PLAYER OF THE WEEK ? Nevada forward Nick Fazekas, a senior from Arvada, Colo. (Ralston Valley HS) averaged 24.5 points and 11.0 rebounds in a pair of road victories last week. He began the week with a double-double against Idaho, scoring 21 points and pulling down 14 rebounds. Fazekas was 7-of-9 from the field and made all seven of his free throw attempts in the game. On Saturday, he scored a game-high 28 points on 12-of-19 field goal attempts and had eight rebounds at Boise State. For the week, he was 19-of-28 (.679) from the field and 10-of-14 (.714) from the free throw line with no turnovers. It is Fazekas’ 10th career WAC Player of the Week award and third for a Wolf Pack player this year.
Others nominated:
Matt Nelson, Jr., F, Boise State - had two double-doubles last week with 11 points and 10 rebounds against San Jose State and 19 points and 10 rebounds versus Nevada.
Dominic McGuire, Jr., F, Fresno State - averaged 17.0 points and 10.0 rebounds in two road wins. At Louisiana Tech, he had 19 points and 13 rebounds while blocking six shots. In helping to snap New Mexico State’s 19-game home winning streak, he scored 15 points.
Ahmet Gueye, Sr., F, Hawai?i - scored 14 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in the win at San Jose State. He also blocked seven shots, setting a new Event Center record. It was one shy of the Hawai?i school record.
Tyrone Nelson, Jr., F, New Mexico State - averaged 14.5 points and 9l.5 rebounds in a split of two games. He had 13 points and eight rebounds in the win over Utah State and then posted a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds versus Fresno State.
NEVADA WINS FOURTH STRAIGHT TITLE ? Nevada won both of its games last week and coupled with New Mexico State’s loss against Fresno State, the Wolf Pack won their fourth consecutive WAC regular season title. Nevada is 13-1 in WAC play on the season with its only loss coming at New Mexico State on Jan. 20. Those two teams play again in Reno this Saturday in a game that will be shown on ESPN2.
TOURNAMENT BEGINS NEXT WEEK ? The 2007 WAC Basketball Tournament will be held next week, March 6-10, in Las Cruces, N.M. Seeds for the nine spots will be determined Saturday night following the scheduled games. The WAC will also send out all possible seeding scenarios on Friday, March 2 following Thursday’s games. Nevada has already clinched the top seed while the first round game (8 vs. 9) on Tuesday will feature Idaho and San Jose State with the winner advancing to play Nevada on Thursday. New Mexico State will play in the 8:30 p.m. game on Thursday regardless of its seed, so the bracket will be set dependent on where the Aggies finish.
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, five games are available: Thursday-Louisiana Tech at New Mexico State, Nevada at Utah State, Boise State at Fresno State; Saturday-Idaho at San Jose State, Fresno State at Utah State. All men’s and women’s WAC tournament games will be available next week, except for the men’s championship game which will be shown exclusively on ESPN2. Go to www.wac.tv to sign up or login.
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 26 victories followed by New Mexico State with 21. Fresno State and Utah State have 20 each. Nevada’s 26-2 record (.929) is the best mark in the nation.
NEVADA WITH 9-GAME WINNING STREAK ? Nevada owns the WAC’s longest active winning streak at nine games in a row, the ninth longest in the nation. The Pack have won 19 of their last 20 games with the lone loss coming at New Mexico State on Jan. 20. In WAC games only, Nevada’s eight-game winning streak is also the longest in the conference.
UTAH STATE OWNS WAC’S LONGEST HOME WINNING STREAK ? With New Mexico State’s 19-game home winning streak snapped last week against Fresno State, Utah State now owns the WAC’s longest active winning streak at 14 straight games, tied for the seventh longest in the nation. The Aggies haven’t lost a home game since Nevada (this Thursday’s opponent in Logan) won on Feb. 25, 2006. Nevada’s 11-game home winning streak is the second longest in the WAC and 17th longest in the nation. In conference play only, Nevada has the longest home winning streak with 12 in a row dating back to last season.
FAZEKAS A LOWE’S SENIOR CLASS 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.
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 week. 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.
ALL-WAC AWARDS ? The all-WAC teams as voted upon by the nine head coaches in the league will be announced on Sunday, March 4. A first and second team will be selected along with an all-newcomer and all-defensive team. Individual awards will be announced for Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year and the Don Haskins Coach of the Year.
FAZEKAS THIRD IN NATION IN REBOUNDING ? Nevada senior forward Nick Fazekas moved up to third in the nation in rebounding this week with 11.4 boards per contest. Arkansas-Little Rock’s Rashad Jones-Jennings is first with 13.1 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 moved up one spot to 10th in the AP poll and 9th 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 also received a vote in the coaches’ poll. Nevada plays at Utah State on Thursday and is the highest ranked team to play at the Spectrum since the Aggies beat ninth-ranked Utah, 62-54, on Nov. 18, 1998 when the Utes were in the WAC.
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 (2,355-1st); Boise State senior guard Coby Karl (1,651-4th); Utah State junior guard Jaycee Carroll (1,617-7th); New Mexico State senior guard Elijah Ingram (1,246-scored 607 points at St. John’s); Nevada junior guard Marcelus Kemp (1,140-14th); New Mexico State junior forward Tyrone Nelson (1,130-scored 378 points at Prairie View A&M); and Boise State senior guard Eric Lane (1,030-16th). Fresno State’s Quinton Hosley is next on the list with 922 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 103-24 (.811), the best record of any WAC team during that time. In conference games, Nevada has won 55 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, 4.1 apg)
Matt Lojeski, Sr., G, Hawai?i (16.0 ppg, 4.6 apg)
Nick Fazekas, Sr., F, Nevada (20.9 ppg, 11.4 rpg)
Justin Hawkins, Jr., G/F, New Mexico State (15.8 ppg, 7.0 rpg)
Carlton Spencer, Sr., G, San Jose State (13.3 ppg, 3.7 apg)
Jaycee Carroll, Jr., G, Utah State (21.6 ppg, 6.1 rpg)
HOME SWEET HOME ? The WAC’s nine teams are a combined 91-33 (.734) at home this season after road teams went 5-3 last week. On the road and in neutral site games, the WAC is 44-83 (.346). In conference games only, home teams are 43-21 (.672) while road teams are 21-43 (.328)
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 (16-11, 8-6 WAC)
Beat San Jose State on Thursday night to give head coach Greg Graham his 100th career victory .. senior G Coby Karl needs nine points to tie Abe Jackson for third on the school’s all-time scoring list ... Karl has 1,651 points ... he has started 95 consecutive games, the longest current streak in the WAC ... he leads the WAC in 3-point FGs made per game (2.63) and is the WAC’s active career leader in 3-point FGs made (257) and attempted (686), ranking eighth and sixth, respectively, all-time in the WAC in both of those categories ... he became the school’s all-time leader in made treys last week in the game against San Jose State ... junior Matt Nelson leads the WAC in FG% (.595) ... has played 10 games decided by five points or less (4-6).
Fresno State Bulldogs (20-8, 8-6 WAC)
Kevin Bell dished out 10 assists in the win at NMSU, the most by a WAC player in a conference game this year ... Dominic McGuire had six blocks against Louisiana Tech last week to become the school’s single-season leader passing Melvin Ely (94) and currently has 97, the most by a WAC player since UNLV’s Keon Clark had 112 in the 1996-97 season ... the Bulldogs have had 24 double-doubles this year, the most in the WAC ... has two of the top four rebounders in the WAC in McGuire (9.6 rpg-2nd) and Quinton Hosley (8.9 rpg-4th) ... leads the WAC in scoring defense with 64.6 ppg ... also leads the WAC in FG% defense (.382), blocks (6.50 bpg) and 3-point FGs (9.25/game) ... one of just two teams in the WAC with a winning road record (6-5).
Hawai?i Rainbow Warriors (16-12, 6-8 WAC)
Beat San Jose State last week after trailing at the half ... it was the first time in nine games this year that Hawai?i had won a game when trailing at the half ... Ahmet Gueye had 14 points in that game and is averaging 15.0 points, 8.8 rebounds and 3.3 blocks over the last four games ... one of two teams in the WAC with four players averaging in double figures (Fresno State) ... has the top two steal leaders in the WAC in Matt Lojeski (1.71 spg) and Matt Gibson (1.68 spg) ... one more win will guarantee UH its eighth consecutive winning season ... coach Riley Wallace will resign following the conclusion of the season and needs two more wins to tie former women’s coach Vince Goo’s school record of 334 victories.
Idaho Vandals (3-24, 1-13 WAC)
Keoni Watson has scored 27 points in each of the past two games (UC Riverside and Nevada) ... will play San Jose State 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 62.2 points per game ... its 3-24 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 458 contests, the longest such streak in the WAC ... has made a three-point field goal in 280 consecutive games (since Feb. 27, 1997) ... has made 203 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 601.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (10-18, 7-8 WAC)
The win over Utah State on Saturday gave head coach Keith Richard his 150th in his career ... the Bulldogs were 30-of-45 (.667) from the field in that game, the third best shooting percentage in Thomas Assemby Center history ... five players scored in double figures led by Drew Washington and Jerome Richardson who scored 14 apiece ... Louisiana Tech has won three of its last four games ... Harry Disy has pulled down 41 rebounds in those four games, the most by a WAC player during that period ... the 18 losses are 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 (26-2, 13-1 WAC)
Has won nine games in a row ... is 5-1 when trailing at halftime this year ... is two three-pointers away from tying the school single-season record of 214 made in 1996-97 ... Kyle Shiloh and Nick Fazekas have been a part of 103 wins, the winningest players in school history ... has the best record in the country and is tied for the most wins ... has won 40 of its last 43 games, 23 of its last 24 home games and 15 of its last 16 regular season road games ... leads the WAC in scoring margin (+11.2), FG% (.494), rebounding margin (+6.9) and 3-point FG% (.418) ... senior F Nick Fazekas has posted a double-double in 17 games this season and 58 in his career ... he has scored 20 or more points 63 times and has scored in double figures in 56 straight games played.
New Mexico State Aggies (21-7, 10-4 WAC)
Justin Hawkins scored 23 points in the win over Utah State ... NMSU has won its last eight games when Hawkins scores at least 20 points ... junior G Fred Peete (10.6 ppg) broke his foot in the Utah State game last week and did not play against Fresno State ... Tyrone Nelson had his 23rd career double-double last week with 16 points and 11 rebounds against Fresno State ... is 3-3 in its last six outings after winning 17 of its previous 18 games ... is 7-5 when trailing at the half this year ... has 21 wins for the first time since going 22-10 in 1999-2000 ... is 7-4 in games decided by five points or less ... NMSU leads the WAC in scoring with 78.7 ppg ... has reached 100 points in three games this season ... also leads the WAC in steals (7.25).
San Jose State Spartans (4-24, 3-12 WAC)
Has lost six of its last seven games ... Menelik Barbary posted a double-double against Boise State last week with 19 points and 10 rebounds ... he was 9-of-11 from the field ... hosts Idaho on Saturday in the regular season finale and will play the Vandals again three nights later in the WAC Tournament’s first round game ... 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 26th 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 (803 games).
Utah State Aggies (20-9, 8-6 WAC)
Lost both road games last week even though Jaycee Carroll scored 30 against New Mexico State and 27 against Louisiana Tech ... Utah State had been 14-0 in games this year in which Carroll scored at least 20 points coming into last week ... is one of eight teams to have won at least 20 games in each of the last eight seasons ... Jaycee Carroll leads the WAC in scoring (21.6 ppg), FT% (.887) and 3-point FG% (.449) ... he has scored in double figures in 30 straight games, the second longest active streak in the WAC ... Utah State leads the WAC and is third in the nation in FT% (.772) ... the Aggies have participated in the postseason in each of the past seven years (5 NCAAs, 2 NITs) ... is 124-11 at home under Stew Morrill.