Nevada is in control of the WAC?™s regular season after already clinching at least a tie for first place, but four other teams are fighting for the second seed in next week?™s WAC Tournament. Louisiana Tech, New Mexico State, Utah State and Hawai'i are all tied in the loss column with five WAC losses. Hawai'i hosts New Mexico State on Thursday and Louisiana Tech on Saturday in key games. Utah State is also at home this week with games against Fresno State on Thursday and San Jose State on Saturday.
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XBOX LIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK ?“ Nevada forward Nick Fazekas, a junior from Arvada, Colo. (Ralston Valley HS), averaged 24.5 points and 15.5 rebounds in two road wins over Idaho and Utah State last week. At Idaho last Monday, he had 26 points, 15 rebounds and three blocked shots. He then added 23 points and 16 rebounds in the win at Utah State that earned the Wolf Pack at least a share of the WAC?™s regular season title. For the week, he was 19-of-34 (.559) from the field and 10-of-11 (.909) from the free throw line. It is Fazekas?™s sixth career WAC Player of the Week award and fifth for a Wolf Pack player this year.
Others nominated:
Ja?™Vance Coleman, Jr., F, Fresno State - scored 24 points, including six three-pointers, in leading the Bulldogs to an 87-80 win over San Jose State. He also had three rebounds and made all six of his free throw attempts.
Julian Sensley, Sr., F, Hawai'i - averaged 16.0 points and 5.5 rebounds in a pair of road wins. He had 19 points (16 in the second half) at Idaho and then added 13 points, including a game-winning three-pointer with 2.2 seconds left, in a 61-60 win at San Jose State.
Tyrone Nelson, So., F, New Mexico State - averaged 19.7 points and 9.5 rebounds in three home victories. He had a double-double against San Jose State with 17 points and 13 rebounds. Nelson then had 21 points (19 in the second half) in a 64-60 win over Louisiana Tech. Finally, he scored a game-high 21 points and pulled down nine boards versus Idaho.
NEVADA WINS SHARE OF TITLE ?“ Nevada won at Utah State on Saturday night, 75-57, to clinch at least a share of its third consecutive WAC regular season title. The Wolf Pack can win the title outright with a victory in either of its final two games against San Jose State or Fresno State this week. A win would give the Pack the number one seed in next week?™s WAC Tournament. In that scenario, Nevada would play Idaho at 6:00 p.m. (PT) in Thursday?™s quarterfinals.
TOURNAMENT SEEDING ?“ On Friday morning, the WAC will release all of the possible tournament seeding scenarios depending on the outcome of Saturday?™s final regular season games. The final brackets will be posted on the WAC?™s website on Saturday night following the games at Nevada and Hawai'i. What is known right now is that Boise State is the sixth seed, San Jose State is the seventh seed and Idaho is the eighth seed.
MILLSAP NAMED OSCAR ROBERTSON TROPHY FINALIST ?“ The U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) named its 10 finalists for the 2006 Oscar Robertson Trophy which is given to the national college player of the year, and Louisiana Tech?™s Paul Millsap was named to the list. The winner will be selected by a vote of the USBWA membership and announced on Friday, March 31.
ALL-WAC TEAMS ?“ The all-WAC teams, along with the Player, Freshman and Coach of the Year awards, will be announced on Sunday, March 5.
5 NAMED TO NABC ALL-DISTRICT TEAMS ?“ The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) announced the NABC Division I All-District Teams recognizing the country?™s best men?™s collegiate basketball student-athletes. Five WAC student-athletes were named to the teams. Louisiana Tech?™s Paul Millsap, the nation?™s leading rebounder, earned first team District 8 honors. Also a first team selection for District 13 was Nevada?™s Nick Fazekas, the WAC?™s leading scorer. Second team selections from District 13 were Hawai'i?™s Julian Sensley and Boise State?™s Coby Karl. Utah State?™s Nate Harris was a second team selection from District 14. Selected and voted on by member coaches of the NABC, these student-athletes represent the finest basketball players across the country. The 150 student-athletes, from 15 districts, are now eligible for the NABC Division I All-American Teams to be announced at the conclusion of the 2005-2006 NCAA men?™s basketball season.
BIG MONDAY ?“ The WAC returned to ESPN?™s Big Monday lineup this season and played four games.
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, at Fresno State 81, Boise State 79 (ESPN2)
UTAH STATE SECOND IN NATION IN THREE-POINT FG PERCENTAGE ?“ After leading the nation the past two weeks, Utah State dropped to second in three-point three-point field goal percentage through Monday?™s games. The Aggies are shooting 42.4 percent from three-point range while Southern Utah is first at 42.9 percent. Utah State is led by Jaycee Carroll who is third in the nation in three-point percetange at .483.
MILLSAP FIRST IN NATION IN REBOUNDING ?“ Louisiana Tech junior forward Paul Millsap remained first nationally in this week?™s rebounding statistics with 13.2 per game. Hartford?™s Kenny Adeleke is second with 13.1 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 mid-season candidates for both the Naismith Trophy and Wooden Award which are both given to the national Player of the Year.
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:
March 2 (Thursday)
Fresno State at Utah State, 7:00 p.m. (MT)
San Jose State at Nevada, 7:00 p.m. (PT)
March 4 (Saturday)
Idaho at Boise State, 2:00 p.m. (MT)
San Jose State at Utah State, 7:00 p.m. (MT)
Fresno State at Nevada, 7:00 p.m. (PT)
NATIONAL RANKINGS ?“ Nevada moved up one spot to 24th in the AP poll and is receiving votes in the ESPN/USA Today coaches?™ poll. No other teams in the WAC are receiving votes. In the CollegeRPI.com ratings, WAC teams ranked in the top 100 are: Nevada-21st, Utah State-49th, Louisiana Tech-74th and Hawai'i-82nd.
1,000-POINT SCORERS ?“ The WAC has seven 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 (1,675-3rd), Louisiana Tech junior forward Paul Millsap (1,632-7th); Utah State senior forward Nate Harris (1,3650-14th); Boise State junior guard Coby Karl (1,206-8th); Hawai'i senior forward Julian Sensley (1,189-9th); Idaho senior guard Tanoris Shepard (1,085-10th); and Louisiana Tech senior guard Corey Dean (1,002-32nd). One other player is getting close: Fresno State?™s Ja?™Vance Coleman (977).
TEAM LEADERS ?“ The WAC has seven players that lead their teams in two of three statistical categories (points-rebounds-assists):
Coby Karl, Jr., G, Boise State (17.2 ppg, 4.0 apg)
Quinton Hosley, Jr., G/F, Fresno State (18.5 ppg, 9.3 rpg)
Tanoris Shepard, Sr., G, Idaho (15.1 ppg, 3.5 apg)
Paul Millsap, Jr., F, Louisiana Tech (19.7 ppg, 13.2 rpg)
Nick Fazekas, Jr., F, Nevada (21.6 ppg, 10.3 rpg)
Tyrone Nelson, So., F, New Mexico State (18.3 ppg, 8.9 rpg)
Demetrius Brown, Sr., F, San Jose State (13.7 ppg, 5.6 rpg)
HAWAI'I OWNS WAC?™S LONGEST HOME WINNING STREAK ?“ Hawai'i has the WAC?™s longest home winning streak at six games. The Rainbow Warriors?™ next home game is Thursday against San Jose State. 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 84-39 (.683) at home this season. On the road and in neutral site games, the WAC is 44-75 (.370). Last week, WAC teams were 5-5 on the road.
UTAH STATE/NEVADA TOP TEAMS OVER LAST FOUR YEARS ?“ Over the last four seasons, Utah State is 92-28 (.767), the best record of any WAC team during that time. In conference games, Nevada has won 51 games, the most in that same time period.
NON-CONFERENCE MARK ?“ The WAC is 63-49 (.563) in non-conference games, including a 57-49 (.538) 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 (13-14, 5-10 WAC)
Has lost five of its last six games including five straight conference games ... led 70-60 on Monday night against Fresno State, but scored just nine points in the final 11:30 and lost 81-79 ... Coby Karl had his streak of scoring in double figures snapped at 19 games after recording nine against Fresno State on Monday night ... Karl has started 66 consecutive games, tied for the longest current streak in the WAC ... Karl has scored 20 or more points in a game 11 times this year ... he is third in the WAC in scoring in conference games only with 19.2 points per game ... the Broncos lead the WAC in free throw percentage (.714) ... is 20-1 when scoring 80 or more points under head coach Greg Graham.
Fresno State Bulldogs (15-11, 8-6 WAC)
Has won four of its last five games ... Ja?™Vance Coleman has scored at least 20 points in 14 games this season while Quinton Hosley has reached that mark 12 times this year ... the two have scored 20 or more points in the same game seven times this season ... Coleman leads the WAC in three-point field goals made per game (3.42) ... he is 23 points shy of reaching 1,000 for his career ... Hosley leads the WAC in steals with 2.19 per game ... Kevin Bell leads the WAC in assists with 5.88 per game ... the Bulldogs lead the WAC in steals (8.46) and three-point field goals made per game (9.50) ... is 12-2 at home this year, its best mark in the three-year history of the Save Mart Center ... leads the WAC in scoring with 74.2 points per game.
Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors (16-9, 9-5 WAC)
Has won six of its last seven games ... has rallied from double digit deficits in its last four wins ... has assured itself of its seventh consecutive winning season ... is the only WAC team to not lose a conference home game this season (6-0) ... is 3-0 when tied at the half ... is tied for the WAC lead with eight victories when trailing at halftime ... has won seven straight OT games dating back to the 2002-03 season ... leads the WAC in blocked shots with 6.04 per game ... has 151 blocked shots, breaking the previous single-season school record of 128 set during the 1993-94 season ... Julian Sensley is the first player in UH history to rank in the school?™s top 10 in points, rebounds and assists ... junior Ahmet Gueye leads the WAC in blocked shots (2.52).
Idaho Vandals (4-23, 1-14 WAC)
Has lost 16 of its last 17 games including seven in a row ... has lost 14 straight road games ... leading scorer Tanoris Shepard scored a season-low three points in the 74-49 loss at Louisiana Tech on Monday night ... he was 1-of-3 from the field with all three shots coming from behind the three-point line ... it was just the second time this season that Shepard had not scored 10 or more points in a game ... Keoni Watson scored a team-high 17 points in that game, tied for his fourth best output of the season ... the game was the Vandals?™ fifth in 10 days ... has not allowed its opponents to score 100 points in a game for 428 contests, the longest such streak in the WAC.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (18-11, 10-5 WAC)
Has won four of its last six games ... leads the WAC in scoring defense (63.2 ppg) ... junior forward Paul Millsap leads the nation in rebounding (13.2) ... he is averaging 15.1 rebounds per game in conference-only contests ... his 28 rebounds against SJSU on Feb. 15 are the second most by any player in the nation ... Millsap has scored 20 or more points in 41 contests during his career ... he is the WAC?™s active leader in double-doubles with 66 ... he has started 66 consecutive games, tied for the longest current streak in the WAC ... he has reached double figures in scoring in 26 straight games, the longest active streak in the WAC ... is the only team in the WAC to have just one player averaging in double figures in scoring.
Nevada Wolf Pack (22-5, 11-3 WAC)
Has a nine-game winning streak for the first time since a 10-game winning streak to end last year?™s regular season ... the nine-game winning streak is the sixth longest in the nation ... has reached 20 wins for the third season in a row ... Thursday is "Kirk Snyder Night" ... Snyder will be honored prior to tip-off of the San Jose State game ... Mark Fox (in just his second year) is the first coach in school history to record two 20-win seasons ... is 10-3 on the road ... leads the WAC in FG% defense (.401) ... Nick Fazekas has scored 20 or more points 42 times in his career ... Fazekas leads the WAC in scoring with 21.6 points per game ... Fazekas has had 37 double-doubles in his career including four straight ... Marcelus Kemp leads the WAC in FT% (.841).
New Mexico State Aggies (15-12, 10-5 WAC)
Has a six-game winning streak for the first time since the 2002-03 season ... the last time the Aggies won seven straight was near the end of the 1998-99 season ... plays at Hawai'i on Thursday night and is 3-0 all-time in the series ... over the last six games, Tyrone Nelson has averaged 20.0 points and 9.5 rebounds ... Shaun Davis has averaged 9.3 points over the last six games after averaging 2.8 points the previous six games ... has nine more wins than all of last season (6-24) ... has had three or more players score in double figures in 23 games ... is tied for the WAC lead with eight victories when trailing at halftime ... is 13-2 when outrebounding its opponents and just 2-10 when getting outrebounded.
San Jose State Spartans (6-22, 2-12 WAC)
Has lost 10 of its last 11 games including six in a row ... has lost its last four games by a combined 17 points ... plays at Nevada on Thursday and has lost seven in a row against the Wolf Pack ... in its last game against Hawai'i, both Carlton Spencer and Alex Elam were 6-of-12 for 15 points ... the Spartans have blocked 85 shots this year, 41 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 (772 games).
Utah State Aggies (19-7, 9-5 WAC)
Has lost three of its last seven games ... is the only team in the WAC to not have lost back-to-back games this year ... has not lost back-to-back home games since the 1992-93 season ... is coming off a loss in its last game at home ... needs one more win to record its seventh straight 20-win season ... Nate Harris leads the WAC in field goal percentage (.6159) ... the Aggies are second in the nation in three-point FG percentage (.424) and are fourth in the country in field goal percentage (.501) ... USU leads the WAC in scoring margin (+9.0) ... Jaycee Carroll has made a three-point field goal in 29 straight games ... Carroll leads the WAC and is third in the nation in three-point FG percentage (.483) ... is 110-11 at home under head coach Stew Morrill.