LET THE GAMES BEGIN ? The WAC basketball season gets underway this week. On Nov. 9, six teams will open the season, including Utah State hosting Southern Utah and Boise State hosting Utah Valley. Fresno State will be at home to take on Portland, while Hawai?i will face San Diego as head coach Bob Nash takes the reigns as the Warriors’ head coach. New Mexico State will take to the road to face Ohio.
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.
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.
NATIONAL RANKINGS ? Nevada is ranked 24th in the AP poll and 25th in the ESPN/USA Today coaches’ poll. It’s the second straight year that Nevada has begun the season ranked in the top 25. New Mexico State also recieved a vote in the coaches’ poll.
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 Selector’s, 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.
1,000-POINT SCORERS ? The WAC has two players who have scored more than 1,000 points in their collegiate careers returning this season: Nevada forward Nick Fazekas (1,812), and Boise State guard Coby Karl (1,240). Fresno State’s Ja’Vance Coleman enters the season with 997 career points while Utah State’s Jaycee Carroll has 991.
TOP PLAYERS RETURNING ? The WAC returns three of the five players named to last year’s all-WAC first team, but none from the second team. Marcelus Kemp (G, Nevada), Justin Hawkins (F, NMSU) and Jaycee Carroll (G, Utah State) all return for their senior seasons. Four of the five members of the all-newcomer team also return from last year: Reggie Larry (Sr., F, Boise State), Matt Nelson (Sr., F, Boise State), Hawkins, and Fred Peete (Sr., G, NMSU). Peete is the only returning member from last year’s all-defensive team. Boise State’s Anthony Thomas was last year’s WAC Freshman of the Year.
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
NELSON CLOSING IN ON 1,000 CAREER POINTS ? While chances are slim that Matt Nelson will join Boise State’s career 1,000-point list, it is almost a sure thing the Bronco senior will end his playing career with 1,000-career points. Through three seasons (two at Eastern Washington and one at Boise State) Nelson has scored 842 career points, leaving him 158 shy of 1,000 heading into the Broncos’ season opener. Nelson scored 425 points in two seasons at EWU and then scored 417 last season for Boise State. Nelson does have an outside chance of joining Boise State’s career 1,000-point club, but he would need to score 583 points during his senior season, a point total only Roberto Bergersen (644 in 1998-99) and Ron Austin (636 in 1970-71) have reached while at Boise State.
OPENING AGGIES ? Utah State is 73-29 (.716) all-time in season openers and has won 12 straight such games before losing at Northwestern State (88-71) to begin the 2006-07 campaign. Utah State has won 44 straight regular season non-conference home games, which is the second-longest streak in the nation behind Duke who has won 50 straight. When including postseason play, USU has won 20 straight home games against non-conference opponents and 44 of its last 46 overall.
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.
NEW ERA BEGINS ? Hawai?i men’s basketball team opens its 2007-08 campaign Friday, Nov. 9, when it hosts San Diego. The Rainbow Warriors (0-0) will be led into battle by first-year head coach Bob Nash. Nash is no stranger to the program, having spent nearly three decades at UH as a player and coach, including the last 20 as an associate coach. UH enters the season with a mix of youth and experience. Seven seniors are joined by eight newcomers to make up this year’s squad. The ?Bows, who finished last season with their eighth straight winning season (18-13), return three starters. Among the returnees are seniors Matt Gibson (10.2 ppg, 3.5 apg) and Bobby Nash (11.2 ppg, 4.0 rpg), a preseason all-Western Athletic Conference selection.
THE WAC IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT ? The WAC has a 65-89 (.422) record in its teams’ 83 appearances in the NCAA Tournament, including the two last season by Nevada (1-1) and New Mexico State (0-1). 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. Last year marked the 23rd time in the last 24 years that at least two teams made the NCAA Tournament. A WAC team has advanced to at least the second round in 12 of the past 13 NCAA tournaments.
THE WAC IN THE NIT ? The WAC has a 74-65 (.532) record in its teams’ 65 appearances in the NIT including the two last season by Fresno State (0-1) and Utah State (0-1). 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.
NEW MEXICO STATE WINS 2007 WAC TOURNAMENT ? In just its second year in the WAC and two years after posting a 6-24 record, New Mexico State won the 2007 WAC Tournament held in Las Cruces, N.M. The Aggies beat Utah State in the finals, 72-70. It was Utah State’s second straight finals appearance. New Mexico State opened the 2007 tournament by beating Louisiana Tech in the quarterfinals, 77-70, and Boise State in the semifinals, 88-69. The 2008 tournament will also be hosted by New Mexico State and will be held March 11-15, 2008.
2007 ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM ? New Mexico State placed two players on the WAC’s all-tournament team as selected by the media in attendance at the 2007 WAC Tournament. Justin Hawkins and Elijah Ingram were joined by Nevada’s Marcelus Kemp and Utah State’s Jaycee Carroll and Chaz Spicer. Hawkins was named the tournament MVP after averaging 17.0 points and 5.0 rebounds in the three games. In the title game, he scored a team-high 20 points and shot 9-of-17 from the field.
ATTENDANCE ? The 2007 men’s tournament was attended by 49,650 fans during the five sessions (9,930/session). The title game drew 11,948 to the Pan American Center in Las Cruces, N.M. It was the highest attended tournament since 1998 in Las Vegas.
NEVADA WINS FOURTH STRAIGHT REGULAR SEASON TITLE ? Nevada finished the 2006-07 regular season with a 14-2 mark to win its fourth consecutive WAC regular season title. The last WAC team to do this was Utah when it won either a division title or conference title five straight years (1995-1999).
FOUR TEAMS WITH AT LEAST 20 WINS ? The WAC had four teams with at least 20 victories in 2006-07. That number is the most since the WAC had five teams in 2003-04 reach that mark. Nevada led the way with 29 victories followed by New Mexico State with 25, Utah State with 23 and Fresno State with 22. Nevada’s 29-5 record (.853) was tied for the sixth best mark in the nation.
NEVADA OWNS WAC’S LONGEST HOME WINNING STREAK ? Nevada owns the WAC’s longest active winning streak at 12 straight games, tied for the 15th longest in the nation. The Wolf Pack hasn’t lost a home game since losing to UNLV on Dec. 9, 2006. In conference play only, Nevada has the longest home winning streak with 13 in a row dating back to last season.
USBWA ALL-DISTRICT TEAMS ANNOUNCED ? Nevada senior Nick Fazekas, Utah State junior Jaycee Carroll and New Mexico State junior Justin Hawkins were named all-District VIII by the United States Basketball Writers of America. Fazekas was also named that district’s Player of the Year for the second straight season.
FOUR NAMED TO NABC ALL-DISTRICT TEAMS ? The National Association of Basketball Coaches announced the NABC Division I All-District Teams recognizing the country’s best men’s collegiate basketball student-athletes. Four WAC student-athletes were named to the teams. Nevada’s Nick Fazekas earned first team District 13 honors while Boise State’s Coby Karl (District 13), Utah State’s Jaycee Carroll (District 14) and New Mexico State’s Justin Hawkins (District 15) were second team selections.
NEVADA TOP TEAM OVER LAST FOUR YEARS ? Over the last four seasons, Nevada is 106-27 (.797), 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 106-27 (.797) 1. Nevada 56-12 (.824)
2. Utah State 95-33 (.742) 2. Fresno State 37-31 (.544)
3. Hawai?i 72-49 (.595) 3. Hawai?i 36-32 (.529)
TEAM LEADERS ? The WAC had six schools with players who led their team in two of three statistical categories (points-rebounds-assists).
Coby Karl, Sr., G, Boise State (14.8 ppg, 4.0 apg)
Matt Lojeski, Sr., G, Hawai?i (16.9 ppg, 4.5 apg)
Nick Fazekas, Sr., F, Nevada (20.4 ppg, 11.1 rpg)
Justin Hawkins, Jr., G/F, New Mexico State (15.6 ppg, 6.6 rpg)
Carlton Spencer, Sr., G, San Jose State (14.3 ppg, 3.5 apg)
Jaycee Carroll, Jr., G, Utah State (21.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg)
NON-CONFERENCE MARK ? The WAC was 73-55 (.570) in non-conference games in 2006-07, including a 69-55 (.556) mark against Division I teams. In 2005-06, 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).