PLAYER OF THE WEEK ? Boise State guard Anthony Thomas, a freshman from Mansfield, Texas (Mansfield Summitt HS) averaged 17.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists in a pair of victories last week. Thomas came into the week averaging 3.7 points and 1.4 rebounds per game. On Tuesday, he scored 18 points, dished out six assists and had four steals in a victory over Montana Western. In the O’Reilly ESPNU BracketBusters game against Albany on Friday night, he scored 16 points and made two key three-point baskets in the 83-82 win. He hit his first just past the half court line as time expired in the first half to give the Broncos a four-point lead. With Boise State trailing by two with 32 seconds to go in the game, Thomas hit his second one for the win in a game that featured 33 lead changes and six ties. For the week, he was 12-of-16 (.750) from the field, 3-of-5 (.625) from three-point range and 7-of-8 (.875) from the free throw line. It is Thomas’ first career WAC Player of the Week award and third for a Bronco player this year. It is the first Player of the Week award for a freshman since Nick Fazekas won it on Feb. 16, 2004.
Others nominated:
Eddie Miller, Jr., G, Fresno State - scored a career-high 27 points and made 7-of-10 three-point field goal attempts in a 78-60 win over Sam Houston State.
Matt Lojeski, Sr., G, Hawai?i - averaged 17.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists in three games last week. At Long Beach State, he scored 22 points, grabbed seven rebounds, dished out five assists and made four steals while playing all 40 minutes of the game.
Marcelus Kemp, Jr., G, Nevada - averaged 14.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and 6.0 assists in a pair of wins. He just missed a double-double against Northern Iowa with a game-high 18 points and nine rebounds, tying his career-high. He also had six assists in the contest.
Justin Hawkins, Jr., G/F, New Mexico State - averaged 10.5 points and 6.5 rebounds while shooing 52.6 percent from the field in a pair of victories. He had 11 points at Hawai?i and then added 10 points and nine rebounds versus Ohio.
Jaycee Carroll, Jr., G, Utah State - averaged 18.0 points and 8.5 rebounds in two wins. He had 11 points and nine rebounds against Hawai?i and then scored a game-high 25 points and grabbed eight rebounds in the win at Oral Roberts.
NEVADA REMAINS IN FIRST ? With just two weeks left in the regular season, Nevada remains in first place with a two-game lead over New Mexico State. The Wolf Pack are looking for their third consecutive regular season title and could clinch at least a share of the championship this week if they win both of their games against Idaho and Boise State. The Wolf Pack are 11-1 in WAC play with their lone loss coming at New Mexico State on Jan. 20. Those two teams play again 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. This week, all eight games will be available. Go to www.wac.tv to sign up or login.
WAC SWEEPS O’REILLY ESPNU BRACKETBUSTERS ? The WAC completed last weekend’s O’Reilly ESPNU BracketBusters with a perfect 4-0 record. Boise State defeated Albany on Friday night, 83-82, in a game that featured 33 lead changes. On Saturday, Nevada beat Northern Iowa, 79-64, Utah State won at Oral Roberts, 71-65, and New Mexico State came from 18 behind at halftime to beat Ohio, 77-72. No other conference with at least two teams competing in the event went undefeated. 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 ? Last weekend, the WAC was 7-2 in its nine non-conference matchupsthat were created by BracketBusters. That record was tied with the Horizon League’s mark for the best among the 16 conferences that had at least two teams participating.
THREE TEAMS WITH AT LEAST 20 WINS ? The WAC has three teams with at least 20 victories. That number ties last year’s mark of three teams with 20 wins with a few weeks left in the season. Nevada is leading the way with 24 victories followed by New Mexico State and Utah State with 20 each. Fresno State has 18 while Boise State and Hawai?i each have 15 wins. Nevada’s 24-2 record (.923) is the second best mark in the nation behind only Wisconsin (26-2; .929).
NEVADA WITH 7-GAME WINNING STREAK ? Nevada owns the WAC’s longest active winning streak at seven games in a row, tied for the 11th longest in the nation. The Pack have won 17 of their last 18 games with the lone loss coming at New Mexico State on Jan. 20. In WAC games only, Nevada’s six-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 18 home games in a row, the longest active winning streak in the WAC and tied for the seventh longest in the nation. Utah State has the second longest streak at 14 straight, tied for the 13th longest nationally. In conference play only, Nevada has the longest home winning streak with 12 in a row dating back to last season.
FOX NAMED NATIONAL COACH OF THE YEAR FINALIST ? Nevada head coach Mark Fox was named one of fifteen finalists for the 2007 Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year award as announced on Tuesday. The Jim Phelan Award is given annually to the nation’s top coach, as voted on by the 20-member panel. The winner will be presented with the award at the Final Four in Atlanta. Fox has been voted the Don Haskins WAC Coach of the Year in each of the past two seasons.
KARL, NELSON EARN ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT HONORS ? The WAC had two players make the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Men’s Basketball Teams as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Boise State’s Coby Karl and Matt Nelson were selected to the District 8 team first team. Both are eligible for the Academic All-America team that will be selected next month.
CARROLL NAMED NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK FOR FEB. 5-11 ? Early last week, Utah State’s Jaycee Carroll added to his WAC Player of the Week award by being named the National Player of the Week by ESPN’s Dick Vitale. Carroll averaged 36.0 points and 9.0 rebounds the week of Feb. 5-11 and scored 44 points in a win over New Mexico State.
FAZEKAS FOURTH IN NATION IN REBOUNDING ? Nevada senior forward Nick Fazekas dropped to fourth in the nation in rebounding this week with 11.5 boards per contest. Arkansas-Little Rock’s Rashad Jones-Jennings is first with 12.9 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 remained 11th in the AP poll and 10th 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 (2,306-1st); Boise State senior guard Coby Karl (1,620-4th); Utah State junior guard Jaycee Carroll (1,560-8th); New Mexico State senior guard Elijah Ingram (1,218-scored 607 points at St. John’s); New Mexico State junior forward Tyrone Nelson (1,101-scored 378 points at Prairie View A&M); and Nevada junior guard Marcelus Kemp (1,116-14th). Boise State’s Eric Lane is next on the list with 995 points.
NEVADA TOP TEAM OVER LAST FOUR YEARS ? Since the start of the 2003-04 season, Nevada is 101-24 (.808), 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.
TEAM LEADERS ? The WAC has six schools with players that lead their team in two of three statistical categories (points-rebounds-assists).
Coby Karl, Sr., G, Boise State (15.2 ppg, 4.0 apg)
Matt Lojeski, Sr., G, Hawai?i (16.1 ppg, 4.6 apg)
Nick Fazekas, Sr., F, Nevada (20.6 ppg, 11.5 rpg)
Justin Hawkins, Jr., G/F, New Mexico State (15.7 ppg, 7.1 rpg)
Carlton Spencer, Sr., G, San Jose State (13.5 ppg, 4.0 apg)
Jaycee Carroll, Jr., G, Utah State (21.1 ppg, 6.1 rpg)
HOME SWEET HOME ? The WAC’s nine teams are a combined 88-28 (.759) at home this season. On the road and in neutral site games, the WAC is 39-80 (.328). In conference games only, home teams are 40-16 (.714) while road teams are 16-40 (.286)
NON-CONFERENCE MARK ? The WAC is 72-51 (.585) in non-conference games, including a 68-51 (.571) 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 ? Late last month, 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 (15-10, 7-5 WAC)
Beat Montana Western last week, 101-65, the first time that the Broncos have scored at least 100 points since beating Eastern Oregon on Nov. 29, 2003 ... senior G Coby Karl has started 93 consecutive games, the longest current streak in the WAC ... he leads the WAC in 3-point FGs made per game (2.68) and is the WAC’s active career leader in 3-point FGs made (253) and attempted (673), ranking eighth and sixth, respectively, all-time in the WAC in both of those categories ... junior Matt Nelson leads the WAC in FG% (.592) ... has two of the top five rebounders in the WAC in Nelson (8.9 rpg-4th) and Reggie Larry (8.4 rpg-5th) ... has played 10 games decided by five points or less (4-6) ... coach Greg Graham is one win shy of 100 for his career.
Fresno State Bulldogs (18-8, 6-6 WAC)
Has won three of its last four games ... plays three of its next four games on the road ... had a 16-1 run late in the second half of its 78-60 win over Sam Houston State on Saturday ... Quinton Hosley notched his 10th double-double of the year with 14 points and 10 rebounds ... the Bulldogs have had 23 double-doubles this year, the most in the WAC ... has two of the top three rebounders in the WAC in Dominic McGuire (9.6 rpg-2nd) and Quinton Hosley (8.9 rpg-3rd) ... leads the WAC in scoring defense with 64.9 ppg after allowing 73.7 ppg last year, last in the WAC ... also leads the WAC in FG% defense (.378), blocks (6.65 bpg) and 3-point FGs (9.42/game) ... Kevin Bell leads the WAC in assists (5.27 apg) and McGuire leads in blocks (3.46 bpg).
Hawai?i Rainbow Warriors (15-12, 5-8 WAC)
Made 31-of-33 free throws against Long Beach State including a stretch of 28 straight ... scored a season-low 50 points against Utah State before scoring a season-high 93 versus Long Beach State three days later ... it was the first home loss of the year for Long Beach State (10-1) ... is one of two teams in the WAC with four players averaging in double figures (Fresno State) ... is 0-8 when trailing at the half, the only team in the WAC to not win a game in this situation ... junior G Matt Gibson leads the WAC in steals (1.72 spg) ... UH has posted seven consecutive winning seasons ... coach Riley Wallace will resign following the conclusion of the season and needs three more wins to tie former women’s coach Vince Goo’s school record of 334 victories.
Idaho Vandals (3-23, 1-12 WAC)
Thursday’s game against Nevada will be played at Memorial Gym due to a conflict with the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival at the Kibbie Dome ... will play in the WAC Tournament first round game on Tuesday, March 6 ... is 0-5 when leading at halftime ... is last in the WAC in scoring with 62.0 points per game ... its 3-23 record is its worst ever, breaking the record of 3-22 in 1946-47 ... has not allowed its opponents to score 100 points in a game for 457 contests, the longest such streak in the WAC ... has made a three-point field goal in 279 consecutive games (since Feb. 27, 1997) ... has made 193 three-point field goals, breaking the record of 190 set in 1998-99 ... also broke the single-season record for three-point field goal attempts and currently has 575.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (9-17, 6-7 WAC)
Has won two games in a row for the third time this year but has not been able to string three consecutive wins together ... Chad McKenzie scored a game-high 17 points in the win at Southeast Missouri ... in the previous win against Idaho, Trey MdDowell led all scorers with 19 points ... Harry Disy had a double-double in that game with 13 points and 16 rebounds ... the 16 rebounds are tied for the third most by any WAC player in a conference game this season ... the 17 losses are the most for Louisiana Tech since finishing the 1995-96 season, 11-17 ... is 19-4 in non-conference home games since joining the WAC for the 2001-02 season.
Nevada Wolf Pack (24-2, 11-1 WAC)
Has won seven games in a row ... plays its next three on the road ... is 4-0 in BracketBusters games ... trailed at the half in both games last week and is now 5-1 when trailing at halftime this year ... Kyle Shiloh and Nick Fazekas have been a part of 101 wins, the winningest players in school history ... no team in the nation has fewer losses (2) ... has won 38 of its last 40 games, 23 of its last 24 home games and 13 of its last 14 regular season road games ... leads the WAC in scoring margin (+10.9), FG% (.488), rebounding margin (+6.8) and 3-point FG% (.412) ... senior F Nick Fazekas has posted a double-double in 16 games this season and 57 in his career ... he has scored 20 or more points 61 times and has scored in double figures in 54 straight games played.
New Mexico State Aggies (20-6, 9-3 WAC)
Plays its next three games at home where it has won 18 in a row ... erased an 18-point halftime deficit against Ohio at the 7:48 mark ... five Aggies scored in double figures led by Fed Peete’s 17 points ... Hatila Passos had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds ... is 7-4 when trailing at the half this year ... is one of just two teams in the WAC with at least a .500 record on the road (6-6) ... has 20 wins for the first time since going 20-9 in 2002-03 ... is 6-3 in games decided by five points or less ... is 24-4 at home under Reggie Theus ... is 7-4 when trailing at the half this season ... NMSU leads the WAC in scoring with 79.6 ppg ... has reached 100 points in three games this season ... also leads the WAC in steals (7.58) and turnover margin (+0.85).
San Jose State Spartans (4-22, 3-10 WAC)
Has lost four of its last five games ... was 9-of-17 in three-point field goals at Northern Arizona, the first time this year that the Spartans made at least 50 percent of its attempts from beyond the arc in a game ... G Julian Richardson scored a career-high 16 points in that game and was 5-of-6 from three-point range ... all three of its conference wins have come by three points while three others have been decided by three points or less ... its schedule is ranked the toughest in the WAC and 22nd 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 (801 games).
Utah State Aggies (20-7, 8-4 WAC)
Trailed 22-4 in its 71-65 win at Oral Roberts ... has won five in a row after a two-game losing streak ... joined Duke, Florida and Kansas as the only four teams in the nation to have won at least 20 games in each of the last eight seasons ... its winning percentage of 77.4 over the last eight years is the fifth best in the nation ... Jaycee Carroll leads the WAC in scoring (21.1 ppg), FT% (.891) and 3-point FG% (.434) ... he has scored in double figures in 28 straight games, the second longest active streak in the WAC ... USU is 14-0 this year when Carroll scores at least 20 points ... Utah State leads the WAC in FT% (.771) ... the Aggies have participated in the postseason in each of the past seven years (5 NCAAs, 2 NITs) ... is 123-11 at home under Stew Morrill.