PLAYER OF THE WEEK ? Hawai?i guard Matt Lojeski, a senior from Racine, Wis. (Eastern Wyoming College) averaged 27.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in a pair of victories last week. On Thursday, he scored 20 points, making 6-of-10 from the field and 7-of-8 from the free throw line, in a win over Idaho. Against Boise State on Saturday night, Lojeski poured in a career-high 35 points and added four assists and two steals. He was 11-of-14 from the field and tied a school record by making 7-of-7 from three-point range. Lojeski also made all six of his free throw attempts. For the week, he was 17-of-24 (.708) from the field, 8-of-8 beyond the arc and 13-of-14 (.929) from the charity stripe. It is Lojeski’s third career WAC Player of the Week award and third for a Rainbow Warrior player this year.
Others nominated:
Kevin Bell, Jr., G, Fresno State - averaged 21.0 points and 9.0 assists in a pair of wins last week. He had 11 assists and a then career-high 17 points including the winning shot with 0.6 seconds left on Thursday against Boise State and then scored 25 points in helping to snap Utah State’s 15-game home winning streak.
Marcelus Kemp, Jr., G, Nevada - averaged 28.5 points in a split of two games. He scored 25 points at Utah State and then had a game-high 32 points versus New Mexico State. For the week, he was 19-of-38 from the field, 12-of-13 from the free throw line and 7-of-18 from three-point range.
Carlton Spencer, Sr., G, San Jose State - scored a season-high 26 points and grabbed eight rebounds in Saturday’s 62-57 win over Idaho.
Chaz Spicer, Sr., F, Utah State - averaged 19.5 points and 3.0 rebounds in a split of two games. He had 17 points and made two free throws with 3.8 seconds remaining in overtime to beat Nevada and then added a career-high 22 points against Fresno State.
TOURNAMENT BEGINS THIS WEEK ? The 2007 WAC Basketball Tournament begins this week, March 6-10, in Las Cruces, N.M. Idaho faces San Jose State in a first round game on Tuesday night with the quarterfinals being played on Thursday. For the fourth year in a row, Nevada is the number one seed. New Mexico State is hosting its first WAC tournament and will also host in 2008, March 11-15.
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, offered nearly all of the conferences home games this season, many of them on an exclusive basis. This week every game of the WAC Tournament (except for the championship game which will be shown on ESPN2) is available. Go to www.wac.tv to sign up or login.
TOURNAMENT ON TELEVISION ? The WAC quarterfinals and semifinals will be available on ESPN Full Court and in some WAC markets. KAME in Reno will show all of the Nevada games, KFVE in Honolulu will show all of the Hawai?i games while KTVB in Boise and KFRE in Fresno will carry all six games. Randy Rosenbloom (play-by-play) and Larry Farmer (analyst) will provide the commentary for Thursday and Friday’s games. The WAC Championship game will be shown exclusively on ESPN2 (Terry Gannon and Stephen Bardo) at 7:00 p.m. MT on Saturday night.
SIRIUS RADIO TO CARRY TOURNAMENT GAMES ? Sirius radio will carry all seven games of the 2007 WAC Tournament. Tuesday’s first round game will be on channel 110, all four quarterfinal games will be on channel 126, and both the semifinals and final will be on channel 181.
NEVADA WINS FOURTH STRAIGHT 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 27 victories followed by Fresno State and New Mexico State with 22 each. Utah State has 21. Hawai?i is just two games shy of the mark with 18 wins. Nevada’s 27-3 record (.900) is tied for the best mark in the nation.
FRESNO STATE WITH 6-GAME WINNING STREAK ? With Nevada losing at Utah State last week, Fresno State now has the WAC’s longest active winning streak at six games in a row, tied for the 15th longest in the nation. In WAC games only, Fresno State’s five-game winning streak is also the longest in the conference.
NEVADA OWNS WAC’S LONGEST HOME WINNING STREAK ? With Utah State’s 15-game home winning streak snapped last week against Fresno State, Nevada now 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.
ALL-WAC TEAMS ? The 2007 all-WAC teams as voted upon by the coaches, were announced on Sunday. 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.
4 NAMED TO NABC ALL-DISTRICT TEAMS ? The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) 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.
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 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.
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.
FAZEKAS FIFTH IN NATION IN REBOUNDING ? Nevada senior forward Nick Fazekas dropped to fifth in the nation in rebounding this week with 11.3 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 remained 10th in the AP poll and dropped one spot to 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. Fresno State also received votes in the 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 (2,397-1st); Boise State senior guard Coby Karl (1,670-4th); Utah State junior guard Jaycee Carroll (1,641-7th); New Mexico State senior guard Elijah Ingram (1,272-scored 607 points at St. John’s); Nevada junior guard Marcelus Kemp (1,197-14th); New Mexico State junior forward Tyrone Nelson (1,156-scored 378 points at Prairie View A&M); and Boise State senior guard Eric Lane (1,051-16th). Fresno State’s Quinton Hosley is next on the list with 955 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 104-25 (.806), 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, 4.1 apg)
Matt Lojeski, Sr., G, Hawai?i (16.8 ppg, 4.4 apg)
Nick Fazekas, Sr., F, Nevada (20.9 ppg, 11.3 rpg)
Justin Hawkins, Jr., G/F, New Mexico State (15.6 ppg, 6.9 rpg)
Carlton Spencer, Sr., G, San Jose State (13.9 ppg, 3.6 apg)
Jaycee Carroll, Jr., G, Utah State (21.0 ppg, 6.2 rpg)
HOME SWEET HOME ? The WAC’s nine teams are a combined 98-34 (.742) at home this season after home teams went 7-1 last week. On the road and in neutral site games, the WAC is 45-90 (.333). 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)
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.
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 (16-13, 8-8 WAC)
Is 2-0 versus Fresno State in WAC Tournament games ... lost by one at Fresno State last Thursday ... Matt Nelson scored 21 points and had 15 rebounds in that game ... Anthony Thomas was the first Bronco to earn Freshman of the Year honors since Gerry Washington in 1996 (Big Sky) ... senior G Coby Karl scored 19 points last week and is now third in scoring in school history with 1,670 points ... he has started 97 consecutive games, the longest current streak in the WAC ... he is the WAC’s active career leader in 3-point FGs made (261) and attempted (701), ranking eighth and fifth, respectively, all-time in the WAC in both of those categories ... junior Matt Nelson leads the WAC in FG% (.587) ... has played 11 games decided by five points or less (4-7).
Fresno State Bulldogs (22-8, 10-6 WAC)
Has won six of seven games (includng six in a row) since the dismissal of Ja’Vance Coleman ... Kevin Bell dished out 11 assists against Boise State, the second most by a WAC player this year (Bell-13 against Cal Poly) ... Dominic McGuire has 107 blocks this year, the most by a WAC player since UNLV’s Keon Clark had 112 in the 1996-97 season ... the Bulldogs have had 28 double-doubles this year, the most in the WAC ... has two of the top three rebounders in the WAC in McGuire (9.7 rpg-2nd) and Quinton Hosley (9.1 rpg-3rd) ... leads the WAC in scoring defense with 65.1 ppg, FG% defense (.382), blocks (6.57 bpg) and 3-point FGs (9.27/game) ... one of just two teams in the WAC with a winning road record (7-5).
Hawai?i Rainbow Warriors (18-12, 8-8 WAC)
Has a four-game winning streak ... is 8-3 in its last 11 games after a 1-5 start in conference play ... has lost three straight WAC quarterfinal games ... Riley Wallace has won 20 WAC tournament games, one shy of tying the all-time record of 21 set by UTEP’s Don Haskins ... 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 1.70 per game ... has guaranteed its eight straight winning season ... coach Riley Wallace will resign following the conclusion of the season ... he has won 334 games at UH, tied with former women’s coach Vince Goo for the most in school history ... Thursday’s game will be Wallace’s 599th at UH.
Idaho Vandals (3-26, 1-15 WAC)
Has lost 12 games in a row ... Keoni Watson has averaged 25.5 ppg over the last four contests ... plays SJSU in the WAC Tournament first round game on Tuesday after facing the Spartans on Saturday night ... is 0-5 when leading at halftime ... is last in the WAC in scoring with 62.1 points per game ... its 3-26 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 460 contests, the longest such streak in the WAC ... has made a three-point field goal in 282 consecutive games (since Feb. 27, 1997) ... has made 216 3-point FGs, breaking the record of 190 set in 1998-99 ... also broke the single-season record for three-point field goal attempts and currently has 615.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (10-19, 7-9 WAC)
Louisiana Tech has won three of its last five games ... finished the regular season with a loss at New Mexico State and faces the Aggies in its next game on Thursday in Las Cruces in the quarterfinals of the WAC Tournament ... Jerome Richardson scored a team-high 15 points in that game against NMSU while Chad McKenzie had a game-high 10 rebounds ... Trey McDowell scored a career-high 33 points in a win over New Mexico State on Jan. 14 ... Harry Disy has averaged 9.4 rebounds per game since Feb. 14 ... the 19 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 (27-3, 14-2 WAC)
Had its nine-game winning streak snapped in the overtime loss at Utah State ... is 6-1 when trailing at halftime this year ... has made 225 3-point FGs, breaking the record of 214 set in 1996-97 ... Kyle Shiloh and Nick Fazekas have been a part of 104 wins, the winningest players in school history ... has won 24 of its last 25 home games and 15 of its last 17 regular season road games ... leads the WAC in scoring margin (+10.5), FG% (.488), rebounding margin (+6.7) and 3-point FG% (.411) ... senior F Nick Fazekas has posted a double-double in 18 games this season and 59 in his career ... he has scored 20 or more points 65 times and has scored in double figures in 58 straight games played.
New Mexico State Aggies (22-8, 11-5 WAC)
Is 4-4 in its last eight outings after winning 17 of its previous 18 games ... is 7-5 when trailing at the half this year ... has 22 wins for the first time since going 22-10 in 1999-2000 ... is 7-5 in games decided by five points or less ... ... NMSU has won its last eight games when Justin Hawkins scores at least 20 points ... junior G Fred Peete (10.6 ppg) has not played since breaking his foot against Utah State on Feb. 22 ... he was named to the WAC all-newcomer and all-defensive teams ... Tyrone Nelson has posted 23 double-doubles in his career ... 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 (7.30).
San Jose State Spartans (5-24, 4-12 WAC)
Beat Idaho on Saturday to snap a five-game losing streak ... Carlton Spencer had 26 points and eight rebounds while Menelik Barbary had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds ... faces Idaho again on Tuesday in the WAC Tournament’s first round game ... is 1-9 in WAC Tournament games ... won four conference games, the most since going 4-14 in 2002-03 ... all four games were decided by five points or less ... its schedule is ranked the toughest in the WAC 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 (804 games).
Utah State Aggies (21-10, 9-7 WAC)
Has lost three of its last four games ... has lost 10 games for the first time since the 1998-99 season ... Jaycee Carroll scored six points in the loss to Fresno State, snapping his streak of 31 consecutive games with at least 10 points ... the Aggies lost their first game this year when leading at the half in the game against Fresno State (13-1) ... is one of six teams to have won at least 21 games in each of the last eight seasons ... Carroll leads the WAC in scoring (21.0 ppg), FT% (.884) and 3-point FG% (.432) ... Utah State leads the WAC and is second in the nation in FT% (.774) ... the Aggies have participated in the postseason in each of the past seven years (5 NCAAs, 2 NITs) ... is 125-12 at home under Stew Morrill.