PLAYER OF THE WEEK ? Hawai?i guard Matt Gibson, a junior from Oklahoma City, Okla. (Three Rivers CC) averaged 16.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists in three games (2-1) last week. Against Utah State, Gibson came off the bench and tied a season-high with 20 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field. He then returned to the starting lineup at Fresno State and scored 19 points and tied his career-high with nine rebounds. In the loss at Nevada, he had 11 points and dished out seven assists. For the week, he was 17-of-35 from the field, including 8-of-16 from three point range. He also made 8-of-10 free throws and had four steals. It is Gibson’s first career WAC Player of the Week award and second for a Rainbow Warrior player this year.
Others nominated:
Dominic McGuire, Jr., F, Fresno State - averaged 16.0 points and 13.0 rebounds in a split of two games last week. He had 11 points, 12 rebounds, four blocks and three steals against Hawai?i and added 21 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists at Idaho.
Nick Fazekas, Sr., F, Nevada - averaged 20.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks in two wins. He had 20 points at Louisiana Tech and then recorded his 14th double-double of the season with 21 points and 10 rebounds versus Hawai?i. For the week, he was 15-of-15 from the free throw line.
Tyrone Nelson, Jr., F, New Mexico State - had a double-double in the win over Boise State with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Chaz Spicer, Sr., F, Utah State - averaged 15.0 points and 7.0 rebounds in a split of two games. In a win over Hawai?i, he had 18 points and nine rebounds. For the week, he was 4-of-5 from three-point range and 10-of-12 from the charity stripe.
CARROLL SCORES 44 ? Jaycee Carroll scored a career-high and Spectrum record 44 points in a 75-63 win over New Mexico State on Monday night. Carroll also set a new school record for free throw percentage by hitting all 15 of his attempts. He made 12-of-16 field goals, including 5-of-7 from three-point range. Carroll also pulled down 10 rebounds for the double-double. The 44 points ties for the most scored by a WAC player since TCU’s Lee Nailon had 46 against Hawai?i on Feb. 12, 1998. Nailon put up 44 against Gonzaga on Dec. 30, 1998.
NEVADA ALONE IN FIRST ? With New Mexico State losing at Utah State on Monday night, Nevada is alone in first place in the WAC standings with a 9-1 mark. The Wolf Pack’s lone loss came at New Mexico State which sits a game behind in second place. The two teams play in Reno on the final day of the regular season, March 3 (ESPN2).
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. Every game except Hawai?i’s home game versus Louisiana Tech on Saturday will be available this week. Go to www.wac.tv to sign up or login.
O’REILLY ESPNU BRACKETBUSTERS ? The WAC has four teams competing in the O’Reilly ESPNU BracketBusters, Feb. 16-17. Boise State, Nevada, New Mexico State and Utah State are part of the 28-team field that will play 14 games over the two days. Nevada and New Mexico State’s games will be on ESPN2 while Boise State and Utah State’s contests will be aired on ESPNU.
Friday, Feb. 16
Albany (America East: 17-7) at Boise St., 7:00 MT (ESPNU)
Saturday Feb. 17
No. Iowa (Missouri Valley: 16-8) at Nevada, 3:00 PT (ESPN2)
Utah St. at Oral Roberts (Mid-Continent: 16-8), 6:00 CT (ESPNU)
Ohio (MAC: 15-7) at New Mexico State, 10:00 MT (ESPN2)
BracketBusters was created in 2003 in conjunction with the WAC, ESPN and several top college basketball conferences to match potential NCAA tournament hopefuls against each other.
NON-CONFERENCE MATCHUPS ? Five teams from the WAC were not selected for the BracketBusters event but will be playing non-conference opponents on Feb. 17. Those matchups are:
Louisiana Tech at SE Missouri (Ohio Valley: 8-16), 7:30 CT
San Jose State at Northern Arizona (Big Sky: 12-11), 6:30 MT
Sam Houston State (Southland: 15-7) at Fresno State, 7:00 PT
Hawai?i at Long Beach State (Big West: 15-6), 7:00 PT
UC Riverside (Big West: 5-17) at Idaho, 7:00 PT
The host team in all nine of the above games will return a game with their opponent near the beginning of the 2007-08 season.
FOUR TEAMS WITH AT LEAST 16 WINS ? The WAC has four teams with at least 16 victories as Nevada is leading the way with 21. New Mexico State has won 18 games while Utah State has 17 and Fresno State has 16. Nevada’s two losses are tied for the fewest in the nation with Wisconsin (22-2), Butler (22-2), Florida (21-2) and UCLA (20-2)
NEVADA WITH 4-GAME WINNING STREAK ? Nevada owns the WAC’s longest active winning streak at four games in a row. The Pack have won 14 of their last 15 games with the lone loss coming at New Mexico State on Jan. 20. In WAC games only, Nevada’s four-game winning streak is also the longest in the conference.
NEW MEXICO STATE OWNS WAC’S LONGEST HOME WINNING STREAK ? New Mexico State has won 17 home games in a row, the longest active winning streak in the WAC and tied for the 10th longest in the nation. Utah State has the second longest streak at 13 straight, tied for the 21st longest nationally. In conference play only, Nevada has the longest home winning streak with 11 in a row dating back to last season.
BOISE STATE ADDS GAME ? Boise State will host Western Montana next Tuesday, Feb. 13 at 7:00 p.m. MT. The game was scheduled to replace the Colorado State game on Dec. 22 that was canceled due to a blizzard in Colorado.
FAZEKAS THIRD IN NATION IN REBOUNDING ? Nevada senior forward Nick Fazekas dropped to third in the nation in rebounding this week with 11.5 boards per contest. Arkansas-Little Rock’s Rashad Jones-Jennings is first with 12.8 per game followed by Chris Holm of Vermont with 11.8 rebounds per contest. 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 three spots to 12th in the AP poll and two spots to 11th in the ESPN/USA Today coaches’ poll. It’s the highest ranking for a WAC team since Utah was sixth in the final AP poll of the 1998-99 season. New Mexico State is also currently receiving votes in both polls.
1,000-POINT SCORERS ? The WAC has six 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 (2,236-1st); Boise State senior guard Coby Karl (1,576-5th); Utah State junior guard Jaycee Carroll (1,496-10th); New Mexico State senior guard Elijah Ingram (1,196-scored 607 points at St. John’s); New Mexico State junior forward Tyrone Nelson (1,070-scored 378 points at Prairie View A&M); and Nevada junior guard Marcelus Kemp (1,083-14th). Boise State’s Eric Lane is next on the list with 953 points.
NEVADA TOP TEAM OVER LAST FOUR YEARS ? Since the start of the 2003-04 season, Nevada is 98-24 (.803), the best record of any WAC team during that time. In conference games, Nevada has won 51 games, the most in that same time period.
TEAM LEADERS ? The WAC has seven schools with players that lead their team in two of three statistical categories (points-rebounds-assists). Louisiana Tech’s Chad McKenzie leads his team in all three categories.
Coby Karl, Sr., G, Boise State (16.0 ppg, 3.9 apg)
Matt Lojeski, Sr., G, Hawai?i (16.2 ppg, 4.7 apg)
Chad McKenzie, Sr., F, La. Tech (13.1 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 2.2 apg)
Nick Fazekas, Sr., F, Nevada (20.2 ppg, 11.5 rpg)
Justin Hawkins, Jr., G/F, New Mexico State (16.3 ppg, 7.1 rpg)
Carlton Spencer, Sr., G, San Jose State (15.0 ppg, 3.6 apg)
Jaycee Carroll, Jr., G, Utah State (21.0 ppg, 5.8 rpg)
HOME SWEET HOME ? The WAC’s nine teams are a combined 76-23 (.768) at home this season. On the road and in neutral site games, the WAC is 33-71 (.317). In conference games only, home teams are 28-8 (.778) while road teams are 8-28 (.222)
NON-CONFERENCE MARK ? The WAC is 64-49 (.566) in non-conference games, including a 61-49 (.555) 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).
SESSIONS NAMED COUSY AWARD FINALIST ? Last week, Nevada junior Ramon Sessions was named one of 17 finalists for the Bob Cousy Award presented by The Hartford, an honor annually presented to the nation’s top collegiate point guard. Sessions is averaging 13.7 points and 4.4 assists per game and leads the WAC in assist/turnover ratio (+2.2/game)
FAZEKAS MIDSEASON ALL-AMERICAN ? Nevada senior forward Nick Fazekas was named one of 30 players to the Wooden Award Midseason All-American Team as announced by the John R. Wooden Award Committee in late January. The midseason list is based on individual player performance and team records during the first half of the season. The players will compete for this season’s player of the year award. Prior to the start of this year, Fazekas was 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.
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.
TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Boise State Broncos (11-10, 5-5 WAC)
Senior G Coby Karl has started 89 consecutive games, the longest current streak in the WAC ... he leads the WAC in three-point field goals made per game (2.95) and is the WAC’s active career leader in three-point field goals made (248) and attempted (644), ranking ninth and seventh, respectively, all-time in the WAC in both of those categories ... junior Matt Nelson leads the WAC in field goal percentage (.607) ... has two of the top five rebounders in the WAC in Nelson (9.2 rpg-3rd) and Reggie Larry (8.5 rpg-5th) ... has played eight games decided by five points or less in the WAC and is 2-6 in those games ... head coach Greg Graham is five wins shy of 100 for his career ... is the only team in the WAC that returned all five starters from last season.
Fresno State Bulldogs (16-5, 5-5 WAC)
Was 1-of-24 from 3-point range in the loss against Hawai?i ... Kevin Bell had nine steals in that game, the most by any WAC player this season ... won at Idaho on Saturday after having lost 10 of its previous 11 WAC road games ... Ja’Vance Coleman scored 11 points in that game, including nine in OT ... he was dismissed from the team on Monday ... has two of the top four rebounders in the WAC in Dominic McGuire (9.5 rpg-2nd) and Quinton Hosley (9.0 rpg-4th) ... leads the WAC in scoring defense with 64.3 ppg after allowing 73.7 ppg last year, last in the WAC ... also leads the WAC in FG% defense (.381), blocks (6.57 bpg) and 3-point FGs (9.35/game) ... Bell leads the WAC in assists (5.09 apg) and McGuire leads in blocks (3.43 bpg).
Hawai?i Rainbow Warriors (13-10, 4-6 WAC)
Won at Fresno State last week to pick up its first road win of the year ... was 4-of-4 from the free throw line in that game and 2-of-5 at Nevada ... has lost 28 of its last 34 road games dating back to the 2003-04 season ... is one of two teams in the WAC with four players averaging in double figures ... Matt Gibson has scored in double figures in four straight games after reaching that mark in just one of his previous nine games ... is 0-6 when trailing at the half, the only team in the WAC to not win a game in this situation ... UH has posted seven consecutive winning seasons ... head coach Riley Wallace will resign following the conclusion of the season ... he needs five more wins to tie former women’s coach Vince Goo’s school record of 334 victories.
Idaho Vandals (3-19, 1-9 WAC)
Has lost four of its last five home games by a total of nine points ... led its last three games at the half, but lost all three ... is 0-5 when leading at halftime ... Darin Nagle has 24 blocks over the last eight games ... is last in the WAC in scoring with 61.3 points per game ... its 3-19 start ties for the worst in school history as the 1946-47 team was also 3-19 on its way to a final record of 3-22 ... has not allowed its opponents to score 100 points in a game for 453 contests, the longest such streak in the WAC ... has made a three-point field goal in 275 consecutive games (since Feb. 27, 1997) ... has made 164 three-point field goals and is on pace to break the school’s single-season record of 190 set in 1998-99.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (7-15, 5-5 WAC)
Is 5-5 in its last 10 games after a 2-10 start ... lost to Nevada last week, its ninth straight loss against the Wolf Pack ... had five players score in double figures against Nevada led by Trey McDowell’s 14 points ... Keith Smith added eight points ... all five starters scored at least 10 points in the win over Boise State ... the team was led by Chad McKenzie, Drew Washington and Jerome Richardson as each scored 14 points ... Richardson just missed his first career double-double as he had nine rebounds against the Broncos ... Tech’s leading scorer has not scored more than 15 points in a game in the last three contests ... is 19-4 in non-conference home games since joining the WAC for the 2001-02 season.
Nevada Wolf Pack (21-2, 9-1 WAC)
Beat Louisiana Tech last week for the ninth straight time ... the win gave Nevada its fourth consecutive 20-win season and ninth in school history... was 20-of-21 (.952) from the free throw line in the one-point win over Hawai?i ... that game marked the fourth sellout this year ... no team in the nation has fewer losses ... has won 35 of its last 38 games, 21 of its last 22 home games and 12 of its last 13 regular season road games ... leads the WAC in scoring margin (+10.8), FG percentage (.489), rebounding margin (+6.3) and three-point FG percentage (.413) ... senior F Nick Fazekas has posted a double-double in 14 games this season and 55 in his career ... he has scored 20 or more points 59 times and has scored in double figures in 51 straight games played.
New Mexico State Aggies (18-5, 8-2 WAC)
Has 18 wins for the first time since going 20-9 in 2002-03 ... beat Boise State last week for its 17th straight home win ... Justin Hawkins scored a team-high 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting in the loss at Utah State on Monday ... Hawkins is second in the WAC in field goal percentage (.553) ... is 4-3 in games decided by five points or less ... has four players averaging in double figures in scoring and a fifth at 9.6 ppg ... is 23-4 at home under Reggie Theus ... is 6-3 when trailing at the half this season ... NMSU leads the WAC in scoring with 80.6 ppg ... has reached 100 points in three games this season ... also leads the WAC in steals (7.57) and turnover margin (+1.57) ... junior G Fred Peete leads the WAC in steals (1.70 spg).
San Jose State Spartans (3-19, 2-8 WAC)
Won at Idaho last week to pick up its first road win of the year and snap an 18-game road losing streak ... the Spartans’ last road win came at Idaho on Jan. 21, 2006 ... Tim Pierce scored a game-high 20 points in the contest ... SJSU was 26-of-52 (.500) from the field against the Vandals, the first time this season that the Spartans reached 50 percent shooting ... has won all three games when committing less than 10 turnovers ... its schedule is ranked the 11th toughest in the nation according to Sagarin ... 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 (797 games).
Utah State Aggies (17-7, 6-4 WAC)
Jaycee Carroll’s 44 points broke his previous career-high of 32 set against NMSU last year ... it was the seventh most points by an Aggie in school history and tied for the fourth most by any player in the nation this year ... leads the WAC in FT% (.772) ... Carroll leads the WAC in scoring (21.0 ppg), FT% (.912) and 3-point FG% (.449) ... he has scored in double figures in 25 straight games, the second longest active streak in the WAC ... USU is 12-0 this year when Carroll scores at least 20 points ... the Aggies have participated in the postseason in each of the past seven years (5 NCAAs, 2 NITs) ... is one of five teams to win at least 23 games in each of the last seven years (Duke, Gonzaga, Illinois and Kansas) ... is 122-11 at home under Stew Morrill.