The 2006 WAC men's and women's basketball tournament begins this week in Reno, Nevada. The women open up play with a first round game on Tuesday night while the men begin competition with the quarterfinals on Thursday. Nevada is the number one seed on the men's side and will face Idaho at Lawlor Events Center at 6:00 p.m. (PT).
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XBOX LIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK Nevada forward Nick Fazekas, a junior from Arvada, Colo. (Ralston Valley HS), averaged 25.0 points and 11.5 rebounds in two wins over San Jose State and Fresno State last week. He had double-doubles in both games to extend his streak to six straight games with a double-double. Against San Jose State, Fazekas had 20 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and tied his career-high in blocks with four in just 22 minutes of playing time. In the regular season finale against Fresno State, he scored 30 points and pulled down 11 rebounds. For the week, Fazekas was 20-of-37 (.541) from the field, 4-of-9 (.444) from three-point range and made all six of his free throw attempts. It is Fazekas's seventh career WAC Player of the Week award and sixth for a Wolf Pack player this year.
Others nominated:
Eric Lane, Jr., G, Boise State - averaged 21.0 points in a split of two games last week. He scored 18 points in a two-point loss at Fresno State and then finished the week with a career-high 24 points in a double overtime win against Idaho.
Quinton Hosley, Jr., F, Fresno State - averaged 20.0 points and 7.7 rebounds in three games last week. He had 19 points and nine rebounds in a home win over Boise State last Monday and also added a team-high 23 points in the season finale at Nevada.
Paul Millsap, Jr., F, Louisiana Tech - scored 20 points and grabbed 23 rebounds in the win at Hawai'i. He also blocked five shots and had three steals in the game.
Tyrone Nelson, So., F, New Mexico State - scored 16 points and pulled down eight rebounds in a game at Hawai'i. He was 7-of-10 from the field and also had four steals in the contest.
Nate Harris, Sr., F, Utah State - averaged 18.5 points and 8.0 rebounds in a pair of home wins. He recorded his sixth double-double of the year with 18 points and 10 rebounds against Fresno State. For the week, he was 13-of-19 from the field and 11-of-12 from the free throw line.
NEVADA WINS REGULAR SEASON TITLE OUTRIGHT For the second straight year, Nevada has 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.
NEVADA WINS 11TH STRAIGHT Nevada beat Fresno State on Saturday to post its 11th straight victory, currently the third longest in the nation. It also is the longest for a WAC team since Fresno State won 13 straight during the 2000-01 season.
TOURNAMENT ON SPORTSWEST/ESPN2 All four men's quarterfinal and both semifinal games in this week's WAC tournament will be produced by SportsWest and will be shown on ESPN's Full Court package. The games will also be made available to the local markets of the competing teams. Rich Cellini (play-by-play), Blaine Fowler (analyst) and Jeff Friedman (sideline) will be the announcers for those six games. ESPN2 will televise the men's championship game on Saturday, March 11 at 6:00 p.m. (PT) with Lou Canellis (play-by-play) and Bucky Waters (analyst).
WAC TO STREAM TOURNAMENT The WAC is streaming live video and audio of this week's quaterfinals and semifinals via the WAC's web site at www.wacsports.com (Windows Media Player is required).
SIRIUS RADIO TO CARRY TOURNAMENT GAMES S irius radio will carry the men's quarterfinal, semifinal and championship games of the 2006 WAC Tournament. All four quarterfinal games on Thursday, March 9 will be on channel 121. The semifinal games on Friday will be on channel 110 and the championship game will be on channel 147.
FAZEKAS NAMED SECOND TEAM ALL-AMERICAN Nevada junior forward Nick Fazekas was named to ESPN.com's All-America second team. Fazekas has averaged 21.9 points and 10.3 rebounds per game.
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 2006 all-WAC teams as voted upon by the coaches were announced on Sunday. Nevada junior forward Nick Fazekas was named the Player of the Year for the second straight season. 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. The complete list of teams can be found later in this release.
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 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 THIRD IN THE NATION IN THREE-POINT FG PERCENTAGE After leading the nation for much of February, Utah State dropped to third in three-point field goal percentage through Monday's games. The Aggies are shooting 41.9 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 .476.
MILLSAP FIRST IN NATION IN REBOUNDING Louisiana Tech junior forward Paul Millsap remained first nationally in this week's rebounding statistics with 13.5 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 three spots to 21st in the AP poll and re-entered the ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll at number 24. No other teams in the WAC are receiving votes. In the CollegeRPI.com ratings, WAC teams ranked in the top 100 are: Nevada-18th, Utah State-54th, Louisiana Tech-69th and Hawai'i-88th.
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 (1,725-3rd), Louisiana Tech junior forward Paul Millsap (1,652-7th); Utah State senior forward Nate Harris (1,402-13th); Boise State junior guard Coby Karl (1,224-7th); Hawai'i senior forward Julian Sensley (1,214-9th); Idaho senior guard Tanoris Shepard (1,108-10th); and Louisiana Tech senior guard Corey Dean (1,002-31st). One other player is getting close: Fresno State's JaVance 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 (17.3 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, 3.6 apg)
Paul Millsap, Jr., F, Louisiana Tech (19.7 ppg, 13.5 rpg)
Nick Fazekas, Jr., F, Nevada (21.9 ppg, 10.3 rpg)
Tyrone Nelson, So., F, New Mexico State (18.3 ppg, 8.8 rpg)
Demetrius Brown, Sr., F, San Jose State (13.4 ppg, 5.7 rpg)
Nate Harris, Sr., F, Utah State (17.1 ppg, 7.4 rpg)
NEVADA OWNS WAC'S LONGEST HOME WINNING STREAK Hawai'i's seven-game home winning streak came to an end on Saturday and now Nevada has the longest streak in the WAC with six in a row. Nevada's next home game is Thursday against Idaho in the WAC Tournament. The Wolf Pack also have the longest conference home winning streak at five games.
HOME SWEET HOME The WAC's nine teams are a combined 90-40 (.692) at home this season. On the road and in neutral site games, the WAC is 45-81 (.357). Last week, WAC teams were 6-1 at home.
UTAH STATE/NEVADA TOP TEAMS OVER LAST FOUR YEARS Over the last four seasons, Utah State is 94-28 (.770), 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 (14-14, 6-10 WAC)
Beat Idaho in double overtime on Saturday to snap its five-game conference losing streak ... Karl has started 67 consecutive games, tied for the second 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 19.1 points per game ... Eric Lane scored a career-high 24 points in the double overtime win against Idaho ... he averaged 21.0 points in two games last week, 10 points higher than his season average ... the Broncos lead the WAC in free throw percentage (.717) ... is 21-1 when scoring 80 or more points under head coach Greg Graham ... in last year??s WAC Tournament, Boise State became the first eighth seed to ever reach the finals.
Fresno State Bulldogs (15-13, 8-8 WAC)
Lost its last two games of the season ... JaVance Coleman has scored at least 20 points in 14 games this season while Quinton Hosley has reached that mark 13 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 (3.39) ... he is five points shy of reaching 1,000 for his career ... Hosley leads the WAC in steals with 2.07 per game ... 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) ... is 13-2 at home this year, its best mark in the three-year history of the Save Mart Center ... leds the WAC in scoring in conference games only with 74.1 ppg.
Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors (17-10, 10-6 WAC)
Had its four-game winning streak and seven-game home winning streak snapped in the regular season finale against Louisiana Tech, 51-48 ... has rallied from double digit deficits in four of its last five wins ... has assured itself of its seventh consecutive winning season ... 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 163 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, will miss the rest of the season due to an injury.
Idaho Vandals (4-24, 1-15 WAC)
Has lost 17 of its last 18 games including eight in a row ... has lost 17 straight road games, including all 14 this year ... it is the third time in school history that the team has not won a road game ... has one more road game scheduled as it faces Nevada in the quarterfinals of the WAC Tournament ... is 2-2 in the postseason all-time against Nevada and won the last meeting between the two schools in the 1991 Big Sky semifinals ... senior Tanoris Shepard averaged 16.5 points per game in the two matchups against Nevada this season ... has not allowed its opponents to score 100 points in a game for 429 contests, the longest such streak in the WAC.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (19-11, 11-5 WAC)
Has won five of its last seven games ... leads the WAC in scoring defense (62.7 ppg) ... Paul Millsap leads the nation in rebounding (13.5) ... 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 67 ... he has started 68 consecutive games, the longest current streak in the WAC ... he has reached double figures in scoring in 27 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 (24-5, 13-3 WAC)
Has an 11-game winning streak for the first time since winning a school-record 17 in a row during the 1965-66 season ... the 11-game winning streak is the third longest in the nation ... 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 (.396) and scoring margin (+9.5) ... Nick Fazekas has scored 20 or more points 44 times in his career ... he leads the WAC in scoring with 21.9 ppg ... Fazekas has had 39 double-doubles in his career including six straight ... he leads the WAC in FT% (.834) ... Fazekas (with 1,725 points) is six points shy of tying Alex Boyd for second on the school's all-time scoring list.
New Mexico State Aggies (15-13, 10-6 WAC)
Had its six-game winning streak snapped in the regular season finale at Hawai'i ... it was the Aggies' longest streak since winning six in a row during the 2002-03 season ... has nine more wins than all of last season (6-24) ... has had three or more players score in double figures in 24 games ... is tied for the WAC lead with eight victories when trailing at halftime ... is 13-2 when outrebounding its opponents and just 2-11 when getting outrebounded ... guard Elijah Ingram did not play in the game against Hawai'i last Thursday due to an injury but is expected to see action against the Rainbow Warriors in the quarterfinals on Thursday ... in two games against Hawai'i, Tyrone Nelson averaged 22.0 points and 9.5 rebounds.
San Jose State Spartans (6-24, 2-14 WAC)
Has lost 12 of its last 13 games including eight in a row ... five of its last six losses have been by a combined 20 points ... faces Utah State in the quarterfinals of the WAC Tournament after losing in Logan to the Aggies by just three points on Saturday ... the Spartans have blocked 93 shots this year, 49 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 (774 games).
Utah State Aggies (21-7, 11-5 WAC)
Has won five of its last six games ... is the only team in the WAC to not have lost back-to-back games this year ... recorded its seventh straight 20-win season ... is one of five teams across the country to win at least 21 games in each of the last seven years joining Duke, Gonzaga, Illinois and Kansas ... Nate Harris leads the WAC in field goal percentage (.620) ... the Aggies are third in the nation in three-point FG percentage (.419) and in field goal percentage (.501) ... Jaycee Carroll was 0-for-3 from three-point range against SJSU on Saturday, ending his streak of making at least one trey in a game at 30 in a row ... Carroll leads the WAC and is third in the nation in three-point FG percentage (.476) ... is 112-11 at home under head coach Stew Morrill.