PLAYER OF THE WEEK ? Boise State senior forward Matt Nelson has been named the Western Athletic Conference men’s basketball player of the week for Dec. 24-30. This is the first career WAC Player of the Week honor for the senior.
Nelson, a senior from Issaquah, Wash. (Eastern Washington University), led the Broncos to their first win over a ranked opponent in nearly three years when Boise State defeated No. 20 BYU, 73-70 on Dec. 29. Nelson was a perfect 7-for-7 from the field with 18 points in the win against the Cougars. He also added 11 rebounds for his league-leading sixth double-double of the season. The senior also added five assists and one block in the win.
The victory was Boise State’s eighth win in its last nine, and second-straight rallying from a big deficit. The Broncos enter conference play in first place with a 9-3 record.
Boise State’s win was also the first victory for a WAC team over a top-25 ranked team this season.
The other nominations were senior guard/forward Bobby Nash, Hawai?i; freshman guard Justin Graham, San Jose State and freshman forward Gary Wilkinson, Utah State.
CONFERENCE PLAY BEGINS ? All the non-conference tune-ups are over and conference play begins this week. There are two games on Wednesday, Jan. 2 with Boise State hosting San Jose State and Idaho hosting New Mexico State. Boise State is one of seven teams entering conference play with a winning streak. The Broncos have won three games in a row, while Utah State leads the way winning five-straight games. The Aggies, the WAC Coaches’ preseason pick to win the WAC, open the conference season at home against Hawai?i on Jan. 3. Also beginning conference play on Jan. 3 is Louisiana Tech which hosts Fresno State. New Mexico State, Idaho, San Jose State and last season’s regular season champion, Nevada, all host home games on Saturday, Jan. 5.
WAC STRIKES A DEAL WITH GREAT ALASKA SHOOTOUT ? Athletic director Dr. Steve Cobb announced Tuesday that the University of Alaska Anchorage Athletic Department has signed a scheduling agreement with the Western Athletic Conference for the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout.
Under the 5-year deal, the WAC will send one men’s team per year to the prestigious college basketball tournament, starting with the 31st annual Shootout in 2008.
“This is a great opportunity for the WAC and its basketball programs,” said WAC commissioner Karl Benson. “This tournament has a national tradition that attracts top-caliber teams that we are excited to be a part of. We also appreciate the national attention that is delivered by the exposure from ESPN.”
The 2008 Shootout will be played Nov. 26-29 at Anchorage’s Sullivan Arena.
WAC ON ESPN ? The WAC has a multi-year contract with ESPN for coverage of WAC football and basketball. The complete television schedule will be available at a later date.
CONFERENCE REWIND ? Looking back at the 2006-07 WAC season, Nevada captured its fourth-straight regular season title. The Wolf Pack ended the regular season with a 14-2 conference record. They were the first team to do this since Utah won either a division or conference title five-straight years (1995-1999). New Mexico State won its first WAC Tournament title last season with a thrilling 72-70 win over Utah State in the championship game. Justin Hawkins was named WAC Tournament MVP, while Nevada All-American Nick Fazekas was WAC Player of the Year. Utah State’s Jaycee Carroll also earned All-American honors last season.
SPARTANS HIT THEIR STRIDE ? For the first time since the 1998-99 season, a San Jose State team has six Division I non-conference victories. The Spartans still have three more non-conference contests left with games at Santa Clara (Jan. 7), home for Cal State Bakersfield (Jan. 29) and at an ESPNU Bracket Buster Saturday opponent (Feb. 23) to be announced in early February. With the win over South Dakota State, San Jose State’s six victories in 2007-08 is one more than the team’s total in 2006-07.
O’REILLY ESPNU BRACKETBUSTERS ? For the sixth year in a row, the WAC has partnered with ESPN and several other top college basketball conferences for the O’Reilly ESPNU BracketBusters, a weekend men’s basketball event matching potential NCAA tournament hopefuls against each other. All nine WAC teams will be a part of this year’s pool of teams. The event will be held February 22-24, and ESPN2 and ESPNU will present 11 games. The match-ups for Bracket Buster Saturday will be determined by ESPN in conjunction with the conferences about three weeks before the event.
BULLDOGS PACKING THE STANDS ? Fresno State is leading the WAC in home attendance, nearly 2,000 fans per more than the No. 2 program in the league, Utah State. The Save Mart Center has seen an average of 9,893 fans per game through seven games. The Aggies average 8,066 per contest. The two opponents this week, Louisiana Tech (1,452) and New Mexico State (4,221), are in the middle of the WAC pack in attendance.
CARROLL CURRENTLY SEVENTH ALL-TIME IN SCORING IN THE STATE OF UTAH ? With his 2,056 career points, senior guard Jaycee Carroll currently ranks seventh all-time in the state of Utah in scoring. In fact, Carroll is one of just 10 collegiate players in the “Beehive State” to ever score 2,000 points. Utah’s Keith Van Horn holds the state’s scoring record with 2,542 points, followed by BYU’s Danny Ainge (2,467), Utah’s Billy McGill (2,321), BYU’s Michael Smith (2,319), BYU’s Devin Durrant (2,285) and Utah State’s Greg Grant (2,127). Other in-state players to hit the 2,000-point plateau other than Carroll are Weber State’s Bruce Collins (2,019), USU’s Wayne Estes (2,001) and Utah’s Josh Grant (2,000).
KEEPING TRACK OF COACH MORRILL ? Stew Morrill is 223-80 (.736) in his 10th year as the head coach at Utah State and is just two wins shy of tying legendary coach E. Lowell Romney (1920-41) for the most wins in school history with 225. Coach Morrill is also second all-time in school history in games coached with 303.
ON THE BOARDS ? New Mexico State is dominating teams on the boards this season and out-rebounding their opponents by a 7.2 margin. NMSU has grabbed 214 offensive rebounds this year, which is an average of 14.3 per contest. Senior guard/forward Justin Hawkins, senior center Hatila Passos and freshman forward Wendell McKines all have over 90 rebounds this year. McKines leads the squad with 49 offensive boards. He ranks second in the WAC in that category with 3.27 offensive rebounds per game and Passos ranks third as he contributes 3.00 offensive rebounds per contest as of Dec. 31.
COOL UNDER PRESSURE ? For the third time in school history, San Jose State played and won back-to-back overtime games with its recent victories at Portland State (76-73) and over South Dakota State (77-71). In the 2000-01 season, the Spartans had overtime wins against Cal State Hayward (Nov. 18) and UC Riverside (Nov. 21). In 1993-94 San Jose State knocked off Montana State (Dec. 30) and opened Big West Conference competition with an overtime victory at Nevada (Jan. 3). San Jose State has never played three consecutive games that required at least one overtime period. With the wins over Portland State and South Dakota State, San Jose State is 2-1 in overtime games under Coach George Nessman.
WAC IN THE NCAA STATS ? Boise State is ninth in the nation in field-goal percentage (.515) behind first-place Texas Arlington (.532) as of Dec. 16. Utah State is up to third in the nation in free throw percentage (.784) behind IUPUI which is first (.812). Individually, Utah State’s Jaycee Carroll is seventh in the nation in free throw percentage (.933). Nevada’s JaVale McGee is 14th in the country in blocked shots (3.2 bpg), while Kenny George of UNC Ashville is first averaging 6.3 bpg. Boise State’s Reggie Larry is 18th in field goal percentage (.634), while teammate Matt Nelson is 25th (.624)
BOISE STATE TOPS BYU ? Boise State earned the WAC’s first win against a ranked team this season with a 73-70 win over then-No. 20 BYU. Before the Broncos’ win, the league was 0-8 against teams ranked in the top-25. Boise State’s last victory over a ranked team was over Nevada in the 2005 WAC tournament.
WAC TOURNAMENT TO RETURN TO RENO IN 2009 ? Western Athletic Conference commissioner Karl Benson announced that the WAC Board of Directors awarded the 2009 and 2010 WAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments to the University of Nevada and the Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority. The tournaments will be held in the 11,485-seat Lawlor Events Center, located on the campus of the University of Nevada.
The WAC tournaments were last held in Reno in 2006. The 2007 tournaments were held in Las Cruces, New Mexico at New Mexico State University, as will the 2008 tournaments before returning to Reno in 2009.
NEW MEXICO STATE TO HOST 2008 WAC TOURNAMENT ? Las Cruces and New Mexico State University will host the 2008 WAC Tournament, March 11-15. It will be the second year in a row that the event will be held at the Pan American Center. The tournament features all nine men’s and women’s teams.
SUPER SENIORS ? The WAC seniors are leading the way offensivley this season. Seven of the top 10 leading scorers in the league are seniors, while eight of the top 10 are upperclassmen. Utah State Jaycee Carroll leads the way, averaging 21.3 ppg. The guard is the only player in the WAC averaging over 20 ppg. Boise State’s senior duo of Reggie Larry (18.9 ppg) and Matt Nelson (15.1 ppg) are third and seventh, respectively in the league in scoring. There are just two underclassman in the top 10 in scoring, Louisiana Tech’s Kyle Gibson (13.7) and Nevada’s JaVale McGee (13.4 ppg). New Mexico State’s Justin Hawkins is the only junior in the top 10. He is fourth in the league in scoring, averaging 18.5 ppg.
TEAM LEADERS ? The WAC has six schools with players who lead their team in two of three statistical categories (points-rebounds-assists). Utah State’s Jaycee Carroll is the only player in the WAC to average over 20.0 ppg, averaging 21.3 ppg.
Kevin Bell, Sr., G, Fresno State (17.5 ppg, 6.0 apg)
Bobby Nash, Sr., G/F, Hawai?i (16.2 ppg, 5.8 rpg)
Jordan Brooks, Jr., F, Idaho (10.6 ppg, 3.5 apg)
Kyle Gibson, So., G, Louisiana Tech (13.7 ppg, 6.6 rpg)
Justin Graham, Fr., G, San Jose State (11.4 ppg, 3.0 apg)
Jaycee Carroll, Sr., G, Utah State (21.3 ppg, 6.0 rpg)
NEVADA TOP TEAM OVER LAST FOUR YEARS ? Over the last four-plus seasons dating back to 2003-04, Nevada has turned in a 114-33 record, the best record of any WAC team during that time (.778 winning percentage). In conference games, Nevada has won 56 games, the most in that same time period. The top three teams in wins (both overall and WAC) over the last four-plus seasons:
Overall Record (Pct.) WAC Record (Pct.)
1. Nevada 114-33 (.778) 1. Nevada 56-12 (.824)
2. Utah State 105-38 (.734) 2. Fresno State 37-31 (.544)
3. Hawai?i 76-57 (.571) 3. Hawai?i 36-32 (.529)
TOURNAMENT OPPONENTS ? WAC teams could face at least 18 non-conference opponents that played in last year’s NCAA Tournament. Boise State, Fresno State and New Mexico State are scheduled to play three of those teams, a WAC-high.
Utah State at Weber State, Nov. 10
New Mexico State at Duke, Nov. 12
Florida A&M at New Mexico State, Nov. 14 (Legends Classic)
Washington State at Boise State, Nov. 13
Idaho at Gonzaga, Nov. 13
Idaho at Washington State, Nov. 16
Illinois at Hawai?i, Nov. 16
Nevada at UNLV, Nov. 24
Louisiana Tech at Texas Tech, Dec. 5
Fresno State at UNLV, Dec. 8
Fresno State at Arizona, Dec. 16
San Jose State at Michigan State, Dec. 19
Boise State at Albany, Dec. 22
New Mexico State at Louisville, Dec. 22
Nevada at North Carolina, Dec. 27
Brigham Young at Boise State, Dec. 29
Oral Roberts at Utah State, Dec. 29
Fresno State at Stanford, Dec. 29
UTAH STATE’S CARROLL NEAR RECORDS ? Senior guard Jaycee Carroll is closing in on several Utah State career records, as he ranks second all-time in both three-pointers attempted (659) and 10-point games (101). He is also second in games started (112), third in total minutes played (3,819), fourth in field goals made (721), fourth in free throw percentage (.852), fifth in minutes per game (33.5) and fifth in field goals attempted (1,416). Carroll also ranks eighth all-time in steals (106), is 10th all-time in points per game (18.0), 10th all-time in games played (114) and 20th all-time in assists (229).
CARROLL AND KEMP NAMED TO NAISMITH AND WOODEN WATCH LISTS ? Utah State’s Jaycee Carroll and Nevada’s Marcelus Kemp continue to receive national attention this fall and were recently named to the preseason watch list for the 2007-08 Naismith Trophy presented by AT&T, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced. Last week, both were named one of 50 preseason candidates for the 2007-08 John R. Wooden Award.
The Naismith Trophy watch list, which consists of 50 players, was compiled by the Atlanta Tipoff Club’s Board of Selectors, which based its preseason criteria on player performances from last season and expectations for the 2007-08 season. There were 17 seniors and 17 juniors on the preseason list, along with 16 sophomores. The list does not include incoming freshmen, although those student-athletes will be considered in the first vote in January, 2008. The Naismith Trophy is the most prestigious national award presented annually to college basketball’s player of the year.
Boise State Broncos (9-3, 0-0 WAC)
Boise State overcame an 11 point halftime deficit to upset No. 20 BYU, 73-70, on Dec. 29 ... it was the fourth time in school history and the first since the 2005 season the Broncos have upset a ranked team ... Reggie Larry led the Broncos with 19 points, just above his 18.9 ppg average (third in the WAC) ... Matt Nelson went 7-for-7 from the floor and added 11 rebounds for his WAC-leading sixth double-double ... Boise State leads the WAC in scoring (81.8 ppg), field goal percentage (.512), steals (8.50 per game), and scoring margin (+9.0) ... the first-place Broncos start conference play Jan. 02 when they host San Jose State, then to Moscow to take on Idaho on Jan. 5.
Fresno State Bulldogs (7-6, 0-0 WAC)
Fresno State opens the WAC schedule with four of the first five games on the road ... the Bulldogs play at Louisiana Tech Jan. 3 and New Mexico State Jan. 5 ... Frenso State is coming off a 55-48 loss to Stanford on Dec. 29 ... senior guards Kevin Bell and Eddie Miller scored in double figures in the loss (16 and 10 points, respectively) ... with a 35-32 rebounding advantage the Bulldogs were the first team to outrebound the Cardinal this season ... the Bulldogs lead the WAC in 3-point field goals made, averaging 8.77 per game ... Fresno State is the only team in the WAC with more than 100 3-pointers made this season (114).
Hawai?i Rainbow Warriors (4-8, 0-0 WAC)
The Rainbow Warriors snapped a season-long four-game losing skid defeating Centenary, 74-66, on Dec. 30 ... it was the team’s longest home losing streak since the 1998-99 season ... senior Bobby Nash leads the team in scoring (16.2), rebounding (5.8 rpg), three-pointers made (28) and free throw percentage (.895) ... Nash has scored in double-digits in all 12 games this season and 17 straight games dating back to last year ... Senior Matt Gibson needs one more 3-pointer to reach 100 for his career ... as a team Hawai’i is second in the WAC in blocked shots (3.42 per game) and third in the conference averaging 14.83 steals per game.
Idaho Vandals (3-8, 0-0 WAC)
Idaho hosts New Mexico State on Jan. 2 for the first of three WAC home games ... the Vandals’ last outing was a 65-76 loss at Arizona State... Idaho hit 13 three-pointers but was outscored by 12 points at the free throw line and committed nine unforced turnovers in the loss ... the Vandals have hit 11 or more 3-pointers in four games this season and are averaging 6.8 3-pointers per game, ranking third in the WAC with a .361 3-point field goal percentage ... Idaho is first in the WAC defending the trey (.324) ... the Vandals are second in the WAC in steals (7.64 per game), led by Jordan Brooks’ 2.27 steals per game (second in the WAC).
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (3-9, 0-0 WAC)
Louisiana Tech had double-digit scoring from four different players to top McNeese State, 73-63 on Dec. 29 ... Dwayne Lathan led all scorers with a career-high 19 points, sophomore guard Kyle Gibson pitched in 18, senior forward Keith Smith equaled a career high with 15 points and J.C. Clark added 10 ... Tech shot 48.8 percent for the game, including a 7-of-12 outing from three-point range (58.3 percent) ... Gibson is eighth in the WAC in scoring and rebounding, averaging 13.7 ppg and 6.6 rpg, respectively ... Clark is third in the WAC in free throw percentage (.862) and tied for fifth in the WAC in steals per game (1.50).
Nevada Wolf Pack (8-5, 0-0 WAC)
Nevada scored a season-high 104 points and topped the century mark for the first time since the 2003-04 season in a 104-75 win over Cal State Stanislaus on Dec. 31 ...five Wolf Pack players scored in double figures for the second time this season, including Marcelus Kemp and Demarshay Johnson (19 points apiece), JaVale McGee (18 points), Brandon Fields (14 points) and Matt LaGrone (10 points) ... the Wolf Pack is first in the WAC in blocked shots (6.92 per game) and defensive rebounds (26.46 per game), second in rebounding margin (+5.2) and offensive rebounds (12.38 per game) and third in the WAC in scoring (73.2 ppg) and free throw shooting (.710).
New Mexico State Aggies (6-9, 0-0 WAC)
The Aggies open their third season in the WAC after a grueling non-conference slate ... Justin Hawkins leads the team and is fourth in the WAC with 18.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game ... Jonathan Gibson and Fred Peete round out the Aggies’ double-figure averages, with 12.5 and 12.1 ppg, respectively ... Hatila Passos and Wendell McKines are tied for fifth in rebounding (7.0)... as a team the Aggies rank first in rebounding offense (39.9), rebounding margin (+7.2), offensive rebounds (14.27) and field goal defensive (.416)... the Aggies are averaging 3.4 blocks per game with Martin Iti leading the way with 24 (second in the WAC averaging 1.60 bpg).
San Jose State Spartans (6-5, 0-0 WAC)
San Jose State posted its third win in a row on Dec. 30 over S.D. State (77-71, OT), marking it longest winning streak since the 2006 season ... with the win, the Spartan’s six victories in 2007-08 is one more than the team’s total in 2006-07... SJSU hopes to record its first four-game winning streak since the 2003-04 season when it takes on Boise State in the WAC season opener, Jan 2 ... four Spartans are averaging in double-figure scoring, including Justin Graham (11.4), Chris Oakes (10.8), DaShawn Wright (10.2) and Tim Pierce (10.2) ... the last time a San Jose State team had four players from the same team finish a season in double-figure scoring was in 1998-99.
Utah State Aggies (10-5, 0-0 WAC)
Utah State enters WAC play riding a five-game win streak ... the Aggies will begin league play at home for the first time since the 2003-04 season and are 10-4 in league openers at home dating back to the 1978-79 season ... Jaycee Carroll leads the team and the WAC in scoring (21.3 ppg), free throw shooting (94.8) and three-point shooting (50.5) ... the Aggies lead the WAC in scoring defense (65.4), free throw percentage (.796), 3-point field goal percentage (.383), rebounding defense (29.4), assists (18.0) and assist/turnover ratio (1.23) ... Utah State will host the Rainbow Warriors of Hawai?i on Jan. 3 before traveling to Reno to take on Nevada on Jan. 5.