Both Nevada and Utah State begin competition in the NCAA Tournament on Thursday. The Wolf Pack earned a number five seed while the Aggies go in as a 12 seed. Nevada will travel to Salt Lake City and face Montana on Thursday. The Wolf Pack own a 14-game winning streak, the second longest active streak in the nation. Utah State heads to San Diego to meet Washington, also on Thursday.
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NEVADA MAKES THIRD STRAIGHT NCAA TRIP ?“ For the third year in a row, Nevada is playing in the NCAA Tournament. Nevada earned the WAC?™s automatic bid after winning the WAC Tournament last week. The Wolf Pack are the fifth seed in the Minneapolis Region. It is the highest seed for a WAC team since Utah was a number two in 1999. Nevada will face No. 12 Montana on Thursday in Salt Lake City. The Pack has four previous appearances in the NCAA Tournament (1984-85-04-05) and is 3-4. Last season, Nevada was a nine seed and beat No. 8 Texas, 61-57, before losing to No. 1 seed, Illinois, 71-59. It was the second straight year that Nevada had been ousted by the national runner-up as the Pack lost to Georgia Tech in the Sweet 16 in 2004.
NEVADA WITH 14-GAME WINNING STREAK ?“ After winning all three games in last week?™s WAC Tournament, Nevada now has a 14-game winning streak, the second longest in the nation. Gonzaga owns the nation?™s longest streak at 18 in a row. It is the longest streak by a WAC team since Utah won 23 in a row during the 1998-99 season.
UTAH STATE EARNS NCAA BID IN INAUGURAL YEAR ?“ Utah State received an at-large selection into the NCAA Tournament after taking Nevada into overtime in the finals of last week?™s WAC Tournament. The Aggies are the 12th seed in the Washington D.C. Region and will play No. 5 Washington on Thursday in San Diego. Utah State has made 16 previous appearances in the NCAA Tournament (1939-62-63-64-70-71-75-79-80-83-88-98-00-01-03-05) and is 14-15. Last year, the Aggies were a 14th-seed and lost to No. 3 Arizona in the first round, 66-53. Utah State is in its first season in the WAC.
THE WAC IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT ?“ The WAC has a 64-85 (.430) record in its teams?™ 79 previous appearances in the NCAA Tournament. Last year, Nevada was 1-1 while UTEP lost in the first round of the tournament. In 1998, Utah advanced to the NCAA title game before losing to Kentucky, 78-69, in San Antonio. It was the farthest a WAC team has ever advanced. This year marks the 22nd time in the last 23 years that at least two teams have made the NCAA Tournament. A WAC team has advanced to at least the second round in the past 11 NCAA tournaments.
AGAINST THE FIELD ?“ The WAC is 11-13 versus the other 63 teams in this year?™s NCAA Tournament. Nevada is 2-1 with wins over Kansas and Pacific and a loss versus UCLA. Utah State is 3-0 with two victories against Oral Roberts and one against Northwestern State. Other wins include Hawai'i over Michigan State and Northwestern State, Louisiana Tech over Southern Illinois and Southern, Boise State over Montana and New Mexico State over Pacific.
MONTANA CAPSULE ?“ Montana is 23-6 and the No. 12 seed in the Minneapolis Region. The Grizzlies were second in the Big Sky Conference but beat regular season champion Northern Arizona on the Lumberjacks?™ home court in the conference tournament championship game to earn the automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. Montana leads the series with Nevada, 21-16, after winning the last game played between the two teams on Dec. 5, 2001, 75-68, in Missoula, Mont. The Grizzlies are coached by Larry Krystkowiak who is in his second season with Montana and is 41-19.
WASHINGTON CAPSULE ?“ Washington is 24-6 and the No. 5 seed in the Washington D.C. Region. The Huskies were second in the Pac-10 but were knocked out in the conference tournament quarterfinals by Oregon. Utah State owns a 5-2 record versus Washington, but the two teams haven?™t met since Utah State beat the Huskies, 81-72, on Nov. 28, 1986 in the Great Alaska Shootout. Washington is coached by Lorenzo Romar who is in his fourth season with the Huskies and is 82-41. Overall, he is 175-129 in 10 years as a head coach.
LOUISIANA TECH IN NIT ?“ Louisiana Tech will be making its sixth appearance in the NIT and first since the 2002 season. The Bulldogs travel to Clemson for a Wednesday night first round game. Tech is 7-5 in its previous five appearances (1986-88-90-92-02).
THE WAC IN THE NIT ?“ The WAC has a 74-62 (.544) record in its teams?™ 62 previous appearances in the NIT. Last year, Rice was invited to the tournament where it lost at Southwest Missouri State. Two WAC teams have won the NIT title as Brigham Young did it in 1966 and Tulsa in 2001. Fresno State won the title in 1983, prior to its WAC membership.
CLEMSON CAPSULE ?“ Clemson is 18-12 and finished in a tie for seventh place in the ACC. The Tigers opened the season with an 11-game winning streak. Clemson lost its first round game in the ACC Tournament against Miami, 66-63. Clemson and Louisiana Tech have met just one time back in 1980 when the Tigers won 50-49 in overtime of a Rainbow Classic tournament game in Honolulu.
NEVADA WINS 2006 WAC TOURNAMENT ?“ For the second time in three years, Nevada won the WAC Tournament after beating Utah State, 70-63, in overtime on Saturday night. The Wolf Pack also won the 2004 tournament. Nevada opened the 2006 tournament by beating Idaho in the quarterfinals, 68-55, and New Mexico State in the semifinals, 70-59. It was the third time that the WAC championship game had ever gone into overtime.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM ?“ Nevada placed three players on the WAC?™s all-tournament team as selected by the media in attendance. Nick Fazekas, Marcelus Kemp and Mo Charlo were joined by Utah State?™s Nate Harris and Louisiana Tech?™s Paul Millsap. Fazekas was named the tournament MVP after averaging 21.0 points and 10.0 rebounds in the three games. He had at least 20 points in each contest and saved his best for last as he scored 23 points and pulled down 14 rebounds in the title game.
ATTENDANCE ?“ The men?™s tournament was attended by 30,859 fans during the four sessions (7,715/session). The title game drew 9,436 to the Lawlor Events Center in Reno, Nevada. It was the highest attended title game and highest average session attendance since 2000 when Fresno State drew 10,021 to the championship and averaged 8,102 over four sessions.
NEVADA WINS REGULAR SEASON TITLE OUTRIGHT ?“ For the second straight year, Nevada won the WAC?™s regular season title outright. The Wolf Pack finished the season with a 13-3 mark, two games ahead of Louisiana Tech and Utah State.
NEW MEXICO STATE IMPROVES ?“ New Mexico State finished the 2005-06 season with a 16-14 record, 10 wins more than what the Aggies had the previous year (6-24). The 10-win improvement is currently tied for the third best in the nation. San Diego State has won 13 more games than it did last year while BYU has 11 more victories.
FAZEKAS NAMED SECOND TEAM ALL-AMERICAN ?“ Nevada junior forward Nick Fazekas was named to ESPN.com?™s All-America second team. Fazekas has averaged 21.8 points and 10.3 rebounds per game.
ALL-WAC TEAMS ?“ The 2006 all-WAC teams as voted upon by the coaches were announced earlier this month. Nevada junior forward Nick Fazekas was named the Player of the Year for the second straight season. He is the fifth player in WAC history to earn the award at least twice. Hawai'i guard Dominic Waters garnered Freshman of the Year honors and Nevada coach Mark Fox was named the Don Haskins Coach of the Year for the second straight season. It is the first time since 1982 that a coach has won the award two years in a row.
USBWA ALL-DISTRICT TEAMS ANNOUNCED ?“ Nevada junior Nick Fazekas, Utah State senior Nate Harris and Boise State junior Coby Karl were named all-District VIII by the United States Basketball Writers of America (USBWA). Fazekas was named that district?™s Player of the Year. Louisiana Tech junior Paul Millsap earned all-District VII honors.
5 NAMED TO NABC ALL-DISTRICT TEAMS ?“ Five WAC student-athletes were named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) all-district 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.
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 FOURTH IN THE NATION IN FIELD GOAL AND THREE-POINT FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE ?“ After leading the nation for much of February, Utah State dropped to fourth in three-point field goal percentage through last Sunday?™s games. The Aggies are shooting 40.5 percent from three-point range while Southern Utah is first at 42.9 percent. Utah State is also fourth in overall field goal percentage at .498. Florida leads the nation at .508.
MILLSAP FIRST IN NATION IN REBOUNDING ?“ Louisiana Tech junior forward Paul Millsap remained first nationally in this week?™s rebounding statistics with 13.4 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.
NATIONAL RANKINGS ?“ Nevada moved up one spot to 20th in the AP poll and three spots to 24th 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-19th, Utah State-46th, Louisiana Tech-68th, New Mexico State-97th and Hawai'i-100th.
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 (1,788-2nd), Louisiana Tech junior forward Paul Millsap (1,679-7th); Utah State senior forward Nate Harris (1,456-11th); Boise State junior guard Coby Karl (1,240-7th); Hawai'i senior forward Julian Sensley (1,230-9th); Idaho senior guard Tanoris Shepard (1,124-9th); and Louisiana Tech senior guard Corey Dean (1,020-30th). One other player is getting close: Fresno State junior Ja?™Vance Coleman (997).
TEAM LEADERS ?“ The WAC has eight of its nine teams feature player that lead their teams in two of three statistical categories (points-rebounds-assists). Only Hawai'i does not.
Coby Karl, Jr., G, Boise State (17.2 ppg, 4.0 apg)
Quinton Hosley, Jr., G/F, Fresno State (18.6 ppg, 9.2 rpg)
Tanoris Shepard, Sr., G, Idaho (15.4 ppg, 3.7 apg)
Paul Millsap, Jr., F, Louisiana Tech (19.7 ppg, 13.4 rpg)
Nick Fazekas, Jr., F, Nevada (21.8 ppg, 10.3 rpg)
Tyrone Nelson, So., F, New Mexico State (17.8 ppg, 8.7 rpg)
Demetrius Brown, Sr., F, San Jose State (13.9 ppg, 5.8 rpg)
Nate Harris, Sr., F, Utah State (17.2 ppg, 7.5 rpg)
NEVADA OWNS WAC?™S LONGEST HOME WINNING STREAK ?“ Nevada extended its home winning streak to nine in a row following last week?™s WAC Tournament. The Wolf Pack also have the longest home winning streak in WAC games only at five straight.
HOME SWEET HOME ?“ The WAC?™s nine teams are a combined 93-40 (.699) at home this season. On the road and in neutral site games, the WAC is 49-88 (.358).
UTAH STATE/NEVADA TOP TEAMS OVER LAST FOUR YEARS ?“ Over the last four seasons, Utah State is 96-29 (.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.
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.
NEW MEXICO STATE TO HOST 2007 TOURNAMENT ?“ As announced on Nov. 11, New Mexico State will be the host for the 2007 and 2008 tournaments. The 2007 dates are March 6-10.
TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Boise State Broncos (14-15, 6-10 WAC)
Lost to Louisiana Tech in last week?™s WAC quarterfinals, 75-64 ... the Broncos were 2-of-15 from three-point range in that game ... BSU also committed 19 turnovers, the most of any team in the tournament ... junior guard Coby Karl has started 68 consecutive games, the third longest current streak in the WAC ... Karl scored 20 or more points in a game 11 times this year ... he was third in the WAC in scoring in conference games only with 19.1 points per game ... the Broncos led the WAC in free throw percentage before the WAC Tournament but went 18-of-29 from the line against Louisiana Tech and dropped to third (.711) ... is 21-1 when scoring 80 or more points under head coach Greg Graham.
Fresno State Bulldogs (15-13, 8-8 WAC)
Junior forward Ja?™Vance Coleman scored at least 20 points in 14 games this season while junior forward Quinton Hosley reached that mark 13 times this year ... the two 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 (3.39) ... he is five points shy of reaching 1,000 for his career ... Hosley leads the WAC in steals with 2.07 per game ... sophomore Kevin Bell leads the WAC in assists with 5.89 per game ... the Bulldogs lead the WAC in steals (8.18) and three-point field goals made per game (9.46) ... was 13-2 at home this year, its best mark in the three-year history of the Save Mart Center ... led the WAC in scoring in conference games only with 74.1 ppg.
Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors (17-11, 10-6 WAC)
Lost in last week?™s WAC quarterfinals, 58-57, against New Mexico State ... it was the only one-point game of the tournament ... rallied from double digit deficits in four of its last five wins ... posted its seventh consecutive winning season ... was 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 5.93 per game ... had 166 blocked shots, breaking the previous single-season school record of 128 set during the 1993-94 season ... junior Ahmet Gueye, who leads the WAC in blocks (2.5/game) and the team in rebounds, missed the team?™s last two games due to an injury.
Idaho Vandals (4-25, 1-15 WAC)
Lost 18 of its last 19 games including its last nine ... has lost 18 straight road games, including all 15 this year ... it is the third time in school history that the team has not won a road game ... has not allowed its opponents to score 100 points in a game for 431 contests, the longest such streak in the WAC ... following its loss to Nevada in the WAC Tournament, Idaho announced that head coach Leonard Perry will not return for the 2006-07 season ... Perry spent the past five seasons at his alma mater where he compiled a 48-97 record ... Idaho AD Rob Spear announced that a search will begin immediately to find Perry?™s successor ... assistant George Pfeifer will direct basketball operations until a new coach is hired.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (20-12, 11-5 WAC)
Posted its first 20-win season since a 22-10 record in 2001-02 ... leads the WAC in scoring defense (62.9 ppg) ... Paul Millsap leads the nation in rebounding (13.4) ... he averaged 15.6 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 42 contests during his career ... he is the WAC?™s active leader in double-doubles with 68 ... he has started 70 consecutive games, tied for the longest current streak in the WAC ... he has reached double figures in scoring in 29 straight games, tied for the longest active streak in the WAC ... Tech is the only team in the WAC to have just one player averaging in double figures in scoring.
Nevada Wolf Pack (27-5, 13-3 WAC)
Has a 14-game winning streak for the first time since winning a school-record 17 in a row during the 1965-66 season ... has reached 20 wins for the third season in a row ... 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 (.398) and scoring margin (+9.6) ... Nick Fazekas has scored 20 or more points 47 times in his career ... he leads the WAC in scoring (21.8 ppg) and FT% (.848) and has scored in double figures in 29 straight games, tied for the longest active streak in the WAC ... Fazekas (with 1,788 points) is 89 points shy of tying Edgar Jones for first on the school?™s all-time scoring list.
New Mexico State Aggies (16-14, 10-6 WAC)
Beat Hawai'i, 58-57, in last week?™s WAC quarterfinals ... it was the only one-point game and only upset based on seeds in the tournament ... Tyrone Nelson posted a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds against UH ... Nelson injured his hand in the semifinals against Nevada and finished with just eight points and three rebounds ... the Aggies had 10 more wins than all of last season (6-24), currently the third biggest improvement by any team in the nation ... had three or more players score in double figures in 24 games, but only two reached that mark in both WAC Tournament contests ... is tied for the WAC lead with eight victories when trailing at halftime ... was 14-3 when outrebounding its opponents and just 2-11 when getting outrebounded.
San Jose State Spartans (6-25, 2-14 WAC)
Lost to Utah State in last week?™s WAC quarterfinals, 76-69 ... the Spartans shot 59.4 percent from the field in the second half, the best shooting half by any team in the tournament ... Demetrius Brown tied his career-high with 26 points in the game, the most by any player in the tournament ... lost 13 of its last 14 games including nine in a row ... won six games for the third year in a row ... the Spartans blocked 95 shots this year, 51 more than all of last season ... is the only team in the WAC to win more games away from home (4: 3 road, 1 neutral) than at home (2) ... 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 (775 games).
Utah State Aggies (23-8, 11-5 WAC)
Is making its seventh consecutive postseason appearance (NCAA: 2000-01-03-05; NIT: 2002-04) ... it is the Aggies?™ first NCAA at-large selection since 1983 ... has won seven of its last nine games ... is the only team in the WAC to not have lost back-to-back games this year ... is coming off a loss in its last game ... recorded its seventh straight 20-win season ... 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 ... leads the WAC in FG% (.498), three-point FG% (.405) and in FT% (.721) ... Nate Harris leads the WAC in FG% (.622) ... Jaycee Carroll leads the WAC in three-point FG% (.453) ... is 112-11 at home under head coach Stew Morrill.