuming the season on Dec. 16 against Northwestern State ... Matt Gibson leads the WAC in steals (1.9 spg) ... UH is 4-0 when leading at the half and 0-4 when trailing ... UH has posted seven consecutive winning seasons ... has won seven straight OT games dating back to the 2002-03 season.
Idaho Vandals (1-6, 0-0 WAC)
The starting time for the Washington State game on Saturday has been moved to 9:30 p.m. due to graduation ... after scoring just six points in his first game, Keoni Watson is averaging 18.5 points per contest in his last six game ... Idaho has made at least seven 3-pointers in six of its seven games this season ... junior Sebastien Taulbee and Mike Kale have knee injuries and their return is unknown ... junior F Darin Nagle and senior F Thomas Preston will be eligible to join the team in mid-December ... the Vandals have 11 newcomers on its team this season ... has not allowed its opponents to score 100 points in a game for 438 contests, the longest such streak in the WAC ... has made a three-point field goal in 260 consecutive games (since Feb. 27, 1997).
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (1-5, 0-0 WAC)
In a 65-60 loss at Louisiana-Lafayette on Saturday, senior Chad McKenzie scored a career-high 21 points ... he had his first career double-double as he pulled down 10 rebounds ... the 21 points were the most scored by a Tech player this season ... Marcus Elliott was the only other Bulldog in double figures with 10 points ... hosted Southern Illinois last week and lost 50-36 ... it was the fewest points scored by the Bulldogs since a 78-34 loss against New Orleans in 1998 ... Kyle Gibson and Elliott combined for 24 points while Terry Parker had five ... four other players scored two or less ... is 18-3 in non-conference home games since joining the WAC before the 2001-02 season.
Nevada Wolf Pack (7-0, 0-0 WAC)
Is 7-0 for the first time since winning its first 14 of the 1951-52 season ... has won nine straight regular season games away from home ... was 10-3 on the road last year ... has won 12 straight home games and plays its next three at home ... has won 21 of its last 22 games dating back to last season ... Nick Fazekas leads the naion in rebounding (13.7 rpg) and the WAC in field goal percentage (.608) ... he has posted a double-double in six of the seven games this season and has 47 in his career ... Fazekas has scored 20 or more points 52 times in his career and has scored in double figures in 37 straight games ... he has started 78 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 (4-3, 0-0 WAC)
Beat New Mexico, 103-72, the first time the Aggies have scored more than 100 points in a game since the 2000-01 season (173 contests) ... Justin Hawkins had 20 points in the game, his fourth straight contest with at least 20 points ... outrebounded San Francisco, 42-22, on Saturday, the biggest margin for the Aggies since the 2000-01 season ... has won three straight after losing three in a row ... Ted Knauber leads the WAC in three-point field goal percentage (.531) ... junior Tyrone Nelson, a first-team all-WAC selection last year, has not played this 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 (1-6, 0-0 WAC)
Beat Cal Poly on Saturday to snap a 15-game losing streak ... freshman G Darion Goins came off the bench to score a game-high 16 points ... it was the Spartans’ first home game of the season ... SJSU had a season-high 16 assists in the game after a previous high of 11 ... takes on BYU on Wednesday, its first ever game against a team with Mountain West affiliation ... San Jose State previously competed with BYU in the WAC and won the last game played between the teams in 1999 ... leads the WAC in offensive rebounds per game with 15.0 ... has 10 newcomers on its roster this season ... 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 (782 games).
Utah State Aggies (6-1, 0-0 WAC)
Has a six-game winning streak after its season-opening loss at Northwestern State ... has won 40 straight non-conference home games ... Jaycee Carroll has now scored at least 20 points in each of his last six games, the longest streak by a Utah State player since 1985-86 when Greg Grant did it in seven straight games ... Carroll leads the WAC in free throw percentage (.919) and in scoring (22.7 ppg) ... Utah State is tied for the WAC lead in steals with 7.14 per game ... 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 114-11 at home under Stew Morrill.