NEVADA MAKES FOURTH STRAIGHT NCAA TRIP ? For the fourth year in a row, Nevada is playing in the NCAA Tournament. Nevada earned an at-large bid after finishing the regular season with a 28-4 record. The Wolf Pack are the seventh seed in the South Region. Nevada will face No. 10 Creighton on Friday in New Orleans. The game is one of two first round NCAA Tournament matchups involving top 25 teams as Nevada is tied for 15th and Creighton is 24th in the coaches’ poll. The other first round top 25 game is Notre Dame versus Winthrop. The Pack has five previous appearances in the NCAA Tournament (1984-85-04-05-06) and is 3-5. Last season, Nevada was a five seed and lost to No. 12 Montana, 87-79.
NEW MEXICO STATE WINS AUTOMATIC NCAA BID ? New Mexico State won the WAC Tournament on Saturday night and received the league’s automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. The Aggies are the 13th seed in the East Region and will play No. 4 Texas on Friday in Spokane, Wash. New Mexico State has made 16 previous appearances in the NCAA Tournament (1952-59-60-67-68-69-70-71-75-79-90-91-92-93-94-99) and is 10-18. The Aggies advanced to the Final Four in 1970 where it lost to UCLA but won the consolation game over St. Bonaventure to finish third in the nation.
THE WAC IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT ? The WAC has a 64-87 (.424) record in its teams’ 81 previous appearances in the NCAA Tournament. Last year, both Nevada and Utah State lost first round games. 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. This year marks the 23rd time in the last 24 years that at least two teams have made the NCAA Tournament. A WAC team has advanced to at least the second round in 11 of the past 12 NCAA tournaments.
AGAINST THE FIELD ? The WAC is 8-16 versus the other 63 teams in this year’s NCAA Tournament. Nevada is 1-1 with a win over Gonzaga and a loss against UNLV. New Mexico State is 0-1 with a loss at Arizona. Other wins include both Fresno State and Hawai?i beating Creighton and Utah State beating Oral Roberts and Weber State (twice).
CREIGHTON CAPSULE ? Creighton is 22-10 and the No. 10 seed in the South Region. The Bluejays were second in the Missouri Valley Conference but beat regular season champion Southern Illinois in the conference tournament championship game to earn the automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. The series between Creighton and Nevada is tied 3-3 after Nevada won the past three meetings. The teams haven’t met since the Pack won 61-58 on Dec. 19, 1995 in Honolulu. The Bluejays are coached by Dana Altman who is in his 13th season with Creighton and is 260-140. Nate Funk leads the Bluejays in scoring with 17.6 ppg.
TEXAS CAPSULE ? Texas is 24-9 and the No. 4 seed in the East Region. The Longhorns were third in the Big 12 and advanced to the conference tournament title game before losing to Kansas in overtime, 88-84. The series between Texas and New Mexico State is tied 1-1 but the teams haven’t met since Dec. 4, 1980 when Texas won in Austin, 101-82. Texas is coached by Rick Barnes who is in his ninth season with the Longhorns and is 215-85. Overall, he is 417-219 in 20 years as a head coach. The Longhorns’ top player is freshman Kevin Durant who is fourth in the nation in both scoring (25.6 ppg) and rebounding (11.3 rpg).
FRESNO STATE IN NIT ? Fresno State will be making its ninth appearance in the NIT and first since the 2002 season. The Bulldogs travel to Georgia for a Wednesday night first round game. Fresno State is 14-8 in its previous eight appearances (1983-85-94-96-97-98-99-02), winning the title in 1983 and advancing to the semifinals in 1998.
UTAH STATE IN NIT ? Utah State will be making its eighth appearance in the NIT and first since the 2004 season. The Aggies travel to Michigan for a Tuesday night first round game. Utah State is 2-7 in its previous seven appearances (1960-67-78-84-95-02-04).
THE WAC IN THE NIT ? The WAC has a 74-63 (.540) record in its teams’ 63 previous appearances in the NIT. Last year, Louisiana Tech lost its first game at Clemson, 69-53. 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.
GEORGIA CAPSULE ? Georgia is 18-13 and finished in fifth place in the East Division of the SEC. The Bulldogs lost to Florida, 74-57, in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament. Fresno State and Georgia met once before in the NIT when Georgia beat Fresno State, 95-79, in the 1998 consolation game.
MICHIGAN CAPSULE ? Michigan is 21-12 and finished in a tie for seventh place in the Big Ten. The Wolverines lost in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament to Ohio State, 72-62. Utah State and Michigan are meeting for the first time ever.
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. Next year’s tournament will also be hosted by New Mexico State and will be held March 11-15, 2008.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM ? New Mexico State placed two players on the WAC’s all-tournament team as selected by the media in attendance. 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 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 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 has four teams with at least 20 victories. That number is the most since the WAC had five teams in 2003-04 reach that mark. Nevada is leading the way with 28 victories followed by New Mexico State with 25, Utah State with 23 and Fresno State with 22. Nevada’s 28-4 record (.875) is tied for the fifth 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 haven’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.
FAZEKAS NAMED ALL-AMERICAN ? Senior forward Nick Fazekas has been named to several All-America teams: USBWA (first team), SI.com (first team), ESPN.com (first team) and NABC (second team).
FAZEKAS A FINALIST ? Nevada senior Nick Fazekas has been named one of 10 finalists for the 2006-07 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award and will appear on the national ballot for the nation’s premier tribute to college seniors. The award is presented annually to an NCAA Division I senior basketball player who excels both on and off the court. He is also one of 30 finalists for the Naismith Trophy and one of 22 finalists for the Wooden Award given out to the National Player of the Year.
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 last month. 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. He was also named the NABC District 13 Coach of the Year.
ALL-WAC TEAMS ? The 2007 all-WAC teams as voted upon by the coaches, were announced earlier this month. Nevada senior forward Nick Fazekas was named the Player of the Year for the third straight season. Boise State guard Anthony Thomas garnered Freshman of the Year honors and Nevada coach Mark Fox was named the Don Haskins Coach of the Year for the third straight 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.
4 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.
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.
NATIONAL RANKINGS ? Nevada dropped to 15th in the AP poll and 13th in the ESPN/USA Today coaches’ poll. Earlier this year, Nevada was ranked as high as ninth, the highest ranking for a WAC team since Utah was sixth in the final AP poll of the 1998-99 season. New Mexico State also received votes in this week’s AP poll.
1,000-POINT SCORERS ? The WAC has seven 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 (2,427-1st); Boise State senior guard Coby Karl (1,698-3rd); Utah State junior guard Jaycee Carroll (1,715-7th); New Mexico State senior guard Elijah Ingram (1,317-scored 607 points at St. John’s); Nevada junior guard Marcelus Kemp (1,235-12th); New Mexico State junior forward Tyrone Nelson (1,208-scored 378 points at Prairie View A&M); and Boise State senior guard Eric Lane (1,074-14th). Fresno State’s Quinton Hosley is next on the list with 959 points.
WAC SWEEPS O’REILLY ESPNU BRACKETBUSTERS ? The WAC completed the O’Reilly ESPNU BracketBusters, Feb. 16-17, with a perfect 4-0 record. Boise State defeated Albany, 83-82, in a game that featured 33 lead changes. 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.
NEVADA TOP TEAM OVER LAST FOUR YEARS ? Since the start of the 2003-04 season, Nevada is 105-26 (.802), 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.
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 (14.8 ppg, 4.0 apg)
Matt Lojeski, Sr., G, Hawai?i (16.9 ppg, 4.5 apg)
Nick Fazekas, Sr., F, Nevada (20.5 ppg, 11.2 rpg)
Justin Hawkins, Jr., G/F, New Mexico State (15.7 ppg, 6.8 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)
HOME SWEET HOME ? The WAC’s nine teams are a combined 101-34 (.748) at home this season. On the road and in neutral site games, the WAC is 51-97 (.345). In conference games only, home teams were 50-22 (.694) while road teams were 22-50 (.306)
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)
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 (17-14, 8-8 WAC)
Improved to 3-0 versus Fresno State in WAC Tournament play and has been the lower seed the past two meetings ... trailed by 14 at the half before outscoring the Bulldogs 55-36 in the second half ... Anthony Thomas was the first Bronco to earn Freshman of the Year honors since Gerry Washington in 1996 (Big Sky) ... senior G Coby Karl finished his career with 1,698 points, the third most in school history ... he finished his career playing and starting the last 99 games, the longest current streak in the WAC ... he is the WAC’s active career leader in 3-point FGs made (266) and attempted (717), ranking seventh and fifth, respectively, all-time in the WAC in both of those categories ... played 12 games decided by five points or less (5-7).
Fresno State Bulldogs (22-9, 10-6 WAC)
Had its six-game winning streak snapped in the quarterfinals of the WAC Tournament against Boise State ... both Dominic McGuire (21 pointws, 11 rebounds) and Hector Hernandez (11 points, 10 rebounds) had double-doubles agaisnt Boise State ... the Bulldogs have had 30 double-doubles this year, the most in the WAC ... McGuire has 110 blocks this year, the most by a WAC player since UNLV’s Keon Clark had 112 in the 1996-97 season ... has two of the top three rebounders in the WAC in McGuire (9.8 rpg-2nd) and Quinton Hosley (8.9 rpg-3rd) ... leads the WAC in scoring defense with 65.5 ppg, FG% defense (.380), blocks (6.48 bpg) and 3-point FGs (9.19/game) ... one of just two teams in the WAC with a winning road record (7-5).
Hawai?i Rainbow Warriors (18-13, 8-8 WAC)
Had its four-game winning streak snapped in the quarterfinals of the WAC Tournament against Utah State ... has now lost four straight WAC quarterfinal games ... one of two teams in the WAC with four players averaging in double figures (Fresno State) ... Matt Lojeski and Matt Gibson are tied for the WAC lead in steals with 1.68 per game ... has had a winning season the last eight consecutive years ... Riley Wallace finished his career with 20 WAC tournament wins, one shy of tying the all-time record of 21 set by UTEP’s Don Haskins ... Wallace won 334 games at UH, tied with former women’s coach Vince Goo for the most in school history in any sport ... he coached a totla of 599 ganes at UH.
Idaho Vandals (4-27, 1-15 WAC)
Snapped its 12-game losing streak by beating SJSU in the first round of the WAC Tournament, 50-49 ... led at halftime and picked up its first win of the season when leading at the intermission (1-5) ... Keoni Watson averaged 16.5 points in the Vandal’s two tournament games ... is last in the WAC in scoring with 61.5 points per game ... the first round win kept the Vandals from posting its worst record ever (3-22 in 1946-47) ... has not allowed its opponents to score 100 points in a game for 462 contests, the longest such streak in the WAC ... has made a 3-point FG in 284 consecutive games (since Feb. 27, 1997) ... made 225 3-point FGs, breaking the record of 190 set in 1998-99 ... also broke the single-season record for 3-point FGA (655).
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (10-20, 7-9 WAC)
Had its season come to an end in the quarterfinals of the WAC Tournament against host New Mexico State ... trailed by 19 with 4:08 remaining before trimming the deficit to seven at the end of the game (77-70) ... Harry Disy was just short of a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds ... Trey McDowell scored a team-high 24 points against the Aggies ... he finished the season scoring at least 10 points in 18 consecutive games ... the 20 losses were the most for Louisiana Tech since finishing the 1993-94 season with a 2-25 record ... is 19-4 in non-conference home games since joining the WAC for the 2001-02 season.
Nevada Wolf Pack (28-4, 14-2 WAC)
Tied the school record for wins (28-5 in 1945-46) ... has increased its number of wins in seven of the past eight years (matching the other) ... Kyle Shiloh is expected to play in the NCAA Tournament after injuring his hamstring ... is 6-1 when trailing at halftime this year ... has made 241 3-point FGs, breaking the record of 214 set in 1996-97 ... Shiloh and Nick Fazekas have been a part of 105 wins, the winningest players in school history ... leads the WAC in scoring margin (+10.8), FG% (.489), rebounding margin (+6.7) and 3-point FG% (.414) ... senior F Nick Fazekas has posted a double-double in 20 games this season and 61 in his career ... he has scored 20 or more points 66 times and has scored in double figures in 60 straight games played.
New Mexico State Aggies (25-8, 11-5 WAC)
Finished the regular season with a 19-1 home record ... is 7-5 when trailing at the half this year ... has 25 wins for the first time since going 25-10 in 1994-95 ... is 8-5 in games decided by five points or less ... NMSU has won its last nine games when Justin Hawkins scores at least 20 points ... Tyrone Nelson has posted 23 double-doubles in his career ... he scored 26 points in the quarterfinal game against Idaho, tying for the most by a player in the tournament and averaged 17.3 points per game in the three contests ... Elijah Ingram leads the WAC in three-point field goal percentage (.429) ... NMSU leads the WAC in scoring with 78.3 ppg ... has reached 100 points in three games this season ... also leads the WAC in steals (7.18).
San Jose State Spartans (5-25, 4-12 WAC)
Menelik Barbary nearly had a triple-double in the first round game against Idaho last week when he posted 10 points, 10 rebounds and nine blocks ... the nine blocks broke a tournament single-game record ... Lance Holloway grabbed 13 rebounds in that game, tying for the most by a player in the tournament ... is now 1-10 in WAC Tournament games ... won four conference games, the most since going 4-14 in 2002-03 ... its schedule was ranked the toughest in the WAC according to Sagarin ... had 10 newcomers on its roster this season ... had just five wins this year after posting six 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 (805 games).
Utah State Aggies (23-11, 9-7 WAC)
Advanced to the WAC championship game for the second straight season ... Jaycee Carroll averaged 24.7 points per game in the WAC Tournament, the most of any individual ... he tied for tournament-high honors in both points (26 versus New Mexico State) and rebounds (13 versus Hawai?i) ... has lost 11 games for the first time since the 1998-99 season ... is one of three teams to have won at least 23 games in each of the last eight seasons (Gonzaga and Kansas) ... Carroll leads the WAC in scoring (21.3 ppg) and FT% (.888) ... Utah State leads the WAC and is second in the nation in FT% (.779) ... the Aggies have participated in the postseason for eight straight years ... (5 NCAAs, 3 NITs) ... is 125-12 at home under Stew Morrill.