With four or five games left before the WAC tournament, four teams are within two games of league-leading Nevada. Both Louisiana Tech and Utah State are a game back in the loss column while Hawai'i and New Mexico State are lurking with five losses. New Mexico State has the most home games left of the top five teams with four.
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XBOX LIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK ?“ Nevada forward Demarshay Johnson, a junior from Oakland, Calif. (Diablo Valley College), scored a career-high 22 points in an 85-63 win over New Mexico State last Wednesday. Johnson was 9-of-10 from the field and also pulled down a career-high seven rebounds. He came into the game averaging 4.3 points and 4.0 rebounds in 22 previous contests. It is Johnson?™s first career WAC Player of the Week award and fourth for a Wolf Pack player this year.
Others nominated:
Ja?™Vance Coleman, Jr., F, Fresno State - posted back-to-back 23 point games against Idaho and San Jose State last week. He also averaged 3.5 rebounds per contest.
Julian Sensley, Sr., F, Hawai'i - scored a team-high 22 points in helping Hawai'i win its first road game of the year at Boise State last Saturday. He also had four assists and five rebounds.
Mike Mitchell, Sr., G, New Mexico State - averaged 18.0 points and hit 8-of-12 three-point field goals in a split of two road games last week. In the win at Utah State, he scored 23 points and made five treys.
NEVADA IN SOLE POSSESSION OF FIRST ?“ Nevada beat Louisiana Tech on Monday night, 50-49, and is alone at the top of the WAC standings with a 9-3 mark. Junior forward Nick Fazekas was held scoreless in the first half as the Wolf Pack trailed at the intermission, 36-27. Nevada held the Bulldogs to just 13 second half points, and Fazekas tipped in a missed three-point field goal with 1.3 seconds left to give the Pack the win.
BIG MONDAY ?“ The WAC returned to ESPN?™s Big Monday lineup this season and has played three games so far this year. The WAC has one more scheduled Big Monday game this season:
Jan. 23, Utah State 59, at Nevada 53 (ESPN)
Jan. 30, at Utah State 63, Hawai'i 52 (ESPN2)
Feb. 13, at Nevada 50, Louisiana Tech 49 (ESPN2)
Feb. 27, Boise State at Fresno State, 9:00 p.m. (PT)-ESPN2
BRACKETBUSTERS ?“ The WAC will have four teams competing in BracketBusters presented by eBay, this weekend. Fresno State, Louisiana Tech, Nevada and Utah State are part of the 26-team field that will play 13 games over the two days.
Friday, Feb. 17
ESPNU-Akron (18-5) at Nevada, 6:00 p.m. PT
Saturday, Feb. 18
ESPN2-Louisiana Tech at Southern Illinois (18-7), 5:00 p.m. CT
ESPNU-Northwestern State (17-6) at Utah State, 8:00 p.m. MT
ESPN-Fresno State at Creighton (17-6), 11:00 p.m. CT
BracketBusters was created in 2003 in conjunction with the WAC, ESPN and several top college basketball conferences to match potential NCAA tournament hopefuls against each other.
NON-CONFERENCE MATCHUPS ?“ Five teams from the WAC were not selected for the BracketBusters event but will be playing non-conference opponents on Feb. 18. Those matchups are:
Cal State Northridge (9-12) at Boise State
UC Santa Barbara (10-11) at San Jose State
Santa Clara (9-14) at Hawai'i
Idaho at Montana State (13-11)
New Mexico State at Pacific (18-6)
The host team in all nine of the above games will return a game with their opponent sometime during the beginning of the 2006-07 season.
UTAH STATE LEADS NATION IN THREE-POINT FG PERCENTAGE ?“ Utah State is leading the nation in three-point field goal percentage through Monday?™s games. The Aggies are shooting 43.2 percent from three-point range. Ohio State is second at 42.8 percent. USU is also second in the nation in field goal percentage at 50.9 percent, trailing Florida (.521).
MILLSAP FIRST IN NATION IN REBOUNDING ?“ Louisiana Tech junior forward Paul Millsap remained first nationally in this week?™s rebounding statistics with 12.64 per game. Hartford?™s Kenny Adeleke is second with 12.61 per contest. Millsap was the nation?™s leading rebounder in each of the past two seasons. As a freshman, he became the first WAC player to lead the nation in rebounding with 12.5 boards per game. Last year, he became the first player to lead the country in rebounding in back-to-back seasons since American?™s Kermit Washington did it in 1971-72 and 1972-73. Millsap was also the first ever to take consecutive rebounding titles as a freshman and sophomore. No player has ever won three NCAA rebounding titles.
FAZEKAS, MILLSAP NAMED NAISMITH MID-SEASON CANDIDATES ?“ Nevada forward Nick Fazekas and Louisiana Tech forward Paul Millsap were named two of the 30 mid-season candidates for the Naismith Trophy given to the national Player of the Year by the Atlanta Tipoff Club. Last month, both players were named to the Wooden Award mid-season watch list.
WAC SCHOOLS STREAM VIDEO OF HOME GAMES ?“ The WAC is streaming live video and audio of its schools?™ home games via the WAC?™s web site at www.wacsports.com (Windows Media Player is required).
This week?™s schedule:
February 15 (Wednesday)
San Jose State at Louisiana Tech, 7:00 p.m. CT
Boise State at New Mexico State, 7:00 p.m. MT
Utah State at Idaho, 7:00 p.m. PT
February 18 (Saturday)
UC Santa Barbara at San Jose State, 4:30 p.m. PT
Cal State Northridge at Boise State, 7:30 p.m. MT
February 20 (Monday)
Nevada at Idaho, 1:00 p.m. PT
NATIONAL RANKINGS ?“ No teams from the WAC are in the top 25 but Nevada is receiving votes in the USA Today coaches?™ poll. In the CollegeRPI.com ratings, WAC teams ranked in the top 100 are: Nevada-47th, Utah State-74th and Hawai'i-93rd.
1,000-POINT SCORERS ?“ The WAC has six players that have scored more than 1,000 points in their collegiate careers. Those players with points and all-time school ranking: Nevada junior forward Nick Fazekas (1,602-5th), Louisiana Tech junior forward Paul Millsap (1,562-11th); Utah State senior forward Nate Harris (1,302-14th); Boise State junior guard Coby Karl (1,143-10th); Hawai'i senior forward Julian Sensley (1,119-9th); and Idaho senior guard Tanoris Shepard (1,019-11th). One other player is getting close: Louisiana Tech?™s Corey Dean (962).
TEAM LEADERS ?“ The WAC has six players that lead their teams in two of three statistical categories (points-rebounds-assists):
Coby Karl, Jr., G, Boise State (17.5 ppg, 4.0 apg)
Quinton Hosley, Jr., G/F, Fresno State (18.3 ppg, 9.2 rpg)
Tanoris Shepard, Sr., G, Idaho (15.7 ppg, 3.7 apg)
Paul Millsap, Jr., F, Louisiana Tech (20.1 ppg, 12.6 rpg)
Nick Fazekas, Jr., F, Nevada (21.3 ppg, 9.7 rpg)
Tyrone Nelson, So., F, New Mexico State (17.8 ppg, 8.7 rpg)
NMSU SNAPS UTAH STATE?™S HOME WINNING STREAK ?“ Last Saturday, New Mexico State beat Utah State, 83-77, snapping Utah State?™s 14-game home winning streak. The streak was the eighth longest in the nation entering last week. Hawai'i now has the WAC?™s longest home winning streak at five games. The Rainbow Warriors?™ next home game is this Saturday against Santa Clara. Hawai'i also has the longest conference home winning streak at seven games dating back to last season.
HOME SWEET HOME ?“ The WAC?™s nine teams are a combined 73-31 (.702) at home this season. On the road and in neutral site games, the WAC is 35-66 (.347). Last week, WAC teams were 6-2 at home.
UTAH STATE/NEVADA TOP TEAMS OVER LAST FOUR YEARS ?“ Over the last four seasons, Utah State is 89-27 (.767), 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.
NON-CONFERENCE MARK ?“ The WAC is 57-46 (.553) in non-conference games, including a 51-46 (.526) mark against Division I teams. In 2004-05, WAC teams were 63-45 (.583) in non-conference games with a 55-45 (.550) mark 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).
WAC ON ESPN/SPORTSWEST ?“ The WAC has a multi-year contract with both ESPN and SportsWest for coverage of WAC football and basketball. Currently, 22 basketball games between the two networks are scheduled this season.
NEVADA TO HOST 2006 TOURNAMENT ?“ For the second consecutive year, Nevada?™s Lawlor Events Center (11,200) will host the WAC Basketball Tournament. The dates for this season?™s tournament are March 9-11. Due to self-imposed penalties, Fresno State will not compete in the 2006 tournament. Therefore, with an eight-team field, there will be no first round games as in years past. The quarterfinals will begin on Thursday, March 9. As announced on Nov. 11, New Mexico State will be the host for the 2007 and 2008 tournaments.
TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Boise State Broncos (12-11, 5-7 WAC)
Has lost its last two games after a season-long three-game winning streak ... Kareem Lloyd recorded his first career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds versus Hawai'i on Saturday ... Coby Karl has started 62 consecutive games, tied for the longest current streak in the WAC ... Karl scored 26 points against Hawai'i last Saturday to move into 10th place on the school?™s all-time scoring list and currently has 1,143 points ... Karl has scored 20 or more points in a game 10 times this year ... the Broncos lead the WAC in free throw percentage (.715) ... is 19-1 when scoring 80 or more points under head coach Greg Graham.
Fresno State Bulldogs (13-10, 6-6 WAC)
Quinton Hosley scored a game-high 25 points in Monday?™s win over Hawai'i ... Hector Hernandez scored a career-high 25 points in the win over San Jose State last Saturday ... both Hosley and Ja?™Vance Coleman have scored 20 or more points in the same game six times this season ... Coleman has scored at least 20 points in 12 games while Hosley has reached that mark 11 times this year ... Hosley leads the WAC in steals with 2.22 per game ... Kevin Bell leads the WAC in assists with 5.91 per game ... the Bulldogs lead the WAC in scoring (73.9 ppg), steals (8.74) and three-point field goals made per game (9.30) ... is 11-2 at home this year, its best mark in the three-year history of the Save Mart Center.
Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors (13-9, 7-5 WAC)
Had its three-game winning streak snapped at Fresno State on Monday ... won at Boise State for its first road victory of the year and snapped a 10-game road losing streak ... is the only WAC team to not lose a conference home game this season (6-0) ... is 3-0 when tied at the half ... leads the WAC with five victories when trailing at halftime ... has won seven straight OT games dating back to the 2002-03 season ... leads the WAC in FG percentage defense (.406) and blocked shots with 5.86 per game ... has 129 blocked shots, breaking the previous single-season school record of 128 set during the 1993-94 season ... junior Ahmet Gueye leads the WAC in blocked shots (2.50) ... Matt Lojeski leads the WAC in FT% (.868).
Idaho Vandals (4-17, 1-9 WAC)
Has lost 11 of its last 12 games ... hosts Utah State on Wednesday night ... lost to the Aggies by 35 points on Jan. 14, its largest margin of defeat in the 35-game series ... sophomore forward Mike Kale had two career games last week with a career-high of 13 points against Fresno State then beat that mark three nights later with 20 points against San Jose State ... Tanoris Shepard had his streak of scoring in double figures snapped at 21 consecutive games after recording nine against San Jose State last Thursday ... has lost 12 straight road games ... has not allowed its opponents to score 100 points in a game for 423 contests, the longest such streak in the WAC.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (15-10, 8-4 WAC)
Has lost three of its last four games ... junior forward Paul Millsap leads the nation in rebounding (12.6) and is second in the WAC in scoring (20.1 ppg) ... no WAC player has finished the season leading the conference in both of those categories since Utah?™s Josh Grant in 1992-93 ... he is averaging 13.9 rebounds per game in conference-only contests ... Millsap has scored 20 or more points in 39 contests during his career ... Millsap is the WAC?™s active leader in double-doubles with 63 ... he has started 62 consecutive games, tied for the longest current streak in the WAC ... he has reached double figures in scoring in 22 straight games, the longest active streak in the WAC.
Nevada Wolf Pack (19-5, 9-3 WAC)
Has a six-game winning streak for the second time this season ... the six-game winning streak is tied for the 12th longest in the nation ... is 19-5 for the second year in a row ... is 8-3 on the road, the only team in the WAC with a winning record ... shot a season-low 30.4 percent from the field in the Louisiana Tech win on Monday ... was .233 from the field in the second half of that game ... leads the WAC in scoring defense (63.9) ... Nick Fazekas has scored 20 or more points 39 times in his career ... Fazekas leads the WAC in scoring with 21.3 points per game ... he has started 62 straight games, tied for the longest current streak in the WAC ... Fazekas has had 34 double-doubles in his career.
New Mexico State Aggies (10-12, 6-5 WAC)
Won at Utah State on Saturday for the first time since Feb. 13, 1995 ... it marked the first time NMSU had swept Utah State since the 1992-93 season ... David Fisher recorded a double-double in the win with 13 poitns and 12 rebounds ... Elijah Ingram scored a game-high 24 points while Mike Mitchell added 23 ... plays four of its last five WAC games at home ... has four more wins than all of last season (6-24) ... has had three or more players score in double figures in 18 games ... in conference play only, Ingram leads the WAC in free throw percentage (.906: 48-of-53) ... Ingram tied a career-high with six three-point field goals in the win at Utah State ... leads the WAC in scoring in conference games only with 74.5 points per game.
San Jose State Spartans (6-17, 2-8 WAC)
Has lost 12 of its last 14 games ... beat Idaho last Thursday to give the Spartans their first sweep of a WAC opponent in three years (Hawai'i in 2003) ... lost for the 14th straight time against Fresno State last Saturday ... the Spartans have blocked 69 shots this year, 25 more than all of last season ... has tied its season total in each of the past two years in wins ... is the only team in the WAC to win more games away from home (4: 3 road, 1 neutral) than at home (2) ... has won three road games for the first time since going 5-9 away from home in 2000-01 ... has not scored 100 points in a game since beating Utah State, 101-85, on Jan. 25, 1979 (767 games).
Utah State Aggies (16-6, 7-4 WAC)
Has lost two of its last three games, both against New Mexico State ... is the only team in the WAC to not have lost back-to-back games this year ... Nate Harris leads the WAC and is seventh in the nation in field goal percentage (.623) ... the Aggies lead the nation in three-point FG percentage (.432) and are second in the country in field goal percentage (.509) ... also leads the WAC in scoring margin (+9.5) ... Jaycee Carroll has made a three-point field goal in 25 straight games ... Carroll leads the WAC and is fourth in the nation in three-point FG percentage (.486) ... he also leads the WAC in three-point field goals made per game (3.27) ... is 109-10 at home under head coach Stew Morrill ... Morrill will coach his 600th career game on Wednesday.