PLAYER OF THE WEEK ? Louisiana Tech guard Trey McDowell, a senior from Beaumont, Texas (San Jacinto JC), averaged 18.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists in a pair of home WAC victories last week. On Thursday, McDowell scored 14 points and had a game-high five assists in a 92-56 win over San Jose State. Against Hawai?i, he scored 22 points on 10-of-12 shooting from the field and pulled down six rebounds in a 70-67 win. The 22 points were the most scored by a Tech player this year. It is McDowell’s first career WAC Player of the Week award and first for a Bulldog player this year.
Others nominated:
Matt Nelson, Jr., F, Boise State - scored 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting, grabbed seven rebounds, dished out three assists and blocked two shots in the win against Idaho.
Kevin Bell, Jr., G, Fresno State - averaged 14.5 points and 6.0 assists in a pair of home victories. He had a team-high 14 points and five assists versus Idaho and then matched a career-high with 15 points and dished out seven assists versus Utah State.
Marcelus Kemp, Jr., G, Nevada - scored a game-high 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting in a win over Idaho. He also had a season-high three steals and made a pair of three-pointers in 20 minutes of action.
Justin Hawkins, Jr., G/F, New Mexico State - averaged 15.7 points and 6.3 rebounds in three wins last week. He had a game-high 22 points versus Chicago State and added five rebounds and five assists. He then scored 20 points and pulled down seven rebounds against Hawai?i.
WAC.TV ? The Western Athletic Conference officially launched WAC.tv prior to the 2006-07 season. 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. All conference games will be available this week except for Hawai?i’s home games. Go to www.wac.tv to sign up or login.
HOME TEAMS WIN FIRST NINE GAMES ? WAC play began last week and so far, the home team has won every game. Nevada, Fresno State, New Mexico State and Louisiana Tech are all 2-0 after hosting games while Boise State began its season with a home win over Utah State last Thursday.
FOUR TEAMS WITH AT LEAST 10 WINS ? The WAC has four teams with at least 10 victories with Nevada leading the way with 14. Fresno State has won 13 games while New Mexico State has 12 and Utah State has 10. Hawai?i remains one shy of the mark, winning nine of its first 15 games.
NEW MEXICO STATE WITH 11-GAME WINNING STREAK ? New Mexico State has the WAC’s longest active winning streak at 11 games in a row. The Aggies won their first game of the season and then lost three straight before putting together their current streak. The streak is tied with Air Force, North Carolina and Wisconsin for the second longest in the nation behind only Clemson’s 16-game winning streak. Nevada has won seven in a row, the second longest streak in the WAC.
PACK WINS 12TH STRAIGHT WAC GAME ? Nevada has the WAC’s longest current winning streak in conference games only at 12 straight after beating Boise State on Monday night, 90-86. The Wolf Pack won their last 10 WAC games in 2006 after losing to Utah State on January 23.
FAZEKAS SECOND IN NATION IN REBOUNDING ? Nevada senior forward Nick Fazekas remains second in the nation in rebounding with 12.3 boards per contest. Arkansas-Little Rock’s Rashad Jones-Jennings is first with 12.7 per game. The WAC has boasted the nation’s top rebounder the past three seasons as Louisiana Tech’s Paul Millsap won the title each year. Prior to Millsap, no WAC player had ever won the rebounding title.
NATIONAL RANKINGS ? Nevada moved up two spots to 19th in the AP poll and remained 15th in the ESPN/USA Today coaches’ poll. The ranking of 15th is the highest for a WAC team since Tulsa was 14th on March 7, 2000. Both New Mexico State and Fresno State received votes in the coaches’ 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 (2,117-1st); Boise State senior guard Coby Karl (1,439-6th); Utah State junior guard Jaycee Carroll (1,299-15th); Fresno State senior guard Ja’Vance Coleman (1,164-19th); and New Mexico State senior guard Elijah Ingram (1,135-scored 607 points at St. John’s). New Mexico State’s Tyrone Nelson is next on the list with 979 points.
TEAM LEADERS ? The WAC has seven players that lead their team in two of three statistical categories (points-rebounds-assists).
Matt Nelson, Jr., F, Boise State (15.3 ppg, 9.0 rpg)
Matt Lojeski, Sr., G, Hawai?i (17.9 ppg, 4.9 apg)
Chad McKenzie, Sr., F, La. Tech (13.0 ppg, 6.7 rpg)
Nick Fazekas, Sr., F, Nevada (20.3 ppg, 12.1 rpg)
Justin Hawkins, Jr., G/F, New Mexico State (16.9 ppg, 7.9 rpg)
Carlton Spencer, Sr., G, San Jose State (15.8 ppg, 3.5 apg)
Jaycee Carroll, Jr., G, Utah State (20.5 ppg, 5.7 rpg)
NEVADA TOP TEAM OVER LAST FOUR YEARS ? Since the start of the 2003-04 season, Nevada is 90-23 (.796), the best record of any WAC team during that time. In conference games, Nevada has won 43 games, the most in that same time period.
NEW MEXICO STATE OWNS WAC’S LONGEST HOME WINNING STREAKS ? New Mexico State has won 14 home games in row, tied for the longest active winning streak in the WAC and tied for the 16th longest in the nation. Boise State and Utah State are tied for the second longest streaks in the WAC at seven straight. In conference play only, Nevada has the longest home winning streak at seven straight.
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 51-11 (.823) at home this season. On the road and in neutral site games, the WAC is 21-47 (.309).
NON-CONFERENCE MARK ? The WAC is 63-49 (.563) in non-conference games, including a 60-49 (.550) 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.
ESPNU BRACKETBUSTERS ? For the fifth year in a row, the WAC has partnered with ESPN and several other top college basketball conferences for ESPNU 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.
TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Boise State Broncos (7-6, 1-1 WAC)
Was 24-1 when scoring 80 or more points under head coach Greg Graham, but has lost its last two games when reaching that mark (Loyola Marymount and Nevada) ... Matt Nelson has recorded a double-double in three of his last six games after scoring 19 points and pulling down 13 rebounds in the game at Nevada ... Coby Karl had 22 points, eight rebounds and five assists in that game as well ... Karl has started 81 consecutive games, the second longest current streak in the WAC ... he leads the WAC in three-point field goals made per game (2.8) ... junior Matt Nelson leads the WAC in field goal percentage (.628) ... is 1-4 in games decided by five points or less ... is the only team in the WAC that returns all five starters from last season.
Fresno State Bulldogs (13-2, 2-0 WAC)
Begins a three-game road trip with contests at Hawai?i, San Jose State and Nevada ... Ja’Vance Coleman returned to the starting lineup against Utah State and scored 16 points ... Dominic McGuire posted his seventh double-double of the season against the Aggies with 19 points and 10 rebounds ... is 13-0 when four players score in double figures ... leads the WAC in scoring margin (+13.0), scoring defense (61.9 ppg), field goal percentage defense (.359), blocked shots (7.13 bpg) and three-point field goals made per game (9.60) ... junior G Kevin Bell leads the WAC in assists with 5.7 per game ... Dominic McGuire leads the WAC in blocks with 3.7 per contest ... Hector Hernandez leads the WAC in three-point field goal percentage (.522).
Hawai?i Rainbow Warriors (9-6, 0-2 WAC)
Has lost two straight games after putting together a five-game winning streak ... Hawai?i had won its first nine games when leading at the half, but lost both games last week when leading at the intermission ... UH had also won its first nine games when scoring 60 points, but lost both games last week when reaching that mark ... Matt Lojeski is shooting .566 from the field, the best percentage by a guard in the WAC ... is now 10-10 in its last 20 WAC openers ... has lost 25 of its last 30 road games dating back to the 2003-04 season ... UH has posted seven consecutive winning seasons ... has won seven straight OT games dating back to the 2002-03 season ... head coach Riley Wallace will resign following the conclusion of the season.
Idaho Vandals (2-12, 0-2 WAC)
Is in the midst of a four-game stretch to open the WAC season against the top four teams in the league (Fresno State, Nevada, New Mexico State and Utah State) ... Keoni Watson has scored in double figures in all but two games this season ... he has been the team’s leading scorer in 11 games, and in five of those games, has been the only Vandal to score in double figures ... Idaho is last in the WAC in scoring with 59.3 points per game ... is the only team in the WAC that has not had a player get a double-double this year and to not have a halftime lead ... has not allowed its opponents to score 100 points in a game for 445 contests, the longest such streak in the WAC ... has made a three-point field goal in 267 consecutive games (since Feb. 27, 1997).
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (4-10, 2-0 WAC)
Beat San Jose State, 92-56, the most points for the Bulldogs since beating Tougaloo on Dec. 22, 2005, 92-58 ... five players scored in double figures led by Chad McKenzie and Drew Washington who had 17 apiece ... beat Hawai?i on Saturday, 70-67, the Bulldogs’ sixth straight win over the Rainbow Warriors ... it was the first game that Tech had won this season when trailing at the half (1-10) ... McKenzie scored 18 points on 7-of-22 shooting ... the 22 field goal attempts were the second most by a WAC player this year ... the Bulldogs committed just seven turnovers against UH, tied for the fewest by a WAC team this season ... is 19-4 in non-conference home games since joining the WAC before the 2001-02 season.
Nevada Wolf Pack (14-1, 2-0 WAC)
Senior Nick Fazekas scored 14 points and had nine rebounds in the first half against Boise State before injuring his ankle ... he did not return to the game ... Marcelus Kemp had 27 points versus Boise State, his fourth straight game with at least 20 points ... Nevada has won 11 straight regular season games away from home ... has won 17 of its last 18 home games ... has won 28 of its last 30 games overall dating back to last season ... Nick Fazekas has posted a double-double in 11 games this season and has 52 in his career ... Fazekas has scored 20 or more points 54 times in his career and has scored in double figures in 45 straight games, the longest active streak in the WAC ... he has started 86 straight games, the longest active streak in the WAC.
New Mexico State Aggies (12-3, 2-0 WAC)
Has won 11 straight after losing three in a row ... it is its first 11-game winning streak since winning 13 straight in 1993-94 ... the 12-3 start is its best since beginning the 1994-95 season 13-3 ... is the only team in the WAC with five players averaging double figures in scoring ... leads the WAC in scoring with 83.9 points per game ... has reached 100 points in three games this season ... leads the WAC in field goal percentage (.515), steals (7.67) and turnover margin (+1.60) ... junior G Fred Peete leads the WAC in steals (1.9 spg) ... Peete scored a season-high 21 points in the win over San Jose State ... 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 (1-13, 0-2 WAC)
Is now 0-11 in WAC openers after losing at Louisiana Tech last Thursday ... led by nine points with 13:54 left in the 74-68 loss at New Mexico State on Saturday ... Carlton Spencer scored a team-high 17 points in the game and is averaging 15.8 ppg in his four games with the Spartans this season ... is 1-13 for the first time since going 1-20 to start the 1994-95 season ... has lost 22 of its last 23 games ... completed an eight-night road trip, the third longest in school history, and traveled 6,460 miles, the most of any road trip ... 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 (789 games).
Utah State Aggies (10-5, 0-2 WAC)
Has lost back-to-back games for the first time since the 2004-05 season ... has not lost three in a row since 1998-99 ... leads the WAC in free throw percentage (.783), third best in the nation ... junior G Jaycee Carroll leads the WAC in scoring (20.5 ppg) and free throw percentage (.920) ... he has scored in double figures in 16 straight games, the second longest active streak in the WAC ... 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 (Duke, Gonzaga, Illinois and Kansas) ... is 115-11 at home under Stew Morrill ... has won 43 straight non-conference regular season home games, second only to Duke (51).