PLAYER OF THE WEEK ? Utah State forward Stephen DuCharme has been named the Western Athletic Conference men’s basketball player of the week for November 19-25. This is the first career WAC Player of the Week honor for the senior.
DuCharme, a senior from Andover, Kan. (Hutchinson CC), helped Utah State record a 2-1 record last week and finish in third-place at the 2007 South Padre Island Invitational with wins against Austin Peay (71-68) and Iowa (75-62) and a loss to Vanderbilt (77-56). DuCharme began the week by scoring 10 points and adding four rebounds against Austin Peay. He then scored 20 points to go along with six rebounds against Vanderbilt, followed by 20 points and three rebounds against Iowa. During the two-day tournament in South Padre Island, Texas, he was named to the all-tournament team, averaging 20.0 points and 4.5 rebounds, while shooting 64.3 percent from the field (18-for-28). Overall, DuCharme averaged 16.7 points and 4.3 rebounds during the week, while shooting 64.7 percent from the field (22-for-34), 50.0 percent from three-point range (1-for-2) and 83.3 percent from the free throw line (5-for-6).
The other nominations were senior forward Tyler Tiedeman, Boise State; senior forward Hector Hernandez, Fresno State; sophomore guard Kyle Gibson, Louisiana Tech and sophomore guard Jonathon Gibson, New Mexico State.
This Week in the WAC ? Seven of the WAC teams look to get back on track this week after suffering losses in their last games. Boise State has won two-straight games and looks to continue its hot streak this week at home against San Diego and on the road against San Francisco. Utah State will host Santa Clara on Dec. 1 in its only game of the week. Idaho looks to break a three-game losing streak this week at home against South Dakota State and Idaho State. Both New Mexico State and Louisiana Tech look to break two-game losing streaks. The Aggies are on the road against UTEP and at home against North Texas, while the Bulldogs host Southeast Missouri.
WAC ON ESPN ? The WAC has a multi-year contract with ESPN for coverage of WAC football and basketball. The complete television schedule will be available at a later date.
O’REILLY ESPNU BRACKETBUSTERS ? For the sixth year in a row, the WAC has partnered with ESPN and several other top college basketball conferences for the O’Reilly ESPNU BracketBusters, a weekend men’s basketball event matching potential NCAA tournament hopefuls against each other. All nine WAC teams will be a part of this year’s pool of teams. The event will be held February 22-24, and ESPN2 and ESPNU will present 11 games. The match-ups for Bracket Buster Saturday will be determined by ESPN in conjunction with the conferences about three weeks before the event.
AGGIES HAPPY AT HOME ? Utah State has won 47-straight regular season non-conference home games, which is the second-longest streak in the nation behind Duke who has won 53 straight. When including postseason play, USU has won 23 straight home games against non-conference opponents and 47 of its last 49 overall. The last time Utah State lost a non-conference home game during the regular season was on Jan. 8, 2000 against BYU, 82-73.
Utah State is 128-12 (.914) in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum under head coach Morrill, which includes a 60-4 (.938) record against non-league opponents. Overall, USU is 422-105 (.801) in 37 years in the building.
CARROLL AND KEMP NAMED TO NAISMITH AND WOODEN WATCH LISTS ? Utah State’s Jaycee Carroll and Nevada’s Marcelus Kemp continue to receive national attention this fall and were recently named to the preseason watch list for the 2007-08 Naismith Trophy presented by AT&T, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced. Last week, both were named one of 50 preseason candidates for the 2007-08 John R. Wooden Award.
The Naismith Trophy watch list, which consists of 50 players, was compiled by the Atlanta Tipoff Club’s Board of Selectors, which based its preseason criteria on player performances from last season and expectations for the 2007-08 season. There were 17 seniors and 17 juniors on the preseason list, along with 16 sophomores. The list does not include incoming freshmen, although those student-athletes will be considered in the first vote in January, 2008. The Naismith Trophy is the most prestigious national award presented annually to college basketball’s player of the year.
KEEPING TRACK OF COACH MORRILL ? With four wins thus far this year, Utah State head coach Stew Morrill is now 217-79 (.733) in his 10th year at USU and is just eight wins shy of tying legendary coach E. Lowell Romney (1920-41) for the most wins in school history with 225. Coach Morrill is also just three games shy of tying H. Cecil Baker (1951-61) for the second-most games coached in USU history with 299.
LARRY’S FAST START ? Boise State’s Reggie Larry is off to a strong start registering three double-doubles in Boise State’s first six games and missing a double-double by just one rebound in the Broncos’ third game. The senior from Newark, N.J., is fourth in the WAC in scoring (16.8 ppg) and third in the league in rebounding (9.2), while ranking fourth in field goal percentage (63.0 percent) and fifth in steals (1.80/game). Larry opened the season with a 20-point and 10-rebound performance against Utah Valley and followed with a 18-point and 10-rebound game against No. 9 Washington State. He had 19 points and nine rebounds at Montana State.
NASH IS CASH ? Much was expected of Hawai?i fifth-year senior Bobby Nash before the season started and so far he has delivered. With the absence of fellow senior cocaptain Matt Gibson, Nash has elevated his play, filling in at the point and leading the Western Athletic Conference in scoring (20.8 ppg) through four games. Nash tied his career-high with 22 points vs. San Diego in the season opener then set a new high the very next game with a 30-point outburst in a tight two-point loss to Illinois.
2007-08 Television Schedule
Upcoming Games (All times local to playing site/Subject to change)
Date Game Time Outlet
11/28 San Diego at Boise State 7:00 p.m. KTVB-Boise
12/1 Nevada at Pacific 7:05 p.m. Wolfpack Sport Net
12/4 New Mexico at NMSU 7:00 p.m. Aggie Vision
12/8 UTEP at NMSU 7:00 p.m. Aggie Vision
12/8 Fresno State at UNLV 7:00 p.m. Bulldog Sports Net
12/8 LMU at Boise State 7:00 p.m. KTVB-Boise
12/11 Prairie View at NMSU 7:00 p.m. Aggie Vision
12/16 Fresno State at Arizona 7:00 p.m. Bulldog Sports Net
12/20 Utah Valley at Utah State 7:00 p.m. KJZZ-TV
12/22 Nevada at Northern Iowa 1:05 p.m. Wolfpack Sports Net
12/29 Fresno State at Stanford 7:00 p.m. Bulldog Sports Net
12/29 Brigham Young at Boise State 7:00 p.m. KTVB-Boise
12/31 Alcorn St. at New Mexico State 1:00 p.m. Aggie Vision
ON THE LINE ? The Wolf Pack brings a 13-game home winning streak into Wednesday’s game, which is the longest active streak in the WAC and the 12th-longest in the country. The team has won 25 of its last 26 games at home and has turned in a 61-6 record at Lawlor Events Center in the last four-plus seasons.
CARROLL CLOSING IN ON SEVERAL SCHOOL RECORDS ? Along with ranking fourth all-time in school history in scoring, senior guard Jaycee Carroll is closing in on several other Utah State career records, as he ranks first all-time in school history in three-point shooting (.454), is second in three-pointers made (279), three-pointers attempted (614) and 10-point games (94), is third in games started (105), fifth in minutes per game (33.5), total minutes played (3,582), free throw percentage (.845) and field goals made (664), and sixth in field goals attempted (1,317). Carroll also ranks 11th all-time in points per game (17.7), is 15th all-time in games played (107) and 20th all-time in assists (215).
WAC TOURNAMENT TO RETURN TO RENO IN 2009 ? Western Athletic Conference commissioner Karl Benson announced that the WAC Board of Directors awarded the 2009 and 2010 WAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments to the University of Nevada and the Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority. The tournaments will be held in the 11,485-seat Lawlor Events Center, located on the campus of the University of Nevada.
The WAC tournaments were last held in Reno in 2006. The 2007 tournaments were held in Las Cruces, New Mexico at New Mexico State University, as will the 2008 tournaments before returning to Reno in 2009.
ON THE BOARDS ? New Mexico State is dominating teams on the boards this season and out-rebounding their opponents by a 10.3 margin. NMSU has grabbed 102 offensive rebounds this year, which is an average of 17 per contest. Senior center Hatila Passos had a team-high 46 rebounds and 25 of those are on the offensive glass. He leads the WAC in that category with 4.17 offensive rebounds per game and freshman forward Wendell McKines ranks third as he contributes 3.33 offensive rebounds per contest.
NEW MEXICO STATE TO HOST 2008 WAC TOURNAMENT ? Las Cruces and New Mexico State University will host the 2008 WAC Tournament, March 11-15. It will be the second year in a row that the event will be held at the Pan American Center. The tournament features all nine men’s and women’s teams.
SUPER SENIORS ? The WAC seniors are leading the way offensivley this season. The top six leading scorers in the league are seniors, while nine of the top 10 are upperclassmen. Hawai?i senior Bobby Nash leads the way, averaging 20.8 ppg. Nash is the only player in the WAC averaging over 20 ppg. Fresno State senior Kevin Bell is third in scoring (18.5 ppg) and first in assists (6.67 apg). The sole underclassmen to break the top 10 in scoring is New Mexico State sophomore Jonathan Gibson who is averaging 15.0 ppg.
NEVADA TOP TEAM OVER LAST FOUR YEARS ? Over the last five seasons, Nevada is 108-28 (.794), the best record of any WAC team during that time. In conference games, Nevada has won 56 games, the most in that same time period. The top three teams in wins (both overall and WAC) over the last four seasons:
Overall Record (Pct.) WAC Record (Pct.)
1. Nevada 108-28 (.794) 1. Nevada 56-12 (.824)
2. Utah State 98-36 (.731) 2. Fresno State 37-31 (.544)
3. Hawai?i 73-51 (.589) 3. Hawai?i 36-32 (.529)
TEAM LEADERS ? The WAC has six schools with players who led their team in two of three statistical categories (points-rebounds-assists).
Reggie Larry, Sr., F, Boise State (18.3 ppg, 9.7 rpg)
Kevin Bell, Sr., G, Fresno State (19.3 ppg, 5.8 apg)
Bobby Nash, Sr., G/F, Hawai?i (22.3 ppg, 6.7 rpg)
Jordan Brooks, Jr., F, Idaho (5.3 rpg, 6.7 apg)
Kyle Gibson, So., G, Louisiana Tech (11.0 ppg, 10.0 rpg)
C.J. Webster, So., C, San Jose State (13.3 ppg, 9.7 rpg)
TOURNAMENT OPPONENTS ? WAC teams could face at least 18 non-conference opponents that played in last year’s NCAA Tournament. Boise State, Fresno State and New Mexico State are scheduled to play three of those teams, a WAC-high.
Utah State at Weber State, Nov. 10
New Mexico State at Duke, Nov. 12
Florida A&M at New Mexico State, Nov. 14 (Legends Classic)
Washington State at Boise State, Nov. 13
Idaho at Gonzaga, Nov. 13
Idaho at Washington State, Nov. 16
Illinois at Hawai?i, Nov. 16
Nevada at UNLV, Nov. 24
Louisiana Tech at Texas Tech, Dec. 5
Fresno State at UNLV, Dec. 8
Fresno State at Arizona, Dec. 16
San Jose State at Michigan State, Dec. 19
Boise State at Albany, Dec. 22
New Mexico State at Louisville, Dec. 22
Nevada at North Carolina, Dec. 27
Brigham Young at Boise State, Dec. 29
Oral Roberts at Utah State, Dec. 29
Fresno State at Stanford, Dec. 29
HOME SWEET HOME ?With its 71-68 home win against Austin Peay, Utah State has now won 47 straight regular season non-conference home games, which is the second-longest streak in the nation behind Duke who has won 52 straight. When including postseason play, USU has won 23-straight home games against non-conference opponents and 47 of its last 49 overall. The last time a Utah State team lost a non-conference home game during the regular season was on Jan. 8, 2000 against BYU, 82-73.
Boise State Broncos (3-2, 0-0 WAC)
Tyler Tiedeman scored 17 points to lead the Broncos over Southern Utah, who had all five starters finish in double figures. Reggie Larry and Anthony Thomas scored 14 points each, while Matt Bauscher had 11 points and Matt Nelson added 10 ... Larry is fourth in the WAC in scoring, averaging 16.8 ppg ... Larry leads the WAC in 10-rebound games with three ... he had 10 against Southern Utah on Nov. 24, against Washington State on Nov. 13 and Utah Valley on Nov. 9 to start the season ... as a team, the Broncos are first in the WAC in scoring offense (82.6) ... the Broncos host San Diego on Nov. 28 before traveling to the Golden State to take on USF on Dec. 1.
Fresno State Bulldogs (2-2, 0-0 WAC)
Senior Kevin Bell is the only player in the WAC so far this season to have a 10-assist performance which he did against Montana State on Nov. 21 ... Bell is one of six seniors that lead the WAC in scoring ... he is third in scoring averaging 16.8 ppg ... he is also first in the WAC in assists, averaging 6.67 apg ... this week, the Bulldogs travel to Winston-Salem State on Tuesday, Nov. 27, which is their only game this week ... Fresno State ended last week losing to Sam Houston St. 68-57 ... Fresno State made a run early in the second half but the offense couldn’t keep up with Sam Houston State in the second half.
Hawai?i Rainbow Warriors (1-3, 0-0 WAC)
Hawai?i returns home to face Coppin State in non-conference action on Tuesday, Nov. 27 ... the Rainbow Warriors are coming off their first road game of the season, an 89-60 loss at New Mexico on Nov. 21 ... it was the worst loss by a UH squad in more than six years ... this is just the second all-time meeting between the teams ... the Rainbow Warriors beat the Eagles, 79-67, in UH’s 2006 home opener ... senior Bobby Nash is one of only two WAC players to score at least 30 in a game this season along with Utah State senior Jaycee Carroll ... the Rainbow Warriors will end the week with a trip to San Diego to take on the Toreros on Dec. 2.
Idaho Vandals (1-3, 0-0 WAC)
The Vandals are looking to get back on track after dropping three games in a row ... this week, Idaho will take on South Dakota State and Idaho State at home ... Trevor Morris is the only Vandal to have a 20-point game this season, scoring 25 against Cascade to open the season on Nov. 9 ... Jordan Brooks is second in the WAC in steals per game, averaging 3.25 spg ... Brooks has 10 steals in four game.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (1-3, 0-0 WAC)
Kyle Gibson scored double-figures in both games last week against Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Arkansas-Little Rock ... Gibson scored a season-high 17 points along with 12 rebounds for his second double-double of the 2007-08 season against UAPB, while totaling 12 points against UALR ... Gibson leads Louisiana Tech scorers at 12.8 points per game and also leads in rebounds (9.8) ... this week, the Bulldogs host Southeast Missouri in its only game of the week.
Nevada Wolf Pack (2-2, 0-0 WAC)
Nevada has opened the year with a 2-2 record for the first time since the 2003-04 season ... that year, the Wolf Pack opened the season with a win over Vermont before falling at then top-ranked Connecticut (both in the Preseason NIT) ... Nevada then turned in a 74-62 win at UNLV and dropped games at Portland and Pacific before reeling off wins in its next five games and seven of its next eight ... the Wolf Pack finished with a 25-9 record that season, winning its first of four WAC regular-season championships and making the first NCAA Sweet Sixteen appearance in school history.
New Mexico State Aggies (2-4, 0-0 WAC)
The Aggies spent Thanksgiving weekend at the StubHub! Legends Classic in Newark, N.J. ... sophomore guard Jonathan Gibson recorded a career-high 21 points in a semifinal game against No. 15/16 Texas Nov. 23, but the Aggies fell 102-87 ... senior guard/forward Justin Hawkins contributed 19 points and a game-high eight rebounds ... in the consolation game, Nov. 24, Gibson again led the Aggies with a team-high 14 points in a 75-61 loss to West Virginia ... New Mexico State is first in the WAC in rebounding offense (41.8) ... the Aggies have 251 total rebounds ... they are one of only two teams with over 200 rebounds along with the Utah State Aggies who also have 251.
San Jose State Spartans (2-1, 0-0 WAC)
With two wins already this season, the Spartans need only four more wins to top last season’s win total of five ... San Jose State out-rebounded its opponent by a double-digit margin for the second-straight night, this time by 13 boards, 41-28 ... the Spartans had out-rebounded Appalachian State on Friday by 16, 51-35 ...the Spartans will have 12 days off from competition before traveling to Bakersfield, Calif., to take on Cal State Bakersfield at the Rabobank Arena on Friday, Nov.30, at 7:00 p.m. ... against Lipscomb, DeVonte Thomas contributed a season-high seven points off the bench in just 13 minutes.
Utah State Aggies (4-4, 0-0 WAC)
Since the beginning of the 2006-07 season, Utah State is 21-5 when senior Jaycee Carroll scores 20 or more points in a game, but just 6-11 when he doesn’t reach that point total ... Carroll has scored 20 or more points 39 times in his career and USU is 32-7 in those games ... he is one of only two WAC athletes to have scored at least 30 points in a game along with UH’s Bobby Nash ... Carroll scored 31 against Montana Western on Nov. 12 ... Carroll is second in the WAC in scoring, averaging 19.8 ppg ... Stephen DuCharme is 10th in scoring, averaging 13.6 ppg ... USU is 88-23 (.793) versus teams from California over the last nine years, which includes a 51-5 (.911) home record.